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February 19 Day 4

Our night was filled with interesting noises and events, but experienced Diane slept through everything! Much to my surprise, I discovered Backpackers have the greatest showers with lots of pressure and they are hot! We enjoyed a tasty breakfast on the deck looking over the river and then headed to Livingston. It was a beautiful day but we were grateful that our boat had a cover as the sun would have been very hot on our very white, gringo skin. The ride on the river through the jungle was breathtaking. There is such a contrast between small grass huts of the local people and a short distance later, there would be a much larger home built by some wealthy people. The village of Livingston is only accessible by boat. We walked through the town which is filled with shops and today because of a German cruise ship was filled with visitors. We did walk to the Caribbean side and then enjoyed a fantastic lunch at the restaurant run by the Ak Tenamit but we were ready to leave and reconnect with the gentle, indigenous people. A short boat ride away we went to the clinic run by Ak Tenamit which is supervised by another amazing woman, Maria. Maria received a scholarship 8 years ago from Sharing the Dream to finish her nursing career. 

 

She is the only native woman to run a health clinic and we were astounded to hear that she serves 125 villages with about 60 residents in each one. She has two volunteer doctors who help her part time and much of her time is spent traveling through the rainforest to all the people who live many hours away. Ak Tenamit also has a campus with dorms and classrooms for about 300 students. Our tour guide was an 18 year old who is about to graduate. Even though he grew up in the jungle, his third language, English was excellent. We watched the women prepare some tortillas which they make from scratch using corn and are eaten for all three meals along with beans and rice everyday of the entire year which we found hard to even imagine. When we arrived we saw the boat purchased by the Rotarians in the US which provides dental services. On our tour we also were told about a laundry that the Rotarians are building so the people of Ak’ Tenamit don’t have to do the laundry for hundreds by hand every day. These projects and others are really making a difference in thousands of lives and everyone involved should be very proud! We bought some of their wonderful crafts and then headed to a hot springs that is right along the river. Some of us even climbed some steep steps into the rainforest up to a cave. The day was fun and enjoyable and for the first time since arriving we felt somewhat like a tourist. Tomorrow, we will be back experiencing the Mayan culture and connecting with the people which is what I love best!


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