We haven't made many friends here, but we sure will miss the people we see regularly... Above all, we will miss the view from our house and how the light transforms it all the time, the wonderful smell from the jungle, especially the divine smell of ylang-ylang after sunset coming in our open house with the breeze from the valley... I will especially miss the jungle sounds, how they lull me to sleep and wake me up early... the cicadas, the parrots, the howler monkeys... I will miss the power of the rain, and the power of the sea that I can hear in the background when all is more quiet at night...
:: Goodbye Playa Ventanas! ::
But I will also be pretty happy to sleep in a non sandy bed, to have a bug-free kitchen (and house, for that matter!), to be able to exercise after 7 am without fearing a heat stroke, to not be sweaty for most of the day doing pretty much nothing...
Oh and I will miss the farmer's markets, the fruits, my delicious banano criollo that taste like vanilla and cinammon... and the mangoes... oh the mangoes! I can't believe we are leaving right at the beginning of the mango season... I will miss the fresh coconuts too and throwing our compost just down the hill in front of the house, because everything compost so fast here (what a great feeling to swing an empty coconut down the hill, many times a day!).. I will miss living with 3 naked little girls!
:: Throwing mango peels down the hill to compost ::
:: Eating the Irwin mangoes the Tico's way: squish it very well with your thumbs all around, make a hole on top and press! The girls love it! We go through so many mangoes a day here! ::
I hope I can remember how simple life can be, how it feels to be bored, how it feels to have plenty of time... I hope I will remember the song of the toucan and the smell of the jungle after the rain... and how giddy we all felt during the first rain fall in 3 months!
:: We made some photo collages to leave to the people we got to know here ::
I wonder if the girls will remember all those things... not on a cognitive level, but because they have experienced them extensively for 5 months on a daily basis, they have registered them somewhere in their bodies, the smells, the sounds, the sights, all that life around us... it will be interesting to come back in maybe 5 years and see what they remember...
We come back home full of this tropical experience, so rich, so blessed. We have spent some really wonderful time with the people that came and visit us and they made this experience much smoother for us. They were a piece of home in this far-away land.
:: Mathilde draw a map of Ojochal : I LOVE to see how they see the world around them! ::
Leaving a place well-loved is always bitter-sweet, but we are off to loving more amazing places!
9 comments:
Mangos....I don't even wanna think about what will I do without them at the end of my stay in the Philippines...
As for the simple life, agree, is nice to be able to just read or get bored without feeling the pressure of being the best, of keeping up with expectations, etc..
The girls will remember down their souls. They will grow rich and open minded as few people are nowadays. Not because they saw places but because they lived them. And one day they will thank you sharing with a hug all the love they were so blessed to receive. Contrasting your parents set you free somehow but you always remember and carry their love in you. As I remember a little girl bringing chocolate to her dad to just sit in together in the middle of the vast sea while staring at eternity. That is what makes you go on, always.
Your words resonate deep within me, Vale... Thank you!
Somehow (link from a link to a link?) I am here, visiting your blog. It's a beautiful space. We also just returned from a stay in India for a term, with our 2 kids, and it was a mix of feelings and thought to return home. For us, it was an amazing experience and something we will never forget. So many stories, so many people, friends, places... incredible to be able to do this.
I will be coming back to read more about your days, and your adventures. Good luck on what's to come next.
By the way, where did you get the design "I forgot to socialize the kids"... it is really funny!
Marcela, thanks for visiting! I am off to visit your blog! I love to connect with other traveling families! A friend send me that design. I can e-mail it to you if you want it. I love it too! Leave me your e-mail!
You had an amazing experience, which your girls will remember it forever in some way or another - but I think the most important lesson they learned, is that dreams can become true.
Thanks Francesca... this is beautifully said. I hope they will... I truly hope so...
Cath i LOVED this post. how poetic, how well synthesisew, how on earth can you manage to be so just in your words when it s not your mother tongue !!! i am realy impressed.
YES it's so magical that the girls have EXPERIENCED living abroad and not just trip hoping from a tourist spot to the next. they will remember that in their cells and hearts, all these smells and sensory experiences, for sure! i am so sad i didn't make it to come to see you... looking back i just can t find where i would have taken the time with my new business runing like mad... buy i truly hope, one day we will be travellers together!
love ya!
jo
Merci Joanna. Tes mots me touchent beaucoup, comme toujours! On a tellement hâte de vous voir!
Beautiful post! Wishing you a happy return home...
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