WWOOFing at Green Acres

Here we are in beautiful Aticama! I got a touch of “la tourista” in San Blas, and we waited around all afternoon in the zocalo until 3pm to take a taxi out of town. The friendly cabby chatted it up with me on the way to Aticama, and we got there a bit early. We waited in the shady plaza. It was right on the rocky beach and we watched giant pelicans fly right in front of us. While waiting, a herd of cows was driven through the middle of the road along with all the car traffic. About 20 minutes later, the signature purple Chrysler van rolls up, 2 other WWOOFers hop out, and we hop in. They were just in town to shop, and on the way back, Amaranth told us to pick up any supplies we’d need at the mini-super.

Green Acres is truly a tropical paradise. About 1.5 miles out of town, it’s a 10 square acre sanctuary of beauty and tranquility. We learned that a hectacre is not 100 acres, but about 2.5 acres. We were greeted at the gate by the farm’s roving dog pack. There’s 7 of them, all rescued, and they are sweet as can be. Lucy, Sparky, Opie, Penny, Winky, Emily and Dupie! They also have a large pen of roosters, chickens, ducks and geese. All are pets, and none get eaten. The farm grows primarily mangos (to sell) and then every kind of herb, green, vegetable, and medicinal plant you can imagine (for themselves). Most of the farm’s water comes from rain collection and a mountain river source. But in dry times like now, the river is very unreliable. They conserve water as much as possible. The whole farm has a terrific view of the Pacific ocean and the surrounding beach.

There are four permanent residences on the property. Wally designed and every one of them himself. The “Casita” is essentially a camping trailer on a foundation. Exterior roofing, shower, kitchen and furniture has been added, and the whole thing has been screened in. That’s near the bottom of the property. Two other WWOOFers are staying their with their little boy.

A bit lower is a little home for an old grouchy Mexican named Lorenzo. Amaranth & Wally took him in because he really had nowhere left to go, and they thought he was a good gardener. Turns out he’s not a good gardener… or good at much of anything except sitting around. We only briefly met him, but he has a reputation around here for showing up late, doing very little work, complaining about everything, and botching the jobs he does do. Wally and Amaranth call him Larry, but he doesn’t know that.









We live in the “Cono.” It’s a nine sided guest home build mainly of concrete. It has two floors, two beds, one bath, and one kitchen. We are currently the only ones living here, but were are expecting a young woman from New York on Sunday. They rent out the rooms for $500 a week, or just stick WWOOFers there if it’s empty. We have a great kitchen, it’s cool all the time from the windows, and a passion fruit tree right outside our door! We’re truly very comfortable. We chose the bottom floor because it’s much cooler (though the top floor has a magnificent view of the ocean). There’s a huge plaster replication of Michelangelo’s Sistine chapel painting on the ceiling.







Last (but certainly not least) is the home of Wally and Amaranth. This place is truly a palace! Winding staircases, arched doorways, furs and whalebones, a Jacuzzi overlooking their orchards, painting studio, yoga room, computer room, library and more! The whole thing is cooled by the breeze. It’s a three-story home that Wally built in stages. The most impressive part is the kitchen and patio on the third floor. It’s all open air, gorgeously decorated, with a strong sea breeze and the smells of Amaranth’s most recent creation. When one eats lunch, they get a magnificent view of the town, the sea, and the sky, framed in palm leaves, hammocks, and brilliant tropical flowers. It truly is a something out of a fairytale.

Life on the farm is productive and ends relaxed every day. Wally is in his 60’s and wears the same outfit of a hat, Dickies overalls and the same crusty shirt. He’s Caucasian and was clearly a handyman in his younger years. He loves to drive this bright yellow mish-mash car with no doors, a Porsche body, and huge elevated tires! Style and power! Amaranth is a small, gentle Japanese-American whose first language is English. Neither of them are fluent in Spanish, but they get by very well. Nevertheless, they supposedly have a terrific reputation around town, largely for their open hearts and generosity to everyone. Amaranth abhors to hurt anything with a pulse, and her food is always vegetarian. She’s a terrific cook, as well, making abundant, diverse lunches that she serves every day at 1:00 sharp. We always say a quick blessing and sip on passion fruit juice and her latest creation with a greens-salad that was picked just hours ago. She’s a painter and intense foodie from what I can tell. She’s always relating things to raw foods, super foods, pickling, and fermenting. They always have lots of funny stories to tell, and they have been incredibly gracious.

We quickly befriended our WWOOFing neighbors, and we already feel like close friends. Their names are Bard and Zoey. They’re from Albuquerque NM, and they own a perma-culture business there. They are in their thirties. They spent two years in Zambia with the Peace Corps, and have WWOOFed in other countries like Australia. Their landscaping knowledge has been very helpful in guiding our projects. We work with them all day and at night we enjoy cocktails made of citrus, passion-fruit and tequila, while we work together to make a group dinner. Mostly we’ve been feasting on these giant blue prawns that Aticama is known for. They are so sweet, caught fresh off the beach, and run about $4.50/lb. What a deal! They also have a precious 1 ½ year old named Bard, but they call him “Little Bard” or “L.B.” for short. He’s always dirty, always having fun, and always exploring. It’s great to have him around to keep us lighthearted.




We wake up at 6:30am each day. The roosters start going crazy at 4:00am, and at 5:30 the lady on the loudspeaker gets crackin’. Apparently, the town has a lady that, for 10 pesos will blast whatever message you want throughout the city, and can be heard loud and clear from everywhere on the farm. She hollers about anything from advertisements for juice stands and tamales, to “Happy Birthday Maria, your parents home you love the cake they got you”, and “Benjamin, please come home. You’re breaking mama’s heart.” She blasts each one 5 or 10 times a minute or so apart. So far, we’ve worked primarily on cobbling a driveway up to house. The four of us have laid 65 feet of cobbling in three days. We dig into the rock with pickaxes, haul boulders over, fit them into place, and cover them with dry cement. It’s hard work and HOT, come 9:30am. We quit around 11. We also have been clearing banana leaves, building a palapa (straw hut), and planted, bordered, and seeded a vegetable garden.

Aticama is our favorite town so far. Small, beautiful, and the locals are all so friendly. I'm alreadybuddies with a dozen locals like Alba, Nini, Jesus, Angel, Lupita, Patricia, and Carlos. They love to chat, and it just takes a smile or a laugh to have them call you by name on the street.

We'll leave you with a final photo. This is Julia in the back of a Mexican's pickup truck driving into town! I started chatting with a guy that was waiting for a taxi with us. No taxi or bus came, and eventually his buddy rolls up. He says to hop in, and we did! Just look at that smile!

We love you all back home! You'll hear from us again within a week, maybe twice. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Hasta luego!

--Philip