Wednesday, November 20, 2013

November 20, 2013 - Manzanillo, 33 celsius, 75% humidity

Arrived in Manzanillo yesterday afternoon after a 300 km ride through the countryside. Although we didn't travel a great distance it took us 5 hours of driving that was physically demanding with all the road construction and the fact that we are no longer taking toll roads slowed us down. The non toll roads are more scenic but are only two lane and you are constantly slowing to pass through smaller towns. After 5200 km's we have decided to take a rest day and will stay another night here to enjoy the beach and pool at the hotel. Unfortunately the red flags were flying on the beach indicating a high hazard from the surf or currents so we didn't proceed very far into the water. 
 
Coconut palms in a banana plantation; the bunches are covered with plastic bags for three reasons: to provide a suitable microclimate for the bananas to ripen more quickly, to protect the bananas (at least to some degree) from insects and other pests, and to prevent the bananas from being bruised when it is windy and leaves may brush against the bunch.
 
Manzanillo, MX
 
Emily from Constru Casa sent an email asking if we would be willing to help on a school project rather than a housing project as  the project they will most need help on is a school they are building in a rural community not too far from Antigua- Santa Maria de Jesus. The school ‘Jardin de Amor’ began when a group of mothers from the area got together and asked the present director, Julio Garcia, what could be done for the education of their children. Many families in Santa Maria de Jesus are living in extreme poverty, without reliable electricity and water sources, and many children have been sent to work in place of receiving a decent education. Now, with the help of volunteers and Guatemalan teachers, the school is educating and providing some meals for around 100 children. Constru Casa is now moving onto ‘phase two’ of the school construction, building more classrooms to accommodate all the children. We have accepted her request and look forward to our 2 weeks at the school.
 
Sunset at the beach in Manzanillo, MX
 
We are still playing with the GoPro camera so hopefully in a few days we can post a video showing the country side.

2 comments:

  1. we are really enjoying reading your posts and are following your journey on a map!!!

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  2. That's great about ConstruCasa. Glad they contacted you with a plan.

    ReplyDelete