Chao, rastas and hello desert dwellers from yuma!

So its been a while since we´ve posted. We have been busy! And not near internet for a while, we apologize. Let us summarize our latest experiences...

Fundo Los Lagartos: Pichi, Chile

We have come and gone from our 2.5 week stint at this 500 hectare (thats huge in acres, but I dont know how big exactly) ranch with some very interesting and eccentric Rastafarians from Buenos Aires, and various parts of Chile. It is about 2 hours south of Santiago in a fairly dry climate, but as you can see, very much in springtime, with green vegetation, huge mountains, rushing creeks, well grown vegetables, over 400 fruit trees (avocado, olive, peach, apple, pecan, lemon, etc), fields of fava beans, two greenhouses with spinach, lettuce, beets, trees, and other delights. Dozens of horses, five sheep (including a black sheep!), chickens. AND, a VERY interesting subculture of Rastafarians. They bake bread every single day, so I (beth) learned how to make bread and chapatis (which actually originate in India I believe) over a wood burning stove that is just lovely. Other tasks I spent time with were making marmalade, weeding, repairing fences, etc, etc. Chris did a lot more physical labor with the other men and volunteers, including working on like a two mile long pipeline, constructing a showerhouse for volunteers, and he even rode the horses!

It was interesting to note that at this farm the gender roles are fairly traditional compared to other farms we´ve been to, which was a challenge for me since I enjoyed working outside along the men. But the upside was when family members came to visit at Los Lagartos to celebrate the Rastafarian new year as well as the Chilean Independence Day (Sept. 18th), we both had a lot of fun chatting, making lots of good food, and taking hikes around the property.

I wanted to add that September 11th is also a dark day here in Chile as well as the US...it is the day in 1973 when the democratically elected president Allende was overthrown in the violent coup that later led to the disappearance and torture of thousands of his supporters during the following dictatorship. So on every Sept. 11th of each year, violence errupts in the cities, due to the Chilean people remembering a dark time of history that has not been entirely resolved. We however, were safe and happy in the mountains with people that we able to tell us a lot of stories about history, politics, and news of Chile, which was very educational.

Probably the most interesting thing that we witnessed was when a friend visited the farm who has been studying natural medicine in the Amazon and offered to do a ¨treatment¨ to anyone staying there. So, several people followed him up the mountain and he proceeded to burn their arms with a small stick, then he put dried frog poison in the scars and sang to them. After getting the poison, they first felt their entire bodies become very warm, then they proceeded to throw up for about a half an hour. Each person came back looking really out of it but apparently cured....Everyone was surprised that Chris and I didn´t participate in this but we were okay with just learning about it :)

Two day break in Parque National Herquehue

After leaving Los Lagartos, Chris and I went to the Pucon area for a break in this wonderful park. We stayed in a lodge that had an AWESOME sauna with a wood stove near a babbling brook, hiked in old growth Monkey Puzzle Tree forest with waterfalls, snow capped peaks, and green aqua lagoons. It was a very restful stopover. Since it is the beginning of spring here, there are not a lot of tourists yet, so it has been nice not having to be in crowds.

Tenio Natural Reserve near Puerto Montt, Chile (like 14 hours more south!)

Okay, now, for the past week we have been working at this ranch which is actually not much of a reserve. Rather, its a group of properties owned by a family from Yuma, Arizona! The husband-dad is still in Arizona, but his wife and three children are here. They have allowed us to stay in a cozy and first-rate cabin all to our selves near the reserve with a wood burning stove! So every night after dinner with the family, we are able to heat our cabin and have tea while we read. By the way, if you´re curious, Beth just finished Anna Karenina by Tolstoy and Chris just finished Native Son. Now we´re reading some more Isabel Allende as well as some great permaculture and gardening books.

Here with this family, we are helping them with some basics: getting seeds to grow in an existing greenhouse, and building a second greenhouse as well as building a barbed wire fence so bulls don't roam on the property, constructing a chicken tractor so chickens can be in the yard in a moving cage like thing to eat fresh worms and leave their poop to fertilize the soil, we planted a TON of potatoes in a neighbors yard as well as corn...So this has been really fun to partake in these projects. I (beth) am happy because i´m learning how to use tools, like a hammer, hack saw, axe, etc.

We´re really enjoying getting to know the culture of the countryside in Chile. Every house you go into is complete with a wood burning stove with seats around it, a table, wood paneled walls, the smell of bread and other treats, and extremely friendly people! So many folks have invited us in to share once which is like teatime with snacks (they have a heavy lunch and a lighter meal later on). Its so different from any other rural area either of us have visited in Latin America. People here are really living life well it seems and are proud of it.

Currently, we´re in Puerto Varas taking a weekend break, enjoying having some time off and tomorrow we´re headed to some hot springs on the side of a Volcano (Osorno is the one...there´s a lot around here!). In another week, we´ll be going to another farm and then to the island of Chiloe! Splendid! More to come, including photos.

We miss you all! Thanks for checking in to our blog!

XOXO Beth and Chris