Great day in Pana

On thursday, the right day, I made it down to Pana for great day.
I was going to call for a taxi but got very lucky that a couple was being dropped off for marriage conference  at the exact time I was going to call! So, didn't have to wait, off I went.
First order of business was to go to bank and get some money exchanged.
The banks will only exchange $200.  I had wanted to get more than that so I could buy some things for the Home.  I would of had to wait several days before I could exchange more money.  This was not good.  A grandmother and her grandchild were in the bank and I noticed she spoke excellent English. She heard me asking about getting more money and said I will wait for you outside and take you somewhere to get more money.  So, I left the bank and my new friend, Sarah, took me to a vendor booth that was a friend of hers and I was able to get more money exchanged.  Ends up Sarah grew up here, went to school in the states for college, then came back and had children she raised here.  She said I could buy her coffee for helping me out and I was happy to do so.

She took me to a little place called the "Deli" - supposedly excellent food.  I hadn't eaten breakfast on purpose so I could eat in Pana so I was thrilled to have a local suggest a place.  I had juevos rancheros and it was indeed excellent.  She and I had a wonderful conversation.  I told here I was Eagle's Nest for two months, only had a month left, and was in town to do some shopping and meet up with a a family for lunch and then go to the Crossroads coffee shop.  She knew the American missionary family (Mike and Adele) that run the coffee shop for over ten years.  She also knew  Claire (her and Larry founded Eagle's Nest) although it had been a while since she had seen her.  I mentioned that I wanted to check out another non profit in the area that friends from the States had suggested, Mayan Families.
I had emailed them and not gotten a response and had no idea where they were located.  Your not going to believe it - she has two daughters that work for them.  We walked a few blocks down the road after breakfast so I could chat with them and see what they had going on.  They have an after school program, they assist families in need with school supplies in many different areas around the Lake so the kids can go to school, they have a sewing program that teaches ladies how to sew so they can produce income, etc.  It was a small facility with workers and volunteers jam packed in rooms.  Looks like a wonderful program.

I was then off to meet Lee Radford at  Pollo Campero so he could take me to his home to meet his wife and children.  Angel had a wonderful lunch ready for us when we arrived. They shared about the new non profit they have started in the area. They assist at-risk families around Pana that are in extreme poverty situations, and many single moms. Angel made a wonderful lunch and I so enjoyed visiting with them and their sweet children.  After lunch Lee and Parker, his son, walked me down a rock wall that divided homes on the "river".   I think Parker will be a great tour guide when he gets a bit older!!  One side of wall protects homes from the creek rising when it rains, the other side is unprotected as homes or on the creek-bed.  The homes near the creek-bed are in danger of falling in the creek or being destroyed in rainy or hurricane season.  I saw much destruction of homes that had been destroyed years ago during Hurricane Hugo.  The walk down the wall was probably a good 3/4 mile and literally I could see inside families homes for they were right next to the wall.  Not doors and windows, just holes in cinder blocks or mud homes, corrugated tin walls, and dirt floors.  I asked Lee about taking photos but as in all areas around here you must ask to take a person's photo and because this was an area he is known in and I chose not to take any photos.   He pointed out  a"bathroom" outside a home that was simple black tarp around 4 poles about 25 feet outside the home.  Many children were playing outside along the way.   Very humbling experience and hard to describe.  This photo is how some businesses and homes protect the property.  Since I was on the wall got an up close photo to share. The hospital where Johnny was has the same protection.



old catholic church in pana

 The coffee shop shuts down after lunch till three so Lee and Parker took me to a couple different hardware stores.  Scored at the second big hardware store and got 29 hooks for the Home so kids will have somewhere to put backpacks and jackets when they get in from school.  Not a great deal of storage in the Home so will put the hooks in the long hallway.  Think they will like having a spot of their own!  Got a couple cutting boards and spoons for that were needed in the kitchen.  So glad my tour guides helped me out.  Saved me a lot of time.

The coffee shop - Crossroads Cafe - in not much bigger than a hallway.
The doors open at three after a two hour lunch break and people were waiting in line to go in.  I had a latte and a piece of carrot cake Adele had made and it was delicious.  She makes different desserts daily.  Yummy!  Wonderful couple and excellent coffee from the mountains in the area. 

school in pana across from vendors.

Left them and only had a bit of time to try and get some shoes for some of the older boys at the Home.  That has not been as easy a task as I thought it would be but will press on till I succeed.  Ended up drawing their feet on piece of paper yesterday and hopefully that will help next trip.  Slowly but surely!
Seems I am rambling - it was a great day in Pana for sure!