ruthkennedysretirementblog

Hard to believe almost five months volunteering at the clinic has come to an end.
My last day was interesting as I got to go on a field trip with a couple of other volunteers and the community health nurse, Karla.

It was kind of like a well baby clinic. The mom’s brought the kids, they were weighed and heights taken. The nurse gave them ‘a once over’, checked the status of their vaccination, etc.

 The kids were so cute. One little fella provided entertainment.

There is also a community organizer, Leeandra, who lets the mom’s know when the nurse will be in the community. She sets up, helps with the kids and documentation (no computers), and then the clean up.

Back at the clinic there was a farewell and then I was on my way!!

The community set up was under a bunch of trees in a yard. Leeandra identified a couple of different fruits that I didn’t even see. She called this one a Locust fruit, “like locust and honey in the bible”.  I cannot remember the Spanish name.

This one is a monkey something…. both edible so I brought them home to give it a try.

The Locust fruit had a very hard shell and once cracked has quite the odour.  Leandra asked what it smelled like, I said dirty socks….she used a much ruder term…..

When I googled it, apparently another term for it is “Stinky Feet”.
The fruit itself did not taste bad. It was like eating dust with flavour. The way to eat it is cut it up and pour honey over it.

Daryl does not look impressed with the smell.

But the taste was ok.

The monkey fruit had a citrus smell.
It had a starchy texture and kind of tasted like a mango.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at the clinic…. who knows maybe one day I will go back again.

Cheers
Ruth

Cangrejal River

Getting around Roatan can be expensive or not…. so at 5:30 in the morning we took a ‘colectivo’ (a multistop minibus) to the ferry terminal.  The ferry ride was about 90 minutes to the mainland.  A driver met us and it took an hour to get to the mountain resort.  We went through different areas of La Ceiba. All the way up the mountain we drove besides the Cangrejal River.                                  

The grounds were spectacular. The pool is continuously fed by a mountain stream…. so no chemicals. Once a week it is drained and scrubbed.
Someone told us this worker has been trying for a year to get permanent work at the resort, and apparently pool cleaning once a week does not pay very well.

The rock table made a lovely resting spot…. but who rested!

This is an out door shower, totally made from rocks.
It is hard to see, but the shower head is a conch shell.

The walk from the lodge down to the river was a tad challenging.

Sometimes we had the option to jump and swim…. or walk around the rocks. Guess there is no surprise in our choices.

And then it was over! Back to the resort for a carb loaded lunch…. I for sure had a ton of adrenalin shooting around my body!!

In the afternoon, Daryl and I walked back to a suspension bridge that we had gone under on our rafting trip. Were just happened to see another raft doing the same trip. We were probably a hundred feet above this raft.

This is a little craft shop just outside the resort. We wanted to get a bottle of this hooch A fermented root….never heard of it! But there was no one around to buy it from.

The grounds were extensive.
First time I have ever seen star fruit growing wild…. and we got to try it.

Also sour lemon, supposed to make a great marinade for chicken.

The hiking trails ranged from easy to really tough….

Daryl did the most difficult in his flip flops.

A well earned local craft beer

Too bad the picture doesn’t show just how lovely the waterfall was. All in all a really great trip to the mainland. And we did get to bring a local drink home. Cheers Ruth

Throughout my career I have had the privilege of working with many wonderful people.

Have to say, my first volunteer “job” has been quite the experience, I again have had the privilege of getting to know the most lovely, dedicated people.
With permission, I was able to get pictures of some of the staff and volunteers.

Maryori, the pharmacist, is the person I spent the most time with.

Counting pills may seem like a simple task, but it is an important one.

Just imagine a pharmacist without an assistant. With each visit, the patients are given the required medication. Someone has to put the pills from large bottles into little packages…. imagine if the pharmacist had to do that by herself for every client.  And there can be a hundred patients a day going through the clinic!

 Our “work” space.

Gaby is a young lady who volunteered her time during the two month school break (equivalent to summer break in Canada). We spent many hours together.

Bobby is a young man from the US who was at the clinic for a month.

Kandy  is the head nurse. She has given me the opportunity to help her (more likely hinder her) with triage for a couple of hours in the morning.

As much as I appreciate the need for counting pills, this is a wonderful change. Who knows, it might even help me a bit with Spanish.

An examination room.

Aydelet is another nurse that I have the pleasure of knowing.

Karla is the community Health Nurse.

There is an opportunity for me to spend a day in the community with her prior to the end of my stay on Roatan. Yeah!

Two of the physicians in the clinic.

Dr. Galeas

                                          Dr. Lester

Certainly there are more physicians, this is the only two photos I have.

This is Everlie , she is a nurse in pediatrics.

The unit is bright, cheerful and colorful

            Everlie with Madison, a volunteer.

Some of the admin staff

Martha
                                                              Allison

The receptionist (Alejandra), cleaning lady (Gladys) and security guard (Wilmer)… all have a friendly smile

The dental office…. haven’t been there yet but sure plan on it.

And last, but not least is Tabatha, the volunteer co-ordinator.

Tabatha met me on the first day and gave me the grand tour, and then the opportunity to volunteer at the clinic.

This ambulance is not part of the clinic.
Daryl and I saw it one day when we were out and about.

My understanding is, if someone quite ill comes to the clinic, they will be stabilized and sent by ambulance to the hospital.

This has been a really great retirement experience which I am hoping to be able to continue.

Hasta luego amigos, gracias por dejarme tomar tus fotos.
Cheers
Ruth

On New Years Eve Daryl and I rented a car and decided to do a bit of exploring on this beautiful island. A little car is not very good as the roads can be quite rough!

The island is not very big (Wikipedia says it is 59 km long), however most of the time the speed is 30-40 km/h.  And when you are driving through little towns it is even slower.

The only definite plan we had was to stop at the monkey and sloth place.

We thought we might be there early enough to be ahead of the cruise ships.. but lots of people already there….guess that is good for the economy.

The sloths are all free but don’t go anywhere, just hang around upside down…..maybe because they are well fed, and move so slowly…
The monkeys on the other hand are all in cages.

We got to hold a sloth.
They have such cute little faces… and such sharp claws.

Those little monkeys were busy destroying their stuffed toy

I could not go inside the cage as those little creatures are amazing thieves…. they will empty your pockets, steal hair elastics, take your glasses…. anything and run. Chances of getting it back intact are slim, even if they are in a cage.
So I could not go in as would have been kind of pointless without my glasses. Then I forgot to put the camera directly against the mesh so not a very good picture.

We also got to provide a perch for the macaws and parrots

Our next stop was French Key.

This is a day use place where you take a little boat to a private island.

There used to be animals at this amusement centre, we saw lots of empty cages but only a couple of lions sleeping in their cages.

Our next stop was another day use area, Beach Club Roatan, It seemed to cater to cruise ship patrons… three buses and us in the parking lot
Absolutely spectacular beaches and scenery.

At this beach club the major attraction seemed to be horse back riding to the little island. the horses were up to their bellies in the ocean getting there.

We next stopped at Turquoise Bay. This looked to be an all inclusive resort that also catered to the cruise ships.

The buffet was good too!!

This place also had horses that were grazing outside the dining area.

Our next stop was Jonesville, a little town that was not one bit touristy.
Can’t see if from the pictures but there were beautiful homes built around the ocean cliffs.

Then it was time to head home. We did pass another “attraction”.

This ‘ship’ was built on the side of the road and we heard it was meant to be a night club. We first saw it four years ago, it did not seem to be open then and it does not seem to be now. Also starting to become a little run down.

In the distance you can see the little town of Punta Gorda, which we did not visit as we wanted to be home before dark.

We did not make it to the end of the island, that will be for another day.

We arrived back in our little town of West End to see a beautiful sunset.
Might have been the perfect way to spend New Years Eve.
Happy New Year!

Cheers
Ruth

Blue Tang

Keeltail Needlefiish, they swim directly below the surface to the water. I missed it but Daryl has eagle eyes.

After a week of rain and stormy seas, Daryl and I were able to go snorkeling both Wednesday and Thursday.
The fish were incredible, probably the most I have ever seen in Half Moon Bay, and lots of ‘big ones’.
Of course, I may be getting a little more comfortable in the water and might not hug the shore line quite as much.

We snorkel right from the beach, to the left of Daryl and out to the point, might look far but it is not.

If I am able to do it without a float or a life jacket, and feel comfortable, it is not far from a shore line.

We will do our best to label the fish.

The coral and colours were stunning, changed depending on the light.

Drum Fish

After the storms, visibility was not very good, and still an amazing experience.

The names of the fish we know (read Daryl) is under the picture.

Trumpet Fish, looks like the coral besides it!

Giant Anemone….this creature….coral…little green fingers…will eat anything it captures, even fish

Another trumpet fish

The yellow and white one is a juvenile rock beauty, a type of angel fish

Grunt….lots of those in mostly different shades of yellow

A blue tang

Spotted moray eel….having a snack on the spiny creature

A parrot fish

A small Nassau grouper

A different coloured grunt

Grunt

Another blue tang… all different shades, color also depends on the light

Grunt the coral is so very pretty.

barracuda

The trumpet fish is upright besides the fan coral

No fish….just a big coral formation

Barracuda, surrounded by millions of the tiny fish

A Grunt and a Squirrel fish

Grunt

Blue tang

Sergeant major

This poor grunt has been really banged up! Daryl was able to get a good shot as he moved slowly

So much fun, and so much to see.

Grunts….there are lots of pictures of these colourful fish

This drum fish was well hidden, Daryl worked hard to get this picture.

Grunts

Squirrel fish

Angel fish

That’s a Daryl fish

More blue tangs….I forgot to be nervous following those beautiful creatures

Small barracuda, it was within six feet of the beach, camouflaged by the sand

Even the grass close to the beach was full of fish, maybe the recent storms brought them in.

Drum fish

Grunts and coral…there were just so many of them!!

Juvenile green angel fish

The dark one is a blue tang

Grunts..love the colours

Rock beauty angel fish

And so many more…. but enough is enough!!

This is the gelato shop where we leave our ‘stuff’, and have a gelato before, and sometimes after, our swim.
All in all an amazing couple of days snorkelling.

Cheers
Ruth

Our neighbour has cocoa trees in his yard, and last week we were given a couple of cocoa fruits. We were told to put it in the blender as it makes a very good drink…however we thought chocolate…. Google has a ton of information readily available, and all kinds of instructions.

Way up at the top of the tree you can see the fruit.
It amazes me that this is growing right outside our front door.

They are not really very big.

This is about a 6″ paring knife. Really glad we brought sharp knives from home… and a sharpener.

Daryl was able to get them apart without too much difficulty. Probably about the same as cutting through a watermelon.

The inside was just full of seeds that are covered with a pulp. There was not much to eat but oh so sweet.

After sucking all the goodness of a few, we went back to google and revisited the chocolate making recipes.
Not so easy with basically no equipment, but what the heck, may as well give it a try….been pouring rain all day so not going anywhere!

A few days ago we pulled all of the seeds out of the fruit.

Even thought very little fruit, hard to keep from sucking on the little sweet morsels!
And certainly not a lot of seeds in two cacao fruit!
                                                       

Then we were supposed to let them ferment in the sun for a couple of days…. supposed to enhance the flavour of the chocolate. As we have had very little sunshine since last week that was not going to work, so we let them sit on the counter and in a slightly warm oven.

Today Daryl roasted the seeds in a frying pan.
Had to watch them carefully as they turned dark brown very quickly, and we sure did not want burnt chocolate.

Such a beautiful chocolate aroma.

Next came the shelling, we thought that would be tedious, but you just had to crack the shells between your fingers and it came off easily

And this is our roasted, shelled cocoa seeds.

Tastes like chocolate but kind of bitter.

If we had a grinder we could have made real chocolate. We do have a blender….sadly not a Vitamix….

The blending process

We ended up with maybe two ounces of ground up chocolate.We also do not have any sugar so the end product for today was hot chocolate sweetened with honey. We cooked it in a pot on the stove.

I was definitely a great hot chocolate….on this cool day, only 22C. I am wearing pants, socks and a sweater…..go figure.

Although not good to the last drop as just a ton a chocolate pieces in the bottom of the cup…. felt like coffee grounds in my mouth.

Just something to work on!

Cheers
Ruth

PS…does not feel like Christmas yet!

What do you do when you finish Spanish class on a Friday?
Well chocolate ice cream seemed like a really good idea.

We had already been to this place a couple of times in the evening and it was always closed, so thought we would try during the day.

We were in for a very informative tour. Learned the Roatan Chocolate Factory started about 8 years ago making chocolate at home and having a kiosk at the cruise ship port.

Growth, and a few moves later, the factory moved to its current location in West End, with both production and retail under the same roof.

Our guide told us they use beans that are picked wild on the mainland as the chocolate tastes better when grown away from the salt water.

To be sustainable they also plant new trees.

We both got a chance to grind the beans, it is done manually and is not easy!!

They make white, milk and dark chocolate (75%  cocao) bars with only three to four ingredients in each.
Plus other assorted chocolate related products.

This is ready to go in the molds.

Chocolate bars coming up:)

Chocolate making essentials.

There is a lovely shop, selling all kinds of chocolate products, and coffee!!

The place is set up for the cruise ship visitors.
Our guide said when there are a few ships in port the room is full…. today there was only a few people besides us.
The chocolate ice cream was yummy…. both the dark for Daryl and milk chocolate for me.

And of course we had to get a treat for later!!

Cheers

Ruth

Just about everything we eat or use has to be brought over from the mainland by ferry.
We go into the bigger town, Coxen Hole, to a regular store (Eldons) that sells just about everything you can buy at Safeway…..if you are willing to pay! And if you see it and want it, it is best to get it as it will probably not be there the next time.

Making “broom” has been a bit of a challenge, however we are able to get most of the ingredients.

A two pound bag of walnuts and a three pound bag of almond cost the equivalent of $61 Canadian.

It is the imported “stuff” that costs the big bucks.

Hope they last a long time.

Woody’s is the local store where we buy most of our dry goods. It is about a 10 minute walk from the house.

Sometimes the shelves are a little empty!

They sell a little bit of everything, except meat. That we have to get in Coxen Hole.

A bus ride in to town, and a taxi home with our goodies. We are also learning how to negotiate taxi prices.

This is the fruit and vegetable market where we stop most every day.

And yes, I did have permission to take their picture.

The other veggie kiosk, this one is further away….. close to the roundabout.

This big papaya is sweet, juicy and tasty. It cost 45 limperas or about $2.50

The lettuce is grown hydroponically on the island. This big bag cost about $4.

All the tomatoes, bananas and avocados cost about $5.50

Carrots are large and sweet….. have to be eaten within a few days as most things turns brown quickly.

All in all we are eating very well. Both cooking at home and eating out.

Take care

Ruth

Daryl and I decided to take the plunge and take Spanish lessons. We enrolled in “The Spanish Loft of Roatan”.
Classes start at 10 AM as the place is a bar from noon. There will be six of us. We will go three times a week. Daryl and I started a week late, so we had a couple of “make up” classes this week. Regular classes were cancelled due to American Thanksgiving.

The Sun Downer is a bar/restaurant owned by a Canadian (at least that is what we have heard). Canadian flag outside might be a definite clue!!

The views from the class are incredible. Love that there are no walls….

Time to have a good look before the work begins.

So beautiful.

Our teacher, Kelly, brought her assistant Indiana.

Kelly is trying to teach us practical stuff…. how to add, make change, order food politely in a restaurant…. and such.

Our text book is way too big, with even more work online.

An hour and a half…or so… of homework between each class. I might need double that time!!

But hey, it is good for the old brain.

Until next time.

Ruth