Pimp my (bus) ride!

Refinishing seat frames in a bus workshop,
Ciudad Vieja, Guatemala

Those of you reading this who are from the US...have you every wondered what happened to your old yellow school bus, the one that took you faithfully to & from school each day? Probably not. Well me neither. But when I started traveling in Belize, I realized that those yellow school buses became retired expats themselves, turning into public long distance buses in Central America (& elsewhere). I have ridden many a "Blue Bird" bus in Belize around that country, reminiscing as I did about time in my youth spent in such buses (and the dramas of who sits with whom & where--in front with the nerds or in the back with the smokers; jumping out the bus's back door during fire drills; and what about when you miss that dang bus?!).

Anything can be "Blue Bird" 

when you have this plate!

Here in Guatemala, I got to tour a "factory" near Antigua that converts your childhood school bus into a suh-weet looking set of wheels, ready to take you from one town to another. The tour was offered by the non-profit Niños de Guatemala, and according to my tour guide, there are 32 such workshops in Ciudad Vieja (4 miles from Antigua) alone, a town of some 28,000 people.

How does this all happen? Your boring yellow bus, having reached ~10 years of age, is purchased at an auction in the US, after which it is driven down to Guatemala, likely loaded with spare bus pieces & parts. Per my tour guide & a documentary on these buses, the drive through Mexico for these folks can be a bit dodgy, as robberies are frequent and bribes often requested.

Once in Guatemala, the bus goes to a "factory" to be converted for local use. The workers then do their magic, for example:

*Ditching the snow tires & doing whatever mechanical work may need to be done.

This baby's almost ready to roll

*Adding features: racks to the top of the bus for luggage storage, ladders to the back of the bus in order to reach this rooftop storage, racks inside the bus for smaller bags, maybe a rail to the bus ceiling for standing passengers to hold on to, another rail along the entry door for the "ayudante" (bus assistant) to hold on to (because most of his trip is spent standing in the open door--yes, while moving also)

*Imprinting the "Blue Bird" logo on whatever pieces they may have added or redone (seat backs, entry panels, etc.); doesn't matter that this work has nothing to do with the real "Blue Bird" company!

Finished product hard at work!

*Doing the most awesomest paint job ever so that anyone who sees that bus will want to jump on it right away, no matter where it's headed; preferred decorations seem to include bright colors and religious icons.

These "pimped up" buses at peak times will carry passengers packed three to a seat and standing in the aisles, not to mention of course the occasional live chicken. They will go speeds, distances, and over terrain never dreamed of by your school district for another 10-15 years or so at least!

Hold on tight please buddy

Back to Belize

Getting our coffee & chocolate fix at San Pedro's
 Chocolate Boutique!

It was great being back in Belize for a month plus -- this time I was cat sitting on Ambergris Caye for the "aloof-but-happy-to-see-me-if-I-gave-her-a-treat" Stella, who lived right in San Pedro town! (Of course while there I was also there keeping up on all things happening with the condos I work with in Belize, as there's always something new.) Highlights of this island visit!

1. Catching up with island friends, who, among other things, kept me caffeinated & chocolate-filled.

2. September is the month of holidays in Belize; my in-town digs offered me a front row seat to the parades: bring on your Belizean blue, white & red (please note the correct order of saying the flag's colors)!

3. Facebook connected me with Mary, from San Diego via Wisconsin, who coincidentally has ties to Cartagena AND was on Ambergris Caye at the same time I was! We first met face-to-face to walk the shelter dogs and after one short walk, a deluge started, so we spent the next 45 minutes getting to know each other while staying dry in one of the kennels (the pup we were in there with there loved the attention of course)--a meeting to be remembered! Also did a day trip to neighboring Caye Caulker, where we visited the seahorse ranch (although the creatures proved elusive) and got to feed tarpon; see video! (they have no teeth, but they do swallow their prey hole....bwahahaha.)

Heading down to Xibalba...
likely in a manner the Maya did not!

4. Before leaving Belize & on my way to Guatemala, I spent a night in the mainland at the Mariposa Jungle Lodge. What a treat! Descended into the Maya underworld in a tour of the nearby Bols Cave Museum. It is filled with Maya relics and bones from 950 B.C. We heard stories of blood letting and sacrifices made there in Xibalba, the underworld….and then turned off all flashlights to experience utter and complete darkness....creepy!!!

Next up: Guatemala!

What are the stories behind these ~3000 year old Maya bones?
(More Bols Cave photos here.)

My canine carry-on, Coco from Cartagena -- how did that happen?

Meeting Coco at the Cartagena airport

I started volunteering at an animal shelter when I spent a few months in Belize in 2014. At that time Judy & Beth, whom I met when they picked me up at the water taxi dock, brought me to my house-sit, and then said to me on leaving, "We'll pick you up at 8 am tomorrow; we're going to the shelter to walk dogs." Um, ok. I like dogs. I like to walk. I like to volunteer. Works for me!

Since then, every visit to Ambergris Caye has had me at Saga Humane Society getting weekly quality time walking some of the most lovable & adorable pooches around. And my consciousness was raised so that I also became aware of Cartagena Paws, an organization in another country I visit often, which helps the all too numerous street animals in that city.

Both Belize's Saga Humane Society and Colombia's Cartagena Paws work not only to help abandoned animals, but they of course want these dogs & cats to have forever homes too. Many times those willing & best able to adopt pets live in the US or Canada, and so the critters lucky enough to be adopted often need help getting to their new homes. This is where travelers like me (& you?) come in handy!

Packing for a Purpose with donations!!

When flying from the US to Belize or Colombia, I usually bring an extra suitcase filled with Pack For A Purpose donations for the local community. That leaves me "light handed" on my return to the US, and so it was a no brainer to volunteer to be a pet escort. Cartagena Paws happened to have the perfect fit for me this trip -- my first opportunity to serve -- as puppy Coco needed to get to his new mom in Maryland at the end of June.

Coco, his four brothers & their mom had been found in an abandoned lot, obviously neglected and in need of help. They all received medical care, vaccinations, etc, and ultimately found families in the US; there were a number of different flight volunteers in June flying them to California, New York, Massachusetts, & of course Maryland.

I met Coco & his foster dad (& foster terrier brother!) at the airport the day before our flight, so customs paperwork could be processed. I volunteered to foster Coco for his last night in Colombia so we could bond a bit before our long travel day -- what a cutie! After getting a huge number of licks from him at the airport, Coco followed my every step in the apartment. I would be at the kitchen sink and he would lie at my feet; if I went the two steps from there to the refrigerator, he got up to follow me; of course if I was sitting anywhere, he needed to be curled up next to me. Adorable!

On travel day, Coco happily got in to his pet carrier, where he would be spending most of the next 11 hours (poor guy!). He was a jewel -- slept nearly the whole time and there was never a peep out of him. We cleared security twice and I carried him with me through the scanner while his carrier went through the X-ray machine; Coco didn't even try to wiggle out of my arms. Because of a customs delay on arrival to Fort Lauderdale, we had a very tight connection and so the poor pup didn't get a potty break but still no complaints (or "accidents") at all!

When we got to Baltimore, my first concern (after meeting his new mom!) was to get Coco outside & out of the carrier so he could do his business; it had been a long day! We went out to the sidewalk and opened the carrier; Coco walked out, looked around, but was seemingly so overwhelmed by it all, that he walked right back in to the familiar & curled up in his carrier. Poor guy!

Coco with his new brother

Coco is now in a loving home in Maryland with two boxer siblings, having the time of his life. A happy ending for Coco!

Now I know that there are some who are probably wondering about a couple of things, as I have heard & had these questions myself.

Aren't there dogs & cats in the US who need to be adopted? Why are we flying in animals from other countries as pets? I volunteer with an SPCA in Maryland, which is always looking for families to adopt their animals, so it is ironic that I have brought a puppy from Colombia who was adopted by a family in Maryland. But I have also heard from friends that it can be much more challenging to adopt a pet in the US. Adopting overseas could be a faster & easier process for some, funnily enough. Others may feel more inspired to help a dog or cat from another country; isn't it great those animals too will also have loving homes? I thought there were good balanced arguments for both sides about this here. One of the 'against' arguments calls for "dealing with the causes [of stray animals], such as neutering, animal control, and owner education." Definitely in agreement and Saga in Belize, and other groups also, do this as well. [2019 note: Cartagena Paws has also started a spay/neuter program.]

Shouldn't we be helping people rather than animals? Shouldn't we be helping both? And in some ways by helping animals, you're helping people too. Belize's Saga Humane Society, for example, has an education program visiting schools to teach kids how animals should be treated & cared for (animal abuse is not uncommon, unfortunately). And by teaching these kids compassion for animals, they learn more about compassion in general, with the goal of having a more compassionate society overall. [2019 note: Cartagena Paws is fundraising towards an education program also.]

Other thoughts/comments welcome!

Interested in being a flight volunteer for a pet? You can read more about it here. There is a list of organizations around the world looking for flight volunteers here, although it is a limited list; there are definitely more such groups out there, including:

*South America: several in this post
*Belize: Saga in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye
*Mexico: Tails of Mexico and The Ranch in the Lake Chapala area
*Costa Rica
*Turks & Caicos
*Thailand: Soi Dog Foundation; there are two Facebook groups (one here and another here) for those flying from Thailand to anywhere in the world, although mainly to Europe and the US/Canada.
General flight volunteer needs in this Facebook group.

*Shenzhen, China: Karuna Rescue (needs flight volunteers out of Hong Kong)

Learn more about Cartagena Paws in this Colombia Calling podcast!

A Delicious Night in a Colombian Jail

I have always been a bit curious about Cartagena’s women’s prison, located within the Old City walls just a half a block from the trendy Plaza San Diego (and a block from where I lived while teaching here). I have walked by the jail countless times, often seeing small signs of the women’s lives through the bars on the second floor above — sheets tied up to block the strong Caribbean sun, clothes hanging to dry, a hand of someone presumably gazing out at the sky above. The depressing sign above the entry states visitors are allowed Saturdays & Sundays, entering between 9 & noon and leaving by 3 pm. All a stark contrast to the charming architecture & Caribbean colors of most of the rest of the UNESCO world heritage site.

Reports state that the prison was built for 50 but now houses 180+ and is to be moved from its highly sought after (& high priced) walled city location; it is steps from the luxury Hotel Sofitel Santa Clara and numerous $$$$ restaurants.

"I believe in second chances"

Despite this potential imminent move of the Carcel de Mujeres de San Diego, Restaurante Interno opened its doors late last year and not only adds to the culinary offerings of the Old City, but is a prison rehabilitation program as well. It provides practical training for inmates so they have marketable skills upon release, plus funds other prison projects improving conditions & prospects for the inmates.

I was finally able to check out the restaurant last night & it was a delicious, while at times humbling, experience! The food was good and the setting pretty, despite the seemingly (although given the circumstances understandably) unwelcoming nature of the restaurant entrance -- a locked metal door which is opened and closed by a guard. The servers wear t-shirts that say "I believe in second chances" and plated food is passed to them from the kitchen through slots in a gate.

Top chefs donated recipes and helped train the women to prepare and cook them. A prison garden and bakery supply the restaurant, as well as provide additional training opportunities for the inmates. Those who work there earn (limited) funds to send home to families. Segundas oportunidades is written on the entry wall to the restaurant and referenced on the t-shirt backs of restaurant staff; "second chances" are being offered for these women.

For more information on this Cartagena restaurant, see the brief story on their site and also an AP article here. A quick search found similar type eateries in Italy & Britain too. Should you find yourself in any of these areas, give the restaurants a try! And maybe there are more? Please comment if you find one!

P.S. For those who are curious as to what the inside of the Cartagena women's prison looks like, see photos I found on Facebook here. 2018 update: video footage from the restaurant & inside the prison can be seen here.