Eric, who caught Bucky stucky at the posada last month, posted a pic of his own cat dancing on the awning.
First Annual Club Santiago PATA Clinic
12 January
Chris and Hans, our generous and energetic Canadian supporters, offered their new home for a clinic. The unfortunate part was that we didn't have much
time to get the word out so we only had three patients. The fortunate part was that we only had three patients so there was lots of time to hang
by the pool, scarf pizza and quaff cold beverages (after our three patients went home, of course).
Midori at the reception table, waiting for patients
An undercover sting operation was set up the night before, but the wily cats were having nothing to do with
entrapment. Club Santiago and the beach at La Boquita are full of strays, but we needed more time to contact the folks at the
restaurants, there, and to comb the ramadas for
prospectives. Next time we'll do a better job of advertising.
Chris is going to make this an annual event at her hacienda. Very cool.
Bianca and Nadia at the prep table; Stan with our first patient
Sherrell and Eric from Sarana Mike and Julie from Slacker
Although there wasn't alot of work to do, our cruising friends jumped right in to help. They were anchored off La Boquita, so close that they
walked from the dinghy landing on the beach to Chris and Hans' house.
Huh, we didn't get even one picture of Chris or Hans....
Rob grabbing a pizza;
Carol, Nadia, Bianca and Julie hanging out in the kitchen
Around Town
8 January
Bucky's not the only cat to get stucky. A bus-drivers' strike halted traffic in and out of old town
while the Stan-cat was there on errands.
Bus strike at the library roundabout
Nothing really special about a strike, they're pretty common. The special part was Stan snapping
a picture of it and sending it to me at home, along with a little note explaining why he would be late for lunch.
Which brings us to the not-so-dumb phone, Stan's New Years treat to himself. I get a couch, he gets a
gadget?
The not-so-dumb
phone and the gadget addict in Colima, checking the facts
So, everywhere we go, he's checking the GPS, looking up info, taking pictures or using any of a number
of cutesy little apps. Except when he's texting, which is very annoying, I gotta admit it's alot
of fun
to know how far we've hiked or what the population and elevation of Colima is.
Working on Christmas?
27 December
Stained Glass
Mucking around the internet and hammering together web pages isn't exactly work. It's more like a hobby. So, for Christmas I enjoyed my hobby.
Each year PATA has hosted an auction and poker tournament to raise money. This year the on-line portion was my bag, since I took over website production.
I'm still learning, but I've got some great help out in the anchorage. Eric on Sarana is a web guru and full of helpful hints and tricks. He's also kindly helping Stan with automating his weather reports, which is going to save him a bunch of very tedious work. THANKS ERIC.
You might guess that the main attraction at an animal-lovers' party would be the cat. Eric from the sailing vessel Sarana caught our girl's antics and titled it Bucky Gets Stucky.
Usually relegated to the back room during gatherings, this year the kids got the run of the house and behaved very well, even though the screendoor was fair game and guests flowed inside and out. Bucky was totally enamored with Sherrell and as the clip shows, clambored all over, and around, her.
The whole PATA gang came to sing the posada song and cook shish-ka-bob -- generally pathetic singers, but outstanding cooks. They brought food and a couple of pinatas, which doubled as hats after the stick-wielding mayhem.
Who's Been Visiting My House?
17 December
Noche Buena
Returning from a little walkabout, a beautiful Noche Buena was sitting on the doorstep, no note, no card.
From whom could it be? My Mystery Santa? Will anyone 'fess up?
Clinic Video
16 December
Stan's been playing with Animoto videos. I think he captured the essence of November's multi-day clinic pretty well (volume control => bottom right).
There's an amazing array of volunteers who help with these clinics, medical and non-medical, like...
Nela
Nico at check-in
Pieter
Fernando
Two of the Vancouver Chapter
Nela, newly graduated human doctor, soon off to a government assignment for a year in a remote location; & partner, Nico, an artist. Nela performs closings in surgery; Nico does everything, handles the masses lined up at the reception desk, with great good humor -- checked-in seventy-two growling, barking, biting, hissing and scratching patients in one day!
Silvia, sister to Nela, student at Campo Verde high school; with five or six others have been loyal volunteers for years. Campo Verde requires community service, sometimes twenty-five students troup through clinic doors to help ... and they really do. Some will continue education in med school; Pieter's on his way to vet school next year.
Dona Maria found us and invited a mini-clinic to her 'hood, old centro Manzanillo; has rounded up an amazing number of stray cats and dogs to spay/neuter; she chats with neighbors, helps owners catch their street animals, helps haul them to and from clinics.
Volunteers also come from out-of-town. The Dog Whisperer buses down from Colima to help. He's a bona fide dog trainer and he instructs impromptu classes for dog owners at the clinics. And he helps round up contumacious canines.
Hagenbach is an international organization that helps us recruit volunteers. They help medicos with vet school and in return, keep them working. PATA has found many vet volunteers through Hagenbach, and even when the vets have outgrown that organization, they've stayed true to us and at least two travel to Manzanillo to help at each of our multi-day clinics.
Expat help arrives at clinics in many forms, from fund-raisers to videographers. PATA chapters have formed in Canada and the US, supporting with supplies, funds and manpower. In November, the Vancouver Island Chapter brought with them an amazing $$donation generated during a local pub night. Three of the Vancouver contingent flew down for the clinic, delivered their gift and formed an awesome recovery crew, as well.
Underground in Chihuahua
10 December
NAICA mining
"The NAICA caves are located in a mine, in the south of the state of Chihuahua, in the north of Mexico. The caves were accidentally discovered during the exploration of the mine.
Exploiting the mineral requires extracting hot water through a complex pumping system. This system drained the water out of the caves, accidentally revealing an extraordinary natural treasure." ...from the NAICA site
Some of the discoveries
Crystal Cave
Hoppy Berfday to Ardith, Today; Dog Jog on Sunday
3 December
Ardith birthday girl and Editha
Ardith turns 25, today. Editha posted the cutest pic on facebook, I just had to steal it!
In other news, Stan's been busy coordinating activities for the charity walk/run scheduled for Sunday. We will head out around 7:00 AM to set up registration. He's been working all month, coordinating T-shirt printing, pre-registration, and prizes.
Besides friends inviting friends to participate, our HS contingent has set up a booth at Campo Verde school, a rather posh private school. Can't wait to see how they do with pledges.
Usually, the same people donate over and over, again. And usually, those people are the ones who can least afford it. Hopefully, the kids will get the message out to a wider range of folks who are more financially able.
Dos No Voz
1 December
In memorium - Dos
Gris at the feeding station
Trapped kitties - the humane trap
It's a sad day. Stan found Dos' little lifeless body in the lot next door. There was no indication what happened to him. He'd been missing meals for two days.
Dos was one of our friendlier outdoor cats. Not-so-feral, he would allow limited touching and he hung around the yard most of the time. He had gray stripes like Gris, so we just called him Gris Dos. However, he was a bit impaired in the sight and sound department, so his name evolved into Dos No Voz.
About eight ferals hang around the safety of our yard. It's dog proof with walls and a covered feeding station. Stan's been providing snacks for a year. He's also provided free rides to the vet (sterilization being one of the caveats for feeding ferals -- sterilized ferals are ID'ed with a clipped ear like Dos' left one).
Two of our outside males refuse to be caught ... probably because Gris beats them to the sardines; he's so tame that he tromps right into the trap every time it's set. The two males are still a bit too wary to be caught, even when Gris is subdued.
Gris is okay tucked away indoors, to a point. Then he breaks out through a screen; sometimes he even breaks in). With time, food and comfort, plus perseverance, the holdouts will soon be getting their ride to Dra. Gaby's, too.
