Our new temporary home

While we build the first house on the land we will be renting a house near by.

We have been looking around for the past few days, and ended up with two options that were both tempting. One was "on" the beach, primitive, off the grid, solar wind power and an immense amount of mosquitoes, the other was in town, more spacious and comfortable and with pool access.

While the beach community in Tulum is very appealing, we decided to go with the place in town.

Having moved around so much over the past  couple of years I felt that a more homey feel, 

with children around to form friendships made more sense. Had it been just Miguel and I, I think we would have certainly moved to the beach, yet this way the children can make connections with other children before we move out to the mangroves in a few months.

Below are a few pictures of the new "home" as well as the surrounding area of Tulum beaches and pueblo.

The front of the house..

Inside....

La playa

El pueblo

~feeling grateful~

In Mexico

Following three months in Venezuela, a short solo trip for me to Denmark, one week in Miami and here we are, ready to begin a new adventure.

Like I mentioned in the earlier post we are here to help create an eco village in the jungle of Tulum.

An eco village in the sense that we are a group of people coming together with the intention 

of creating a low impact way of life that integrates various aspects of ecological design, permaculture, ecological building, green production, alternative energy, community building and much more.

We, our family, will be the Robinson Crusoe family of this project. We will be the first to move unto the land, to start creating the gardens, the orchards. To clean and to build.

The land which we saw yesterday for the first time is hostile at first impression, not friendly in the least.

A fire cleared many trees a couple of years ago, and left big parts of the property barren of vegetation.

Now trees are growing back among the rocks, yet it is still far from the lush oasis and sanctuary that we envision it be. There is a big Cenote (deep natural well ) on the land which provides a clean fresh water source, as well as a swimming hole.

First step is to build a house for us to live in, before we can get started with that we need a bridge over the cenote, and this project is already under way. We hope to get started building in one months time.

As you will see in the photos below we have our work cut out for us, failures as well as successes, and I intend to document the process open and honestly here..

Below is what most of the first hectare looks like

 this is where the bridge is being built

 lush environment around the cenote

 the children have already fallen in love with the cenote...

 and this is the site where we will build the first house, the house where we will live

~Blessings~

Joy and sorrow

It has been a time of very mixed emotions.

At the beginning of March our little family was all reunited following 27months of separation. It was a joy filled moment, the children and I, Papa and Linus all back together after such a long time, so many uncertainties, so many journeys to different places in search of the place where we would once again be together.

Miguel was deported and will no longer be allowed to enter the United States, hence the search for a place to reunite. 

Here we are in Venezuela staying with Miguel's Mom, who has been so generous as to leave us her place and moved in with her sister. Spending time with the extended family is wonderful and the children are really enjoying getting to know their cousins. 

Initially we had planned to stay here for 2-3 years, work online as well as fixing up a downstairs apartment that used to be Miguel's grandfathers.

We were busy at work downstairs when an old friend out of the blue calls up Miguel and offers us to come to Mexico where he has just bought some land and wants to create a permaculture farm, eco tourism venture, and he wants us to be part of it. He will in fact with our help build us a cob house, a house that we design. We will be paid a salary to help create exactly what we have been dreaming about and planning for years now. Wow, I feel so blessed!!

Right around the same time as we receive this news, I also get news from my Dad back in Denmark that he has just been diagnosed with a very advanced colon cancer which has spread to his liver.

Just a few days ago he started a harsh chemotherapy treatment and my heart is hurting  from being so far away. I feel helpless, and the frailty of life is made painfully obvious as 

I struggle to trust that all is as it should be. 

The joy of being all together again, the sorrow of being so far away during my fathers time of need.

The joy of new possibilities, the sorrow of the pain my father is going through.

All of it seems two sides of the same coin, the front and the back of this thing we call life.

I will be back here with a step by step documentation of our upcoming venture in Tulum Mexico.

Self sustainability, cob building, permaculture gardening, farming, homeschooling and more.

Till then..

~Blessings~

This Moment; Goodbye Miami

A friday ritual inspired by Soulmama

A single photo, no words

A moment I want to pause, treasure and remember

~with so much love and gratitude~

Melancholy

The past few nights I have been listening to wncw online. It is the regional public radio station of Western North Carolina, and my very favorite. Hearing some of the local bands from there and the general feel of the programs made me think of those beautiful mountains, and although it may still be a little ways off, spring is coming and spring is so gorgeous in those parts.

 I remember having just come back to Asheville, from our 3+ months stay in the Dominican Republic, right before the arrival of spring last year. I was so inspired by the splendid reawakening of nature, and for the first time that I can remember I felt a resonance with spring as deep as the one I usually feel in autumn. Quite a few new beginnings in my life these past few years:)

And now as I face yet another momentous new beginning I feel a longing for spring, the tangible kind of a four season climate.

 While you may still be covered in snow or the possibility of it for a few more weeks, how wonderful to know that soon the earth around you will explode with color and life, 

and the cycle begins again.....

As for spring in the tropics, I will be certain to watch closely for the change that I know happens here, however subtle it may be.

~A few memories from last spring~

~mmmmmmm~

Tree Climbing and Dangerous Marine-life:)

I feel I must share some images of this magnificent tree and the children in it.

We visit this tree every day, often more than once, as it lives within the dog park just around the corner.

The children love coming, obviously, and Linus the dog gets to socialize with his kind.

Can you see Kaleena up there, she takes after her Papa in the tree climbing department...

 Keenan has been having a hard time getting down once up in the tree, 

he has now found the way

Kaleena found a way to reach the hanging roots, and always takes a few swings 

before leaving the park.

Such joy, connecting with nature in the city

 And by request from our farm friends over on Homemade in Marshall here is the Mr Linus.
Kevin and Kate fostered Linus for the past year, as we stayed with my sister. They cared for him like he was their own, and it was bitter sweet when the day finally came that we could pick him up.
But here he is enjoying the heat, his old running grounds and his "other" family

This is clearly not from the dog park, but for the past week the life guards have been waving the purple flag, which means dangerous marine-life, watch out... In this case, these beautiful 

Portuguese Man of War. Mostly they have been washed up on the beach, but yesterday there was quite a few in the ocean, so no swimming that day

The children instead spent their time digging little pools and moving the stranded creatures in the hope that they would make it till high-tide. 

Aren't they beautiful, what a creature!

We also saw quite a few of these little guys, the slightly friendlier Man of War.

~A very good evening to you~

This Day

Yesterday was a beautiful winter day here in Miami, it was a day signified by a sense of freedom as I got on the bike and travelled across the beach to meet the tribe for our dear friend's birthday lunch. The air was fresh, even cold in the shade and I had along a sweater just in case. Although there are trees here that show us that we certainly are in midwinter, others remind us that we are in the tropics, where year round we find color and flowers blooming. It was beautiful!

 On my way I passed The Tree, a huge Banyan tree that we have all climbed several times in our years of living here. Miguel used to call it his office and would climb all the way up and stick his head out at the top. The size and presence of this tree is magnificent and I was happy to see it again. 

 I felt such peace and freedom as I rode my bike along the quiet neighborhood streets, feeling ever so grateful to be here now...

 After lunch we met back in Sharyn's garden of love where we shared a birthday cake 

with friends and family. mmmmmmmmmm.....

 Such a special time we are spending here nurtured by the love and togetherness of close friends, letting go of old habits that no longer serve and each moment releasing control and allowing the present moment to flow through us, planting seeds of intention and then trusting, trusting in what shows up, trusting that the universe will organize and bring forth the very best for all involved.

~with love and gratitude~