Photos

L-Jason Hauling coffee in the Mtns. --Mikey with coffee plants


Lunch on the tree over the river in the deep woods of Ixtlan de Juarez.. Birthplace of Mexicos most famous and only Indian President. Benito Juarez..Daniela

travels

left--guatemala-below.jason working 3am in the morning

Beuatiful sunrise on the lake

coffee cleaning--San miguel

Father and Son built a screen to clean the coffee.

Everthing but clean coffee is screened and falls to the ground.. This is the last step before the coffee is bagged and sold. If the coffee has less than 5% defects it means all the necessary work has been done and will receive a higher price.

Linda Vista coffee family

The Ruben Felix family, picking the bad beans out of patio.

The was the first coffee buying trip this year, in which we helped them clean it, then I hauled it down the mountain where I m drying it now.

Juchitan Ranch

Riding in the Savanna

As Ronald Reagan once said

¨The best thing for inside of a man is the outside of a horse¨

I wont go that far, but it was a nice break.

pictures traveling-working

My Pickup and horse,,, as good as it gets.

another crazy week....!!!!!!!!!

Well,

I have spent 2 days driving, starting at 2 AM Sunday night driving from the sultry pacific coast into the lush cool, coffee growing mountains, where I arrived at 7 am ready to work a full day, checking coffee for quality, buying, and loading it.. I was told after word the road can be dangerous, ignorance is only sometimes bliss. SO I bought a machete and switch blade, but trust God fully that he will protect us in our travels. After a full day of working I slept 4 hrs and then left at 2.30 am to haul all the coffee down the muddy roads in the middle of the night, wild, more scary than will, 2 days not sleep, driving while tired in a place where one slight mistake could be a dangerous disaster.. Thank GOd for COKE and an ipod to stay awake..
During that day we were fed wild RACCOON which was caught by a machete by friend Benedicto of mine. Pretty good bush meat as long as I didnt look at the intestinal parts I was eating, I needed meat as I have been eating low-grade bread products too much while traveling alone and occasionally getting a good tortilla-bush meat meal from some local farmers..
Well , I made it safely to the facility 6 hrs later at 8 am where we spent the rest of the day unloading a few thousand pounds of coffee by hand and putting in on patios...
I am living here in this shack working for a few days..
2 Days I was apprehended by the transit police for not having a update license plates on the truck. He threatened we with jail and putting truck in impound lot... I hinted to him I dont need any receipts or anything so what can I do?? He slighlty gave me a 2 finger wave and I dropped him 200$ pesos and slipped off as fast as I could.
The next day I had to go into town and and try getting license with no success, so I wearily drove back the same road, and you guessed it!!!! PULLED OVER AGAIN..... THis time it was someone else so luckily afte 15 minutes of trying not to pay any more bribes, he knew I was scared, so he let me go..

NOW, Thursday morning, I have just received some confidential dramatic news about the coffee program which puts me in a horrible spot as I am the go between the farmers and Americans..
Meanwhile, I am at an internet cafe praying about what to do, as the police are on this road 10 minutes ahead, and I am thinking they might stop me again, but what can do, I have to get into town to get the papers.
I hopefully we be able to let you know how it turns out.. Pray for my safety.