The trip into Santa Maria was fast with the new pavement. We cut an hour off our usual time, until we got about 8 miles from the village. At that point we were on a dirt road and recent rain and a steep hill stopped us in our tracks.
After 5 attempts our van driver gave up. We called the village and they sent a 4×4 pick-up to deliver us the rest of the way. All our luggage and 6 of us rode in the back. It was fun, reminding me of the early days of Ixcán travel.
Finally we arrive in Santa Maria, and the greeting we received was wonderful!
Today, with the help of Pedro and Felipe, the SMT eye health promoters, I saw 10 patients at the health. Tomorrow we’ll go to the main Enfoque Ixcán office in Playa Grande for a busy day of meetings and patient care. The weather has been unusually cool. We needed a blanket last night, but today the sun came out and it was very pleasant. Everyone is healthy.
Scott Pike