Canned veggies, coconut milk, tuna, tortillas, salva vida beer and granola were all on the menu. Yep I did the shopping!
Photos of Parque Nacional Celaque y Cerro Las Minas:
Cloud Forest
Welcome to the top of Honduras.
La Vista
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Highest Mountain in Honduras, Check!
At just over 2,800 meters (you do the math for feet). El cerro de Las Minas is Honduras' highest point. Not, exactly a walk in the park either. We hiked to the peak in 7 hours and spent one night camping out in the Honduran Cloud Forest. It was a great break from the small dusty city of Gracias.
Canned veggies, coconut milk, tuna, tortillas, salva vida beer and granola were all on the menu. Yep I did the shopping!
Photos of Parque Nacional Celaque y Cerro Las Minas:
Canned veggies, coconut milk, tuna, tortillas, salva vida beer and granola were all on the menu. Yep I did the shopping!
Photos of Parque Nacional Celaque y Cerro Las Minas:
Gracias for Honduras
While on a nine day break from the orphanage, we have been in Honduras experiencing all of it's treasures: beer, outdoors, pueblitos, and it's amazing people.
Honduras, much less traveled than it's neighbor Guatemala, has been an unexpected jewel in our Journey.
Honduras, the land of bananas and drugs.
Honduras, where the leading economic force is money sent from the US.
Honduras, filled with a gently curious population.
Honduras, home to TWO micro-breweries. Yes, we have been to both.
Honduras, we love you.
Photos of Gracias, Honduras:
Honduras, much less traveled than it's neighbor Guatemala, has been an unexpected jewel in our Journey.
Honduras, the land of bananas and drugs.
Honduras, where the leading economic force is money sent from the US.
Honduras, filled with a gently curious population.
Honduras, home to TWO micro-breweries. Yes, we have been to both.
Honduras, we love you.
Photos of Gracias, Honduras:
Que bella...vista del hotel.
Colored Chicks...Just in time for Easter.
If it only was a beer.
Funeral, not sure why I took a picture.
Mmm, that's some good eating.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Welcome to the Jungle!
We dove right into the jungle, with its abundance of wildlife (snakes, birds, rats, monkeys, butterflies, etc..) plants, water, fungus, BUG bites, illness, head lice, mold and mud! The night time is filled with strange, mysterious noises and creepy crawlers. The first couple of nights were long, as I tried to identify every noise and convince myself that my mosquito net would protect me from any invader. Just as I was finally getting used to sleeping in harmony with the critters , I encountered a HUGE tarantula in my bed that Dominic proceeded to kill. It wasn't until the next day after the 'sacrifice', we found out that yes the spider bites and yes it is very poisonous. Yikes. I had probably been sleeping with my little friend for a week before I happened to lift up my pillow before bed that night and it jumped out at me. In the early morning, the jungle greets us with a 5am wake up call from the howler monkeys and the hundreds of birds and frogs. I find the mornings much more enjoyable.
Casa Guatemala lies right on the Sweet River (Rio Dulce)... and its name holds true. The river is magnificent. In the afternoons, we go swimming with the boys (whose house sits right on the river) in the relatively warm but refreshing river and marvel at the pelicans diving head first into the water. When its not raining (our second week here it didn't stop raining for 6 days), it is breathtaking. No sunset measures up to those in New Mexico, however the Guatemalan sky has proven that its beauty is comparable.
The clinic, where I spend most of the day, is located right on the river with its own dock, secluding it from the orphanage/school and its 250 children. The clinic is very simple and basic. It serves not only the orphanage and the students, but the outlying Mayan villages that inhabit near the shores of the river. It is equipped with a somewhat decent pharmacy and two examination rooms. Doctors and nurses from Canada and the United States come as volunteers for days to weeks at a time and provide full examinations and medications to the people. Myself and another nurse from the states are two semi-permanent nurses there now who basically run the clinic and live close by in case of an emergency either at the orphanage or in the village. It has definitely been a challenge for me, given my unfamiliarity with third world tropical diseases and most of all, lack of resources. I am learning an incredible amount not only about treatments of fungus, scabies, parasites, tropical ulcers, etc.. but about the Mayan culture and the people.
Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks Michelle (the other RN) and I will be spending a lot of time in Brisas, the village close to Casa Guatemala. We plan to build relationships with some of the locals and investigate the healthcare needs of the the community and what kinds of public health education would be most beneficial and realistic to the area.
PAZ,
Yasmin
Casa Guatemala lies right on the Sweet River (Rio Dulce)... and its name holds true. The river is magnificent. In the afternoons, we go swimming with the boys (whose house sits right on the river) in the relatively warm but refreshing river and marvel at the pelicans diving head first into the water. When its not raining (our second week here it didn't stop raining for 6 days), it is breathtaking. No sunset measures up to those in New Mexico, however the Guatemalan sky has proven that its beauty is comparable.
The clinic, where I spend most of the day, is located right on the river with its own dock, secluding it from the orphanage/school and its 250 children. The clinic is very simple and basic. It serves not only the orphanage and the students, but the outlying Mayan villages that inhabit near the shores of the river. It is equipped with a somewhat decent pharmacy and two examination rooms. Doctors and nurses from Canada and the United States come as volunteers for days to weeks at a time and provide full examinations and medications to the people. Myself and another nurse from the states are two semi-permanent nurses there now who basically run the clinic and live close by in case of an emergency either at the orphanage or in the village. It has definitely been a challenge for me, given my unfamiliarity with third world tropical diseases and most of all, lack of resources. I am learning an incredible amount not only about treatments of fungus, scabies, parasites, tropical ulcers, etc.. but about the Mayan culture and the people.
Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks Michelle (the other RN) and I will be spending a lot of time in Brisas, the village close to Casa Guatemala. We plan to build relationships with some of the locals and investigate the healthcare needs of the the community and what kinds of public health education would be most beneficial and realistic to the area.
A group of residents came from the states to visit and provide basic healthcare to rural villages along the Rio Dulce. I went along with them to a secluded village, about a two hour hike from the river banks in the dense tropical forest.
We converted the villages main classroom into a 'clinic'
This 17 year old mom and her 2 month old have a severe case of scabies. You can see the scarring on the mom's arms and baby has lost her hair from the infected scabs and mite infestation. This particular village has had many problems in the past, with over 80% of the 300 people who live there infected.
Casa Guatemala Clinic
PAZ,
Yasmin
Casa Guatemala - The Arrival Days
With much anticipation, we arrived to Casa Guatemala (CG), a "self sustaining" (I'll explain the quotes shortly) orphanage in the middle of the jungle. Located 30 minute only accessible by boat from Rio Dulce in the provence on Izabal.
Well, according to the website (case-guatemala.com) the orphanage is made to look as though it is a "self-sustaining" place. Not the case, as we would soon to come to find out in the first weeks of our volunteer experience.
Let's start from the beginning:
We chose to volunteer at CG for a few reasons. 1. Location 2. It's "Self Sufficiency" 3. It's mission.
1. Location - We liked the fact that it seemed secluded, limited power, limited access, and so forth. We we're thinking that this seclusion would give us more insight to the rural Guatemalan cultures. Which, in a since it does. However, Rio Dulce also happens to be the safest location for Caribbean Sailors to dock their boats during hurricanes. In other words, Rio Dulce is a hot spot for washed up, retired American sailors. Quite the contrast...Secluded orphanage on the river v.s. 35 foot yachts. Not what we envisioned.
2. "Self Sufficiency" - At least for myself, this was the main draw to volunteer at CG. According to the website, GC has chickens, pigs, and a farm that supply the children with superb nutrition (their mission). Not the case. Yes, there are a few pigs. But, the the kids are only given the chicharones (basically the part of the pig you don't want to eat...hot dog meat...follow?...liver, intestine, and fat...I think you get it now). The meat from the pigs is then sold in the market. Chickens, don't exist. Supposedly the feed got to pricey and now they have torn down the coops...no more huevos! The farm, they mainly grow corn now, with non of it making it to the kitchen for the kids.
3. It's mission - Provide home, nutrition, and healthcare for the orphanages. Yes, there is a roof over the children's heads, yes they do eat (rice and beans 3 times a day), and yes they do get volunteer delivered healthcare.
All in all we feel as though we have been slightly deceived by the website. And, there are many more annoyances, but no reason to bother you with them.
NOW, we are on our first descanso (break) from CG, and what better way to spend it? Drinking micro-brew in HONDURAS!!! DD Brewery. The only micro-brew in Honduras.
Si no estas viviendo, solo queda una option mas.
DOM
Well, according to the website (case-guatemala.com) the orphanage is made to look as though it is a "self-sustaining" place. Not the case, as we would soon to come to find out in the first weeks of our volunteer experience.
Let's start from the beginning:
We chose to volunteer at CG for a few reasons. 1. Location 2. It's "Self Sufficiency" 3. It's mission.
1. Location - We liked the fact that it seemed secluded, limited power, limited access, and so forth. We we're thinking that this seclusion would give us more insight to the rural Guatemalan cultures. Which, in a since it does. However, Rio Dulce also happens to be the safest location for Caribbean Sailors to dock their boats during hurricanes. In other words, Rio Dulce is a hot spot for washed up, retired American sailors. Quite the contrast...Secluded orphanage on the river v.s. 35 foot yachts. Not what we envisioned.
2. "Self Sufficiency" - At least for myself, this was the main draw to volunteer at CG. According to the website, GC has chickens, pigs, and a farm that supply the children with superb nutrition (their mission). Not the case. Yes, there are a few pigs. But, the the kids are only given the chicharones (basically the part of the pig you don't want to eat...hot dog meat...follow?...liver, intestine, and fat...I think you get it now). The meat from the pigs is then sold in the market. Chickens, don't exist. Supposedly the feed got to pricey and now they have torn down the coops...no more huevos! The farm, they mainly grow corn now, with non of it making it to the kitchen for the kids.
3. It's mission - Provide home, nutrition, and healthcare for the orphanages. Yes, there is a roof over the children's heads, yes they do eat (rice and beans 3 times a day), and yes they do get volunteer delivered healthcare.
All in all we feel as though we have been slightly deceived by the website. And, there are many more annoyances, but no reason to bother you with them.
NOW, we are on our first descanso (break) from CG, and what better way to spend it? Drinking micro-brew in HONDURAS!!! DD Brewery. The only micro-brew in Honduras.
Si no estas viviendo, solo queda una option mas.
DOM
Our jungle home away from home.
Our jungle bedroom away from bedroom.
Tortillas de maiz....every meal...Rice, beans, tortilla. Mmm
Boys house.
Girls House.
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