Mid way, and I'm feeling discombobulated, and yet elated. Having the pilot project derailed with only a month left here made my boat float, rudderless. I was pleasantly surprised that Erroll chose to hang with me and help me hash thru some of the thoughts about redirection last night. It's pretty cool to see one's 17 yr old .....HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERROLL!!!.... work thru grown up problems with such an even keel (all these nautical terms are making me think of you, Dad).
I also have Raineer's ear. Being both a Tico and a manager of the Cafe de Paris, I think he has his fingers on the pulse of the place. He was telling me how he felt that the people here most likely wouldn't be interested in working beyond what they do for a job. This, I'm used to hearing. It's the same for the mainstream Canadians. It took 6 years to accumulate 25 families for the CSA, and so I know what it means to hear of disinterest in anything sounding like manual labour. I also am accustomed to negative thinking for something new.
As we spoke, he was putting up the sign up sheet for tours to see the turtles. it's been overcast here for the past couple of days, so they say the turtles will come up on the beach to lay. I think it has something to do with the moon, too. Javier had mentioned this too. As well as the turtles, Raineer said "this man (pointing) is the head gardener for Cafe de Paris". He was quick to introduce me to the 72 yr old, greying, but young (again, thinking of you, Dad) looking man. Don Carlos Venezuela is a fascinating man. We had coffee while chatting about our common passions; growing things and people. Don Carlos has been the landscape architect for the first lady of Costa Rica when the president was male. He had many projects with this woman, including creating play spaces all over the country, as well as building roads into natural areas, naturalizing beach plantings, and building homes for the poor. Also an artist, Don Carlos has spent time in France, with his own studio, studying under an accomplished artist there.
We spoke of my challenges here, and he agreed with Raineer about the people. I still hold on to the thread that, like Canada, there are people who understand the importance of reconnecting with the land and our food source. Don Carlos expressed quite well, in English that he thought this a "beautiful project" and obviously wants to help. We collected Lindsay and he showed us his cabin, which is 3 doors away from ours. Just a small room, where he stays while not in San Jose, and while he works here, in Nosara, we pull up a chair (just enough for the 3 of us) and Don Carlos shows us the art magazines in which his beautiful, creative work is displayed. His visual arts are painting, plants and architecture. I will see if I can ask him for the name of the magazine and perhaps post them later. His offer to converse in the evening after his work will be taken. Interesting man.
There was a hint that if the space needed was just small, he may offer the long strip that has nothing in it at the moment. It is up the hill, behind Marlin Bill's on Cafe de Paris land. He feels it would be perfect for small, container gardening. There was much to talk about last night, and because I was not yet on course, I did not jump on the offer. Perhaps tonight I will ask if I can see it and weigh how serious he is. The garden needs a local to inspire others to join. Don Carlos would be a charming one.
One more little note for Dad: Don Carlos says the BEST magazine ever is Popular Mechanics. I smiled and I told him of your little speed boat and he drew the one he ordered plans for and built. I think it may be the same one! Was yours a little like a spade/shovel-head shape?
HARMONY HOTEL- DON CONSTANTINO (TINO) AND ANGIE
This morning I went to meet with the sustainability director at Harmony Hotel. We'd had many false starts in trying to connect, and this morning was no exception. I waited for an hour, the appointment being at 7 am, and found Mariano with the head gardener. This place is amazing! The mini tours that Mariano had taken me on were enlightening. The grounds are big, with many large plants, most of which are not native, so they have much work to do to change that. That they are aware of this is awesome.
The vegetable garden is in part, for the restaurant's use, yet mostly it is just a sample to show what can be done. The current garden is open-air, and young. They will see how the plants are affected once the rains come. In the mean time they are going to build a structure to house native plants. The Five Leaf program for hotels has assessed them and they are anxiously awaiting the results.
Don Constantino and I ploughed thru my Spanglish. I learned quite a bit. He has gardened for 6 years, no university, just hands on. The worm composting they do helps tremendously to keep their plants. Tomatoes, peppers, radish (! I thought these wouldn't grow here due to the heat) pepina, zucchini, Tarragon, Cas (a tree fruit), jucca, cilantro, pepper, chilis, sage, oregano, papaya, lemon grass, chives. Most of these are used to bake into bread, but they can not produce enough in the small space (about 1/2 of my smallest garden....might serve me to plant for 5 families).
Angie, who rescued us from our attempt at understanding each other, is the hotel's manager. She took over and Don Constantino left us to do his day's work. Angie is a 30-something beauty. She is very well-spoken and knowledgeable about sustainability and we fast became of the same mind. I only took about 15 min of her time, as there were emergency interruptions due to there not being any gas (I don't know if this was for cooking or for vehicles) in Nosara. The closest available is in Nicoya, 35 km away.
Angie explained that their goal is to be a model for sustainability. They used a parking lot to create their kitchen garden, and have tours daily. She agreed to allow me to share seeds for my project, as their plants are hardy to this area.
Because they can't produce enough for the hotel, they have tried 5 times to make deals with a local organic farmer. There aren't many of these around, and the difficulty, as in N. America, has been supply and demand. The farmer that I met at the organic market, Albin, has finally agreed to sell exclusively to Harmony Hotel, an idea that the hotel had and offered. This is a good connection, especially since the demand is high for organic food, and that they are willing to educate the public with their garden. Very innovative. I think I have now found my rudder and may actually be able to point myself in the right direction.
The rest of my day will consist of a birthday boy, an Uncle, and perhaps some tortegas (turtles)....
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