Ok. Maybe that wasn't exactly what I had in my mind when I chose to sign us up for a Farm Day with a local family, but we loved it. We wanted to immerse the kids in the real Costa Rica and local culture. That's exactly what this day was.
4am I was wide awake all of a sudden. No matter how hard I tried to sleep, going to bed at 8:30, combined with a very early sunrise and a body that thought it was two hours later were fighting against me. By 5 the rest of the family had joined me. Getting to 7am (when everything came alive) without waking up everyone at the resort became our new goal.
My daughter was rewarded for her good behavior (it's relative) by getting to go see the animals at the barn. We were taken first to pet the horses, then around to see the chickens and pigs. Have you heard how loud a lot of chickens are when they are ready for breakfast? After we convinced her she couldn't go into the pen with the pigs we took her around to the cows who were about to be milked. We met Nicholas and he proved to be one of the most patient men. He made room for her on his stool and helped her milk the cow until she got tired. She was mesmerized by the experience. Nicholas showed me pics of his two children and i translated all of her cow questions.
After the barn we headed up to the restaurant to get a head start on breakfast. They had our same table at the front set up for us and we had fresh mango juice and a platter of watermelon, pineapple and mango before we could even sit. I wasn't expecting a big meal since breakfast was included but we wee told today they were cooking eggs, sausage and tortillas. We could have out eggs scrambled or fried. We chose one of each. The boys showed up minutes later and put in their orders. I must say I don't remember the last time I had a breakfast this good. I'm not even a breakfast person. The eggs very incredible. I'm sure they were provably collected that morning. The pork was from the farm (sorry to my daughter...) and the tortillas were just yum. 10 out of 10
After breakfast it was time to head out for our day at a nearby farm. We got directions and hit the road. We got to go the opposite way as how we came to the resort and both Josh and I noted how glad we were to come during rainy season. Our trip in 2005 was almost this same week and was super lush. In 2008 we came in March and it was really dusty. It's obvious how the rain and greenness completely change this country. We much prefer the daily rain.
Our directions were good but we beat our hosts to the farm entrance so we missed it once. We got situated and followed to kids on an ATV through over a 100 acres of farm to a house. There we briefly met the mother of the family and then were motioned to follow several of the kids. Not a single person spoke English.
We started by going into the chicken area and one of the boys climbed a structure to collect eggs. My son (several years younger) immediately followed suit. In what seemed like an instant he had grabbed an egg broken it, fallen through the rungs of the ladder and then full out broken part of the whole structure apart. This was all in the first 10 minutes.
Josh is now looking at me like "where in the world have you taken us?) I just smile and we trudge along. Next stop was to go in with the cows. I thought we were going to do something with the cows but we actually were climbing into the hay loft so the kids could show chicken eggs that had hatched, I was starting to realize this was show and tell. Around this time, my sweet sweet daughter chose to jump in a wet pile of cow diarrhea that sprayed all over her and I. Lovely. Just smile.
A couple phone calls were made and a tractor showed up. My son wanted to immediate climb in the back. I held him back as it was filled with. You guessed it. Manure. Right then the girl running the show, said car. Yep! We jumped in their truck and took off, somewhere.
I wish I had photographed Josh at this moment. I should give him credit. Ten years ago going to a country that doesn't speak English was out of his comfort zone. I don't know many people that would just go spend the day with strangers in their home.
We showed up at a field and there were several men working. Josh quickly figured out that they were clearing a hill to plant with grass for the cows. Three men were planting while two more were working a machine to dig the land. That's interesting. I wonder how long we are staying here? We kept standing and watching and then the boss came over. Eric. It was obvious he was the owner of the farm and he confirmed what they were doing. Without any other explanation he was back in the backhoe. I wonder why we are watching this?
All of a sudden the men who were planting appear with a pile of grass and start handing us piles. They show us how to drop it, stomp it and cover it up. An hour later, in 90 degree heat our son is the only one who actually planted. Our daughter stopped after one and became a diva. Josh sat with her and I took pictures of our son. The whole morning he couldn't get the concept of "they don't speak English". He would just blabber away and these kids would stare at me pleadingly. During the planting with the men he started communicating somehow. It was great to watch that unfolding and see how determined of a worker he could be,
I finally thought I was going to pass out from heat stroke and gathered the family to go up to the nearby cow barn. The men understood that and took us into it. I looked down and was alarmed. Is that, blood? Oh my gosh it is! They led us back behind a gate and I quickly knew why. A calf had just been born there 4 hours prior. Other than that horse in Belize I had never seen such a big newborn before! We got to see them raising the calf to stand and taking her to be with her mom. It was pretty cool.
By now we were hot, sweaty and smelly. Was it lunchtime yet? Nope time to go fishing! My son proceeded to tell Eric, who was now acting as guide, how his daddy killed a fish last time we did this. The kids were told that they were catching their lunch, given a fishing line with a hook and a ball of fish food on it and taken to the pond to go at it. Despite our valiant attempt, we didn't catch any fish. Josh and I are questioning whether it's possible. We were asked if we were hungry and the idea of soap caused me to respond ecstatically.
We returned to their house where Eric's wife, kids and several nieces and nephews joined us. We had about half an hour until it would be ready. Two of the younger kids, Santiago and Erica asked the kids to play a tag game with them. Blanking on the name now but I played it all the time growing up. They couldn't figure out how to explain the game with the language barrier so they grabbed my kids by the shirts and started running, that worked. Probably one of the coolest parts of the day was watching the kids play. They had no idea how to talk to each other but they had a blast. One would count in Spanish, then one in English. They'd look to me or Eric to translate.
Lunch was family style with both our families. Simple but I'm sure fresh and from the farm. Fried fish. Rice, beans, tortillas and pico de gallo - so good but my son wouldn't eat it because Santiago doesn't like it....Papaya for dessert.
After lunch was siesta time. Good luck with our kids! All the kids ended up playing a few games. First a board game and then matching with cards. After a bit they were told it was time to milk the cows and we headed back to the barn.
After this morning I was expecting a pail and a stool. I forgot they had 70 dairy cows and that wasn't logical. We walked into a full in lecheria. It was quite the system. We helped with half of the cows is guess. It was a mad rush to fill up each of their food bowls. Lock them in and get them hooked up to the milking hoses. The kids helped with the hoses and somehow my daughter got peed on on the process. She was such a trooper and still wanted her turn next round.
I thought we were done after milking. Nope. Now we make cheese. How us that possible in an afternoon. Oh it is. We gathered a bucket of milk and headed back to the house. Josh was instructed to wash his arms and to stick them in the bucket with the milk and some sort of liquid. No clue. A few swirls and then we were told wait 20 minutes. Ok sure.
The kids were happy playing so we hung out on the patio with Eric. A storm was starting to come in and the temp was falling nicely. Eric and I got talking in Spanish for a long time and I was surprised at how quickly it came back. He said it was really impressive which made me feel good and more comfortable to keep practicing. I don't remember what we were saying but I started my famous laugh. All of a sudden I heard it. There parrot was imitating me! She was laughing like me. That of course had me in hysterics. I pulled out my phone to record her and shut up. Of course.
20 minutes up. Josh now had to "very slowly" hand mix the milk mixture. Yummy.... When he was done with that 5 minutes Eric instructed him how to press and strain the cheese. This was quite the manual process but we ended up with a huge block of cheese. After the salt was added it was covered and we were told another 20 minutes.
The storm was really coming in now. It was starting to rain. I think the 20 min wait turned into 10. We had chunks of cheese handed to us. We said our goodbyes and Eric then says "The river rises fast. Go! Go now! Fast!" What?!?!
Thankfully we got out of their in time but he was right. The road roads turn slick fast and we had a crossing that would probably be impassable soon. What he didn't warn us of were the numerous cow rope fences tied across the road I would have to jump out and untie in the torrential downpour.
We made it home. Just in time for a hot shower and nap before dinner. Except... The power appears to be out and the hot water is electric. Cold showers. We still were clean and ended up at dinner dry for another great meal. Kids were snoring by 6:50 and Josh and I struggled to stay awake until 8. Let's hope my internal clock turns off.
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