Transitions

 

Life has been eventful since my last update. As I mentioned I was house sitting for a friend for 10 days before I headed to Ecuador. Their place was incredibly beautiful and for the better part of my ten days it was incredibly relaxing. Unfortunately, a series of events occurred on my last two nights there that sadly had a negative impact on the end of this trip to Costa Rica. It is completely apparent now that my comings and goings were being watched/monitored and unfortunately on my last night (when I went out for supper and a few drinks) the home was robbed.

Although I am perfectly okay physically, this has been a bit of an emotional exercise. Although sad that a few possessions were taken, the most difficult part was in having to tell my friend what had happened and then subsequently dealing with the guilt that goes along with it. I am not going to belabor that … I am moving through it, but its the place where I have been and acknowledging it is important for resolving it.

One other thing, my camera is one if the items that went missing so photos will be a little sparser (at least until I figure out how to use my iPhone camera better lol). But maybe there is a lesson for me with this too!

Panama City en route to Ecuador

 

And so now, I find myself on a beautiful beach in Ecuador. The home I am at is immediately beach front and I can hear the rolling waves continuously. There is a healing energy that accompanies the ocean and I can feel it slowly lifting my spirits and washing away the last bits of negativity that are stubbornly hanging on. The home itself is a lively place! We are housed with the family that runs Planet Drum and their fur family! In total there are 4 volunteers, a family friend, the family (6 of them), 4 dogs and a kitten lol – like I said, it is lively!!!

The beach on the doorsteps!

 

I am staying right in the city of Bahía de Caráquez. It’s a city of approximately 30 000 people and was initially established in the early 1600’s! Sadly this area has been devastated several times by earthquakes (the last of which was on 2016) and you can see the remnants of that damage as you move about.

An abandoned beachfront condo

 

The city is surrounded by a dry tropical forest eco region that has been classified as critically endangered. Deforestation for agriculture, wood products and overgrazing have impacted about 99% of this forest. There are still pockets of these forests in place but they are highly fragmented with no corridors in place to protect and sustain the animal populations that require this environment. The project I am currently working with is working towards revegetation / reforestation in this area.

The incredible Ceibos tree ❤️

 

I am still not entirely certain what all of my specific duties will entail as I have only had one day of work thus far. That day though was spent at the nursery. We blended soil (combination of rice husks and compost) for future transplanting, repurposed plastic bottles (made them into seedling pots) and prepped these pots for eventual seeding. In addition to the growing of plants/trees I believe I will be involved in tree planting (both forest and community), recycling incentives and possibly some educational based activities! More to come as I get more heavily involved.

Before I sign off I want to extend a warm Happy Thanksgiving to those back in Canada. I am truly grateful for all of the amazing friends and family that I have.

Love and Light

Mary Lou

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