On Saturday I was able to see more of Puerto Vallarta. Since arriving here in Mexico everything has been a bit of a surreal blur. It still hadn't sunk in that my random plan of discovery had actually become reality. The house is pleasant and charming but without warm water, and a less than clean kitchen, which makes preparing meals a tricky task. However getting a bus to Zona romantica and walking along Los Muertos beach with our coordinator Linda made everything seem more real; The heat, the sea, the jungle covered mountains. Having sampled traditional beach food and drink on offer, as well as Linda offering only to speak to me in Spanish to get my language up to scratch, I truly felt I was in a different world.
What a place to find yourself.
Having heard nothing positive from our co-volunteers, Jonathan and I were a little worried about going to work the following day, Linda managed to assure us it was a lovely place it just wasn`t run to the standard it could really benefit from. She also told us that it wasn't an orphange, it wasn`t a children`s shelter for abused and neglected children, which would explain maybe why the other girls in the house were finding the children slightly trickier than they were expecting.
Linda explained how the staff at the orphanage are on very little money, and she herself has moved to a Barrio, with no gas and expensive rent so she can help to run the shelter and offer the children more structure. Originally from Italy, she trys very hard to make things work, with little affect. It seems here you have to earn respect before you can manage to get anyone to help out. I had no idea how hard it would be trying to get the children to listen and share, but I was about to find out.
I'm sure it will get easier with the kids. Jealous of the sun and beach :-) xxx
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