Buenos Tardes, nuestros amigos y familia!
The rain! Yikes! We knew we were coming in rainy season-- but the gringas really didn´t have a clue. It has poured buckets every day. Today we visited a beautiful community on the shores of Lago Yojoa called Las Marias. We´ve been there every year. And for a while we thought we might have to move there since we were unable to leave due to the deluge. We finally left with 7 of us and all of our medicines and equipment stuffed in the back of an ambulance. Up and over a Honduran mountain or two, fording several creeks that weren't there when we arrived, all of us wedged in a 30 year old ambulance.
As always -- the children melted our hearts. 110 patients today --a slow day by the standards of this week. Fortunately most of the people we see are remarkably healthy and very grateful for the small things like vitamins or tylenol. The puppet show was a huge hit and all of the kids were able to sing along -- lavense los dientes-- by the second verse. It is pretty remarkable to watch these kids-- the big kids automatically move the little ones to the front so that they have a better view and there is virtually no shoving or pushing (that is if you don´t count the pushing to get closer to Donna, Maureen and Emily). Donna called it a child sauna-- about 10 degrees hotter in the middle of the pile.
The toothbrushes have been a huge hit -- though it may be a bit like closing the barn door after the horse gets out! Honduras seems to be on a perpetual two steps forward, one step back cycle....but definitely with forward progress. Las Marias has electricity --new since last year. And Las Vegas has trash receptacles and one-way streets which are a step up from the everyman-for-himself traffic of previous years. Los Arcos, our hotel, is truly jammed with guests which seems to be a nice sign of more commerce. But there are still the steps back -- a chicken pox outbreak in Las Marias because of no vaccinations and roads to El Palmer that are downright scary. Life is so hard here but yet there is such a sense of community and togetherness.
Tomorrow we go to La Bajia - a new town for all of us that is way up in the mountains. Tonight we will pack pills, go to the pharmacy for some more supplies, and hopefully rest a bit. The previous two days were really long and we are all feeling a bit refreshed by our day in Las Marias.
Hasta mañana,
Donna, Laurie, Maureen, Kristi, Laine and Emily
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