Day 5: Clinic at Agua Caliente

The morning went more smoothly today- the clinic was already set up, and I felt more used to the temperature. We took more frequent short breaks with snacks, and much more easily worked through the day, with lunch again around 3pm.

We were torn- we needed to go to a community meeting, but we also wanted to swim in the famous hot water springs waterfall (which we meant to do yesterday, but it was dark by the time the meeting ended). We decided to swim first while it was light, and then head to the community meeting. This worked out great!

Finca del Paraiso waterfall is gorgeous- it is a large waterfall of warm water, falling into a cool stream, and perfect for swimming. The rocks that come down to the river also had hallowed out areas, with caves you could get to by bobbing your head under water and under the rock (I put my hand into the cave- and it was super-hot, like a sauna.

Matt and Mike jumped off the top of the waterfall- I just hiked up to the top and then walked back down- there were cool caves off the trail- full of bats and toads! Mike got some great pictures. The swimming was definitely a highlight, and the waterfall was a MUCH warmer shower than those at the hotel! (which were just cold water). The cool river made it all refreshing.

Some of us then headed to a community meeting at Boquaron- the women had a great meeting about cervical cancer and things. Usually we like to think that it is best if folks from the community learn to do health checks and procedures, but at this meeting a few women said they strongly preferred to have strangers do these exams- the community is so small, and they find it embarrassing.

I was at the other meeting- a mix of men and women- and I talked about stoves. They were concerned with respiratory problems, and the fact that black ashes from their ceiling would fall on their food. I passed around my camera with pictures of the stove from Common Hope, and people were very positive about it. It got dark partway through the meeting, and we could see a lot of lightening in the distance. Our meeting ended abruptly when the storm picked up and there was pouring rain and wind (it was good timing actually, the meeting felt complete)- I got to briefly see a stove, and then we headed on our way, back to the hotel.

Crazy storm at dinner- so things were pretty stormy as dinner got started, and we were all enjoying watching the lightening over the lake- but then it got much stronger, with rain coming in at a slant and soaking the dinner table, and a lot of wind; and the power went out. It was a rather cozy, shared experience, and the storm continued with force through the night.

A note on cozy group dinners: one of my favorite meals was when we were at small tables, and Mike and I got to know Luis Alberto and Luis Cristobal, Xijira, and Ingrid a bit better with the help of Samuel (who has a great sense of humor). Both of the Luises seem interested in engineering, and loved chatting with Mike about building racecars.