We headed out before 5am and got a lucky taxi ride for just a bit more than the bus with a guy heading into the capital to work. We caught a 5:45am bus and thought luck was with us. The trip went smoothly and we made it near the coast and were only about 3 hrs from our destination, after travelling about 4 hrs. Then. the bus stopped. And stayed stopped. People got off, there was a hot dog cart man, people selling bags of water. We were about a kilometer away from a roadblock protesting the new government. (Below is a pick of one of the roadblocks this weekend, I didn't take it but it illustrates it well) It was hot and sticky, and it was only 11:30. We texted peace corps and let them know where we were and waited it out, hoping it wouldn't last too long. After an hr and a half, i convinced drew to go with me to the hot dog cart, I was starving since we hadn't eaten all day. The dog I received was covered with mustard and ketchup, then fresh cut cabbage, more mustard, ketchup, some white sauce, and parmesan cheese. I skipped on the onions in beet juice and vinager. I added some hot sauce for kicks. It actually tasted really good, which was either my hunger or I am adapting to the strange food combinations....
Soon after we heard the roadblock was to be over about 1pm. It also started to sprinkle which helps. Sure enough, about 1:30 we started moving along again, but in a slower paced line all the way to our final destination. We finally made it to our friend's house around 5:30, about the time we had left that morning and we were famished and worn out. We ate some fish and shrimp, had a beer, and slept quite well.
Next day we got to enjoy the beach alone, though the water was a bit choppy. It was still the ocean and we enjoyed the sunshine and balmy weather. Our host made some amazing food and we enjoyed the evening and relaxed.
Our third day, we were joined by a group of other volunteers also wanting to get out of site and enjoy the beach. We were quickly cramped into a single bed between the two of us, but it wasn't too bad. I started to develop a bad throat cold the night before, but found some medicine. We went out to the beach again but this time I guess I didn't do as well on the sunscreen. I got a bit burned on the shoulders and back, and was feeling dehydrated. We headed back and all cooked up burgers, I made pasta salad, there was gauc and chips and hummus and it felt like hanging out in the states. After dinner though my stomach decided it was revolting against me, my shoulders burned, and my throat had caused me to lose my voice. I was quickly becoming aware that my body was falling apart on me. OH, I forget to mention I was also battling a month-long foot fungal infection (I finally got an appt for that with a specialist after the creams I had gotten from the PC doc's just weren't working). Anyway, I was a bit surprised it was possible to have four different things wrong with you at once, none so serious that you would feel that bad, but all together is overwhelming. I said goodnight to the party and went to bed early.
Our day headed back we got a bit of luck again. The beach loooked beautiful as we headed out, and then when we got to the highway the first bus that passed we could take was a bus directly to Tegus, and it was a relatively new and nice bus at that. We sat back and cruised into Tegus late afternoon. Again hungry, but feeling proud of the good time we made on the road, we treated ourselves to Chili's that's by our bus station home before heading back to site. It was DElicious. I actually was able to finish all my food (my idea of normal food size portions has thankfully shrunk to reasonable in this country, but sometimes American sized is just right). I got home , found my puppy alive and happy to see us, and was in bed by 8:30.
Whew. So, that's been life for us. I tried to work today, but classes were cancelled again, for some unknown I am sure not necessary reason. I have only had class with that school once since the whole political "situation", and they have only been in session a collected wk and a half since that, so I have about given up on them. The other two schools I work with have faired much better and hopefully I will be able to finish my projects with them before we leave. September 25th, it's almost here!!!
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