Helado Tour de Balgues

We have found a new way to pass the time in the lovely town of Balgues, and that is eating helado, ice cream. Lots of ice cream. Todos los dias. Balgues is really only two small, perpendicular dirt roads surrounding a  large field where kids play soccer when they are able to chase away the pigs, chickens, horses, and dogs that run around on it. Whether it´s a weekend, or after lunch on work days, I seem to always find myself making the ice cream rounds that are as follows....

We start at the spot that servs frozen barley, beet, banana or pineapple with milk in a plastic bag. My favorites are barley and chocolate. If there isn´t barley or chocolate, we go on to the next spot, El Hotel Aspedaje that has muy dulce mamon helado, this really sweet fruit, and coco....my personal favorite, which is coconut. Of course, none of these helados could be complete without food coloring, so pink pineapple helado it is. Nothing is better than this ice cream in a plastic bag, seriously. OK; excpet maybe the pasteles we makes with Margele.

The ice cream has been the perfect treat after heat exhaustion days of working on the field I have been assigned to oversee. Maddy and Jim were assigned to oversee this project as well, but the week we are working on it is the one that Maddy is back home in the States for her sister´s graduation, and Jim has taken it upon himself to work on new housing structures for the Pelibuey....who have escaped twice, but I´ll spare the story of all of us with our headlamps in the dark trying to lasso our goats back into their homes for another time. So, this week I was in charge of making sure the entire lower field of too much land that the UVM permaculture students started got finished.

The field is a reforestation project where we planted countour lines to prevent soil erosion of alternating rows of Ohotche and Miringa. There are also fruit trees of Sapote and Canistel that will be planted on the perimeter of this field. This is far from a field of dreams, and there´s currently no shade and just chimbre, which is more or less Nicaraguan Stinging Nettle. No matter if you are wearing jeans tucked into your socks in the 100 degree heat and long sleeves, this stinging plant will get you. My ankles have gotten attacked so much, that they have swollen to the extent of a pregnant woman´s. It´s funny being here and having arms swollen from wasp stings and newly formed cankles that swell in adaptation to chimbre and mosquito bites and it´s just another part of every day. Tamara has come up with a spiffy catch phrase for this nettle and it´s FUCK CHIMBRE. We are going to get bumper stickers printed and to an internet site near you shortly.

So back to this plot of land. It was pretty confusing to plant. I now know how to measure out countour lines with a land measure tool, but there were some mistakes and misplants along the way. There was a flag color coded system for what should be mapped out and planted where, but different flag colors were staked when we ran out of certain colors, so that plan pretty much went to shit. One of the volunteers, Andre is from Portugal and told me I looked like an architect with the triangular land measure tool mapping out the contour lines for the tree plantngs. He was the one who was also making fun of me and calling me La Jefe, The Boss, the entire day while him and the other people working on the project were digging endless holes with the mechana making room for the upwards 200 tree plants we were responsible for planting over two days. Misplants and heat exhaustion aside, I think the field is pretty mch done, hopefully to the liking of Chris, the Project Bona Fide Man with the Plan and I´m not in trouble for misplanting hundreds of tree plants, which is probable.

I feel really comfortable and welcomed into the Balgues community, feelings I realize now were incredibly rare in Ghana. Everyone greets you when you walk down from the farm into town and it´s easy to strike up a conversation with just about anyone...except maybe for the man or two who are passed out on the side of the street from drinking too much whiskey at 4 o´clock in the afternoon...but that´s the same in any town, right. We have started participating in a language exchange at the Community Center in town run by a Peace Corps volunteer that´s been really fun. We meet every Thursday and Friday nights for about an hour and so far our lessons have been on clothing and introductions, but we are able to improve our Spanish while meeting more of the people in town and talking in English and playing games like Memory.

This past weekend I was shown the secret swimming hole spot. It is secluded and sits right inbetween the Moderas volcano we live on and has a perfect view of Volcano Concepcion in the looming distance. This swimming hole is about a thirty minute hike from la finca, the farm, but it is well worth it and has become my favorite spot on the island. It´s funny that I seem to find myself, whether in Vermont, here on La Isla de Omatepe in Balgues, or in Vume, the pottery village in Ghana, in these picturesque places amidst a lake an lush vegetation.

Plans are set for my trip to Colombia where I´ll be joining Katie in her homestay for 3 weeks from July 12th through August 5th. Excited to see my sister after not seeing her since she left from Miami for Colombia over New Years!