Our last weekend trip before my week trip back to Houston (I’ll be back next Saturday) was to an organic, cooperatively owned farm called “Nueva Alianza.” It was a nice, tranquil weekend near the coast of Guatemala where we got to drink coffee, play games, and learn about the history of this plantation.
We arrived at the plantation Saturday afternoon in time to enjoy a yummy white bean and rice lunch. We then got to tour the surrounding area on an easy hike where a guide described to us a lot of the plants that the community had used in the past for both food and natural medicine, especially when they were struggling without pay from their owner in the late 1990s. It was interesting to see and hear about plants like the “Flor de Campaña” (Flower of a tent) that they used for insomnia and other leaves that they would use to clean their intestines or stop hunger for a couple of days. Natural medicine like this is very common in a lot of Latin American countries including Guatemala, and I always like to learn more about the plants and herbs people believe in and still use.
“Flor de Campaña”
Macadamia nuts! - the green ones are at an earlier stage and the brown shelled ones are at a later stage in ripeness
We also learned about the general history of the plantation along with their ways of making coffee, purifying water and oil from the surrounding community, and preparing macadamia nuts to sell. Otherwise, we just took it easy lounging on the patio overlooking the jungle.
The view from the patio!
On Sunday morning we took another short hike to visit a pretty waterfall where practically the whole group climbed a few rocks to take in the view and of course, take some pictures. Overall, it was a fun, relaxing weekend.
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