July 1st: Georgia on my mind
We are leaving the Hostel in the Forest at 12am on the 2nd of July. We play a farmer’s market in Charleston South Carolina in the morning. We left the dense Georgian forest in the same way we arrived, weaving Goldie through the dark puddle ridden road into the abyss. The Hostel was a truly magical place. Before heading to the hostel on Thursday, we stopped in Savanna GA. Within 15 min we had unanimously decided that Savanna was the place for us. We visited SCAD and spoke with a tour guide about master’s programs and the cost of living, seeing as we were all convinced we would be moving there. From Savanna, we drove west towards Brunswick. From the hi-way, the Hostel appears as a humble sign in the woods. It took keen eyes to see the subtle dirt road of the entrance. The trees rise around us, covered in moss and lichen. Ferns, palm leaves and a dark earth cover the forest floor. The sky is a pattern of blue in the spaces between the leaves of the canopy of the jungle. Everything else is a vibrant green.
When we first arrived at the Hostel, we all took a nap. I awoke, feeling like I entered into a dream. The humidity, my exhaustion and the kind-hearted people of the Hostel all mixed into a stew I swam through for our time there. We swam in the pond, waded in the ocean and danced in the rain.
The Hostel is 90 acres of forest teaming with life. Chickens and ducks wander around the geodesic domes and tree houses. Raised wooden trails meander through the pines. There is no silence with the constant chatter of frogs, cicadas, crickets and birds. We played two shows at the Hostel in the Forest. Both nights we settled into the library, a wooden dome filled with books, blankets and an array of instruments. Both nights we sat together before the show and tuned in with each other. We set an intention with each other and then with our audience. We played acoustically, telling stories between the songs and sitting in silence at the end of the set. Both shows we finished with an accapella song, We Saw Blue.
Early in the day, we went to a driftwood beach and played in the sea. Thunder and lightning came and we stood on the shore and watched. Dark blues and grays filled the clouds. They grew and their edges blurred like watercolors until the sky bled into the sea. We realized it has rained every day that we have sung. We sing rain songs, Chuva, Agua do Mar, Texas Flood. At the end of our final show, one listener said, “you are a full cloud waiting to rain.” We made it rain.
The Hostel in the Forest was an amazing experience for us and we are so grateful for its sanctuary. Thank you everyone who creates that oasis in the jungle of southern Georgia. We cant wait to go back!
