Cayos Cochinos Islands

9/10/07

I had this weekend off, so Amy and I went on a little adventure to the Cayos Cochinos which are some tiny islands just off the coast here. We have a lot of patients from there and they have no consistent medical care there. They have a nurse 3 mo out of the year on the big island, otherwise they have to take a boat to the mainland to see a doctor. We took a very small blue canoe with an outboard motor out on the open ocean with fisherman, Malaquias. We put-putted for 1 1/2 hrs to get there. (In a large boat it only takes 45 min.) Malaquias was bailing water the whole time and we were praying for no waves higher than the 6 inches that we were sticking out of the water!!!

We stayed on a tiny little island called Chachajuate, about the size of a football field, where anywhere from 60-120 people live in little huts on the sand. There are fishing boats all around and plenty of hammocks. They recently put in a composting toilet, but I think they still "do their business" in the ocean most of the time. There is a lock on the toilet, so anytime you want to take a dump, you have to go find the "keeper of the keys". I guess she could give you a pretty good account of everyone's bowel habits! :) Anyway, we stayed in a little "cabana" for $4 per night. It was just a rickety bed on a sand floor, with wooden walls and open windows overlooking the sea. We could hear the waves all night! It was lovely. We learned a lot about the Garifuna people and hope to eventually start monthly trips to the islands to provide medical care and education.