We had little expectation of what we would find with our host family when we arrived.  We knew we would be staying in their tepee and helping them on their land to grow food, but otherwise we knew nothing.

The family hail from Basque Country and Alvano speaks English, having lived in Birmingham  previously. Olga used to work for Medecin Sans Frontier and has worked all over South America. The two boys were born and lived all their lives on the small holding.

The house is modest but having been built by themselves is amazing to look at.  Recycled coloured bottles are dotted throughout the walls, bringing light into the place. An outside veranda as big as the inside living space confirms outdoor living is just as important to them as indoor. A small stove sits in the middle of the house waiting to be used when the colder nights draw in. The space is open plan and allows a friendly communal space, with a private sitting area for when you want to read a book and not chat.  The outside is surrounded by foreign trees and bush that you would only dream of having in an exotic hideaway.  At night when you look up, an array of stars gleam down on you, so bright and so big, you really do feel like you can touch them.  I'm no star gazer but something that looks like the Milky Way streams straight across the black, black sky above us.  

The place really would be magical until a reformed country to city girl like me has to contend with the realities of a compostable toilet and a limited, precious supply of hot water. 

I've dealt with these things before when I've been camping, but to be faced with a lengthy time of using the facilities brought horror to my heart. And these people use it all year round??? 

Hot water wouldn't really be a problem if the weather was warm, but it's the end of winter here, and it's cold. What I would give to have a hot shower every night before bed......

Then after a few days, you just get used to it.  The shouts of joy when the tank has managed to heat enough water up for a shower for everyone brings a contented smile to my face.  The food is so protein rich that my toilet habits have completely turned about and I need to go less. 

And at the end of the day, I know my adventure here will end, and I will find a normal toilet and a shower that runs free and fast with all the hot water I could wish for, and so my worries fade again into the night. 

And if a compost toilet and minimal showers is what I have to pay for to see that sky again, then so be it.