A Unique Mother's Day

Your mothers day was nothing like mine.

We all showed up at Jhosellyn and the Brit's house at 8:30 am, as requested, for our trip to the highlands.  We left at 11:30.  Asi es la vida..

Norma, the matriarch, led the way, twisting the gallina's neck around, with a few accompaning "pops."

And then about 10 or 11 of us piled into two cars, a pickup truck taxi, while John and I piled into the "Green Machine" that belongs to the family.  It's a nice ride.

We started off going for a brief hike through prickly brush to a waterfall.  It was nice but as I mused in Argentina a few months ago once you've seen Iguazu Falls nothing else really compares...

So the majority of us started hiking on a dusty private road, with the others either in the "Green Machine" or taking turns riding the one horse.  After letting two of the volunteers-Nick and Owen- take turns driving the Green Machine we arrived.  (Note:  I did hear the phrase "I've had my permit for 7 months now."  This made me feel old.)

Their farm was a nice quaint place, with an amazing ocean view and a heard of chickens, pigs and an annoying dog poorly named Lassie.  The chickens ate blissfully and it was clear had no idea their ranks were about to be thinned by two.

When the time came two chickens were picked, with the only discernible quality being the ease of grabbing their legs and turning them upside down.  I am confident there was something more complex going on.

The time came and John was the only volunteer to help in the cold blooded murder of a chicken.  Norma, the matriarch, led the way, twisting the gallina's neck around, with a few accompaning "pops."  It was John's turn.  The neck twisted, but the chicken was still fighting.  I don't want to insult our dearly departed (and tasty) chicken friend but I think this was due more to John being a novice killer than the chicken having any sort of Rocky Balbo genes inside.

Norma finished the job.  Two dead chickens.  Something had to break the silence.

"¡Tengo Hambre!" or "I'm hungry," I bellowed...

Then the bodies were boiled and subsequently plucked.  Then, we took naps on the unfinished concrete deck.

We just hung out the rest of the day, although one thing was gnawing at me.  I solved that problem when I arrived back to town and called my wonderful mom and wished her a Happy Mother's Day. :)