I´m Back

You have not heard from us for a little while because Kees was not well and Loes is doing a conultancy in Mozambique. Shortly after we returned from COPsta Rica, the land was finally publicly registered in our name. And I started work right the next day. But I was not very well prepared. I had set water ready to take along, but forgot to take it when I left the next morning very early. Neither did I take a change of clean clothes. I am not at my brightest in the early morning.

After six hours of wandering around, digging and lugging things around, I stepped into the car, perspiring quite profusely, without my shirt because I did not want to make the car dirty. I put on the airco full blast to cool down. This resulted in a heavy cold. A cold that I carefully ignored until it developed into sinusitis. I had to spend two weeks sitting at home, feeling very sorry for myself while drinking large amounts of thea with fresh lemon juice and honey to get rid of it. But it worked and I am hale and hearty again.

The last weeks I have been busy starting the transformation of our grazing land into a lush tropical paradise. We already have a small seasonal stream and I have been widening and deepening a small stretch to create a pond in the hope to create a permanent pond. The dry season starts in a couple of weeks, so we’ll see how long the water lasts. Furthermore I have made some of the tracks used by the cattle more suitable for humans. And now I am busy constructing a small nursery where we can cuddle our saplings with water, shade and compost until they are strong enough to fend for themselves in the big bad meadow.

I have also reconnected the water to our plot. That sounds like quite something, but all I had to do was replace a clogged tube. Water is for free and is supplied by a small local system. Somewhere nearby ground water is pumped up to a high point and then piped to all consumers by gravity. Pressure is quite good, good enough for a decent shower. Whenever something breaks down, all consumers have to chip in with money and labour to repair the system. So I think we better construct a storage tank somewhere to make sure we have water when the system breaks down. Because i assume it will take a day or two to organise money, buy spare parts and effect the repairs.

I have encountered some wildlife while working and wandering on our property. There are at least twenty species of birds, among which a kingfisher, hummingbirds, several flycatchers, warblers and a rufous pygmee owl. In the stream I have encountered five fish and three fresh water shrimp. There is a multitude of butterflies and I have encountered one small scorpion and a huge tarantula. Unfortunately our camera is still being repaired, so no picture of the tarantula, but the beast was 20 cm long and 10 wide. That includes the legs, but I think that is the only measurement that counts. You do, after all, rarely see legless spiders in the wild.