Echo 5: No challenge too great in El Coyolito

Christopher Taylor takes us to El Coyolito in the beautiful Miraflor Nature Reserve:

This Venturer had thought that the challenges would end with the trek in Phase 1 but I was undoubtedly wrong!

Our project was to build a community centre, approximately 7m x 8m and our building site presented us with a mammoth task. We had to dig down nearly two metres and then some, before we could begin to level out the area; we shifted stones weighing forty kilograms; we moved tons of earth to several different locations but perhaps our crowning victory over nature was the felling of a large tree. Destructive, satisfying and enjoyable, it was a massive moral boost after what had been a grinding time of picking and spading. On our last day I looked on the cleared site with the foundations starting to be laid and despite being just a little disappointed with not being able to lay a breeze block, I realized we had accomplished one hell of a feat.

Working and living with the local community was no easy ride, but an unforgettable experience that was thoroughly enjoyable: Amenities – forget it. Utilities – think again. Steak and chips – in your dreams. The long drop latrine became normality, it's the flushing loo that baffles this Venturer now! Who needs a washing machine and a tumble dryer when soap and a concrete washboard do the job just as easily? And steak and chips could only be acquired with immense powers of imagination transforming the usual rice and beans. But on the other hand, it was a happy, simple and really pleasurable way of living. My family, Madie and Jose Maria were amazing. From the food they cooked, and the freedom of living with them to conversation and tolerance in teaching us to make tortillas. They, at some point, must have thought we were crazy as my roommate and I created a new meal: tortillas with sugar. They were delicious!

Outside of community work and life we managed, with the help of an ex-Venturer, to see a coffee plantation and a baseball game. The coffee plantation was really interesting as I don’t think anyone had a clue where coffee really comes from, or how it is processed. The baseball was different. No one understood the rules but joined in the yipping and whooping whenever something exciting happened. Our last treat was a waterfall, barely thirty minutes walk away. Cool and refreshing, I don’t think there is a better feeling than having tens of litres a second crashing down on your head and shoulders from fifty feet up.

No phase I think is without its challenges, but together as a group and with the help of the families and community, Phase 2 went by quickly, smoothly and entertainingly.