Day One: Caluco
*SO AWESOME*
I drew the lucky straw and got to ride in the police truck on the way to the site!
It was BY FAR the best ride I've ever had in El Salvador. Was the seat comfortable? No. Did it have great air conditioning? No. I don't know why it was so awesome, but it was. I guess for one thing, I didn't get motion sickness. For another, I got to have the window rolled down the whole time. It was great watching them blare the sirens every time another driver tried to merge in between the convoy vehicles. They were also professionals at getting traffic to stop so we could all make synchronized turns and stick together. It took me fifteen minutes to realize a third officer had hopped in the back and was standing in the bed.
We got a late start, and it took a long time to get into a good flow because of our unfamiliarity with the location. We had barely started seeing patients by the time we had to break for lunch. But it didn't take long for this guy to figure out that I was handing out photos. He followed me around for probably an hour and a half.
This location had a great view of the volcanoes.
We learned that Caluco is the site of the first Catholic church built in El Salvador, which had been destroyed by an earthquake a long time ago. The thing I was most surprised by was how huge the ruins were. It was a really large church building!
There were a lot of logistical surprises: the exact location of the clinic changed after we arrived. The 1:00 pm lunch got swapped for a 1:00 pm mass (with the bishop). We misplaced a few boxes of medications for a few hours, etc.., etc..
Despite the rocky start, we did manage to see over 200 patients. I didn't help with eyeglasses at all, but I did computer duty in the pharmacy, and the usual photography gig.
I talked with the local director of the "el centro", the place where we set up the clinic. He was proud of the educational programs they had, many of which they were able to offer for free. Students came from up to 30 km away for the classes. He was a talker, and he did a great job keeping it to simple language, so I could understand most of what he said. Bonus: he pointed out this carrion flower they had in the garden. Yes. It really stank.
I drew the lucky straw and got to ride in the police truck on the way to the site!
It was BY FAR the best ride I've ever had in El Salvador. Was the seat comfortable? No. Did it have great air conditioning? No. I don't know why it was so awesome, but it was. I guess for one thing, I didn't get motion sickness. For another, I got to have the window rolled down the whole time. It was great watching them blare the sirens every time another driver tried to merge in between the convoy vehicles. They were also professionals at getting traffic to stop so we could all make synchronized turns and stick together. It took me fifteen minutes to realize a third officer had hopped in the back and was standing in the bed.
We got a late start, and it took a long time to get into a good flow because of our unfamiliarity with the location. We had barely started seeing patients by the time we had to break for lunch. But it didn't take long for this guy to figure out that I was handing out photos. He followed me around for probably an hour and a half.
This location had a great view of the volcanoes.
We learned that Caluco is the site of the first Catholic church built in El Salvador, which had been destroyed by an earthquake a long time ago. The thing I was most surprised by was how huge the ruins were. It was a really large church building!
There were a lot of logistical surprises: the exact location of the clinic changed after we arrived. The 1:00 pm lunch got swapped for a 1:00 pm mass (with the bishop). We misplaced a few boxes of medications for a few hours, etc.., etc..
Despite the rocky start, we did manage to see over 200 patients. I didn't help with eyeglasses at all, but I did computer duty in the pharmacy, and the usual photography gig.
I talked with the local director of the "el centro", the place where we set up the clinic. He was proud of the educational programs they had, many of which they were able to offer for free. Students came from up to 30 km away for the classes. He was a talker, and he did a great job keeping it to simple language, so I could understand most of what he said. Bonus: he pointed out this carrion flower they had in the garden. Yes. It really stank.
Amazing pictures.. Thank you for sharing your journey. Hear it was very hot...keep hydrated!
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