Date: 31.01.2023
Author: Marlene
Position: On the way to the One World Farm
Ship: Regina

Sleepless nights

This morning I woke up at approximately 5am, ran to the bathroom, where Juno had already made herself comfortable in one of the bathroom stalls. I quickly ran into the other and together we started, sorry for the explicit language, a… puke orgy… it really didn’t feel too great but Juno and I were both very happy to be going through this together. We motivated one another and, since the both of us were looking forward to our stay at Ken’s so incredibly much and assured each other that we’d be done with this shit within 24 hours! When we went back to our room to get our sleeping bags, we found out that our friend Rosa had already converted to the sick much earlier in the night and had gotten settled into a cosy twin size bed with Lenya in the so called „infected room“. We spend the morning on the patio, watching the sunrise and calling our families (thank you for the encouraging words). In between our medic Barbara popped by to simply confirm that we now belonged to the “newly infected”.

A long journey with Bob Marley and us Wailers

For the Bus ride we’d ordered two busses, which were divided according to infected and non- infected. With…

• Our luggage in the last row
• One LARGE puke bag per row (to share)
• Anti-puke and diarrhoea tablets
• And our DJ Nikita in the back blasting Bob Marley

… we were ready to hit the road! The bus ride mainly consisted of good vibes and positive energies. After four hour of bus driving, three stops, two puke victims and a lot of sleeping, Ken picked us up and told the bus drivers where to go. We were dropped of by a fence, where Ken loaded the heavy peoples‘ luggage on his truck as they and our medic walked ahead. Meanwhile we waited, rested and slept at the side of the road until Ken picked us up and drove us to the house Barbara had declared „Fit for the sick“.

Quarantined at Ken’s

This was the house his parents initially wanted to move into, but ultimately decided against, due to the way Covid was handled here in Costa Rica. We all set up our sleeping gear in the rooms and, shoulder to shoulder, went for a quick nap. When we woke up Ken had brought us medicine, Lemon juice with a lot of salt and his lovely wife brought us soup and rice to our little safehouse:) On that note we wanted to take the opportunity to thank Ken for all the motivating words and taking care of us during our stay so far- He definitely insured our speedy recovery! As I ate my lunch with Emily on the patio in the poach swing, we were able to appreciate, for the first time, all the diverse plants and insects in this rainforest that Ken took care of over 20 years time. After lunch, the day was over for my Gastrointestinal- virus- buddies, Juno, Rosa and I, but the others got a really interesting briefing and insight into Ken’s very eventful, multifaceted life. Thanks to Jules, Emily and Justus, who made sure to brief me post- sickness, I can now give you readers a short insight into the life of this crazy man, whom we have the fortune to spend the next five days with:)

This is Ken…

Ken was born in Delmenhorst, close to Bremen in Germany and moved out at 18 to study Japanology, where he specified in Japanese economics. While attending an internship at a place that sells high quality musical instruments, he decided to break off his studies and dedicate himself to it full-time. Then he sold art for a while and worked as a Thai boxer (semi legal). At that time, Ken neither wanted children and found the thought of a serious relationship almost repulsing… A mindset worlds away from the reality of the life he’s built up here in Costa Rica over the last 20 years… with 32 he got married to his wife, a respected member of the Bribrí indigenous community and together they have four daughters and a son.

In order to protect the environment, Ken is currently in the process of creating a foundation out of the multifaceted, diverse Rainforest he now considers his home. However, in oder to provide more opportunities for his childrens‘ future, he’s now planning to move back to Germany with his family. Full disclosure, Ken’s a really tough guy, not a communist (as he reminded us multiple times) and ever since he moved to Costa Rica he’s become a Christian, had to deal with land and wood theft, his family got threatened and he got shot at.

Greetings:

Rosa: Liebe Familie, mir geht es schon viel besser. Ich habe kein Fieber mehr und muss auch nicht mehr kotzen. Macht euch keine Sorgen. Meine Freunde waren gut für mich da und haben sich auuch gut um mich gekümmert. Ich melde mich, sobald wir die Handys wieder haben. Hab‘ euch lieb! Rosa

Marlene: Liebe Mama, lieber Papa, keine Sorge, ich bin wieder völlig fit und dabei und war nach einem Tag wieder gesund! Ich wünsche euch beiden alles Gute und hab‘ euch beide lieb:)