Terry checking out the local bus.

First, Terry Nielsen from the Courtenay Rotary club had been in Mexico for nearly 2 weeks and really wanted to see what was happening with the rural Mexican schools we had been helping for the past 7 years.  Terry and I met up as soon as I landed in Puerto Vallarta and early the next morning we set off on a tour of Cabo Corrientes.  We were able to visit many villages and schools in the area and saw many completed projects and other projects that badly needed help.  While we were there we were fortunate enough to stay with my good Mexican friends in the pretty fishing village of Tehuamixtle and Terry got to see the broken down bus that services this area.  After a very productive and fun couple of days I drove Terry back to Boca Tomatlan where we had a great lunch on the beach watching the young kids surfing in the bigger than normal waves; then it was time for him to hop a bus back to Puerto Vallarta and then Canada, while I headed south towards Bara Navidad where Bob and Annette were staying.

fun mural

Bob Mason and kids at the orphanage

Second, Bob Mason and his good wife Annette had asked me to visit and possibly do some painting at a nearby special needs center if I was in Mexico around this time. We had never met but had corresponded over the years and they had been a great help with our fundraisers.  As I have described in an earlier post the Masons had dedicated their lives for many years to running an orphanage in northern Mexico, and they had only recently moved to this area.  I had a fun time painting at the school where one of the children’s fathers had just painted one of the cutest murals I had ever seen.  It was also very nice catching up with the Masons.  I learned a fun game of Dominos called Mexican Train, saw huge crocodiles that lived on the property, and possibly got a great lead on some wheelchairs that were badly needed at the new center in Cabo Corrientes.  As soon as I returned to Puerto Vallarta I got in touch with their Bob and Annette’s friends Nigel and Phillipa Gow.

Wheelchair/Walker for young boy at Sp. Needs center in El Tuito

The Gows were the third good reason for my quick return to Mexico and Lady Luck was surely shining down when I contacted them.  They belong to a great organization called “Amigos de Teacapan” who help with medical, educational and just about any other kind of need in this area.  Their president Rod Buranen gave them the go ahead to help us out and boy did they ever!  They helped us locate a great wheelchair and a sturdy walker for a young boy in El Tuito that was without both.  Then their friends Ken and Janet Jones from Richmond B.C, who were in the area, volunteered to deliver the wheelchair and walker down to Puerto Vallarta where they delivered them right to where I was staying.

New kindergarten school in Corrales

Condemned house for 3 teachers in Corrales

Fourth, my wonderful amiga Barb Crompton who has helped so much the last couple of years wanted to take her good  friend Joel from Napa California on a tour of  Cabo Corrientes to see what was happening out that way.  What a whirlwind fun tour this was and it could not have gone any better.  In one day we were able to: deliver the wheelchair and walker to the new special needs center in El Tuito (where it was greatly appreciated); meet the local government which is really dedicated to helping their people; visit several villages and schools; see the new 4 room teacherage that Barb had helped to build in Villa del mar; and vsit the brand new kindergarten school that had just been completed in the very remote village of Corrales.  BOY DO THEY NEED A NEW HOUSE FOR TEACHERS THERE.

The fifth good reason for my return took place only 2 days before I was due to trade in my beach wear for winter skis one more time.  On this day I headed out by bus to where I met up with the local government in Cabo Corrientes to discuss what projects they needed help with for this year.  It is always a fun time getting together with this group as they so dedicated to helping their people, and work so hard for not a lot of money.  No corruption out this way, just lots of pride, happy people and beautiful new buildings!

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Terry checking out the local bus.