While spending her days exploring with Dominic, some of the trails they took would end in places that were the remnants of stone buildings, which explained the reason for the dead ends. The hidden places contained interesting artifacts such as roofed stone wells, stone and beautifull carved iron gazebos, some of which had seen recent use. They found stone fire-pits with long covered picnic benches, a life size stone chessboard with wooden pieces that were nearly a foot tall and kept in a nearby wooden chest. There was a well-tended rose garden, which Alannah flocked to everyday, that coved nearly an acre of land, in the center of the garden was a glass green house, a large pond that was stocked with Koi, and goldfish. There were lilly pads on the water and the whole area was bordered by weeping willows. To Alannah these curiosities suggested that the island had once been a rich estate or country club, and Señora Beringer informed her that she was not far from the mark. Los Anteas had once been a Spanish colony, made rich because the island itself was along the best trade routes. The people were once a proud and strong tribe. They lived their lives here free of fear and tyranny, and those living on the island now did what they could to preserve the island's heritage. The parts of the island that are not tamed by its inhabitants were and remained just as strong and free, and together they create a blend of dense forests, the rolling hills and mountains dotted with small farms scattered around the island.
There was, of course, a simple explanation for the ever winding paths, the lack of and roads and the placement of the farms: the island was a mosaic of steep hills and sharp areas of rock, sheer cliffs and half-overgrown stone bluffs. There were waterfalls, tiered systems of lakes and streams, magnificent old-growth forest full of trees dripping with moss that resembled bearded wise old men, and a dense marshland that was only passable during certain times of year.
As Señora Beringer informed Alannah, newcomers either loved or hated the seclusion and beautiful scenery of Los Anteas. Unable to imagine that anyone could hate such a beautiful and wonderous place as this, Alannah fell in love with it from the moment her feet hit the gound.
With a surprisingly relentless drive, she tackled what remained of the vegetable garden. She turned the rich soil until her hands were blistered and calloused, and her back stiff and sore. Within days of beginning the task she had planted potatoes, onions and garlic, cucumbers, zucchini, rows of peas, cabbages, lettuce, radishes, rhubarb, carrots, corn, bush beans. She had another garden specifically for herbs which made Maria very happy as it was hard to get fres herbs up on the hill. She had planted everything she could find in the garden shed, and by the time she was done with the garden it was more than an acre. She put Nicolò in charge of maintaining it, keeping it watered and free of weeds.