Working on the farm in Arenal is really fun! There are black and white ducks, sheep and little lambs, 2-3 different types of chickens of which are mostly hens, and cows, along with 2 calves. One of which was newborn! It was really cute.

You can either help collect eggs or milk cows. Yesterday at 9:00am Ori, Isy and I went to collect eggs. When we entered the pen the hens got really loud squawking and flapping their wings. Then, when we approached the collections boxes they all started jumping down and walking around us, “who are these people?” Some of the hens were sitting in the nests containing eggs and we had to shoo them out of the way.  It was hilarious as they were EVERYWHERE, pecking at our shoes and feet. One hen stepped on my toe and it actually really hurt, because of the hen’s sharp talons. In other words they are actually quite scary to me. I was not fan of all the chaos with the squawking and flapping wings. It stresses me out. I was also worried they would hurt themselves.

Milking the cows was a lot easier because she was busying eating, and didn’t pay attention to us. Her back legs were tied together to make it safer for us to milk her.  Ori was the best at it; I, on the other hand, was not. The amount of milk I got out was muy pequeña and I kind of missed the bucket and sprayed my feet once, twice or maybe more.

The eggs we collected on Friday morning were served at breakfast at breakfast Saturday. The milk is used to make cheese that is served with the Tico tipico breakfast, Gallo Pinto. The cheese is mild, slightly salty, white, creamy and firm texture. The taste reminds me of bocconcini and the texture of paneer.  It’s cool to see how some of the food on the table is from the farm that where we can help.

~Aly~