With only a few days left in our South American adventures, Colin and I heard back from a hostal/restaurant that we had contacted though helpx.com. La Casona de Lobitos. We were told that they could use some help in exchange for a room and one meal a day. We got on a bus from Cuzco and headed north to the tiny beach town of Lobitos.
At the Casona we had lots of work to do. We cleaned, we made art, we cooked for the restaurant. While there were definitely some challenge, it ended up being one of our favorite place to be.
The house was once the home of an oil barren. It is a beautiful mansion that has fallen into disrepair. The plumbing does not work well and we had a very limited supply of water. Once every day or every other day we would fill up big blue barrels next to each toilet and sink. This would be our supply until the next time we got water. We used this water to flush toilets, clean dishes, cook, and shower with. And when this water ran out, it was out. This made bathrooms treacherous.
Parts of this house were some of the dirtier places we had been in South America. It is run by some wonderful people, but they live a few hours away and are only there for a couple days a week. The responsibility for the upkeep and cleanliness, as well as seeing to guests and cooking the food, falls on one person and any volunteers that happen to be there.
Showering consisted of some cold water and this watering can. Kinda fun, actually.
This place is located near a number of surf breaks. World class surfers can be seen throughout the year in the tiny town. As a matter of fact, surfing is really the only thing that is done at the beach. The wind makes the beach a pretty inhospitable place. It really is a surfer's paradise.
The owners of the place are also wonderful cooks.
Everyday we would have a "family dinner" with all the volunteers and any employees.
Sometimes the electricity goes out. This calls for candlelight dinners with the new family.
And, hey, so what if the place is a little dirty and there is no running water? We can deal with pretty much anything as long as the company is good. And here, it was 5 star.
That guy....the one at the bottom of the picture. That's Kala. He is the one employee of the place. He was our boss while we were there. Originally from Argentina, he has traveled the world. He spent a number of years in Hawaii and is fluent in English. This guy is always ready for fun. Always smiling. Always laughing. He plans to be at the Casona for a while and is in the process of setting up a tatto parlor. For me, Kalla is the perfect surf bum. And that is meant as nothing but a compliment!
This couple in next picture is Jeanie and Cesar from Brazil. They were renting a room while we were there, but were definitely part of the Casona family. Jeanie is a chef and photographer and graphic designer. She was so sweet and the two of us had lots of fun trying to speak Spanish together as her native language is Portuguese.
Cesar is one of the coolest. A professional surfer. Also a chef. And a DJ. He lived in New York for a while and his English is very good. We was amazing to watch surf! And while we was incredible at the sport, we was very encouraging and kind to the beginners in the water with him. Cesar is also very talented on the guitar and it was fun to watch him jam with Colin on the ukelele.
This is Bill. A fellow Californian. Bill was renting a room as well and was there for the surfing. Bill was a good person to spend time and have conversations with. We had a great time talking books, science, religion, education, etc, etc, with Bill. He had traveled up from Chile and is heading back to school in the fall to become California's coolest high school chemistry teacher!
Tim. The other volunteer with Colin and me. Oh, Tim. This is one of my favorite people we have met on our whole trip. Tim is from Germany and is traveling for the next few months. La Casona was his first stop. He is 19 years old with a great sense of humor and the gift of fast, cheeky comebacks! He lived on the east coast the United States for a year during high school. Loves music and is always excited to share a band or song with you. Tim was another person that we had great conversations with. Whether is was about movies, religion, or the surfing that morning, it was truly a joy to talk with him. We look forward to visiting him on Germany someday.
The other people that were there really made this experience wonderful.....but there is more.
This dog is the coolest dog in South America. This is Roco.
And if the people and animals don't make the experience, maybe the bread man will!
Everyday the bread man, the cookie man, the pastry man, and the ice cream man would come to the house. They each carried bicycle horns and we would hear them coming from far away. The bread man came around 8:45am. He was the wake up call for many.
While Colin and I were technically working for our stay, there was lots and lots of down time to surf, read, play music, talk and basically live the surf bum life.
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