Thursday, November
19, 2015
Catrigandi
The morning came soon
enough, we had slept well this first night and we were eager to go, the
vehicles were piled high once again and we all found our places amongst the
baggage. Alan took us to a small local restaurant for breakfast; a hut of
sorts, open walled but under cover, a string of flags hung along the length of
it lending a feeling of celebration. Ah,
perfect…an outside experience of food, tastes that would soon become expected;
deep fried bread, rounds of fried corn taco, scrambled eggs, beef in sauce,
smoked puerco, coffee with leche and always our own water.
Soon we were on our
way heading for the Fosters home in Catrigandi.
Once we turned off the main road, we soon realized why we needed four wheel
drive; the road was steep, rough and muddy from the last rain, we drove through
streams of water overflowing from the river that ran alongside the road and
sometimes was the road. Of course Alan
knows all the tricks for driving this high road but Jason had his work cut out
for him, it wasn’t long and the Prado was sideways. But of course, what man doesn’t love winching
something stuck in the mud!
As we continued on we
passed by the homes and properties carved into the jungle, some were in the
clearing, fenced, near the road, others were settled further in and we could
catch glimpses of their lifestyles; children playing, elders sitting by, dogs
roaming, chickens pecking, horses and cows grazing, saddles hanging, dirt floors swept
hard, water lines hanging through trees and surrounding everything was the
jungle…amazing.
Soon, we were opening
the gate and entering into the property of Alan and Colleen, before us was the
home they had built, high on stilts, painted yellow, open decks, open windows,
stairs leading us up to the entry deck, walls painted brightly with jungle
scenes, through the front door into the kitchen…home.
This Catrigandi home
is built and overflowing with intention, simplicity and love…love of the land,
love of family. We spent the remainder
of the day wandering about the house and property, taking in this lifestyle
the Fosters have embraced. Everything has
to do with heat, humidity, critters, being clean, waste and water. The house has electricity that is powered with solar panels, in a system of wires and switches fashioned together on a shelf in a corner of the kitchen. Alan showed us his outside shower, like a
spa, built with rock, cement and tile, the water heated with propane. All was surrounded by walls fashioned together
from sheets of white plastic, leaving enough space to walk around and yes, feel
pampered. The outside toilet equally
beautiful, double doored, windows all around, frosted glass, louvered, open rafters
and floors grouted with pieces of broken tiles all in shades of yellow and
white…with two seats. Alan used a system
of go, scoop, decompose and switch…an odorless combination of microbiology and
invention…perfect.
We are enveloped in
the jungle, every kind of palm tree rising up around us, burgeoning with papayas,
coconuts and plantains; plantains brought down by Robin with a machete, trees overflowing with grapefruit, oranges and
limes, some falling to the ground, begging to be peeled and squeezed and
consumed, Maranga trees laden with leaves to be stripped and stirred into
salads; the garden of Eden.
In the day, the
canopies of the trees are home for spider monkeys, lime green parrots, colorful
toucans and at night they came alive with howler monkeys, crickets and tree frogs; all making their own
noise…piercing noises, into the darkness.
Fireflies flitted around lighting up and hovering over the ground, over
brush or fallen tree branches where the possibility of snakes, scorpions and
chiggers could be awakened…always watch where you step.
After dinner, we
talked many things; what we would see, where we would go, who we would visit
and how we would get there. We talked
about baptism here in this country and at home, we laughed and sang and prayed
and talked some more, all the while Kalea, danced between us adorning us with jewelry
she made of string and paper... beautiful now.
“Beautiful on the
mountain are the feet of those who bring good news”
Isaiah 52:7
Not so much that we
are the ones bringing the good news, but we are hearing amazing and beautiful
things.
I love that.
