Isla Mocha: Part l

Back to the beginning, or more specifically back to bird poop. Because now I started to believe that it brings good luck to be used as a toilet by a bird. We didn't plan much in Chile, we just found an apartment for the first few days and then chose a Wwoofing host. From a list of several hundred options, we contacted Marcelo and were actually thinking about the farm in Colina. But as luck would have it (or bird poop 😉), Marcelo asked us if we also wanted to help him on his property on Isla Mocha, and we graciously accepted. A few facts about Isla Mocha: Width: 6 km, Length: 14 km, just over 700 inhabitants, about 40 motorized vehicles, otherwise horse-drawn carriages, there is only one road and another fun fact: the south side of the island didn't have telephone network until 3 months ago.

Back to the present: When we arrived at the airport, Marcelo's neighbor Juan picked us up and brought us with all our stuff to Marcelo's property, about 1 km away. When we arrived there, you could really feel Marcelo's joy to be back in this place. The property is 5 hectares and has a dream location with a view of the sea, but also sheltered valleys. Apart from a water hose that leads from a spring in the jungle to the property (the water quality here is comparable to Tirol) and a fenced area where Marcelo planted lettuce as a test 6 months ago, there was nothing on the property yet. But Marcelo had clear ideas about where his hut, his house, the fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and much more should go (see pictures). Although he sometimes seems a bit scattered, I'm sure he will make it happen.

The most important thing at the beginning is to get comfortable: set up tents, build a campfire, cook food, and go on a nighttime trip into the jungle to make the water supply functional again, that was all we had to do at the beginning. The next day, we went to the only 'supermarket' on the island, 6 km away, to stock up for a few days. We didn't have to walk much, because the first truck that passed by stopped without doing anything and took us on the back of the truck to the 'supermarket'. So, we already have food and a dry place to sleep, we also have electricity (through solar panels and batteries), and we even have internet available (Marcelo has a small portable router with him). Now the work can begin.