We´re living in a green camper van in the forests of the lush Las Alpujerras valley, completely surrounded by earth. Sweet peas and tomatoes grow wild on the ground; almond, avocado and orange trees are everywhere, and a symphony of birdcalls wakes us up each morning. Yesterday we spotted a hummingbird the size of our thumb.

We work six hours a day in exchange for food and shelter, doing varied projects like planting trees, painting a room and filling in the cracks between tiles in a swimming pool. In our time off, there´s a nice hammock we lay in. Kim´s teaching me how to spin poi, and I´m reading a book on Spanish history.

Not much time to write now, but will say more later .... today is our day off, and we´ve hiked down to the coastal town of Almunecar, where I´ll go to the beach and Kim will walk the botanical gardens.