Visiting La Gomera, Feb. 28

Dave with some of the children in one of the villages we visited

Dave Black, a friend from Canada, who has spent the winter here in Guatemala with us, joined us on our trip to Lake Atitlan, and graciously offered to blog this trip.  Of course, you who know me, know I will make comments, but Dave, I really appreciate you taking on this task this week.

Today, Dick, Pat, Orlindo ( Ronnie,s 8 yr. old brother ), and I ( Dave ) headed to La Gomera ,near the Pacific coast, to check on a family, and also some water filters given out last year .


Before leaving Antigua, Pat attempted to use her ATM card - to no avail. After contacting her U.S. bank ( 3 or 4 times ), she found out it had been compromised , and the bank had blocked the use of it.Her bank told her the block was removed, but after trying 3 or 4 different ATM,s, it still did not work. (There have been a lot of "cloning" of ATM cards, and my bank was being vigilant in shutting down my cards.  Of course, that doesn't help a lot when you are 1900 miles from your home bank!  They will issue new cards, which will have to be sent down here from Omaha. . .)

Then we ran into new bridge construction for another delay. Oh well, one thing I have learned here is patience!

We picked up 2 social workers, Luvia and Carla, in La Gomera, and went to visit a sponsored family near there. We delivered some food to them, and also checked their water filter. It was plugged, and they had lost the syringe to clean it. Dick had a syringe , so he cleaned it , and it worked, but apparently not fast enough for mama to fill a big pot to cook with. (This is the Reyes/Montanegro family that some of you are helping to sponsor.)

We ended up checking about 4 or 5 more, and found only one working. Maintenance seems to be a problem , and even knowing WHY to use them. The water table here is about 4 feet below ground, so these filters are definitely needed. But I am not sure the families see this need. (It is so hard to change the way people have lived for years, even when it would improve their health to do so. This trip, I learned, that many are not convinced that their contamined water is why so many of them are sick. . .again, a different way of thinking I'm learning, slowly, to deal with.


We talked afterward, and think maybe the filters should be given to community leaders first to show the other people why and how these are needed.  (We were able to give one to one of the women, Norma, who had showed us around today.  Though she had no water filter herself, when they were given out, she said she thought they should be given to the "poor" so did not take one for her family.  So often I see that the very people (Guatemalans) who help us help their people ask for, and take, nothing for themselves.)

Some of the children we visited on this trip!

 While going from house to house checking on these filters, we somehow lost Pat. We knew she did not have any money, so she could not be far . Low and behold, we found the party girl at a house celebrating a young girl's something! (I never did figure out exactly what was going on--only that it was some kind of religious ceremony for women, and seemed to be a mix of Catholic and Mayan religious traditions.  Dave, I think this is the first time I've been called a "party girl" but think I could live up to the label if given the chance!)

Orlindo riding with me in the back seat--
checking out the latest news!

We DRAGGED her out of there,  (now you see why the guys weren't invited in!) and after dropping off the social workers, headed to a nice hotel with a pool - it was quite hot down here. Orlindo loved the water, jumping in to Dick and I. I found out he also likes wrestling on the bed. As Dick noted, he thinks this was a good trip for Orlindo to help get over his brother's passing.

While I enjoy being invited into homes more readily than the guys, there are some drawbacks.  These fruits, called, Jocote mareñon, are popular with the people eaten directly from the tree.  I, thoughtlessly, asked what they were called, and was immediately given some to try.  I'm not really all that adventurous with foods, and had some concern about the cleanliness of the water in which they were washed, but tried them anyway (as they guys stood waiting for me, I think chuckling at my dilema.)  I took a bite and discovered they were not horrible, but definitely not my favorite, having a flavor that somehow dries out your mouth.  I could not help but finish it, though, as the other ladies were continuing to enjoy theirs and were excited to share this new food with me! 

My favorite parts of these trips continues to be the time I get to spend with the children.  Here the children started out very shy, but warmed up quickly.  The little guy below is one of my favorites.  His name is Diego, and when I said, "like Go-Go Diego" he immediately sang the whole theme-song for me. (For those less well-informed:  Go-Go Diego is a children's cartoon show, popular both in the US and Guatemala.  My grandson, Zach, tells him mom I'm living in the jungle with Diego every time the TV show comes on!  Lindy, you can show him the picture of the "real" Diego, though he doesn't quite live in a jungle!)

A real-life Diego