Continued...

Okay, it seems as though we have a bit of down time so I had better finish what I started...where was I??

Oh yes. Off to our first village.

The drive was absolutely beautiful. Words and pictures do not even describe the amount of awe I felt being in the incredible mountains overlooking the rain forest while riding on the gas tank of a motorbike. While we were driving I would be pretty focused on the road, keeping an eye out for anything that might dislodge me from my throne and then we would reach a clearing on the top of a hill and I would always feel a bit of a shock...I am so not in Canada! We have so much beauty in our country and really, from the front of a motorbike the dirt and rocks on the road look surprisingly similar to the ones back home, the greenery in my peripheral vision also feeling like a normal sight, but the view from the top - unreal.

The first village we visited was Kupitan. It was a pretty nice village with a small but nicely kept medical centre. It was made all of cement and had 5 rooms; a bedroom (where the 4 girls slept) the kitchen, the CR (comfort room, more commonly known to me as a bathroom), an entry room (where Angela and Atay Mary-Jean did vaccinations and where our guides slept)and another room I would guess is used for checkups where Blake and I got to sleep. It also had a nice covered porch where we did our health teaching and checkups.

We arrived after about 2 hours on the road and got settled in. Our Kuya Jinny and Kuya Jo-Jo made us our supper. Not only were they excellent drivers, but also amazing cooks and vigilant guards. When Blake got up during the night to go to the bathroom they always got up and checked to make sure they knew who was lurking around the house. After supper we headed off to the Chief's home to ask his permission to enter his territory. We went through basically the same routine as at the Mayor's office, although he didn't speak any English, so Atay Mary-Jean translated for us. The Chief had many questions for us about Canada and it was just a really neat experience to be able to chat with him in his home. While we were talking there was a crowd peeking in the windows and hanging in the door, not to mention all the other people inside the house. Privacy is obviously not of importance to them. Even during all of our checkups and shots people were constantly staring through windows. While we would be eating lunch or supper kids and adults alike would be standing at the windows just watching us eat and talk in English, it was a bit of a new experience for me.

When we left the Chiefs home I was very thankful, it was finally time to sleep! It has been a long day of traveling and I was ready to curl up under our mosquito net and drift into dreamland. Before bed though, we got to have a bath. It was so much fun. Just outside the medical centre was a giant cement tub with water from a spring pouring constantly into it. The tub was about 5'x 3'x 3' and it felt just so good to be clean and cool. The perfect ending to a hot dusty travel day. I think I fell asleep before I finished lying down.

Wow. 2 entries for only one day of travel...I suppose I should condense a bit more or I will never get through this! I will try to write again soon.