Ok so let's start at 2am at Benidorm shall we. And as usual there's me waiting, just waiting, no information and all for my bus. I was actually quite impressed with the facilities at the station. I was able to sit comfortably and buy a coffee and not feel unsafe which is important as a single traveller. Outside I ventured nearer the time of supposed bus arrival and what should I spot but a fellow native English speaker. I could tell because he had a water bottle carrier in touristic South American style. I asked where he was going to and to my surprise he replied the same town I was destined for. I asked why and lo and behold – he was only going to Sunseeds too.
On bus, sleeping bag out, miffed that it was fuller than I expected at that time of night I was all settled in to a good old rest. But to my horror I noticed not one, not two but what seemed to be a whole colonization of cockroaches crawling all over the place. The first stop we came to I marched to the driver to complain. I had tried in vain to ignore them and get some sleep but they insisted on crawling into my personal space and I wasn't having that. Driver of course being from the south and Spanish wasn't that bothered. He told me he'd give me a piece of paper to complain or something but of course he never did.
The traveler I'd met at Benidorm was an Irish guy and we arrived in Sorbas, Almeria half an hour before we were scheduled to. This was annoying because we already had a good few hours before being picked up by some members of the Sunseeds team. Luckily for us the restaurant that was the proposed meeting point of collection was open at 6.30am so the two of us went in for a wake up coffee. We chatted then as we made our way around the shut up town. We had tried to pawn off our rucksacks at the bar but owner wouldn't let us so we were malling these big things round at first light. We found a nice vantage point of the town overlooking the steep cliff edges of the valley. It was very dramatic. Unfortunately it was all rather lost on me as I was more focused on trying to wake up and get over feeling of disgusting-ness from bus.
Back to cafe we went to wait for pick up. We were approached by a guy and his baby who asked whether I was in fact Kika but seemed unaware of the arrival of my companion. However there was plenty of room in the van that arrived white of course with a hand painted Sunseeds logo on the side. Love it. After chucking our sacks in the back and a few last town errands to help with, we were off and rolling to the site of Sunseeds.
Sunseeds, as the guy with the baby explained, originally started out as a project in the late 80's to re-plant desert land with trees named 'Green Deserts'. He noted that it was dubious thinking that all deserts were once forests and of course, he's a tree expert himself, the planting failed. The project then evolved into technology export hoping to change/help third world countries with a permaculture way of living. This also did not work all though there is still a sister project in Tanzania. Today Sunseeds focusses on Technology exchange based on Permaculture ethics where three simple concepts provail. These are 'Earth Care - Provision for all life systems to continue and multiply; People Care – Provision for people to access those resources necessary for their existence and; Fair Share – By governing our own needs, we can set resources aside to further the above principles.
Hmmmm. I contemplated what I would be arriving at, how I'd cope with compost loos, limited showers and a strict vegan diet. The scenery helped. Amazing ravines and views across a scorched pre-historic landscape. We turned off the main road out of Sorbas not long after we left, in near midday sun. Just in time for lunch. Exhausted and bewildered at what I would be facing for a month I looked forward to communal eating and getting to know my surroundings and companions.
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