Another day of adventures!

Jackie in front of the Gulf of Honduras

Friday May 3, 2014

Wow!  More great thunder/lightning/rain storm last night!   Still raining a bit this am.

The "tow truck" helps to get a truck out of the ditch.

Martin picked us up at 7:45 this am.   We had a long drive to the village of San Jose today.   An hour on the highway, then another hour on a gravel road.  A larger group got together for the tour today!  It was noisy in the van with all the talking going on.  What a fun group!  Helped to make the drive pass more quickly.  Shortly before arriving at our destination, we came to a block in the road.  A truck had driven off the gravel road and into a ditch.  The “tow truck” was there: a backhoe!  They finally got the truck out, with a few bangs and bruises, but it still ran.  That was fun to watch!

Horses are just tied out along side the road to munch on grass.  We saw many of these horses.  They just hang around for the day and are taken back home at night.

Our host's house

We finally arrived at our first destination.  Our host, Justino, and his wife, Christina, opened their house and shared some of their lifestyle with us.  Christina showed us how she prepares a chicken stew from scratch.  Justino took us on a tour of the village and told us about some of the practices, politics and projects being done in the village. 

Christina making a traditional chicken soup for us.

San Jose is all Mopan Maya. It was established in 1954 when farmers in the nearby forest came together and formed the village so their children could go to school. The area that is now San Jose was attractive because of the fertile farm land and two rivers that flow year-round, winding throughout the village. San Jose is known for being a progressive Maya Village. Most families depend on farming organic cacao, corn, beans, vegetables, and livestock for income. The San Jose Women's Craft Group is working to provide an alternative family income to help pay for basic family needs, including education and medicine.

Most of the homes have thatched roofs.  If done correctly, these roofs can last for 15 years!

There is a solar project being done in the village.  There has never been any electricity so now they have some for the school so the kids can learn on computers, which are a necessity if they are to make their way in the world.

Walking down the village road.

Until the early 2000's there was no water to the houses.  All the villagers had to come to the local water pumps and fill containers to take back home.

Waiting out the downpour: Kelly, Michelle, Lindsey, Justin, Jackie, Stacy and Leslie.

Then the skies opened up and we waited under a palapa until the downpour finally stopped.  Boy, it was soooo hot and muggy!  Then we went into Justino’s cacao orchard to learn about this amazing commodity.  The farmers grow the cacao organically then sell it to a processor.  So no chocolate tour and tasting for us!

The pups were waiting out the rain also!

We returned to the house and have a fabulous lunch of chicken stew and fresh made corn tortillas.  Very delicious.  Some of the ladies from the Women’s craft group came with their wares, and yes, we bought several things.  No surprise there!

The three box system for fermenting the cacao beans.

Justino and Jackie

Eating a traditional lunch with our host.

At the party: Jackie, Leslie and our trusty leader, Karen.

Lindsey, Beth and Delaney

Justin, Kelly, Michelle and Adrienne
 



Rio Blanco Waterfall

After saying goodbye to our gracious hosts, we piled into the van, turned the a/c on high, and continued on to our next stop: Rio Blanco National Park.

This park is a popular stop for locals and visitors. A small sign on the roadside points the direction to the entrance of the park. The mile long trail through the jungle comes to a couple of nice view  and “jump off” sites (more about that later).  Then a steep trail that ends at the pools below the falls.

Justin jumping in!  WooHoo!!  Martin and Kelly also jumped.

Declared an ‘Indigenous People’s Park’ in 1992, the reserve is managed by residents of the surrounding Maya villages of Santa Elena, Santa Cruz, Golden Stream Village and Pueblo Viejo Village under the title of the Rio Blanco Mayan Association (RBMA). The members of RBMA see the preservation of the ecosystem as a top priority and believe the park is a culturally appropriate and sustainable economic venture.

The main attraction here are the cascading falls of the Rio Blanco which then flow through wide,    shallow pools and over smooth slabs of mudstone and sandstone, before pouring over a 15 foot ledge into a deep pool.

Most of us went for a very refreshing swim.  We tried to swim to go under the falls, but the current was too strong.  So the young crazy folks jumped off the point and into the pool near the falls!  I don’t know how far the actual jump is… Martin estimated 20-30 feet.  Certainly a longer drop because the water level is low due to the dry season.  They had a good time.  After getting thoroughly refreshed we once again piled into the van for the trip home.  It was a much quieter time in the van!  We were all pretty tired and worn out from a hot and humid day and a very busy week. 

 

But it was not over yet!  The folks from the PG Humane Society planned a dinner party for all of us at the Coral Inn just a few doors down from us.  We needed to get back and get cleaned up and off to the party!  As we came into town I saw that the chocolate factory and store was still open and so was the ladies craft guild!  So I had Martin drop me off and I did some shopping then walked back to the hotel.  After a very fast change of clothes, I raced off to the party.

 

It was fun spending the last evening of our World Vets week with all the team members and PGHS volunteers with a good meal and visiting.  These are folks worth keeping in touch with!

Then back to our rooms for a final packing.  Most of the team leaves tomorrow.  Jackie is going to MET (I will join her in a couple of days) and I am off to Placencia to visit some new friends and do some scuba diving.  I have a lot of work to do, so “hasta” for now!