When Carlos and I bought Monte Azul 5 years ago, the property was a used from grazing a small herd of dairy cows. Past and old metal gate at the end of a short very rough and rocky road stood 1 building: La Lecheria. Lecheria translates to dairy. Telling anyone that we bought a dairy would not conjure up the impression of what really existed on the property. The Lecheria was simply a roof with makeshift walls where the cows were milked by hand. It had a toilet, 1 exposed light bulb, a feeding trough and a small locking storage area.
Over the last 5 years the Lecheria has been transformed into many things for many uses. First came the storage shed/shelter. I moved to the farm alone in July of 2006 to begin construction. To guard all of the construction materials and equipment, the Lecheria became a storage building. Since there were no other structures on the property, it also became my home. I set up a tent at one end of the storage room. It had a TV, mini frig , toaster oven and outdoor shower. It was rustic yet comfortable.
Camping has never been very appealing to me and camping for months needed to end. So, part of the Lecheria was converted to new living quarters for me and Carlos when he arrived on the weekends. The result was a fantastic little house with the luxuries of an indoor sink, toilet and gas stove. It was a major step up in the world.
A few months later, Carlos and I moved into the studio. The Lecheria became another storage room for a short period before being converted into the Café Blue kitchen and dining room. Where cows used to eat and be milked, hotel guests were now being served 4 course dinners.
When the new Café Blue opened in early 2009, the Lecheria was converted into a paint studio for Alvaro Gomez. Since Alvaro was not a Monte Azul constantly, the space also doubled as a “catchall” storage space. It was interesting to see some of the things that shared the space with him while painting: mattresses, tile saws, extra furniture, horse saddles, etc.
We have recently moved Alvaro to a larger space which left the Lecheria vacant once again. But like a Phoenix, the Lecheria continues to rise from the ashes with new life. Currently, it is undergoing a remodel that will transform it into an office for Carlos. When it is completed, I will post a photo of the new space.
It is amazing how versatile and useful the Lecheria has been over the years. However, we often joke that the amount of money that we have spent upgrading, transforming and remodeling this space, we could have built several new structures. The Lecheria is probably the most expensive part of the Monte Azul project yet is still an amalgam of parts and pieces held together with glue, tape and a lot of hope. Maybe one of these days we will tear it to the ground and start over. Or, we will simply continue to transform it into another use. Long Live the Lecheria!
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