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With two vehicles they came. That's a good thing, because there was no way we could have loaded all the donated goods into one vehicle.
Since it is quite a long drive from Cofradia to Lake Chapala, I BBQd some chicken, made Sangria and a few salads and before we load the items in the vehicles and lockk up the Motorhome for the next four weeks, we enjoy our lunch on the patio.
Diego, a long time employee of Project Amigo, who is always happy to do anything, has no problem driving back by himself, we follow with Joe behind the wheel. Joe, a fellow Dutchman who was born in the same city as I, and a member of Ramiro's Rotary club, has been very active at Project Amigo for more than 10 years. He would seldom miss a winter to his volunteer work in Cofradia, together with his late wife Jeannie. As a Master Electrician and overall handyman his services are much appreciated.
In less then three hours we arrive in Cofradia. We are assigned Casa Gatos, a small simple house at the edge of the village, close enough to walk to the Hacienda, but far enough for some privacy. We settle in at the front of the house, which has two bedrooms and a small living area. Joe is in the back part of the house which is separated by a patio.
Left overs from the RV come in really handy for a light meal, and there is nothing better than a nice glass of wine, which Joe had already arranged for.
The temperature in the village is wonderful and before we settle in for the night we walk through the village of 2,000. We walk the direction of the drum and the flute and find a group of native children n the street, practicing for Sunday's Day of the Dead parade.
It's wonderful to see how these children pay attention to their leader as they snap they home made bow and arrow to make a clicking sound as the leader guides them with his drum and small flute.
I can hardly wait to see the actual parade, during which they will also wear costumes.
In the morning we unload the vehicles and sort everything; Bedding, vitamins, school supplies, soccer jerseys and several suitcases full of children clothes.
We are warmly welcomed by the staff members and meet each of the housekeepers, who will take care of the accommodations for the volunteers. While Joe is busy painting the Gatos house, we start checking some of the houses to ensure everything is in good working order and discuss any needs with the housekeepers.
Our in basket in the office has a huge pile of papers for us to review. We have a lot of learning to do for our role as volunteer coordinators.
I make myself familiar with some of the office equipment and the location of many of the files from previous years.
Everyone is very helpful, some speak English, but most don't. A reason to get right back into the Spanish mode, which is not all that difficult. Those four months in Chile were good for something.
The people in the village greet us warmly, some remember us from previous years.
It is sure nice to see so many people being employed at Project Amigo. Everywhere workers are busy preparing the homes for the volunteers. Manuel looks after the gardens, Angelo after much of the building maintenance and the ladies prepare the rooms. Most of these Project Amigo employees will only have work during the winter months, except the full time employees in the office, which we will introduce later.
We are on our own with the meals until the Board of Directors arrive from the US for their annual meeting, so as the only women in the house, I suppose it is my duty to prepare a hot lunch for the three of us.
We better not take it for granted, being able to sit outside. We know that back home things are quite different, It has already snowed.
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