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Every time I think life is finally slowing down and I’ll have more time to sit down and write. But then something new pops up that takes priority. I really don’t want to let this space go quiet for too long, so I figured I’d start again with something easy—this time with some photos and videos from the surroundings. Here I was working on extra solar panels I’ve got a whole list of plans waiting for me, and as soon as I arrive in Bárcena I’ll dive right in. At the same time, we had visitors, which is the perfect excuse to give a little tour of the village—and for me, a chance to look around with fresh eyes as well. Here a small video made by a friend. And then there are our neighbors, who live here full-time and always manage to capture the most beautiful moments of the village. So today, I’m sharing a mix: some of their photos, some of mine, and a glimpse of the place as it is right now. Enjoy! 

Since I was travelling alone to Bárcena for the festival and I don't have a drivers license, I couldn't use a car to go there. Therefor I rented an electrical bike in Burgos.  There are nice bicycle routes in Spain on former train tracks called viasverdes. One of them is Camino: Santander - Mediterranean Railway (Burgos - La Engaña Tunnel) Greenway Nature Trail. https://viasverdes.com/en/itineraries/santander-mediterraneo-burgos-la-enga%C3%B1a/mapa.asp This part of the viasverdes starts close to Burgos and passes close to Bárcena, about 4 kilometers in Arconada. Of course on my way there I didn't take a lot of pictures, but on the way back there will be more. It was a very nice route to Arconada, passing the village we normally pass by car when we drive to Burgos. Since I past Arconada I decided to see if I could find Victor and I did. I met Maria, saw there honey making machine and they offered me lunch! Then after that I had to cycle the last etappe to Bárcena, which was ...

It was in May that our friend Dorien asked us if she could organize a poetry festival. We didn’t have to think about that: of course she could! We were happy to do something for Dorien, for all the help we get from her. And wow how nice is that: a festival in Bárcena! The festival was to take place on the 14 th of September. In the summer we already met some of the artists, who were there to get inspiration. And of course the organization who was preparing the festival. Unfortunately the 14 th of September was not during a children’s holiday in the Netherlands, so Maaike went on her own and without a car that was a bit of a challenge. We will spent a small blog about the journey to Bárcena without a car. I arrived on the 12 th of September, so I was able to see all the last preparation, which was already quite fun! On the 13 th there already was a sort of teaser for the festival, with images shown on the walls from light...

Our main focus is to build a food forest. We already have 120 trees planted, but to truly start working on it, we need to live there. To stay in the village, we need a house. However, building a house requires help from others, and they also need a place to stay. Meanwhile, for us to build the house, we too need somewhere to stay. And so, we find ourselves caught in a cycle. To address this, we first decided to camp out and create some basic facilities: a simple kitchen, a room to stay in, and a dry toilet. We made use of the large house for this. While the house doesn’t have a 100% waterproof roof, most of the rain runs off, with only a little seeping inside. The first room we built was on the second floor of the four-story building. This room stayed dry even during rain. We constructed a new floor and added a door, which proved to be a blessing. While we were camping, some of us came down with a stomach flu, and it was comforting to sleep on a mattress near the toilet. On the first...