One of the chairs for Jacalapa purchased with the donation from Western Canada

Sun., 16 Mar. - they have been working on the sewer installation all week. First they dug the trench and put in the pipes, then filled it in. Then they dough holes over the pipes they had just covered up to build the junction/clean-outs. Then they dug a trench from each house to put in a connecting pipe and covered it in. Then they re-dug a hole at the end of the each pipe by and in front of the house to build a brick and concrete connection box which will later be connected to the household system, replacing the septic tank. I haven’t been able to figure out why they didn’t do all the digging and lay all the pipe at once then cover it in leaving only the holes where they were going to build the junction/clean-outs and connection boxes. At least it created a lot of jobs in this time of higher than the normal high unemployment.


During the Pilgrimage, Eva (in English) shares the Gospel reading with Rev. Dean Alejandro (in Spanish)

We ran out of water in the holding tank Sat. morning but decided not to fill it until Sunday as we were afraid it might be drained with all the people expected Sat. night. The cistern is also low and we don’t expect water from the city until the end of construction on this street.

Yesterday we took the bus downtown to meet Jeannie and collect the refund we were able to get from the Hotel Kyros. We were still charged more than quoted last year and didn’t get the 25% discount, probably because there was only one room used. We then had lunch, did some shopping and came back.

Last night, Sat., there was a concert at the church. Music and vocalists were provided by several churches in the area. It was very loud, too loud for me so I sat outside on the balcony as the sound was just as loud in the apartment. Eva and Jeannie joined me after about an hour. They had a very good turnout. Tickets were 20 L and they were selling food and beverages. I expect they did well financially.


The ‘Focon’ or wood stove used by the restaurant where we ate breakfast in Yuscaran.

This afternoon I noticed a little smoke on a hillside 2 or 3 miles away. This evening we could first see a glow and as the fire proceeded up the far side of the hill it got redder until now, at 7:30 pm, we can see the orange of the flames and the visible progression up the ridge. It’s too far away to get a good photo.