Allen & Marcel Volunteer in Honduras

  Allen has been busy around the ranch with various maintenance projects so today’s blog is a compilation of pictures with some limited text describing what is going on. You should be able to get a good idea of the wide variety and unusual nature of his work. He is part of a small group with Edi (pronouced Eddie) as the head of maintenance and Tino (Cellistino) and Marciel (not to be confused with Marcel) in assistance along with Allen. Edi grew up on the ranch starting at the age of 14 or 15. Marciel is putting in a year of service before starting at the University next year to study computer programming. There will be another university student in service when Marciel leaves for University the 1 st of the year. The maintenance crew does not speak much English and with the limited Spanish that Allen has acquired, he is becoming quite an expert at using translator on the phone. It sounds like he is able to communicate adequately with the rest of the guys to figure out what work is n

  I expected that Allen and I would not have many opportunities to travel around Honduras, especially since we are living and working on the NPH Ranch, do not have our own transportation, and are discouraged from driving or taking public transportation. This is for our own safety as there could be a lot of dangerous situations outside of the ranch. However, this week I had the opportunities (2 occasions in one week!) to travel to other locations in Honduras. I was notified about the first trip by Allen on Monday in a What’s App Message: Allen: Would you like to Chulateca on Wednesday? We’d leave early at 6AM and get back around 6PM. We’d be going with Rene, the engineer, and possibly the lawyer – to visit a casa there. I was very surprised as Allen never invites me to work activities. Also, his messages sometimes have typos so it was possible that the message needed correction or clarification. I would have to get permission from my work group to be gone all day, but we had just fi

 October appears to be a busy month for birthdays, or at least it was this week. Natalie, the volunteer who coordinates visitors, turned 23 on Tuesday (Oct 10). The volunteers have started a tradition of breakfast in bed for the birthday person, so Natalie’s roommate Julie rose early to make pancakes and we sang happy birthday. Wednesday (Oct 11) was Tio Pancho’s birthday. I am not sure how old he is, but definitely much younger than me. He is one of the coordinators of Casa Suyapa which is the group of 5 houses for the younger kids (ages 3 – 12). Since Allen and I are volunteers for Hogars in Casa Suyapa, we got to be there for the party which included a huge cake. Tio Pancho's Party Thursday was my birthday and I was intending to keep it on the down low. Allen knows that I am not fond of breakfast in bed and I get up early anyway so it is difficult to get up before me. Christine, another volunteer and soon to be our new volunteer coordinator (when Sara leaves at the end of the

Written before we left:   We made arrangements to come to Lake Yojoa for a 5 day/ 4 night adventure. We are staying at the recommended D&D Brewery Lodge and Restaurant. Not only do they have inexpensive lodging and freshly brewed beer, they also are the center of things to do at Lake Yojoa with many guided services and lots of ways to make a stay enjoyable. With 4 days, we had the following list: -           Hike or guided tour to Pulhapanzak Waterfall -           Guided birding tour -           Kayak & swim on the lake -           Drink a free beer (perk of being a volunteer) -           Coffee tour -           Meet some interesting people -           Couples massage (with Allen) We were able to take the NPH bus into Tegucigalpa and arranged private transport through D&D for the rest of the trip (3.5 hrs each way) which cost more than we are used to paying ($160 each way), but was worth it for the peace of mind. Written Sunday after return:  Here is wha