jatorresrv
Observer
After reading Scott's explanation of an expedition and the encouragement of posting these I thought I might have one. However it is not a true vehicle expedition in the sense that we get to the area of the expedition by air and not land. But once there it is all land and to some pretty remote areas that take 2-3 hours to reach from our base. Most of the miles travelled are by BUS. Yes, the STAR of this expedition is a BUS.
This our primary mode of transportation, a retired school bus. These former school buses from the United States find there way south of the border. This one picks us up at the airport in Guatemala City and takes us to our hotel (base of operations) some 4-6 hours away, depending on traffic. From this base we divide into work groups every morning and depending on number of people, equipment, and route conditions we jump into the bus, a van, or some form of truck.
Heading to our destination. The work groups commonly are construction, hospital, or medical clinics. The construction group commonly stays close to base completing projects. The hospital group goes to the local hospital to do work there, most of the times its medical but could be painting or construction to name a few of the past projects. The medical clinic group, my primary role, goes into the country side to provide medical care and/or to find patients the hospital group can help or children that would benefit from the nutrition center.
Occasionally along these mountain roads we stop for one reason or another and I make it a habit of striking a conversation with a local.
Sometimes getting to our destination may require us to carry our equipment from our transportation vehicles to partisan vehicles, very common 4x4, that get us to our final destination.
Of course, after a long day at clinic where we may see 200-300+ patients in as little as 3-4 hours we have to reverse the way of getting back. This includes carrying all our equipment back.
Although rare, sometimes we finish early at the clinics and will meet the other groups somewhere for much deserved R&R. However, this is rare. Not the deserving part but the R&R part is rare, but we don't complain.
Some of the places we go for clinic can be really off the beaten paths, but views like this are the reward.
But no worries, if you noticed, the buses are commandeered by the volunteer firefighters. And can these guys and gals (not the ones pictured) drive! Their skills are masterful in navigating these buses around small tight towns streets and off-road.
Another work group trains these volunteer and federal firefighters in the areas of Emergency Medical Services.
On one trip deep into the mountains, our primary expedition vehicle encountered a minor problem. I am not mechanically knowledgeable but what the drive told me was that fuel was not reaching the engine.
Although we left with a full tank of fuel at this point of the climb the fuel had reached a point in the tank where the highest point of the fuel was not reaching the tank outlet to the engine.
Of course, local traffic builded at both ends of the roadway. Someone from our group convinced the vehicles at the top to turn around and ferry the equipment and us to our destination.
After we left, the firefighters somehow figured out to get fuel to the engine. They jerry rigged the windshield washer reservoir to the engine and filled it with fuel as many times as it took for them to reach a point on the road where they were able to make, what I call, “A matchbox U-turn”. A matchbox U-turn is one where your K-turn takes 10 or more back and forward movements as it takes for your vehicle to be facing the direction you just came from. Just like we did with our matchbox cars when we were kids.
Hearts In Motion (HeartsInMotion.org) performs some ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE work in Guatemala, Ecuador, and Honduras besides the medical clinics in hard to reach areas.
Through volunteers, Hearts in Motion has build a Nutrition Center to feed malnourished children.
Hearts In Motion has made numerous donation drives that accumulate dispensable goods and put those to good use.
Including a computer lab, that not only works but gets used a lot, unfortunately that is without internet access. If the internet were available the use would be 10 fold I am sure.
The redhead, the Founder and Executive Director of Hearts In Motion, tells us, “We are not here to change their lives...we just want to make their lives a little better.”
Hearts in Motion provides some with protheses. But most amputees get along with a stump. Some will make with whatever they can find. Ms Karen just wants “to make their lives a little better.”
A rubber shoe sole makes for a shock absorber of this hip joint of a tall stocky man and he was happy with that. Ms Karen just wanted to make his life a little better and he agreed.
Hearts In Motions helps to train the firefighters with Emergency Medical Service skills at no cost to them.
This includes making it as realistic as possible with emergency disaster scenarios, including moulage.
These EMS exercises are far from a dog and pony show. The scenarios are made to be realistic and to really challenge the firefighters.
Occasionally I get to drive a 4x4 truck.
This our primary mode of transportation, a retired school bus. These former school buses from the United States find there way south of the border. This one picks us up at the airport in Guatemala City and takes us to our hotel (base of operations) some 4-6 hours away, depending on traffic. From this base we divide into work groups every morning and depending on number of people, equipment, and route conditions we jump into the bus, a van, or some form of truck.
Heading to our destination. The work groups commonly are construction, hospital, or medical clinics. The construction group commonly stays close to base completing projects. The hospital group goes to the local hospital to do work there, most of the times its medical but could be painting or construction to name a few of the past projects. The medical clinic group, my primary role, goes into the country side to provide medical care and/or to find patients the hospital group can help or children that would benefit from the nutrition center.
Occasionally along these mountain roads we stop for one reason or another and I make it a habit of striking a conversation with a local.
Sometimes getting to our destination may require us to carry our equipment from our transportation vehicles to partisan vehicles, very common 4x4, that get us to our final destination.
Of course, after a long day at clinic where we may see 200-300+ patients in as little as 3-4 hours we have to reverse the way of getting back. This includes carrying all our equipment back.
Although rare, sometimes we finish early at the clinics and will meet the other groups somewhere for much deserved R&R. However, this is rare. Not the deserving part but the R&R part is rare, but we don't complain.
Some of the places we go for clinic can be really off the beaten paths, but views like this are the reward.
But no worries, if you noticed, the buses are commandeered by the volunteer firefighters. And can these guys and gals (not the ones pictured) drive! Their skills are masterful in navigating these buses around small tight towns streets and off-road.
Another work group trains these volunteer and federal firefighters in the areas of Emergency Medical Services.
On one trip deep into the mountains, our primary expedition vehicle encountered a minor problem. I am not mechanically knowledgeable but what the drive told me was that fuel was not reaching the engine.
Although we left with a full tank of fuel at this point of the climb the fuel had reached a point in the tank where the highest point of the fuel was not reaching the tank outlet to the engine.
Of course, local traffic builded at both ends of the roadway. Someone from our group convinced the vehicles at the top to turn around and ferry the equipment and us to our destination.
After we left, the firefighters somehow figured out to get fuel to the engine. They jerry rigged the windshield washer reservoir to the engine and filled it with fuel as many times as it took for them to reach a point on the road where they were able to make, what I call, “A matchbox U-turn”. A matchbox U-turn is one where your K-turn takes 10 or more back and forward movements as it takes for your vehicle to be facing the direction you just came from. Just like we did with our matchbox cars when we were kids.
Hearts In Motion (HeartsInMotion.org) performs some ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE work in Guatemala, Ecuador, and Honduras besides the medical clinics in hard to reach areas.
Through volunteers, Hearts in Motion has build a Nutrition Center to feed malnourished children.
Hearts In Motion has made numerous donation drives that accumulate dispensable goods and put those to good use.
Including a computer lab, that not only works but gets used a lot, unfortunately that is without internet access. If the internet were available the use would be 10 fold I am sure.
The redhead, the Founder and Executive Director of Hearts In Motion, tells us, “We are not here to change their lives...we just want to make their lives a little better.”
Hearts in Motion provides some with protheses. But most amputees get along with a stump. Some will make with whatever they can find. Ms Karen just wants “to make their lives a little better.”
A rubber shoe sole makes for a shock absorber of this hip joint of a tall stocky man and he was happy with that. Ms Karen just wanted to make his life a little better and he agreed.
Hearts In Motions helps to train the firefighters with Emergency Medical Service skills at no cost to them.
This includes making it as realistic as possible with emergency disaster scenarios, including moulage.
These EMS exercises are far from a dog and pony show. The scenarios are made to be realistic and to really challenge the firefighters.
Occasionally I get to drive a 4x4 truck.
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but more with the pics!