Turns out , when coming home from Leon, I like the last bus of the day...seems so much more tranquilo when its dark out side and the lights are on inside the bus....just seems that way. So, last night, I was on the last bus, it was dark, the bus was very full. I got on early so I had a seat by the window, near the back of the bus. Actually I was sitting over the rear tires...I figure that is safe if we get rear ended. I am not too sure the buses have rear lights or if they are actually working at any particular time. TMI. I was watching people board and this young woman got on carrying what appeared to be about a 8 or 9 year old boy who appeared to have CP as his arms and legs were in normal proportions but flaccid and his face was a bit different but he was very interested in looking out the window...the whole scene. So, she had to stand in the aisle with this big kid propped on a seat back but still in her arms. I was fuming, of course, that no one gave her their seat but....no one did. We made a few stops and then, out of nowhere, this kid gets handed to the gal sitting in front of me next to her open window, a school bus window, you know where the top part drops down so its only 1/2 open. Well, at the next stop I look up and here this kid is being handed out the window, feet first, face up to I presume his mother who is standing outside next to the bus in the pitch dark to receive her son. It all went off without a hitch....just like always...they know how to get things done.
We are ending the 4th month of the dry season and boy is it hot....and dry. Dust storms are constant and people just squinch up thier faces and keep on walking or whatever. No one likes it but they just keep on about their business. April is supposed to be the hottest and the dryest....and then we have 6 months of the rainy season when I am sure I'll be complaining about the mud ( lodo) Since I live on a dirt street, I get the benefit of the dust and I am sure we'll have plenty of mud.
Right now we have water most days but not all days so we all know how to fill up a couple large buckets in case the water is off when we need it. I drink bottled water so that is not a problem but boy would I miss water if I could not take a shower or at least wash off when I get home from whereever. The water is not actually cold as the ground it comes out of here is pretty hot, this being the land of volcanos, dormant and active. There is a thermal energy plant not too far from here.
I ride my bike almost everywhere and people are getting used to seeing me go by. At first, many people asked me how old I was and if I had a bike in the US. Grandmothers here are rarely on bikes. But, their lives are much much harder than ours..their grandmothers are much "older" than ours. I put a bell on my handlebars and I just got a basket put on the back to carry stuff in. I am starting to look very eccentric !!!
I went to a presentation yesterday in Leon put on by an organization that runs ecological tours for profit and free for school children. It was held in a beautiful building, an old colonial home of an early physician here in Leon, Dr. Debayle. It is owned now by the university and I presume its available for organizations such as the one hosting my meeting yesterday. Anyhow, it was gorgeous, interior garden, second story veranda around the interior garden, fabulous woodwork, tile floors just beautifu. This particular building is even special from the exterior whereas there are some pretty rough looking places along the city streets but if you peer inside, it looks idyllic, hamocks under palm trees in interior gardens, lots of shade and tile floors looking very cool, some lovely spots.
So, thats all for now. I'll put a few photos on.
Pat
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