The weather continued to be sunny, hot and humid - highs in the mid 80s and humidity 80 - 85%. That meant drinking lots of water and other liquids, but also that with no rain we could always work. And there were lots of mosquitoes and other biting insects. That meant lots of insect repellent.
On Tuesday morning, Don pointed out this huge bloom near our dining area - the blossom was about 12 inches wide.
I continued to work with Margaret, Don and Doris on 70 year old Ben's home. The home now has indoor plumbing, but at one point there was an outhouse behind his home. The remaining walls are about four feet tall and standing on the walls was easier than standing on a ladder or scaffolding.
Margaret, Doris, Don and I had fun painting the front gate after we had finished the exterior of Ben's house
Ben was quite happy with the finished work on his home as he stood with Santos, Margaret, Don and Doris.
Each morning before breakfast, I would go out for a walk. One block from where we are staying is the Head Start building, but it appears to have closed and not reopened (that was confirmed by Milagros, the head of the local program that works with Fuller Center).
As I went, I saw numerous palm tree trunks whose tops had blown off in the hurricanes last year. They were particularly stark when silhouetted by early morning or late afternoon clouds and sun.
Besides the local store and bar, La Pachanga, Google maps showed another cafe and bar near us. El Bache has closed since last year's hurricanes and has not reopened. Did I mention that Calzada was without electricity for nine months after the hurricanes? I am amazed that many people stayed, even though many people also left and have not returned more than a year later.
The sunrise was spectacular Wednesday morning.
As I explored, I saw many homes that were being restored.
I also saw many places where the downed electrical and phone wires are just coiled on the side of the road next to abandoned homes.
As I returned to Calzada, I passed by La Pachanga. The patio to the right is behind the bar and the far end of the building is the local general store for Calzada.
After breakfast, on the way to the second home we worked on, I passed by this dog and her puppy.
Margaret, Doris, Don and I joined Walter, Lynn, Pat and Joe. The team managed to get the exterior of the home painted with two coats of paint. We had previously seen an ice cream truck come through the neighborhood selling cold ice cream treats - but none of us reacted quickly enough to get some. So on Wednesday, when it was a hot afternoon, with contributions from Joe, I grabbed Mike from the third house to go with me to La Pachanga and buy 20 ice cream treats - enough for all the volunteers, family members helping us and staff of the local partner organization. It made the afternoon seem cooler.
Since we ended work a bit early, I decided to walk from Calzada into the larger town of Maunabo. Binta and Margaret joined me. We passed by the ruins of the Columbia Sugar Mill. There had been large haciendas in that area that were destroyed by a hurricane in 1898. The sugar mill was built in 1901 but it too succumbed to a hurricane in 1929.
We crossed over the Rio Maunabo and into the town of Maunabo.
We headed for the Burger Crab which had signs that looked like those of Burger King except that it had Crab instead of King. They had an outside play area, a mojito bar, restaurant and pizza parlor. Plus it had a large crab where you could have your picture taken with your face in the middle.
We then turned around and headed back to Calzada. We stopped at La Pachanga for cold drinks. They had local wine for $3.00 per bottle and local beer for $1.25. We solved many of the world's issues over those cold drinks.
When we got back to our temporary homes, we had covered about four miles - a great way to end another day in Calzada.
On Tuesday morning, Don pointed out this huge bloom near our dining area - the blossom was about 12 inches wide.
I continued to work with Margaret, Don and Doris on 70 year old Ben's home. The home now has indoor plumbing, but at one point there was an outhouse behind his home. The remaining walls are about four feet tall and standing on the walls was easier than standing on a ladder or scaffolding.
Margaret, Doris, Don and I had fun painting the front gate after we had finished the exterior of Ben's house
Ben was quite happy with the finished work on his home as he stood with Santos, Margaret, Don and Doris.
Each morning before breakfast, I would go out for a walk. One block from where we are staying is the Head Start building, but it appears to have closed and not reopened (that was confirmed by Milagros, the head of the local program that works with Fuller Center).
As I went, I saw numerous palm tree trunks whose tops had blown off in the hurricanes last year. They were particularly stark when silhouetted by early morning or late afternoon clouds and sun.
Besides the local store and bar, La Pachanga, Google maps showed another cafe and bar near us. El Bache has closed since last year's hurricanes and has not reopened. Did I mention that Calzada was without electricity for nine months after the hurricanes? I am amazed that many people stayed, even though many people also left and have not returned more than a year later.
The sunrise was spectacular Wednesday morning.
As I explored, I saw many homes that were being restored.
I also saw many places where the downed electrical and phone wires are just coiled on the side of the road next to abandoned homes.
As I returned to Calzada, I passed by La Pachanga. The patio to the right is behind the bar and the far end of the building is the local general store for Calzada.
After breakfast, on the way to the second home we worked on, I passed by this dog and her puppy.
Since we ended work a bit early, I decided to walk from Calzada into the larger town of Maunabo. Binta and Margaret joined me. We passed by the ruins of the Columbia Sugar Mill. There had been large haciendas in that area that were destroyed by a hurricane in 1898. The sugar mill was built in 1901 but it too succumbed to a hurricane in 1929.
We crossed over the Rio Maunabo and into the town of Maunabo.
We headed for the Burger Crab which had signs that looked like those of Burger King except that it had Crab instead of King. They had an outside play area, a mojito bar, restaurant and pizza parlor. Plus it had a large crab where you could have your picture taken with your face in the middle.
When we got back to our temporary homes, we had covered about four miles - a great way to end another day in Calzada.
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