Our cousin Jaime Gonzalez is now the owner of one of my grandfather's farms - Los Monos. He acquired the farm (that was co-owned by my uncle) through inheritance and by buying out his brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles. He has turned a moribund, low-producing farm into a thriving enterprise that has 350,000 coffee trees, 1000 chickens, and three tilipia ponds.While impressive, the fun part for us was the tour he gave us on his souped-up, diesel-powered, air-braked, siren-equipped, "Indiana Jones" jeep. This monster had more horse-power than a Hummer and better traction and stability than a mountain-raised mule. Jaime took all of us on (in two groups) on a tour of his farm - up trails that you probably couldn't walk up and around vertical drop-offs that would make your head spin. The sound of the air brakes reminded all of us the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland - but this was real. Cecilia and Caroline rode standing up in the back (no safety belt for these riders) laughing and hooting all the way. Nora's only safety advice was, "Girls, if this thing starts to tip, JUMP." Jaime, who has driven the jeep around these trails during thunderstorms while fully loaded with a couple tons of coffee, only smiled.
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