FARM TO TABLE - Pacto and Quito, Ecuador Feb 2016

FARM TO TABLE 

Pacto and Quito, Ecuador February, 2016)

                                         Drinking coffee will never be the same again. 

The rustic volunteer digs

We were lured to this volunteer opportunity by an ad that beckoned us to "Come learn how to make chocolate and roast coffee." What could be wrong with that? Well the first hint was when we were picked up near the Mitad del Mundo monument by the owner of the farm, much later than planned, in a truck loaded with kids, dogs, and assorted other "stuff."

The farm is in a beautiful spot

Mathieu Guillory, an ex-Marine who fought in the Gulf War of 1990, came to South America for a wife (Amparo) and a life (a successful real estate business helping expats purchase homes in Ecuador). The farm in the hills two hours north of Quito and a restaurant in Quito were among his investments.


Our two- week volunteer commitment was split between one week on the farm and one week at the restaurant. Besides coffee and cacao, he grows a variety of crops like yucca, limon, banana and plantain.

Just like summer camp

 Our accommodations were a very (!) rustic cabin with a "kitchen" upstairs and bunk beds below. We bunked with an Italian farmer, Andreas, who spoke almost no English and, to Eileen's dismay, slept in his underwear. 

Mathieu, with son 

We lost water and gas (to cook) almost immediately. After a few attempts we still couldn't get the gas to work. As a result, we ended up eating nearly all of our meals together which involved consuming massive quantities of rice. "Princess" Marie, 11, ended up doing almost all the cooking since her mother, Amparo, was away. 

Mathieu has a waterfall outside his room that uses the same water source as the volunteer cabin. He refused to turn off the waterfall because he liked the sound--hence, an unpredictable water source for us. By necessity, we took cold showers a couple times to rid ourselves of the layers of grime from farm work. 

A quickly fading smile

Our first task was to shell coffee beans, done by hand and using a blow dryer to separate the shells from the precious beans. Our dreams of making chocolate were quickly quashed (although there was chocolate available for the taking in the outdoor refrigerator--until there wasn't) when informed that the major task for the week was planting over 600 coffee tree seedlings. 

Bernadette: mermaid believer

The original trees, on a steep hillside, were planted too far apart and mostly died from too much sun exposure. Each tray of 20 plants weighed over 40 lbs and had to be hand carried up the hill.  

After our first trip Mathieu quickly realized Eileen was better suited to taking over the classes for his children (Quote: "I think we are better off using your brains than your brawn.") so she divided her time between shelling coffee beans and teaching Juan Carlos, Bernadette and Francois using a Catholic home school curriculum. Her supposed four-hour shift ended up spilling into the entire day, 

Painful memories of Mike, in the upper bunk, trying to descend with severe leg cramps. Eileen wondered if her 60-year-old partner would survive. It was a very long week.

Week 2... in the restaurant

The stairway in the mansion

Following a well-earned weekend on the beach, we returned to Quito for our week at Mathieu's restaurant as waiter and waitress, serving New Orleans food primarily to tourists and expats. 

One of the courtyards

After a week in the cabin (shared with the bugs) we had modest expectations for where we would stay. 

To our surprise we were given the keys to Mathieu's amazing mansion just around the corner from the restaurant. It's over 250 years old, three floors, two internal courtyards, with fantastic views of the old city from the roof and a chapel in the basement (vintage priest gowns and all). 

Cafe Dios No Muere

Mathieu at the helm

We quickly  learned how to use the espresso machine, properly pour a draft beer and keep track of every table. But we did meet a wonderful Australian couple, Veronica and Lou, who came to visit us every night before closing. 

They also generously tipped us more than the average 25 cents that the occasional guest put in the big tip sombrero. That money was split among the wait staff, the cooks, and Mathieu's youngest son, Francoise, who demanded his fair share just for showing up.  

The restaurant stairs

Unfortunately, we were scheduled on opposite shifts (Eileen 10a-4p, Mike 4p-10p) so we only saw each other at meals. It also didn't give us much of an opportunity to explore the beautiful colonial city together, but we snuck in what little time we had.

And then there were the narrow and steep three flights of stairs that we had to navigate with full trays. How we managed to never drop a tray of food is baffling.

Incidentally, the name of the restaurant was "Dios No Muere" (God Does Not Die). Fortunately, after our two weeks with Mathieu, we didn't either.