Since using almost every method of ridding my mattress of insects I haven?t had any problems sleeping. I think I have about 10 bites right now, the lowest number I’ve had since arriving.
After the community meeting in Bunche, I worked on cutting the bamboo for platforms for trash (to keep it away from the dogs and allow the trash man to collect it anytime). We constructed 5 in Bunche and I monitor them along with the trash in two locations to see if anything changes in the next few weeks.
We need a lot more bamboo for a large trash platform, which will allow the trash to be pushed into a dump truck and taken to the dump. Currently, the trash is collected and then dumped in the mangroves and the trash truck doesn?t come to Bunche. On Thursday we went into the forest to start cutting bamboo. I’m not sure how much we need, but I think about 50 caña, or full trees, should be enough. Each caña is at least 30 feet long and much heavier than it looks, but with the rain it is even heavier. With 2 boys and 2 girls working in the rain, we managed to cut 27. We got 20 of them over the hill and threw them off a cliff (the fastest way to get them to the station) before lunch. After that we basically slid down the cliff because of all the mud. Only 1 caña made it all the way to the station, so there is still another half-day of work to get the rest here. After lunch I stayed in my bed until dinner.
That evening there was another festival in Bunche with more drumming, singing, and dancing. Alvaro’s brothers came to visit from Quito so we got a table at the discoteca and danced until about 2:30. The discoteca is essentially a room with a sound system and some wooden tables and benches. Some people sit inside with bottles of Pilsener beer or soda but most of the town stands at the windows and watches us dance. All the children, who aren’t allowed to come in, stand at the door and watch until the owner of the discoteca walks by. Everyone dances in pairs and all the lights are on for bachata, salsa, etc. When they play reggaeton and turn off the lights, the younger people dance and even more people watch from the windows.
