Dec 08

Escuela El Amatillo

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In this age of E begging, Youtube sailors who use Paypal, Patreon and other money transfer sites to finance their chosen lifestyles it is nice to come across a group of fellow cruisers who choose to give something back. During our working life we dreamt of the time when we could untie the dock lines and travel south, never knowing where we would end up. Mistress and crew, are now going into our 8th year,…. Time Flys.!!!   We always had it in our mind that we would like to volunteer and help a small community. Our opportunity came available, when we met  Steve, on Slow flight who has a school project at El Bongo school. We started building desk tops for a classroom which has some kids sitting on upturned pails. Steve introduced us to Janice and Dave, another cruising couple, on Living Life, who were fast tracking their project, because they were leaving the Rio. For now, we moved our efforts over here, most of the schools in Guatemala need help.

First on the list, was the project of building a fence to protect the children. The desks in the school are old, marked up and broken. Most need new tops while others need replacement seats.The splinters keep the students awake, but make it  hard to concentrate. With three full classrooms, they had only 1 working toilet. We will rebuild the working parts and get them functional again. Working in the marina workshop and the school we have cut out replacement desk tops and put on a number of coats of paint. The teacher desks, now sport a new varnished top also.

The kitchen in the school where the children receive lunch, will received a new metal top for the wood burning stove and  chimney.To. us it seems primitive but to the lady’s of the village this is the way they prepare food every day. Two new picnic tables were built and placed in the food prep area. It is only one of the projects completed, we still have a lot more to do.

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Mar 16

Our Island Pets

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When I was young my mother used to save the ends of the bread, then break it up to feed the birds beside our house. We also had a community bowl which we filled with table scraps for any stray cats that wandered into our yard. The ones that did usually lived out there days around our house. Our pet dog protected them from the stray dogs who also tried to get a free meal. They only got bones. With 2 dogs in the house, plus 4 pet cats, [who also had names] , and numerous stray cats, I came to enjoy feeding animals.

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Around here, there are lots of coconuts, which the Guatusa really like,… only problem, they need someone to crack them open. When they hear the sound of them being chopped with the machete they come running.

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This little bandit comes by our boat and has a sweet tooth for especially Hummingbird nectar. He has been caught in the act sneaking across the dock to get at our feeder, then turning it upside down making a mess and spilling all over. Cute but destructive.

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For me it is a joy to live amongst all these animals.

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The main beach is just a taxi ride away, West End, and West Bay, and while, we are here…..why not get the famous drink, Monkey La La. We walked along the beach for about 2 miles, stopping in a few beach front bars to get cold drinks, before reaching Bananarama, a resort with restaurant named the Thirsty Turtle, where we had a fantastic lunch.      Great way to spend the day.

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