Click on a photo to enlarge it.
Our little piece of paradise turned out to be not so perfect after all!
We hade several days of rain during the five weeks that we stayed there and although we had set up our new outside shower cabinet, we could have
just stood outside in the rain! It also meant we had more leaks and had to get onto the roof again to use our aluminium tape.
More rain showed us that our stint taping up the roof had not worked. In fact, the leak coming through the air con was even worse! How on earth
that happened we will never know! Our friends Bob and Suzanne came to the rescue bringing us a brand new tarp which we immediately used to cover
the roof until we eventually had time (when it wasn't raining) to get back on the roof and try again!
We even had waterfalls inside Winnie. One evening Helen saw that the light cover above her in bed wasn't in the correct position. When she took it
off she realized, too late, that the reason why it wasn't sitting correctly was because it was full of water. The water immediately cascaded all
over her face, up her nose and down her throat. It was so cold that she got quite a shock and was having difficulty breathing.
She ended up choking and spluttering and, despite her efforts at keeping the cover horizontal to prevent the rest of the water from spilling, she
failed miserably! Kirsten, of course, just laughed!! Helen spent the next 30 minutes drying the bed off using the electric heater!
Another problem we had was far worse than water!
As Helen was getting ready for a shower she went to get a clean T shirt out of the cupboard. What she found were hundreds of large ants crawling
over the shirts and moving their eggs somewhere. We were not just inundated but infested!! Yuk!
We quickly tried to get the clothes outside and shake them off but ants were crawling all over us. Two workmen at the campground came running
because they thought we were in trouble!! Well, we were! Ant attack!
It took nearly 3 hours to get all the clothes out and shake down everything. Kirsten got onto the roof where there were even more ants. They were
climbing down from a tree branch that was touching our roof which was promptly cut off. Then we tried to block off the air duct on the roof where
they were coming in.
It was quite a major job and we only just managed to get everything done before dark. All our clothes were in plastic bags in the driving
compartment. It was absolutely full!
The next day, we taped up the entire inside of the clothes compartment and checked other compartments and areas but couldn't find where all the
ants have gone. We know we didn't get rid of all of them because there were just too many and they scattered all over the place as we were
frantically trying to get them out!
It took another day to clean all the cupboards out, check others and clean them, then get all the clothes out of the bags, check for ants, sort
out which needed to be washed, and put the rest back in the cupboard.
One mistake we did make was to close off the air vent to prevent any more ants getting inside because we ended up getting a clothes cupboard
smelling of our toilet!! So we had to take off the tape and close it off from the inside so that the pipe was still open at the top and keep the
ventilation system working, whilst still preventing the ants from getting in. (Should have been obvious - but, oh well, you live and learn!)
But there were a lot of things that happened that were positive.
When it wasn't raining we had fun playing with Duke, the campground dog who is really sweet and loves it when you throw a piece of wood into the
river for him to retrieve. Unfortunately, he then chews up the piece of wood and looks at you full of expectation that another block of wood will
miraculously appear!
Duke and our new outdoor shower.
We also managed to take a walk up to the beautiful waterfalls here after there had been a few days of sun to dry up the path.
Our friends, Bob and Suzanne, returned home a week after we arrived and we had a great deal of fun together. We knew that they worked with a medical
mission every year in November, cooking all the meals for the doctors and other helpers, but we had never been in Tamasopo at the right time.
Suzanne asked us if we could stay long enough to help with the mission from the 8th to 14th November. Now that we have our new system of emptying
our water tanks rather than needing a dump station which doesn't exist in Tamasopo, the only problem of being able to stay for so long would be
propane.
The road to the campground was so difficult for Winnie that we did not want to keep having to drive it. The next time would be on our way out when
we would not be returning, so getting propane would not be possible.
The problem would be solved by being able to plug into the electricity. Our fridge uses about 90% of the propane in our tank so if we switch to
electricity we can last on one tank for over three months.
So we volunteered to help out with the cooking and managed to arrange to plug into the electricity at the campground by moving Winnie closer to a
trailer with a socket that we could use.
The Mission will be hard work though. Long hours starting at 5am and finishing late. There would also be a lot of preparation before the Mission
started. But we were really looking forward to it.
There was also the US presidential race and the upcoming election. Bob and Suzanne invited us to go to a friend's house to watch the final debate
between McCain and Obama. It was certainly interesting as we have missed a lot of the race and gave us a chance to hear the two men, one of whom
was going to be the next president.
The winner was Joe the plumber who was mentioned so many times by both presidential hopefuls that he will probably be a very rich man!!
We also managed to watch the election itself and by 10pm that day we knew that history had been made and we had been there to watch!
We were also invited to a birthday party for one of Bob and Suzanne's friends in Alequinas.
It took 1.5 hours to drive out to the village and we met the birthday boy, Manuel (41). He took us up some very steep steps into a hall and as
soon as he went in, over 100 guests stood up and started clapping. It felt as if we were guests of honour but we had never met him before!
We were introduced to a lot of Bob and Suzanne's friends and were even allowed to sit at a table when only half of the guests could be seated.
Then trays of food were served which included rice, pasta and beef in a spicy sauce. There were also large bowls of pork put on the tables.
Some local bands provided music and a huge cake was served at the end. Bob took us for a walk around the quaint town before we left around 6pm for
the drive back.
On the 21st of October the preparations for the Mission started for us in earnest. Suzanne has already spent a great deal of time organizing and
preparing but this was the first time we started to get involved.
Suzanne wanted to make four lots of banana bread which we would help with and learn how to make. Helen then made Shepherds Pie for all of us. In
between we sat out on the porch and Suzanne went through the meal schedule with us whilst Helen made notes on what we would be doing and where.
We had another day of making banana bread and discussing the schedule the following week, before the Mission started. Funnily enough, we never did
make banana bread for the actual mission probably because there was so much food available but we have made it several times since!
On the 7th of November we left the campground after two days of packing up, and drove to a hotel in Tamasopo where we would be allowed to park and
plug in. We would be cooking breakfasts in a brand new kitchen on the hotel grounds with a covered seating area for the 70
people who would be working at the Mission.
Our job would be to make sure the tables and chairs were wiped down before and after every meal and the floor area was swept. We would also be
responsible for cleaning the kitchen and we had to get a griddle cleaned and treated so that we could use it to make fried potatoes and pancakes.
Suzanne also had two other people, Mary and Patty, who would be helping with breakfast and lunch preparations at her house. Bob would be the driver,
loading and unloading everything, removing rubbish, being a general gofer and doing all the washing up.
Suzanne had all the logistical and organizational responsibility on top of doing the cooking and preparation. It was a great deal of hard work and
they did a fantastic job!
The people on the Mission are from Sugarland (near Houston), Texas and they pay $700 each and give up 10 days of their annual holidays (the Americans only get two
weeks holiday a year) just to come down here and provide medical health care for the local and indigenous people.
They are from a Catholic Church in Sugarland and come down to spread the Word. So the group includes Catholic Priests and a spiritual team. The
majority were due to arrive on Sunday, but on Friday evening six of them arrived who had transported all the medication that would be needed.
A lot of preparation goes into bringing this much medication across an international border. Permission has to be granted and there is a great deal
of paperwork. It also needs to be transported safely and securely.
Two hotels were being used for accommodation and one of the hotel rooms was used for storing all the food we would be needing in the kitchen. This
meant that we could use the shower, a big bonus for "us cooks!"
Rick, Mary's husband, is a chiropractor and the two of them have been coming to Tamasopo for years and were amongst the founders who set up the Mission
in the first place. (The founders include Bob and Suzanne).
It was Patty's first time here and she was staying at Bob and Suzanne's house along with Rick and Mary.
The first few days were spent helping load and unload the food and utensils and cleaning and treating the griddle in the kitchen. The latter took
quite some time as it hadn't been in use for a while.
The rest of the Mission arrived at 3-30 pm on Sunday and meal of Mexican food was served which had been prepared by Suzanne's Mexican friends. We only had
to set up the tables and chairs and the food serving area. We heated up the food and transferred it to the various food warmers and made sure that
the extra food was brought out as it was needed.
We cleaned up afterwards and started setting things up for the morning. We were finished by 7pm. Everyone else went out for an evening including
food but we needed to get to bed early as we had to be in the kitchen by 5 am.
Monday was our first day of cooking. We were in the kitchen by 5am, peeling 60 potatoes that Suzanne had baked the day before and chopping them up
for fried potatoes along with fried onions and peppers.
The first pot of coffee needed to be switched on at 5-30 am for those who wanted coffee before attending Mass. The water heater for tea drinkers
had to be switched on at 6 am and the second pot of coffee at 6-30 am. We used an alarm clock so that we didn't miss the specific times whilst we
were doing the potatoes.
That first morning we used frying pans rather than the griddle because we wanted to keep it clean for the pancakes the next day. We also wiped the tables
and set up the food warmers which needed boiling water and we heated up 120 sausages in batches in the microwave.
Meanwhile, back at the "ranch", Suzanne, Mary and Patty were busy preparing other food to be served at breakfast and arrived at the hotel at 7-15 am
to set out yoghurt, a fruit platter and cereal.
Breakfast was served at 7-50 am and everything ran smoothly. Once everyone had been served and those that wanted had had seconds, we had time to
sit down and eat. Then the others left to do the washing up and start on the lunches, whilst we cleaned the tables and chairs, swept the dining
area and cleaned and mopped the kitchen.
Then we started on the dessert for the evening which was four trays of cheesecakes with mandarin oranges.
We finished at 12-30 pm and walked down to the auditorium where the medical Mission was set up. There was a Triage section and cubicles had been
set up using wood for the surrounds attached to blue mats and black plastic for privacy. It was very impressive indeed.
There were chiropractors, physiotherapists, an eye clinic, general doctors, dentists and a pharmacy all set up to provide very good health care to
the people of Tamasopo and its surrounding villages. The auditorium was very busy with queues of people waiting their turn.
Medical mission in Tamasopo.
Rick saw 100 patients that day and later in the week, a 300 pound woman actually broke his bench and he had to get it fixed! The amount of people
being treated was just phenomenal (about 2500 over the four days). All the Mission people are truly dedicated to giving
their best and helping those who otherwise would not be able to afford or otherwise receive the treatment that they need. It was an honour to meet
them and to be able to play our small part.
Afterwards we went to the lunch area for some food and helped to clean up. After a 2 hour break we went back to the kitchen to start setting up for
the evening. We didn't do any of the cooking but we cut up and served the cheesecake for dessert.
Unfortunately the water in the kitchen was "city water" which gets cut off at around 6pm. We didn't know that until we ran out of water and then we
had to fetch and carry buckets from one of the hotel taps on a different water system.
We finished cleaning up at 10-15 pm, went for a shower and got to bed at 11pm. It felt like it was only a few minutes later when the alarm clock
went off again at 5am and it was time to get back to work!!
But then there was a big problem. The kitchen was locked and we don't have a key!!! At 5am, it was pitch black and there was no one around to ask
for a key. Fortunately, Helen managed to find a window that was shut but not locked and she had to use a chair to boost herself up so she could
climb through it and then find the lights!!
Crisis over, we set about cutting up bananas, cantaloupe melons, pineapples and papayas for the fruit platter and preparing 120 pancakes that we
would be making on the griddle. We set up the coffee pots but the adaptor used for the plugs wasn't switched on! Thank goodness Bob noticed at
5-45 am when there was still time for the coffee to be made!
We finished with the cleaning up by 11 am and then walked up to Bob and Suzanne's house where we spent 4 hours making 150 cookies for the dessert
for the evening. We did the washing up and helped clean up the lunch stuff when the others returned. We put potatoes into the oven to bake for
tomorrow's breakfast.
Kirsten went off to buy onions for tomorrow and Helen went to the dining area to clean the tables and put various things into the fridge. We went
for a shower and had an hour off before returning to the kitchen for the evening meal.
We finished by 10 pm, had showers and got to bed. The next day we did fried potatoes, a fruit platter and sausages. We had a problem with the tea
water and ended up with a bit of a flood!! Somehow we managed to get it sorted out!
After the breakfast we made a dessert called "Carlotta" - layers of biscuits, chopped peaches and various creams mixed in a blender with lemon
juice poured over the top and then put in the fridge to set.
Then we went up to the ranch to help Mary and Patty pull chicken off the bones. We had a shower and an hours rest and then went back for
the evening meal. Suzanne's microwave stopped working whilst she was in the middle of preparing food for the evening in the hotel kitchen. So now
they will have to buy a new one for themselves. Fortunately there was a smaller one owned by the hotel that we could use.
After the main meal, we cut and served the Carlotta for dessert. We finished at 11 pm that night and then went for showers.
The next morning was Thursday and would be our last day of cooking breakfast. We made fried potatoes, a fruit platter and sausages.
Janice from the eye clinic gave us some great tips including black tea being very good for eye problems like conjunctivitis. Helen thought she meant drinking
black tea was good until she realized that Janice was talking about using it cold as an eye wash!!! Well that was obvious wasn't it!! Helen's
excuse for her stupidity was lack of sleep - lack of brain more like!!
After breakfast we made a potato salad for lunch the next day and put it in the fridge. (It tastes better when left overnight.)
Cooking during the Tamasopo mission.
At 1pm we had an appointment to have our teeth cleaned (or as Kirsten called it later "cleeth teaned") at the auditorium. Our dentist was Mickey who we had seen before and called her the "mystery
woman" because she wears a mask, glasses and a head light that completely obscure her face. We would never have recognized her even from the meals
at the hotel!
Mickey is an ex-army dentist and it's her first time with the Mission. So we lay down on the sun lounger which was the dentist's chair and Mickey
was so good that we never felt a thing. Honestly - no pain!!!! Unbelievable! And she cleaned our teeth really well. So we are very grateful.
Unfortunately, Helen has two holes that need filling so we will have to go to a dentist when we get to Mazatlan in the next couple of weeks.
Free dental cleaning and checkup.
We had some more work to do that afternoon and then got ready for the Fiesta that evening organized by the president of Tamasopo. Kirsten even got
dressed up in a dress!!! Helen doesn't have one in Winnie so had to do the best she could. Then we went to Bob and Suzanne's for group photos and
off to the fiesta.
There was food and live music and a lot of dancing. The medical side of the Mission had finished so people could relax and have fun. Lots of people
thanked us for our help and we were even given a carnation each as a thank you which was really sweet. One of the ladies who worked in the pharmacy
gave us a T shirt each as a thank you gift which was very much appreciated.
All the ladies were given a gift from the president which we were allowed to choose. We decided on what we thought were hand made lace place mats
but turned out to be tortilla warmers!
Lots of people were dancing and we even got up to dance to Abba's Waterloo. Everyone else stopped dancing to watch us and we got a round of applause
afterwards. We don't know why. Maybe we just dance differently because we're Europeans!
Party night in Tamasopo.
We had a lot of fun and walked the short distance back to Winnie at 1am in the morning. A long day. Helen got up the next morning at 5-20 am to go
and put the coffee and water heater on and went back later to check everything was alright.
Breakfast was being served at the "cascadas" which means waterfalls. There is a campground there too but you have to drive through a river bed to
get there. When we first arrived in Tamasopo there was so much water that we would not have been able to drive through.
Breakfast at the Cascadas.
It was a very good breakfast which we enjoyed more because we didn't have to cook it! Afterwards we went for a walk to see the waterfalls and on
one of the paths some people warned us that there was a snake directly on the footpath. We were glad that they warned us because the snake blended
in perfectly and we're quite sure we wouldn't have seen it and would probably have ended up stepping on it!
Later we helped clean out the hotel room and the kitchen to transport everything that remained back to Bob and Suzanne's. At 2pm we went back to
Paso Ancho, the campground where we had stayed for 5 weeks, for an afternoon. Kirsten went up with a group of people who walked to the waterfalls
and then swam back down the river.
A great meal was served at 5pm which included the potato salad that we had made. The main part was called "Discada" which is various meats, onions
and peppers with cheese on top served in wheat tortillas. Yummy!
Kirsten worked during the rest of the evening to put together CD's that had photos and video clips on them, to give to various people the next
morning as they were leaving to go back to Sugarland.
Helen got up at 4-10 am to put the coffee on but forgot to put coffee in one of the machines!! So one pot had coffee but the other just had hot
water! Everyone was asked to donate any clothes that they didn't want to take back with them which Bob and Suzanne washed. There were 19 loads
of washing for them to do!! One of the dentists donated all his clothes and travelled back in his dental clothes. Sadly we had to say goodbye
to everyone and we waved them off at 7-45 am.
We went back to bed for two hours to try and catch up on the sleep that we had missed over the last few days. We spent the next two days working
on the computer and having meals with Bob and Suzanne. Helen also went for a massage and Kirsten banned her from Winnie because she smelled so
strongly of Jasmine oil!!
