Venezuela - Day 5 & Day 6

Day five:

We have planned to take the boys to the beach today. We wake up very early with a plan to leave by four, but of course, it is more like five. We got to the docks at about eight and parked the vans in a private family-owned lot. The Proyecto has already settled our boat contract and got a great offer from the captains. They will take us for a 45 minute boat tour to a couple of neat spots, a spot where we can dive for sea stars and a natural pool to swim in, for the same price as a trip straight to the beach. The sea stars are illegal to remove so we let the boys take pictures with them and then put them back. We find sea urchins and little shrimps and crabs. The salinity is very high here and we can float much more easily. Two boys can’t swim so they have to sit in the middle but it’s hard to keep them there because they are so excited.

We arrive at the beach after much excitement over hitting swells and feeling the spray of water. We all unload and bring breakfast (ham and cheese sandwiches) and our lunches (arroz con pollo and a fruit salad/drink) The boys are flying a kite and playing badminton and water baseball from the toys we donated before long. The sun is strong this close to the equator and the americanos douse themselves in sunscreen, and follow up with bug spray as we are soon attacked by a fleet of chiggers. We decide to rent chairs and umbrellas because the only shade is the home of the chiggers. These cause us all to gather in between bouts of play in the water.

We have fun, fishing and horseplay and a game of football (soccer) in which the americanos get trounced despite their big words. We are exhausted and the Americans are very sunburned by three when the boats come back to pick us up. We ride back to the docks, load up and then make our way back home. This journey takes twice as long since one car filed with the girls, Flor and Francisco are stopped not once but twice by the policia to inspect our paperwork.

Both times, we must talk our way into them allowing us to continue onward since Flor cannot drive the stick-shift we are in but Francisco doesn’t have the medical card needed for driving. The process would have been much simpler if we paid them off, but as Christians, they have decided there is no more bribing of the police to ensure more justice. The first stop they also review the two vans paperwork, and Jhonny’s paperwork is proved to have recently expired. Fortunately, he is simply given the citation and allowed to continue on. We all race to showers (cold water never felt so good) when we get home and then join for an amazing dinner that consisted of cornmeal cakes with strong cheese in between the layers and a cheese, lemon and butter drizzle on top with seasoned shredded pollo and carne. The boys have begun to ask when we will come back and if we can stay. Santiago (9) asks Shane and Laurel to come and be his teachers. Davey (16) asks if we can stay or if we can come back next year. We ask him if he will be here when we come. Some of the boys are struggling with whether or not they will stay in the program. It is an early to bed night for us all sunburned and exhausted from the amazing day.

Day six: Promotion Day for our muchachos!

Day six started off with an early morning breakfast and some cleaning up. We had planned to work around the yard of the house and assist in the yardwork, but alas...it rained. We were all disappointed including the boys (OK, not really...). We spent the day playing games with the boys. In the evening we took the boys to a movie in Spanish. We saw Marmaduke in Spanish. This was in spoken Spanish, not subtitles, as many of the boys do not read. We are cooking dinner tonight for the staff and boys. On the menu is hamberguesas (hamburgers) and other delights! Our "official" soccer match has yet to be played. Despite the earlier description of a "trouncing" by Laurel, the beach game was merely a warm-up! We are confident of our victory over the Venezuelan team....(gulp)


More posts to come on Saturday! See you then! Check out the slide show of our pictures from day 5 & day 6 below. Enjoy!