I suppose I should put an end to this neglect-the-blog spree I seem to be on- it's been two months already. And in case you are were unaware, I am indeed back in California, facing a beauteous yet chicken-skinned winter, spending loads of time with the padres and friends and Redwood trees and rocky coastline. But I am getting ahead of myself, for last I wrote of was my arrival in Bahia, northeastern Brazil, embarking on an experience that was to involve smelly earth and jungly energy. I was en route to Fazenda Pura Vida.............
19 novembro 2008and alas, here I am. sprawled out on the deck of my own little nook, looking out over river, waterfall and jungle...this land is blessed. i arrived yesterday afternoon, with brief directions from alex's email scribbled on scrap- 'bus: itacare-ubaitaba (or local bus to taboquinha). 20 mins after taboquinha, just after agua fria. ask for fazenda peri. the kids on road can deliver you across river.' simple enough. i jumped on the local, "more native" bus as felipsters advised. twelve men. three women. country folks, hardworking, weathered faces, gentle glances and honest smiles. the homem behind me was a problem though. he wreaked of booze and fancied the gringa on the bus, shouting sweet nothings down my ear and patting my head every so often. lovely. everything else went fine though, accompanied to the river crossing from agua fria by three teenage boys and transported across the rio de contas in dugout canoe by the almighty vera. i was welcomed beautifully by alex and bruno and vera and more...sat down for cacao (or "cocoa") fruit tasting (had never seen the bright yellow fruit before,) tea time, and story sharing................
The stories we shared were many that month I spent on the farm. The lives of both Alex and Bruno, what brought them each individually to this plot of land and all that came before- the juiciness novels are made of. Bruno, Pura Vida co-creator (with Elin, Swedish lady back in England who essentially brought me here via her spirited emails and who I was unfortunately unable to meet,) French Caribbean stallion, worked as a skipper most of his life sailing the world over and over again. He was brought to Brazil years back by some natural fondness, an obsession you might call it, for all things Brazil. And so it was that a few years back Pura Vida was born. And Alexandra- a South African beauty who has always fancied the life of pirates. A free spirit, artistically talented and good with words. She was led to the farm a year ago by some mysterious need to be there, not sure as to how long she would stay or to where she would go from there. Four months later she and Bruno left that farm as lovers. 
There are three families that live on the farm year round, and Bruno (plus those who find themselves drawn for one reason or another to that neck of the jungle) is there six months out of the year- November-April ish. So I, arriving on the farm as he and Alex did, was an early bird as most visitors/helpers come round late December and on. So it was just Bruno, Alex and I on the farm, plus those incredible families just short scoots away. My first time in Brazil, while living and working in the favela ("slum"), movement was constant, so many children, neverending street drama, dust and noise, unbearable heat, a body of water we weren't allowed to enter...And there at the farm, an entirely different Brazil was living out its existence. A peaceful one where horses run the trail below, the same familiar faces of the farmers passing by each day on their way to work the cacao, the river below ceaselessly calling to cool us off. Living so closely with the land, according to the seasons. No electricity- candle-lit mealtimes, journaltimes, conversationtimes..............
...there is nothing quite like living in tune with nature, in touch with the light of day, with the seasons. there was talk of bringing electricity to this side of the river- "...but that would only take away from...(pause)....this..." bruno said looking around the candlelit table, the forces of black jungle in full throttle, unaffected by we humans. it seems as if lights and such would intrude on the peaceful groove of pura vida, on the lull of this natural setting. as the sun wakes up each day, so do we, and as the skies fade into darkness, so do our energy levels. by 7:30pm i am one big yawn.... 
....just finished a delightful lunch of curried lentils, mango and plantain- accompanied by lemongrass + ginger tea. all of this set before bruno, alex and i, perched on the veranda- prayer flags, hammock, pregnant dog janeshka, drying swimsuits, endless green, the only sounds to be heard being the chirp-chirp of bird and the gush-gush of waterfall. (sigh.) this place, these people, this life...toe-tingling beautiful, heart-filling bountiful, never take me from this place remarkable. 
21 Novembro 2008yesterday was a day of drizzle. hooray for watery skies! it has been a whopping three months since it rained last- these poor soils, plants and trees are parchy parched. the rain called for lazy day. i wrote. read. played school with the kiddies. drew. played house with the girls. ate loads of bananas. drank scrumptious teas. swam. read by candlelight. dined on a lentil-veggie concoction involving curry, coconut milk and peanuts. drank maracuja (passionfruit) + ginger juice w/ a splash of a french orange liquour. and listened to stories of past pura vida visitors. delightful day of lazy.
Focusing on the slow and the good. A concept that I was able to experience fully while at the farm, a concept that I packed in my luggage and hauled on home to the States, a concept I hope to live out for the rest of my life. From lighting the rocket stove for meal prep to washing clothes in the river, things were taken back a few steps, down a few knotches, and away from the hustled wam-bam pace so many live by. All of this giving way to living mindfully, more aware of what it is that you are doing and how it is that you are doing it. Existing in the now------striving for it always. smile, breathe, + go slowly. ~thich nhat hanh
So what exactly did I do on the farm? Well...each day took on its own form, completely void of pressures and deadlines. There were those days when I woke up and thought, all I want to do today is read. And so I read, of treehouses and healing plants and chocolate making. There were other days when I thought, I want to hang out with the kids and perhaps paint that way-too-white wall. And so I danced and schooled with the youngsters and spent the rest of my day painting a series of plants on the outside of my dwelling. And then there were days when I wanted to dig my hands in dirt, scatter seeds, and collect plants from the river below. And so I dug, scattered, and collected. As I previously mentioned, I was an early bird and arrived at the farm as Bruno did, so there was much restoring and tidying to be done, getting the farm back up and running. The big projects I had read about pre-arrival usually come a bit down the road when the children are on summer break and when there are a handful of folks on the farm to head up creative workshops surrounding education, arts, and sustainibility. No doubt in my mind that I will return one day to see all of this....... :) 
13 dezembro 2008 again, 4:45 am. up and feeling good. i seriously got in bed at 6:45 pm, read a wincy bit, and was out cold. i am really enjoying this "schedule"- not sure how i'm gonna deal back in buenos aires those few days- ehhh- not gonna think about it...a city with a pace that is so opposite to that of here- farm, jungle, rural bahia. and it's going to be gruesomely hot and cementy. ay meu deus. dreading it already. with only two more days at the farm, these thoughts of 'what's next' are coming up more frequently. i suppose it's best though, to prepare my mind, emotions, etc. for the big cambio de rutina ("change in routine")...i also must remind myself that although i will be parting from this place physically, i will be taking with me a beauteous bundle of new practices and ideas. the spirit of pura vida shall continue residing in me no doubt, and certainly i will do my best to hold tight to this calm, this halcyon i have been bathing in here. this past month- and especially this past week, i have been experiencing such a light, airy, sweep-you-off-your-feet happiness. filled. leveled. tuned. balanced........i feel great. my contentment is thick. my gratitude sheer. i have never felt less burdened by myself or by the world.
14 dezembro 2008ay meu deus. i can hardly believe that a month has passed us by- tomorrow i cross the mighty contas and bus it to the coast- hoping to then catch a bus to rio de janeiro. and so the journey will begin....so thankful for my time here on the farm. it's really been a sort of retreat, tranquility at its finest. surely when there are more people the vibe takes on a different dimension- i am hopeful to make it back one day, perhaps experience pura vida filled with fellow wanderlusters. it was nice though, being way out here with only alex and bruno. loads of time to myself, my carefree days molding themselves according to my own personal whim. painting. reading. river-ing. writing. tea-timing. restoring. banana-ing. creating. planting. hammock-ing. breathing ....................................... this month has treated me with such loveliness. day in and day out, in awe. this setting alone- the rio contas and the surrounding mata- how can it be that her waters only become more and more stunning? and the animal kingdom that reigns? such an excitingly savage force. my fondness for this natural realm has geysered, becoming something i am not so sure i can describe................................i have made friends with the overhead swooping bats at night and am greeted each morn by that fleeting hummingbird. i've come face to face with a shimmery emerald fly, an exotic grasshopper of sorts, and a few frogs of monstrous proportion. i crossed paths with a lengthy black snake striped with yellow, observed a praying mantis lifting up his prayers, dined with glow worms and battled it out with bedtime visiting cockroaches (not so keen on those creatures, i think it might be their spastic pace- it's quite unsettling you know.) the orchestra, made up of insects, jungle and waterfall, will surely be missed...it's what opened each day and brought each day to a close...it never got old. constant companions, these miniscule yet ever complex pieces of god's creation. stunningly diverse and charged, we got along well.
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