Alberto is holding some of the stalk that has had the sugar juice squeezed out of it. He had hired three other men to help with the sugaring; one kept the fire under the copper pans going strong, one scooped the liquid from one pan to another depending on its color, and the third used a wooden paddle to stir the sugar and cool it.
The old diesel engine was.....old! But Chucho babied it, and kept it working.
Once, the belt slipped off the wheel, and we had to stop to get it back on.
This was the set up, all cleaned and ready to go. The table had been scrubbed, and then covered with lard so the sugar wouldn't stick to it when it cooled.
The men worked fast as the sugar boiled quickly.
At one point, one of the men poured a scoopful of boiling sugar onto this ancient rock....it had been scrubbed as well, and left it to cool.
Once it had reached the right consistency, he took it off the stone and began to pull it like taffy. He, and Al and Chucho, took hunks of it and pulled on it until it turned whitish....then it was ready to eat. It would later harden, and we would just cut off a hunk to suck on.
The rounds were made by a wooden scoop that holds just a pound of sugar. They were left to cool and dry, and later were packaged, two to a bag, to take to town and sell.
Later that afternoon, after the sugaring was done, it began to rain....and lightning, and thunder....and rain rain rain! It did stop around five so we were able to go down the mountain to the little school around six.
The rain really cooled things down, so Alberto made his first fire in the living room fireplace.
We started down the mountain....had to walk down to the bridge where we would find Chucho and his jeep.
We were a little early for the novena, so we stopped at one of the houses that also was a little store, and talked to the residents. They were all very curious about the gringoes....and once again, David's height was a topic of conversation. This little girl had come with her daddy to pick up a few supplies, and then they went back up the mountain to their home. Daddy walked.
This was the outside, and the inside of the little school. There were twelve students, from kindergarten to grade eight. They put on a little play about the birth of Christ...and then they served us ice cream. It was very different from the ice cream we know....not as creamy. More like sherbert.
The little girl in the hat is Danielle. She and her friend were fascinated with us and came over to sit with me. They wanted to know some English words, so I taught them "school" and "watch." They were so excited, they ran out of the school to tell their parents who were outside talking. Kids is just kids, wherever you go.
The old diesel engine was.....old! But Chucho babied it, and kept it working.
Once, the belt slipped off the wheel, and we had to stop to get it back on.
This was the set up, all cleaned and ready to go. The table had been scrubbed, and then covered with lard so the sugar wouldn't stick to it when it cooled.
The men worked fast as the sugar boiled quickly.
At one point, one of the men poured a scoopful of boiling sugar onto this ancient rock....it had been scrubbed as well, and left it to cool.
Once it had reached the right consistency, he took it off the stone and began to pull it like taffy. He, and Al and Chucho, took hunks of it and pulled on it until it turned whitish....then it was ready to eat. It would later harden, and we would just cut off a hunk to suck on.
The rounds were made by a wooden scoop that holds just a pound of sugar. They were left to cool and dry, and later were packaged, two to a bag, to take to town and sell.
Later that afternoon, after the sugaring was done, it began to rain....and lightning, and thunder....and rain rain rain! It did stop around five so we were able to go down the mountain to the little school around six.
The rain really cooled things down, so Alberto made his first fire in the living room fireplace. We started down the mountain....had to walk down to the bridge where we would find Chucho and his jeep.
We were a little early for the novena, so we stopped at one of the houses that also was a little store, and talked to the residents. They were all very curious about the gringoes....and once again, David's height was a topic of conversation. This little girl had come with her daddy to pick up a few supplies, and then they went back up the mountain to their home. Daddy walked.
This was the outside, and the inside of the little school. There were twelve students, from kindergarten to grade eight. They put on a little play about the birth of Christ...and then they served us ice cream. It was very different from the ice cream we know....not as creamy. More like sherbert.
The little girl in the hat is Danielle. She and her friend were fascinated with us and came over to sit with me. They wanted to know some English words, so I taught them "school" and "watch." They were so excited, they ran out of the school to tell their parents who were outside talking. Kids is just kids, wherever you go.
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