From One Country to the Next
I woke to the sound of the pattern of rain which was mich quieter than the squawking of birds that we normally hear. It was the last morning in Nicaragua and we have had fantastic weather so a a warm rain felt like tears falling as we had to say good bye.
We had mostly packed all the bags the night before but with a few personal items, we re-checked the weight and shifted some things so that we distributed everything into equal packs. Considering that we were leaving a couple of hundred pairs of glasses, lots of medical supplies and all the optical machines, it was incredible that we still had 2 bags for every person and 2 overweight. We might had done a bit of shopping at the markets and we still have coffee to get in El Salvador.
We had no problem checking through and again were taking a small dual engine jet for the 1hr flight. We just hoped all the luggage came with us.
It was a short flight so we only had a snack given to us. A mixed bag snack and a small croissant with ham, cheese and lettuce. By ham cheese and lettuce, I might mean the smallest portions possible to put on a mini croissant and still call it a sandwich.
It was a smooth flight and we were all grateful to see every bag come off the plane.
We were met at the airport by Pastor Melvin and 32C humid weather. He said that we would be taking Tuk-tuks to Santa Ana, the village that we would be based in. Irene and I were up for it even though it was a 1.5hr drive into the mountains. Instead he had a luxury mini-bus waiting for us. It still took every square inch of space including the aisles to hold all of our luggage and people. Once you found your seat, basically you were there for the haul. I settled into enjoy the scenery and watch a movie on my iPad. As I was setting up, I over heard Melvin tell, Deb our team leader that we would be having a small clinic just for optical the next day. I was fine with the additional clinic day and would have the whole team to help.
The drive though the mountains was beautiful and the time went quickly. I even managed to nap for a few minutes.
We arrived at the church that is hosting us for the next seven days with help to unload our stuff and dinner waiting. It was baked chicken with a tomato sauce, salad and mashed yucca. Perfect. Deb told me we would be doing a small optical clinic the next day of about 30 people at the church. I said no problem it would be a good warm up for the team.
After dinner, 6 of us worked on organizing the bags while the mid week church service rocked beside us. Much like Malawi, it was great to hear familiar tunes with spanish singing.
We got all the luggage sorted into what we were taking to our accommodations and what could be left at the church.
We had a chance to talk to Melvin’s wife, Dina. This is when Irene called me over and said that she thought that Dina said there would be 100 people at the clinic and it wouldn’t be at the church. My Spanish is getting better( and no, I don’t mean just adding an “o” to the end of English words like Mary does) so I asked Dina where the clinic was and how many people. She responded that it was going to be about 100 people at a school. I needed to talk to Deb.
When Deb came out of the service, I told her about the conversation and her eyes widened in shock. NO that couldn’t be right she said she would clarify with Melvin. Sure enough, Melvin had meant there would be 30 FAMILIES which would be about 100 people. Ok preparing for 30 assessments and preparing for 100 is a whole different mind set. At least we know the night before not surprised in the morning.
We loaded into the smaller 15seater van with about 1/2 our luggage and headed to our accommodations which turns out is a small private resort. BY resort, I mean a local gated motel but the good news is there is a swimming pool which is the trade off for having no hot water in the bathroom and slow internet.
It actually looks like a pretty little space but I will know more in the daylight. The air is filled with smell of tropical flowers and there are no sounds of guard whistles, dogs, roosters or squawking birds to lull us to sleep.
Ready for a good night’s sleep before our first clinic in El Salvador.
We had mostly packed all the bags the night before but with a few personal items, we re-checked the weight and shifted some things so that we distributed everything into equal packs. Considering that we were leaving a couple of hundred pairs of glasses, lots of medical supplies and all the optical machines, it was incredible that we still had 2 bags for every person and 2 overweight. We might had done a bit of shopping at the markets and we still have coffee to get in El Salvador.
We had no problem checking through and again were taking a small dual engine jet for the 1hr flight. We just hoped all the luggage came with us.
It was a short flight so we only had a snack given to us. A mixed bag snack and a small croissant with ham, cheese and lettuce. By ham cheese and lettuce, I might mean the smallest portions possible to put on a mini croissant and still call it a sandwich.
It was a smooth flight and we were all grateful to see every bag come off the plane.
We were met at the airport by Pastor Melvin and 32C humid weather. He said that we would be taking Tuk-tuks to Santa Ana, the village that we would be based in. Irene and I were up for it even though it was a 1.5hr drive into the mountains. Instead he had a luxury mini-bus waiting for us. It still took every square inch of space including the aisles to hold all of our luggage and people. Once you found your seat, basically you were there for the haul. I settled into enjoy the scenery and watch a movie on my iPad. As I was setting up, I over heard Melvin tell, Deb our team leader that we would be having a small clinic just for optical the next day. I was fine with the additional clinic day and would have the whole team to help.
The drive though the mountains was beautiful and the time went quickly. I even managed to nap for a few minutes.
We arrived at the church that is hosting us for the next seven days with help to unload our stuff and dinner waiting. It was baked chicken with a tomato sauce, salad and mashed yucca. Perfect. Deb told me we would be doing a small optical clinic the next day of about 30 people at the church. I said no problem it would be a good warm up for the team.
After dinner, 6 of us worked on organizing the bags while the mid week church service rocked beside us. Much like Malawi, it was great to hear familiar tunes with spanish singing.
We got all the luggage sorted into what we were taking to our accommodations and what could be left at the church.
We had a chance to talk to Melvin’s wife, Dina. This is when Irene called me over and said that she thought that Dina said there would be 100 people at the clinic and it wouldn’t be at the church. My Spanish is getting better( and no, I don’t mean just adding an “o” to the end of English words like Mary does) so I asked Dina where the clinic was and how many people. She responded that it was going to be about 100 people at a school. I needed to talk to Deb.
When Deb came out of the service, I told her about the conversation and her eyes widened in shock. NO that couldn’t be right she said she would clarify with Melvin. Sure enough, Melvin had meant there would be 30 FAMILIES which would be about 100 people. Ok preparing for 30 assessments and preparing for 100 is a whole different mind set. At least we know the night before not surprised in the morning.
We loaded into the smaller 15seater van with about 1/2 our luggage and headed to our accommodations which turns out is a small private resort. BY resort, I mean a local gated motel but the good news is there is a swimming pool which is the trade off for having no hot water in the bathroom and slow internet.
It actually looks like a pretty little space but I will know more in the daylight. The air is filled with smell of tropical flowers and there are no sounds of guard whistles, dogs, roosters or squawking birds to lull us to sleep.
Ready for a good night’s sleep before our first clinic in El Salvador.
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