Day 71

– Mas mosquitoes. I was up for two hours last night, partly because Benjamin was up at 3 AM, and partly because after waking with Benjamin, the mosquitoes started taunting me. I fell back asleep for an hour or two before we all got up. It has rained, and continues today, for the third day. The kids have not had school for a couple weeks. We have been told that now the teachers are on strike. Since there has been 4 school days in the past month, I hope it’s not for fewer hours. Also, school is closed when it rains – since the classrooms are open air, and the school grounds are dirt, kids won’t attend when it’s raining hard. This afternoon Amy and I were supposed to meet with the caretaker of a house for sale, outside of town near Ronald and Karyn. We aren’t shopping, but wanted to check it out, just to get information. The owners are the few Belgians we think we wouldn’t like, as Karyn and Ronald speak poorly of them. We have not met them, because they are back in Europe, but Karyn and Ronald’s feelings are good enough for us, as I almost worship them.

I walked over to the house, with Amy and the kids planning on meeting me by motoconcho (a motorcycle taxi). As I walked, it started to rain again, having taken an hour respite. As I continued to walk, it started to rain harder, and the road showed signs of 3 days straight rain – flooded, washouts, etc. I got to the house after walking in ankle-deep water for a stretch, and waited, while it continued to pour. After waiting for about 20 minutes, I headed back, via the beach. It was beautiful watching the rain on the ocean, even though the puddles were deeper. I finally made it back to town to see my family waiting for me at Gri-gri’s. We all sat down to a couple of Sprites (for the kids) and a mamajuana for Amy and me. Mamajuana is a local drink, involving taking a bottle of local herbs and sticks and filling it with rum and honey, leaving it to soak for a time to be determined by the future drinker. I’ve met a couple persons here who tell me of keeping their mamajuana bottles going for years, re-filling them after emptying them. It’s a sweet drink, tasting not unlike rum and honey with a bunch of strange herbs thrown in. It was a rainy day, we were soaked, and we decided to sit at the local pub for a couple hours. Mel joined us, and various tourists and locals came and went, and we had a good afternoon.