The Journey to Rancho Margot
Five days ago we had some vague idea of what our lives would be like for the next four weeks. We knew we were going to be working for our keep, we knew we’d be taking cold showers for the next month of our lives, and we knew we were completely stoked. We woke up early on Monday, had the best free hostel breakfast ever (Sleepers sleep cheaper is the best deal in Costa Rica), and rushed to stuff our packs as the taxi van arrived.
We settled in close in the back of the van, hooked up the headphone splitter to my ipod, and back-seat danced our way through the green mountains with “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” kick-starting us on our journey (couldn’t tell if the guy sitting next to me thought it was as awesome as we did). About an hour’s worth of sweet tunes later, we arrived at Lake Arenal. First my gaze shot upward to stare at the monstrous volcano that loomed above the other side of the lake, then it came back down to see that Angie had just as big of a shit-eating grin on her face as I did. We watched as a ferry across the lake made its way to the shore where we stood.
The boat ride was awesome, open water surrounded by rolling hills and vegetation. It was unlike any view you could ever get in Florida (no obscenely huge houses and condos lining the shore). As we neared the other side, the attendant tells something about getting on “el bote poquito” and that we needed to wait on the ferry. So we watched as everyone else left the ferry and disappeared up the mountain, until it was just the 2 of us and the driver left. He tells us to “esperar uno momento” and pulls around this tiny little speed boat that looked like a kid’s bathtub toy. On the side of it were 2 words: No Fear. Helll yea! We climb aboard and our driver starts the engine. He asks me a question in Spanish and even though I hadn’t heard the word before I knew what he asked.
“Do you like to go FAST?”
“Si!!”
So we did, all the way across, wind forcing tears out of my eyes and my mouth smiling the whole way. On the bank stood a Latino couple, a man with graying hair and a kind face and his adorable Tica wife. We pulled up to shore, the man gave us his hand, helped us off the boat, and said,”Welcome to Rancho Margot”.
The rest of this story is like I walked out of my life and straight into Harry Potter world. We take this crazy journey to another land, where plants we’ve never seen are flourishing everywhere, people speak a language we don’t know, life is carried out in unfamiliar ways, and it’s completely obvious that we’re the newcomers who don’t know what the hell we’re walking into. We meet one of the managers who tells us we’re just in time for lunch, after which we’ll be “placed in our specific areas”. Straight up Harry Potter. I was waiting for them to pull out a magical talking hat and throw it down on my head.
As it turned out, after having some fairly philosophical conversation with the guy who decides where people would best be fitted, Angie was put in the garden and I was put behind the bar. Which is great, but I was a bit disappointed that I wouldn’t be getting down and dirty with the Earth and helping with the sustainability of the ranch.
But that was 5 days ago, and now we are much more comfortable with everything and able to feel out our schedules much better. So I have plenty of time when I’m not working to help wherever I want. I go see the horses everyday, and have befriended a black stallion named Gladiador. I feed him bananas every day and he nuzzles my hands. I haven’t ridden him yet, but soon. I also helped with the pigs today, cutting sugar cane with a machete and playing with the little piglets, who are soooo cute. Shame they will be someone’s lunch someday. I have plans to help in other parts of the garden as well, do some intensive labor in the fields, learn to make soap, milk some cows, and help with the rehabilitation of a couple monkeys and an ocelot that the ranch has rescued
Otherwise I spend my time making art, writing songs, doing yoga, learning to Salsa and Meringue, and getting to know all the other workers and volunteers. My life has definitely taken a different turn, and I fully intend on utilizing this time the best I can and getting the most out of it as possible. Maybe while I’m at it I’ll end up leaving behind something beneficial for the ranch and the people here. Or at least a memory of the “Bartender Macha” 🙂
I haven’t had this much to say for a while, but a long entry was definitely merited. Hopefully will be updating again soon. BTW, internet is slow here, there’s no phone, and its difficult to Skype, so it may be a while before I can make a phone call.
Pura Vida
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panickat
I can’t wait to hopefully see pictures, yes? It sounds like such an ideal setting for reflection and growth, don’t let the man get you down! Love you!!!