We clamored into one of the Hillside vehicles, an old Toyota Landcruiser with insufficient air-conditioning and the boys sitting on lawn chairs in the back, and then traveled to the end of the road. The highway was paved for about 10 minutes, then degenerated into a dusty, bumpy, winding gravel route. The clinic driver, a local guy named Andy, asked us if we enjoyed the "roller coaster," an apt description.
Along the way, we could see the many areas where the forests had been slashed and replanted with rows and rows of corn.
Cherrymae, our resource at the Punta Gorda hospital as well as our key communicator with the villages, traveled with us. She had sent letters with Mr. Chen, the bus driver whose route includes the outer villages. He was to deliver these letters to the Alcalde (mayor), Chairman, and Community Health Worker in each village, letting them know that we wished to meet with them. She had arranged the meetings in Jalacte and Pueblo Viejo on Monday, and in Santa Elena and Santa Cruz on Tuesday.
So, we have our presentations prepared for the first two villages on Monday. And after a nauseating 2 hour drive, Katie, Ryan, Jimmy, and I are dying to meet the people and finally get some real work done. However. . .
The bus driver did not deliver a single letter. No one knew we were coming. We traveled to each village, finding that they had nothing set up and all the village leaders were gone working for the day and would not return until evening. Another lesson learned- things here just plain do not go as planned. The good that came of our trip was our ability to speak face to face with at least one prominent person in each village. We were able to re-schedule our meetings reliably.
Ah well. That's how things are here. This is Belize.
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