FRONTERAS, GUATEMALA TO THE "OLD FOLKS HOME" AND A MAYAN VILLAGE 10/25 - 11/8/2018

This week we're spending our last few days in France before heading back to the States. I look forward to telling you about our times both here and in Switzerland. It's much different than the western Caribbean.

Other Stuff: 

1. Wherever there are a considerable number of people living on boats in one place for an extended period of time, a Cruisers Net is usually organized. The net on the Rio Dulce (Sweet River) is very active. Every morning at 7:30, except Sundays, one of a handful of cruisers will take their turn at hosting the net. It is broadcast and received over channel 69 on marine vhf radios which every cruising boat has. The host goes through a script, which includes asking if anyone has an emergency to report; if there are any new boats who would like to say hello or if anyone is leaving and would like to say good bye; asks if anyone would like to talk with anyone else on the radio after the net; gives a weather and tides reports; has local restaurants tell us what their lunch specials are; asks if anyone needs help with any repairs, where to find things, who to contact about having work done, etc.; asks if anyone has items they would like to buy, sell or trade; gives the opportunity for local businesses to make short advertisements; allows people to announce what special events may be coming up; and finally asks if anyone has anything else to say. The net usually lasts 30 to 60 minutes, depending on who the host is and how chatty the cruisers are that morning. I think it's very helpful, especially to those new to the area. It can also be pretty entertaining, as some cruisers routinely get under each other’s skin.

2. Wherever we have been, there's been MANY more women of all ages traveling solo or in pairs, than men. Delana says it's because most women are braver. I say it's because most men are just more content with where they are. 

3. There are a lot of American logoed t-shirts in Central America. When shirts don’t sell in the States, they must get sold here at a discount, or are maybe just donated. It's kind of strange to see a Mayan man in a "My Little Pony" or "Go Big Red" t-shirt.

4. There's also a lot of American music, including country, in Central America, as well as Europe. And they aren’t always the best songs. Again, it’s pretty weird to hear Billy Ray Cyrus singing “Achy Breaky Heart” in the Swiss Alps.

I began writing this blog last week while in Switzerland. Vreni and Thomas, who are two of Delana's VERY good/generous friends, invited us to visit them there. We spent about half the week in and around the city of Basel, and the other half in and around the ski town of Arosa, which is in the Swiss Alps. In the case of the latter, both Vreni and Thomas are part mountain goat, so they nearly hiked us to death. I'll cover Switzerland in a future blog. We had a great time despite the blisters.

The Saturday before Halloween and the Day of the Dead, the cemetery across the little bay from where we're docked, was busy with people cutting weeds, cleaning up and decorating grave sites. They had a big service on that Sunday. In the lower right corner of the above photo you can see a empty paint can and bottle. Other empty cans, as well as used brushes, were left among the graves. I suppose they'll get picked up the Saturday before next year's Day of the Dead. 

Delana was absolutely hideous for Halloween, which we celebrated by dinghying to a couple different water front bars.

Through a cruiser founded/funded/operated group called Pass It On, we visited the only senior care facility in the area. We took this tuk-tuk on the last leg of the trip. They are the most common form of taxi. Once I got in, there were six of us, plus supplies. 

This is the open air "community room". As I recall there were a total of 33 residents with only six of them being women. Guatemalan families tend to take care of their elderly relatives at home anyway, but that especially goes for the elderly women. I was told that's because the women still have value (i.e., cooking, sewing, babysitting, cleaning, etc.), while the old guys, not so much. We were also told that women don't live as long as men because from a young age they are continually working over wood burning fires and breathing the smoke.

Five of us cruisers went to the home, including three Americans, our Belgian Spanish teacher and a French doctor. Dixie and Delana both gave the men haircuts, while Delana also gave the women manicures. 

The doctor originally came just to look at one specific resident's eyes, but as long as he was going, decided to also check everyone's blood sugar and pressure.

Then he ran across this guy, who's leg had been infected for years. The doctor removed the dead skin without the benefit of any anesthesia, so you could hear the poor man screaming. Since then, and thanks to Pass It On, he received the proper treatments and has nearly fully recovered.

We brought and fixed tuna sandwiches, with tomatoes, lettuce, fruit, cake and lemonade for lunch. They didn't have a can opener and we couldn't find one in the local stores, so we used knives to open the tuna cans. Thankfully no one got hurt.

A baker in Fronteras donated a couple cakes. It looks like they may have been mistakes or were just never picked up.

I don't think a single crumb was left on anyone's plate.

This is where the cooking is normally done, all over a wood fire.

It looks like the residents get plenty of potassium.

 

Though sparse, the facility really was clean. However, we were told that only happens when management knows visitors are coming.

Just some of the interesting faces. Though only one of us knew Spanish, I think all the residents really appreciated the special attention, as well as just the human contact.

Again with Pass It On, we went to a couple Mayan villages. Here we are getting briefed before going on our first trip. Among other things, we were told not to get separated from the group, as some of the villages are very afraid of outsiders coming to kidnap their daughters.

Just another perspective of downtown Fronteras. This time from the back of a pick-up on our way to the village.

Though the village is located on a large privately owned ranch, I guess it is grandfathered in, so access to and from is allowed. We had to go past an armed ranch guard, through a couple gates, across this stream and up a long dirt road to get there.

On both of our trips to the villages, we had some minor truck issues. This time with the brakes.

Everyone is gathering outside the school house prior to our presentation. In this village we saw mostly women, children and very few men. The school's kitchen is the building in the back ground.

Before giving them toothbrushes, each kid had to demonstrate they knew how to brush up and down. That's something I still haven't mastered.

The women have to walk quite a ways to get water, as well as to wash clothes.

This woman has skills.

hen they have to take the water up a pretty decent hill to the village. The traditional Mayan women are always colorfully dressed. 

This is a typical house. They have dirt floors, hammocks or maybe homemade beds, and a wood burning fire to cook over. That's about it.

 

Besides toothbrushes, we brought water filters, which basically consist of water slowly weeping through a clay pot into a five gallon bucket. Here our Spanish teacher is demonstrating how to clean them. Subsequently we found a bunch of similar filters the government had given the village. However, they were never given any instructions, so the filters became contaminated and unusable.

Women and children watching the water filter demonstration. There are quite a few little kids. The girls often our having children by the time they're 14 years old.

Besides the toothbrushes and water filters, we also brought pictures to color, along with colored pencils. They were a big hit. It is my understanding that most kids don't go to school beyond 8th grade and many not past 6th.

Though Spanish is Guatemala's official language, over 30 other languages are also spoken. Most of them are some form of Mayan. All these languages may have something to do with the extremely low literacy rate and lack of education. On this trip we brought a guy who could translate between Q'eqchi and Spanish, along with our Spanish teacher who could translate between Spanish and English. 

Besides the toothbrushes, water filters and coloring books/pencils we also brought reading glasses. The Mayan women do a LOT of sewing, but because there's no electricity, it's often by fire light, which is tough on their eyes. So when they can no longer see well enough to thread a needle, that's a big deal. By watching the women and men try to thread a needle, Delana is able to make sure they get the right strength of glasses. It was fun to see the joy in their faces once they could thread the needle. 

Besides the toothbrushes, water filters, coloring books/pencils and reading glasses, we also brought two soccer balls. One labeled boys and one girls, otherwise the boys would take them both.

Much like the rest of Central America, there are no shortage of dogs. These guys are taking it easy outside the kitchen.

At the end of the day the village provided each of us with huge plates of fruit.

Feeding additional people isn't always easy for the villages, so Pass It On tries to keep their teams to no larger than 6 or 7. Here everyone was watching us eat, which was a little uncomfortable.

We ended up sharing most of our fruit with the kids.

This is the view of the Rio Dulce as we crossed the bridge on our way back from the village. Our marina is at the second peninsula on the left.

At our debriefing we not only talked about the disabled water filters we found, but also how some of the men in the village had taken apart the little solar lights that Pass It On had given them on a previous visit. The guys were trying to use the small solar panels from the lights to charge their cell phones. Of course that didn't work. A people living with dirt floors, no running water, no electricity and little education, using smart phones, go figure.