Bizarre doesn´t begin to describe...

the REAL Casas Karen. You know, the seedy underbelly...the mess in the closet...the nut case behind the name.... OK, so it´s still the ideal location :)

Our work continues to be varied, and now includes cooking lunch for Karen and walking her dog. Hmmmm...not what I imagined when we came, but whatever - it´s pretty cushy. Patrick, the caretaker, is hysterical. An absolute riot and a wealth of information. We´re learning about the complete lack of structure this place exists on and are honestly amazed that it functions as well as it does. It´s a marvel, really. The reason there´s still no vegetable garden? Because the decision to just go ahead with it after other WWOOFers had cleared and prepared the land just wasn´t/couldn´t be made. The reason there´s still an outdoor shower contraption that´s absolutely falling down in disrepair? Because the decision can´t be made what to do with it. The reason it takes so long to get work like painting or plumbing done around here? Because no one will work for the owner...she´s too much of a nut case and she has that reputation throughout the village. It´s sad, really....but she is truly, certifiable. At first I thought she was just energetic...a little over-ambitious...a little scattered, but generally together. Let me be the first to say - I´ve been wrong before. But behind the psychosis, there´s a pretty nice person, so I can´t be too hard on her :) I´ve decided that if anyone ever wants to major in Sociology, they should absolutely spend a year volunteering as a WWOOFer. It´s absolutely fascinating!

Today was one of our days off, so we went down to the beach, had a picnic and checked out the people wind-surfing. Very cool!! On Tuesday, our other day off, we attempted to ride our bikes to Barbate (about 9 kms from here). At about km 3, Ad got a flat tire, so we ended up walking the bikes through the mountains the rest of the way. It´s a bustling port town that still observes siesta time...so at about 3:30 we found ourselves looking for an easier way home. Thank goodness for Patrick - he came to pick us up :) We also spent some time walking through the parque natural collecting pine cones so that we can harvest our own pine nuts. I now understand why they cost $10 for a little bag! It´s a pretty intensive process!! But what could be better than fresh pine nuts and wild rosemary and lavendar? Makes leaving the figs and grapes just a little easier...

We met the guy who runs the falafel joint down the road, Amit, the other night. Turns out he and his wife used to live in Patrick´s bus and work here as WWOOFers. Said he´d be happy to help us out, seeing as we´re new to the neighborhood and all....they seem like good people. We´re heading out with Patrick tonight for some fun....should be a good time.

All this to say we´re settling in...good thing since we´ll be here till the first of December!

More soon and I´m still waiting on those Halloween pics!! Thank you, Sangeeta, for taking me seriously and sending yours on...you looked fantastic!!!!

Con Paz y Felicidad!
Lor