Hola, che.
Somehow I’ve been in Argentina for almost two weeks now, so I figured it was time for a little blog update. It is a glorious fall Saturday at the Eco Yoga Park, and we’ve just finished our outdoor work duties for the morning. Today’s work consisted of spreading manure and dirt around the flowerbed, planting marigolds, pulling weeds, pushing more dirt around, etc. The same gentle song is playing in the kitchen like always. Here, let me “sing” it for you. It goes like this. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna. Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama. Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Repeat 100+ times. Needless to say, I find myself humming the mantra unintentionally throughout the day. We all do.
And yet…despite the absence of caffeine, meat, eggs, fish, and alcohol in my diet, the stinging ants in my shoes and the relentless mosquitoes in my room, the four hours of manual labor every morning, the swarms of flies in the kitchen and the cow poop on my shoes, I’ve never felt more relaxed in my life. Here’s a basic overview of what daily life has been like for the past two weeks.
5:00 am: Dogs begin to whine and whimper, cows moo, mosquitoes buzz in my ear, alarms go off.
6:30 am: Wake up for real and head to the kitchen. Stand in front of the fire outside to warm up.
7:00 am: Prepare breakfast with other volunteers. This is almost always an apple tart, but once we got a plum tart. That was a good day. Diversity is not the catchphrase here…
8:00 am: Eat breakfast, drink tea, chat with other volunteers.
9:00 am-11:30 am: Volunteer duties begin! Hoe, weed, or plant in the garden, often pausing to chismear (chat/gossip) with Maria, the petite, strong, and savvy Bolivian keeper of the garden. Sometimes I slap mud on the eco-friendly treehouse and drink mate with the men, but usually I stick to Maria and the garden.
12 pm: Go for a run, shed dirt-clogged clothes and shoes, take a glorious shower.
1:30 am: LUNCH, which is almost always a squash-based meal with remolacha (beets) acelga (rocket lettuce) and rice/bread. Most of the things we eat come from the garden.
Afternoon: Read, journal, reflect, sunbathe, sleep, movie.
4:30 pm: Yoga in the temple.
6:00 pm: Merienda (snack) and chat time.
8:30 pm: Help to make dinner. Tonight is pizza party night. Amazing.We don’t get to eat dairy that often, so a cheese-based meal is gold.
10:00 pm: BEDTIME!
I suppose this schedule may sound monotonous and almost severe at times, and it is. But for two weeks, I am solely focusing on manual labor for the first time in my life, and it feels pretty damn good. I feel the roughness of the hoe in my hands, the wet dirt beneath my feet, the heavy sun on my face. I smell, hear, and observe the world better. I wake up and catch the sunrise every morning, without a slight hangover or stress headache. I’ve met amazing people from all over the world and have made new friends. Despite the strangeness and lack of modern “comfort”, it’s a wonderful place. I just hope I can carry the mindfulness I have here with me as I move onward…
I’m leaving the Park on Tuesday with some of the other volunteers. Our current plan is to hang out in Buenos Aires for a couple of nights (party! maybe, if we can actually stay up late enough) and then make our way to Mendoza, Argentina’s version of Napa Valley. After Mendoza, I’m crossing the Andes by bus to the one and only Valparaiso, Chile. I can’t stay away from Chile, it seems. After Valpo, who knows. I’ll probably head north to the San Pedro de Atacama desert, then swoop back across the Andes into northwest Argentina and travel down to BA with stops along the way. A triangular journey of sorts.
Well, that’s it for now. I think a new Hare Krishna song is playing. Crazytown.
Adios por ahora, amigos.
Wow. What a beautiful adventure. I think everyone needs to work manual labor once in their life, it’s a humbling experience. Super post. I’m subscribing.
Just promise me you won’t soon be chanting “hare krishna” in an airport, wearing orange robes.
Ha! No worries–that is definitely NOT going to happen.
Lovely post, Dold. Enjoy your travels.
You are a yoga krishna krishna squash badass.
❤