The Chorti village

Today, the group travelled the rocky road to San Francisco to see the Chorti. The Chorti are a Mayan tribe that live high in the mountains above Copan, about 2 miles from the border Guatemala. The drive up was memorable to say the least. We leave the paved roads of Copan and start the uphill journey. The road quickly transforms into the trinity of dirt, rock and potholes. The road begins to narrow and the jungle grows more dense. The road now hugs the mountain and cliffs fall from the other side of the road. To make matters worse, we are in a twenty person bus navigating tight turns, steep inclines and sudden dips in the road. This is when the Heifer International's bus driver skills really shine. Yes, the corners were tight, yes there were times we couldn't see land below us and yes, we were scraping the corners of the bus against the mountain as we made hairpin turns BUT we made it safely! After we shook out our white knuckled, sweaty hands and breathed a sigh of relief, we made our a way out of the bus and into the village. Kids came running to the bus as well as the village leader who were all so excited to have us as visitors. We unload our medications and supplies and tour the village. As we begin walking through, there is a procession of Chorti people honoring holy week. They hold up a statue of Christ carrying the cross and they sing songs as they walk through the village. We continue walking through narrow paths surrounded by thick vegetation and find beautiful and vibrantly colored flowers surrounding peoples homes. It is extremely hot outside, about 95 degrees and we all are glistening with sweat. Turkeys, chickens and hens run through peoples homes and along the narrow, dirt paths. Sarah gets excited when she sees chickens in trees, almost as excited as she was when she dewormed a dog with a Mebendazole stuffed doggy treat. The Chorti homes are very simple. Some are adobe with metal roofs. One of the community members shows us the animal skins he made when hunting. He also has Armadillo shells lining a wood beam on his patio. We go back down to the clinic, where over 80 people are now waiting to be seen. In a similar fashion to Las Mercedes, we see patients complaining of "tos" (cough), "acido" (stomach acid), "escabios" (scabies) and skin infections. After clinic ends, we perform vignettes we have prepared to teach the kids about parasites, body mechanics, toothbrushing and dehydration. Everyone was so grateful for the bags of hygienic supplies and medications. They gave us a closing ceremony with guitar players singing songs they wrote specifically for us while their kids showed off their dancing. The leader of the village also gave a closing speech which was really touching as she talked about how much Gloria (our host from Heifer International) has done for her people. It was a really great day. We made the adrenaline pumping drive back to Copan and enjoyed a cool dip in the pool. Tomorrow we will visit the Mayan ruins here in Copan and go ziplining. Also, since it is Semana Santa, we will be able to see the decorated streets in the town square....pictures to come!!!!