PEOPLE

“!Adeu!” – I shouted at the passengers of the boat leaving the Finca pier going to Rio Dulce. It means “good bye” in Catalan. Everyday people arrive at this secluded place. And everyday people leave.

In the 3 weeks spent here, I’ve only met the nicest and the coolest people ever. Perhaps is this place, these trees, this ageless river that attracts them. Perhaps all of this natural beauty brings out the best of people. Their good nature shines through.

Every single day, they walk in, look around, open their eyes as wide as they can, to take it all in, and in their default language, say in awe: “Wow. This place is awesome. Wow. I love it here. Tres joule. Wunderbar. Bello. Troppo bellisimo. Fantastico. Estupendo. Que bonito. Un sitio de puta madre.”

When I asked Chris about this, he confirmed that only nice people come to Finca but he also warned me about the Israelis. “They’re cool,” - he said – “although they always complain about something mundane and always ask for a discount.”

Since I’ve been here, I’ve came across French, British, Basque, Australians, Germans, Americans, Spanish, Italians, Austrian, Catalans, Koreans, New Zealanders, and of course Israelis. Every single one of them was amazing.

Even the ones that Chris warned me about. The other day I got a phone call from an Israeli dude. He said that he had met two Israeli couples that have been to Finca. He wanted to have the best bungalow in the house, “Money is no problem.” – he insisted. And guess what, he wouldn’t speak with anyone else but Paulo, yours truly.

It has to be said that although the trees, the deco, the tree houses, the pier, the thatch bungalows are all gorgeous, it ain’t these elements that make this place warm and welcoming. It’s the people.

As author Phyllis Taylor Pianka once explained: “...it’s people who make life fascinating. People leave their imprint on old places like this. People in all their complexities with all their goodness and all their sins. (...) a place is nothing until you have people to dance to its music.” – Phyllis shared – “That’s what this place is all about. The people. A generation who by their mere existence, left their mark on the world. Not all of them good, but these people had character, character to be reckoned with. They were people who were driven to meet their destinies, be it in heaven or the darker kingdom.”

This place was built with love, a family lived here, promises were made, babies were born, hearts were broken, people have stayed and people have left.

So will I, very soon.

Ciao 4 now

~ Paulo ~