What a wonderful way to bring to completion our time in Providencia. Beginning the day by waking to the symphony of the forest life welcoming the day and walking into the dining area of our homestay where my olfactory system lights up as it is hit with a deep rich aroma of the most delicious freshly brewed coffee you could ask for, accompanied with a breakfast of rice and beans with scrambled eggs... I sure will miss this place and these lovely people.
As a group we gathered together first down at a beautiful property for a personal reflection led by Johnathan. We thought about our relationship to our environment and specifically with water. Contemplating the ways in which we protect and save water as well as the ways in which we waste and pollute water. It was beautiful to see everyone thinking deeply about this important relationship we often forget about and too frequently overlook or put in the back of our minds because it is easy to do so, and more convenient to continue per usual. Before moving on we went down to a fresh spring on the property that provides some of the cleanest water we have left on the planet... water so clean we could drink directly out of the spring head. Talk about refreshing!
From here we moved on to experience the extreme forest adventure park that is operated by a few of the locals here in Providencia, one of which is our homestay father Don Herardo. The adrenaline rush of the giant swing was difficult to top, but one of the coolest and most unique experiences was climbing up the inside of a strangler tree that had grown around a tree that previously lived in that spot before the strangler tree suffocated it, taking its place amongst the forest.
I would guess it was approximately a 75 foot climb up to the top of the tree where Don Herardo awaited our arrival so that he could belay us down to the forest floor below. It is crazy to think how this is an experience that will only be temporarily available, as Don Herardo told us that as the tree continues to grow, the opening inside will continue to get smaller and eventually close up. After the previous days of working so hard to complete all of the projects, it was nice to see everyone having fun together. You could feel the bond between everyone growing even stronger as the pressure and tension of completing the jobs was replaced with a more jovial and playful tone.
Tami Lodge restaurant awaited us next with a delicious lunch of potatoes, a fresh salad, and locally sourced trout with fresh made juice and arroz con leche for dessert. Top that off with some of that delicious coffee and it is an experience of ambrosia :-P This is where we first sang Feliz Cumpleaños to Alia, as today was her birthday, one of three birthday songs sung. Before leaving we squared up with Arturo for the 152 bags of coffee we collectively ordered, beating the previous record of 79 bags from previous groups.
After lunch we split up between the biofabrica and the trout farm for final touches on everything so we could meet with our host families for a final farewell party and presentation of the work we completed. It felt rewarding get to that place of telling them about all of the work we completed, of course with some emotional expressions of gratitude all around.
The party was intertwined with two more birthday songs for Alia, one in English and a second in Spanish. As we left the biofabrica, a few of us finally worked up to giving the barrel bull a ride... a 55 gallon drum at the entrance to the biofabrica with a cartoon face of a red bull painted on the lid, held up horizontally with three ropes tied up to about six inch diameter wooden posts and a fourth line tethered up into a tree. As someone sits on the bull, people around pull on the ropes, bringing it to life. Yuritzi and Patricia egged me on to try it out, so I sat on the bull and held on with everything I had. After several pulls of the rope, the bull came to life, bucking me forward and back, but the ride was shortly lived as one of the rear posts snapped in half at the base, nearly falling on Nate and lunging me forward where I landed on my feet. It was quite the comedic scene to witness, and fortunately no one was injured.
Awaiting for everyone to head back to the village we watched the sunset as the clouds danced around the mountains in front of us down through the valley of Providencia. I was fortunate to be able to set up a time lapse of the scene and caught the show in action.
The night comes to a close enjoying a wonderful dinner with the entire family and an opportunity for us to personally express our gratitude to the family for opening their home and their hearts to us. It has been such a pleasure to stay here and work with this community in their goal toward sustainable and ecological living. The time here has gone by in a blink of an eye, but within that blink it is densely packed with a wealth of enriching experiences that leaves the heart and soul feeling better about the world. It is funny how you can be far away from home in a foreign land with people you just met, yet so quickly feel at home.
How fortunate to have an opportunity and share such a beautiful experience with my fellow Engineering Abroad team, Arturo, David, Johnathan, the families and all of the Young Dreamers. With deep appreciation, Pura Vida!
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