Author Archives: mgebhard

On Thursday, October 3rd I woke up at 5:30am, typically I snooze my alarm a few times, but the various roosters neighboring the property wouldn’t let up so my efforts were futile. I ate some yogurt, brewed up a cup of instant coffee, hot drinks don’t quite hit the spot when it’s already warm outside. I reluctantly dressed myself in long sleeves and long pants. The mornings are a warm 75 degrees, which feels fresh compared to the temperatures when the sun comes up and into the night. I headed to the kitchen at 6am, it was still dark and the collective of dogs greeted me with their barks and muddy paws. Jaro came down the stairs from his room with a large red pot, he set it on the three burner stove, and let it’s contents cook while we worked. The pot was filled with rice, a big hunk of unidentifiable meat, and big green leaves. This was lunch for the dogs.

The patio at the bottom was covered in plants

Our first project together was to remove the plants and vines from a decorative concrete patio. The owner, Jim, uses a mixture of rocks and concrete to create outdoor and indoor spaces. Jaro used a machete to chop while I raked and hauled the debris to the compost. We worked from until about 9am, which is when the heat creeps its way into the day. After work we made breakfast, which I thought of as my lunch because I like to eat right when I wake up. Afterward, I spent the rest of the afternoon in my room. Showering felt like the only way to cool off. I watched a movie and took a nap, the star fish formation was the only sleeping position that felt moderately comfortable. It is so hot and humid that I just sweat all the time. My physical uncomfort led me to mentally prepare myself for my months stay here at El Encanto, I reassured myself that it takes time to acclimatize. When I left Portland it was a ripe 42 degrees so my body was fighting to adjust.

Jaro made a dinner of Spanish rice and pork with tortillas. For me, these ingredients form a set up for a simple taco, but he rolled his tortillas and ate them separately. As a post-dinner activity we went on a bike ride around the town. He took me to a turtle pond in hopes of us seeing the cocodrillo (crocodile) that inhabits the area. The giant lizard did not surface so we leisurely rode back.

I headed off to my room around sunset, which is when flashes of lightning, rolling thunder, and heavy rain started right outside my window. The thunder was the loudest I have ever heard and a few times it made me jump into my bed to take cover. Eventually the storm passed, but not without the electricity flickering on and off a few times.

A screenshot from a video of the storm

The entrance to El Encanto

On October 1st I arrived in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico with my bike in a big box, a condensed set of my belongings, and a pair of gardening gloves. Excited and nervous, I assembled my bike in a breezeway, chatting with curious passersby. Waking up at 3am to catch a flight was catching up to me so I rode to the nearest hotel and took a very long nap. I woke up groggy to the night sky, ate a dinner of yogurt and bananas, and made a plan for the next day. I needed to ride to the bus station and figure out how to get to Santa Cruz de Miramar, the location of my first WWOOF host. (Note: You might be wondering why I brought a bike if the goal is to work on farms. When I am finished “woofing”, the plan is for one or two of my friends to join me on a 6 week bike tour from a location in southern Mexico to San Diego, CA. Stay tuned to hear more about the details of this trip come December.)

The next morning, I pedaled my bike down a derelict cobblestone rode and even forded a stream to get to the Terminal Central de Autobuses. Upon arrival, I appeared to be the only white person, which was a sign to me that not many white tourists are leaving the Puerto Vallarta area. The woman at the counter only spoke Spanish so I fumbled my way through buying a ticket, 263 pesos (14 USD) for a ticket to San Blas, the closest large town on the route. I sat in a lounge for about 20 minutes and I almost missed my bus, in part due to the air conditioning. At noon, the thermometer was already in reading 32 Celsius (90 Fahrenheit) and the humidity was like nothing I have experienced before. The destinations of the buses were not very clear, so I went out to ask for help as my bus was pulling away. Thankfully, the driver stopped to let me board and a man loaded my bike under the bus. In three hours, I would arrive in Miramar and follow the directions given to me by Jim to be let into the hotel property.

Jim is in the US until November so I was to interface with his local helper, Jaro (Ha-ro). My phone has service in Mexico so I turned off airplane mode and messaged Jaro on WhatsApp, it seems like most people here with smartphones use this app for texting and calling. He greeted me from behind a tall purple wrought iron gate with a pack of barking dogs in tow. He led me to my new room up a simple metal staircase slathered in bright blue paint. Inside there is a small kitchen, a bathroom, a big bed, and a 180 degree view of the ocean. It is clear that this room is set up for woofers who come in pairs. After settling in, I went back to the main area to get a tour of the property. 

Jaro only speaks Spanish, which is great for me because one of my goals is to increase my fluency. At the start of the tour he plucked a star fruit from a tree for me to try. While enjoying the fruit, he showed me the areas we would be working, where the tools are stored, and he spouted off the names of all six dogs (and cat). I was able to get the gist of how we would be working together and the times and such. The property is a jungle. There are two massive trees at the heart, all sorts of tropical plants, and buildings with various rooms available during the high tourism season (Dec-Feb). Over the last three months, the summer rains and heat allowed plants to overtake once navigable gardens and walkways. Between the two of us, our primary job is to reclaim these spaces and plant the garden. We get to play with the dogs, too. 

That afternoon he took me to the tienda (store) called mini super, a common name for small grocery stores around here. I bought some rice and beans and on the way back as a welcome gift he bought me ceviche, a dish with fresh fish, lime, chili peppers, and onions. The main social area of the property is an outdoor kitchen, which is situated around a powdery blue concrete structure that resembles a turret. I quickly made some rice for dinner and then we headed for the beach. First we picked up his surf board at his parent’s house. They live a few blocks off the main paved road. To get to the beach, we walked through a muddy, smelly, and jungle-like cow enclosure with teenage boys herding about 50 cows. These cows provide beef for the small town. Alongside the cows we followed a murky brown creek to the point. Sitting on the beach was a slight reprieve from the hot and humid inland air. Jaro surfed until the sun went down and we headed back to El Encanto. By 7pm I was mentally and physically tired from exhausting much of the Spanish in my repertoire so said good night to Jaro, and I went to my room to drift off to the lull of the ocean below my window.