Life at Compromisso
Hey everyone, Matt here. Up until now, Lynelle has been filling you in on the process that was getting to Monte Do Compromisso i.e. travel, travel, and a bit more travel. I’m going to give you a glimpse into what our life is now: work, work, work, and eat.
Lynelle withe Bella, the German Shepherd, on our first morning at the farm.
We began our first official work day on Thursday like any other day, with a good breakfast. European breakfast typically consists of juice, coffee or tea, bread, cheese, fruit, and some cured meats (prosciutto, salami, etc). We eat at eight and are out in the field by 9.
Typical breakfast on the farm. Eggs and fresh citrus are always available as well.
Compromisso sits on 18 hectares (roughly 45 acres) of fairly steep, rocky ground. If you’ve seen any of the pictures Lynelle has posted, you wouldn’t be surprised that it referred to as “the Tuscany of Portugal”. There are three main areas that have been fenced off to allow the sheep to graze. Of the three, two have been cleared of brush (lavender, some prickly stuff that really sucks, and small shrubs), leaving perhaps the largest, most steeply inclined tract yet to be cleared. That’s where the WWOOFers come in. Vincent and Genevieve, our French Canadien co-WWOOFERS, have been here for two weeks tomorrow, which is their last day. Each day on the farm they have gone into the field with a hoe and cleared brush. I’m afraid we await the same fate, but don’t feel sorry, this is what we look at all day:
Around 10:30, or right about the time I’m about to off myself with the hoe, Angelica yodels (no shit, “ODELY-HOO-HOO!”) for us to come in for a break. I typically grab an orange off the tree, have a bit of tea, and change into cooler clothes. The mornings here are remarkably cold. You can see your breath but once the sun comes up and you get to hoein’ (is that a word?), you’re plenty warm.
Europeans have certainly figured out the manual labor situation. Hard work in short bursts followed by a nice break and some good food. After our break at 10:30, we head back out. Around 1:00, another yodel sends us headed for the house and lunch, the biggest meal of the day. Yesterday it was a lamb that was born and killed on the farm and some organic (or biological as it’s called in Europe) potatoes, today it was egg, cheese, and pasta with some delicious vegetables from the garden and a tasty salad. As per usual, bread, cheese, fruit, and tea are all available. A half hour nap after lunch leads us into our third and final trip into the field and two and a half hours later, we’re back at the house, yodel or no yodel.
Friday’s lunch - free-range, biological (organic) lamb, noodles with free-range, biological eggs and garden veggies and salad with edible flowers.
Dinner is eaten around 7, which leaves us a few hours to ourselves to recuperate or explore the grounds a bit. After Thursday’s dinner, Deiter broke out the guitar and Mark volunteered to play. What was the first thing he played, you ask - Skynard. Yes, we are in the middle of the Portuguese countryside with an international group listening the Skynard. After that, other instruments were passed around (bongos, maraccas, tambourine) and Deiter breaks out into a familiar song - “a wimba way, a wimba way, a wimba way…” We sing “In the Jungle” and Harry Belafonte’s “Day Oh.” It felt like something out of Beetlejuice. We thought our chairs were going to rise into the air and ghosts would appear. It was a riot!
Deiter & Bella after a hard day’s work.
After Friday’s dinner to pass the time, Vincent and I went worm-drowning in an attempt to go fishing at a nearby lake with the family dog, Bella. Dinner is typically a small meal. Last night, Dieter, the newest WWOOFer, Mark, from Birmingham, U.K., and I smoked some carapao, a local Atlantic fish, which turned out “just lovely” as Mark likes to say. It’s been interesting hearing the differences in how the British speak compared to us Americans. For instance, if I said to you, “could you pass me a serviette?” you might ask “What the hell is a serviette?” If I asked a Brit for a serviette, I’d be handed a napkin. It’s little things like this that make this trip so great. We’re constantly learning, which is definitely something I’ve missed since I’ve been out of school.
At any rate, Compromisso, despite the hard work, is an incredible place. The work Deiter and Angelica have put in over the past 26 years continues to amaze me and their vast knowledge of how to work the land and live in harmony with their environment is incredibly admiral. I’m looking forward to the next two weeks of learning from them, even if it means pulling weeds most of the time.
All work and no play makes Matt a tired boy, so, until next time, boa noite.
Where we lay our heads at night…not too shabby.
And a special boa noite to our nugget…
