February 2nd 2012

Hola everyone - We had a great day today!

The kids at Chacap are very
Interested in Brian's drill.

It began when we joined friends to visit a seniors drop in centre in San Juan. We found a group of lovely energetic seniors, all beautifully dressed just waiting to meet us. They come to the centre every week day and join in a variety of activities. Today, after the introductions all round, we walked through town and up to a girls' school. Some in this group were in their eighties and nineties but they could really trot along! Wonderful to see. At the school, which had been made of cement and plastic bottles, the girls were introduced and then they paired up with a senior and asked questions in an attempt to learn the life histories of these early residents of San Juan.

Brian and I really enjoyed this activity. We met a former mayor of San Juan who had been responsible for bringing electricity to this village, 36 years ago. He also told us that the village had once been piled with garbage but now it is the cleanest pueblo around the lake. When asked about his grandchildren, he told us that he had 27!! He was 91.We will visit again and may have this group prepare some crafts as prototypes for the daycares. When we left, theseniors were setting off through the coffee plantation to climb a big hill to picnic in the forest. What an inspirational group.

Delores in her kitchen in Punyebar

This young boy is totally engaged with
The new building toys at Punyebar.

Former Mayor of San Juan

The Lego car man

Children playing with Lego

In the afternoon, Brian and I travelled by tuk tuk, two towns over, to San Marcos to visit and exlore a bit. Then Brian went up the mountain in the chicken bus.He was the last person to be able to get inside, and had to bepushed in from the back to even be able to get in. After that, an additional 8 people were sent up the ladder at the back of the bus to sit on the roof!! Then, inside, the money collector had to climb over the backs of the seats to get through all the people to collect the fares! Brian could not believe it.But he took pictures. Luckily, everyone arrived safely to the top of the mountain- a very steep, twisty climb to Santa Clara. From there Brian took a tuk tuk out to Chacap to pay the 2workers who are helping to build our classroom at the daycare centre. They had done a great job and were even ahead of schedule. Nice for a change. Brian then returned to Santa Clara and returned down the mountain in the back of a half ton truck. This afforded great views of the lake and various pueblos on the way down.

Brian inspecting work

Mixing cement

Brian is buying screening in a small
Hardware store in Santa Maria, about
A half hour from Punyebar.

Brian is installing new screens on
Classroom windows at Punyebar.

Sheila got things cleaned up at home and made supper. A gentle rain at supper time cooled things off nicely and provided stunning lighting for photos.

One of the pictures were are including this time shows a saddle made of tires and animal hide that we noticed on our walk this morning. You just never know what you might see down here. We are enjoying our associations with many other groups this year but it does keep us busy!

Enjoy the pictures and we send along thank you for all your support. Sheila and Brian