Day 5: Los Pipitos - La Clinica Completa!

Bill, Susan, Lily and Christine in the Los Pipitos Clinica

El Doctor!

Today we finished outfitting the clinic and we're ready to roll! Tomorrow we will assess the first of the Los Pipitos children. We moved the furniture and supplies back into the clinic and Lily and Christine washed everything from the file cabinets to the floor. It's no easy task to do this kind of work in the heat and humidity here!

Lily and Christine Cleaning

We decided to have lunch with the children today and I was able to take a lot of photos. The kids are really affectionate and are so happy to have us with them! They are well mannered and help to clean the table after the meal.
  
They represent a variety of disabilities - Down's syndrome, traumatic brain injury, autism, and spina bifida, to name a few. Several children are deaf and use sign language to communicate. Some are not verbal at all.  

Later in the day, Bill took us to a farmacia, where he purchased some basic medications and supplies to have on hand in the clinic - eye rewetting solution, alcohol wipes, Pepto Bismol, aspirin, Tylenol, iodine, and Benadryl were some of the items we thought would be handy. He left us and we took the afternoon off, visiting the outdoor market before going back to our habitaciones to cool off before dinner. 

In the Market

Christine Checks Out the Verduras

Little Girl Asleep in the Market

We all went for a swim before meeting for drinks and then found a restaurant on a walking street near the central plaza. There were a number of restaurants to choose from and the crowd was colorful. It seems the foreigners hang out there. The central plaza is interesting. Some young men were playing a game of street soccer using upside down bicycles to fashion a goal! It was exciting and we had to watch out for the players or they might have run into us! The cathedral was having a service and we stopped in to watch for a few minutes. I couldn't see the clergy, but I could hear his voice and the people were all engaged in prayer.

While we ate dinner, we heard drums and as we exited the restaurant, we were able to see the entertainment. It was pretty funny!

Street Entertainment

I have a lot of pictures, but it takes a long time to upload them and it's just about midnight already, so I will save them for future posts. Hasta manana!