Recharged, Relaxed, Ready

1/23/11

We have had a wonderful 48 hours of rest and relaxation here at the Amboro Eco-Resort. As I said yesterday, we deserve none of this, but are deeply thankful for our time here. It has been a wonderful way to welcome Scott (Zak, dentist) and Julie (Risse, dental hygienist) onto the team, giving them plenty of time to get to know the others. They are now chomping at the bit (bad for the teeth, ironically) to do some dental work. We were going to try and set up a village dental clinic today, but torrential rains early yesterday have most the roads unpassable.

Yesterday, we had the privilege (I promise, I had NOTHING to do with this) of visiting

a local organic coffee plantation. We took a tour where they walked us through the whole process from seedling selection, coffee tree cultivation, berry picking and peeling, bean drying and selection, and on up to roasting and drinking the stuff (still my favorite part). It was neat to see the different stages of growth. They manage not to use any pesticides (we have the itchy bites to prove it) and to preserve the rainforest canopy and still get quite a good crop. They are finding this even more profitable too. Even though. the plants' leaves are somewhat insect-eaten, the insects overall have a net positive contribution to the soil and ecosystem such that it results in a good harvest without spending money on chemicals and wasting time trying to "sterilize" the process of all things natural.

I had 2 or 3 espresso back at the shop - incredibly smooth pull by an expert barista. Did some wheeling and dealing and will be bringing home about 8+kg of unroasted beans (Mike and Michelle, you can start the bidding now).

The mountain scenery was beautiful, though I wish we could have stayed until sunset. The plantation is on one edge of the valley with cattle farms and jungle in the lowlands and cloud-blanketed mountains in the distance. I have posted pics on my Facebook page for those who care to see. What you will not find posted anywhere is any footage of Bolivian Karaoke. It never happened, I promise.

Swam lazily in the pool with the team this morning, then lounged around poolside until it was time for the all you can eat barbecue (though I passed on the tripe and grilled cow intestine). We head back to San Juan in about 2 hours, luckily the drive is short. The break has been long enough to fully relax, but I'm glad to get back to work in the morning. We will likely put in full days Tues thru Fri and head back to Santa Cruz on Saturday morning. This will likely leave little if any time to buy souvenirs and postcards, but I can't say I'm too broken up about that (of course I've been here before). If the rest of the team needs to shop or are nervous about missing the plane, we may end up heading back to Santa Cruz on Friday evening.