Orinoco Island

After our visit with the community of Pueblo Nuevo, we loaded up our panga and went back the way we came to the island of Orinoco.   Before meeting the community members and seeing the well and facilities, we needed to have lunch.  I should have skipped this experience.  During the whole trip I have been challenged to find "non fish" entrees cuz I really just don't like the taste or texture of fish.   At this restaurant there were no menus and they did not provide bottled water.  The waiter guy said we could have shirmp- fried, boiled, sauteed in butter or steamed.  All meals come with rice.   I ate about half the sauteed shrimp and drank water from the bottle I carried.  NOT MY FAVORITE MEAL of the trip.

At the Catholic church, we met several community folks

who had been at the training on Wed.  They showed us around the Sunday school facility across the street from the church and also showed us their well

.  This is an entirely English speaking community which would make our training jobs much easier.  They already have a building that could be used, but which would need some renovation--

 drain added, roof strengthened for the tank, plywood walls removed,

All needed changes but

Really minor changes compared to building from scratch.

The well has not been used much but is 22 feet deep, has a 3.5 ft well diameter and contains 6 feet of water, with no pump-- Water is accessed with a bucket.  Hardness of the water was 034.

When questioned about how we could communicate with them, it was discovered, while all have phones no one has e-mail or data for phones.    In this community water is only available in quarts/liters-- larger bottles are not available.  Occasionally they pour clorox in the well to kill bacteria.  No mail service is available or hardware store for replacement parts.  The local responsibilities for the installation were spelled out to the group.  They will need pumps for well and system and the tanks would need to be purchased locally (in country)

We did remind them not to begin renovating until they heard from us

and our decision wouldn't be made immediately, but after discussion and research.

We left Orinoco after looking at the facilities for visitors to stay, I'd hardly call it a hotel, just marginally better than Pueblo Nuevo-- it did include a window in each room and had mosquito netting available.  Bathroom facilities were available in the owner's house-- no clue where that was.
After returning to Green Lodge, we discussed the pros and cons of each place and were invited to think our decision over.