Time to put this puppy to bed ....but first....

....and sorry for the delay...

Time for some well deserved R&R.

We started by travelling to Caacupe to visit the very impressive basilica.

Dedicated to the "virgin of Caacupe" it is Paraguay s version of our St. Josephs Oratory in Montreal.

Story goes that back in the day a lost and starving native was saved by a vision of the Virgin.

Very impressive structure!!!
 http://santuariovirgendecaacupe.com/ - check it out!


Paraguay is predominantly Catholic and the faithful will, like Mecca, make a pilgrimage, usually on foot, to this site at some point in their lives, and usually during the festival of the Virgin which occurs during the second week of December.

The town of Caacupe pretty much exists for this church with many vendors selling religious artifacts and other bric-a-brac.

...nothing says R&R like a hammock!

We continued our journey to "La Quinta".

www.laquinta.com.py - again, check it out!

...absolutely gorgeous grounds, very comfortable rooms with the usual amenities that one would expect at a resort.

Olga Ferreira, the owner/ host could not do enough for us including greeting us with cool, moist, floral scented towels ....nice touch!!!
Fabulous food and hospitality ....pool, horseback riding, or "just chillin"
...a good [relaxing] time had by all!!

The next morning we were off to an "eco-adventure" at the Mbatovi eco reserve.

....jungle hike

...flora and fauna

...suspension bridges across the gorge

...zip lining [my personal fav!]

...rappelling [...another fav]

...all in all a wonderful experience!!!

It's now time to officially wind down the adventure.
It's time to head into town for lunch, a shopping stop, then back to our HQ at the Pelican Hotel in Asuncion....a bit of free time then off to an upscale restaurant [arranged by Claudia] for our final dinner together, including Claudia, Azu, our driver Miguel, go to it guy Dani and a few others.

I wouldn't call it a particularly emotional event but it did seem a tad subdued to me, knowing that tomorrow we will go our separate ways and back to our version of reality.

...as for me, the next day I flew to Buenos Aires, to spend the night at the Savoy Hotel, before heading back to the airport for the very long flight home.
 [a la-de-da moment for me ....I knew the Savoy would be the lap of luxury compared to the past three weeks and opted to treat myself,
[just the name...Savoy...conjures images of opulence] but holy crap!!!....right downtown, old style elegance, doorman, 12' ceilings, yet very modern updated rooms....I felt like I should shave my "scruff" down to a "pencil thin moustache",  slick back what little hair I have, adopt my best "Clark Gable" persona, engage in some fine dinning, then seek out a Tango bar ....but I digress]
...dinner was the best yet  ...an amazing medium rare rib eye, grilled to perfection!
...to pooped to Tango!

...Arrived at Pearson to be greeted by my darling daughter....greeted with a big hug, a large "Timmys" and the passing comment that I "look like a fuzzy homeless Argentinean"
...good thing familial love is unconditional!     ....love you to Eden!   :)

And now dear readers, a treat.....I actually managed to cajole a few thoughts from the rest of the team.....I will say adios and turn this over to them.

This was my 5^th Habitat trip and every trip has been better than the last one. We had a great team and it was  so easy to be the leader. I plan to keep doing trips and my next one will be to Cambodia in December. It would be great to have people from this team (or any of my past teams)  join me in Cambodia.I also hope to keep in touch with everyone.
- Murray Coates...team lead

How does one describe paradise?  Up until March 22 it had a totally different meaning than it does now.  The adventure of building a house with 13 strangers was only the beginning.  To see the excitement on Alexi’s as the walls went up was something I will not forget for a very long time.  It filled my heart with such happiness.  Would I recommend this paradise to anyone else, in a heartbeat!  - - Wendy W

.....yes I would do it again. What better way to learn to work together with people you have never met, in a different land and really different culture, to help people who need a home. A truly rewarding experience, and a whole lot of fun too.

- Barb Hamilton 

Lovely experience!  I didn’t know If I would be carried out on a stretcher, but I did walk out on my own two feet…. however wobbly. The group was terrific and great friendships were forged.  And the Paraguayans team was marvelous….al Dentro en mi Corazon,  Siempre!!    

- Lydia

This was my first Habitat experience and I can’t imagine ever topping this trip. Our team members were like family and the relationships we built with the homeowners and masons [albanils] were unforgettable. I have grown 2 new abs as a result of all of our laughter! Paraguay will forever be in my heart.

                                                -Emily Harry  

I am so overwhelmed by the occurrences and memories that  have happened on this trip. I had such a blast and would recommend it to anyone! I met a great group of people; many of whom I will keep close to me forever. My heart will never forget this trip and the amazing people I have met. I will definitely be involved with another Habitat project in the future!  - Jen

I came to Paraguay with the idea that I would help build a house for some one in need. I’m leaving having done that and so much more. I’ve also learnt a lot about myself and can’t wait to do another build.   

- Andre Wanlin

Fantastcio!!!

- Ann Cardiff

An amazing trip! New friends both from Canada and Paraguay, lots of laughs and great memories…..esp. my new boss and amigo…..Manuel!

- Wendy Galigan

Paraguay is a “diamond in the rough”  The country is incredibly beautiful and the Paraguayans, whether young, old, rich or poor, are very welcoming and patient with our efforts to learn some Spanish.  This was the most enriching and rewarding two weeks of my life.     

- Bob J.

  

Great time, great people, highly recommend this to any one who has some spare time and wants to fill up their life with good feelings.  Not to toot my own horn, but I feel as a group we have made a tangible contribution, which was my goal.  Will definitely do it again!!!    

- Tony

..... the people on the  trip  were  great  and  its  a  good

way  to  do something for less fortunate  people.  The trip 

to the orphanage showed  how many people have much 

less than us.

- Marvin

I found my experience taking part in the build to be very rewarding.  The Paraguay Habitat people were great to work with, and the members of our group are a great bunch.  I hope to repeat this experience again, and I will other people I know to do the same.    

- Kevin

In closing..... I hope you enjoyed my efforts to encapsulate this adventure into something interesting or enlightening or even entertaining.

It was my first attempt at a project such as this and as such, now solicit you comments, critiques, applause, commendation or condemnation.

...should I continue with this format at my next adventure to Mozambique in August?

....encouragement  welcome!   :-)

Please, please, please.....send along a comment, either here, or to my facebook wall, or via e-mail [j.dan.garry@gmail.com]

I will look forward to hearing from you!

Dan [aka the blogmeister]

about time for an update.....

....sorry for the delay, and sorry I couldn't come up with a snappier title....in the last 48 hours or so I easily went through a half dozen titles ....what a roller coaster!

 Friday, surprise surprise, HOT and Humid!!!! ....never thought I'd be thankful for even the slightest overcast.

There was a maze of scaffolding inside and the masons were concentrating on the rafters.
We busied ourselves with an acid wash and rinse of the walls, general site cleanup and moving usable rubble to make walkways all under Alixies instruction.

We also decided to rebuild what was left of a concrete patio.

We dug up the old, refurbished the shoulder stone, backfilled with rubble and cut a deal with the masons for an extra 5 bags of cement with which Aurelio, who by the way was the head mason and not Alberto....It's just that Alberto was more outgoing and guided us ...but, you know, I digress...anyway, Aurelio agreed to do a special "patio" mix.

... work progressed in double quick and triple sweat time.
We finished what we could in this last half day of work.

After lunch, Claudia asked us all to assemble along with the masons, who, if not knowing who we were by know were going to get the total scoop.

With Claudia translating, we in turn re-introduced ourselves with a brief bio....then it was the masons turn to provide a little more insight into themselves and their lives.

We left slightly saddened knowing that our work here was done. ....yet happy at the same time .....so much accomplished in such a short time, yet so much more to do.

...we got back to the hotel by mid afternoon looking forward to some free time.

Some schnoozed, some went shopping and then there was I, suddenly realizing that I had no accommodation arranged for my Tuesday night layover in Buenos Aires....I spent the afternoon on the computer madly trying to find a place to lay my head.

....problem was finally resolved just in time for dinner.

We then decided to go back to Moby Dicks for one last Caiprihiania.

Saturday was to be final dedication ceremony and BBQ lunch.

 


Saturday dawned sunny and MILD!!!!!....what a nice relief...to bad it couldn't have been like this earlier in the week.

When we arrived on site the masons were already at work and we [well I was anyway] were stunned to see that the patio had been completed and ready for use....so we did!

Heinrich [left] and Adolphus[?], [right] 

I, and I believe the rest of the tribe were VERY impressed if not honoured to have, in attendance at our little gathering the current President and director General of Habitat Paraguay [Heinrich] and the orignal founder of Habitat Paraguay [Adolphus].

In the photo, Adolphus [who is from the US] is describing how he came down here as part of a Mennonite Central Committee mission [did I mention that Habitat has close links to the Mennonite Church] only to fall in love with the place and, in association with other like minded individuals, "plant the seed" for Habitat, which grew into what it is today.

...prayer of thanksgiving

Henry, as Heinrich insisted on being called, immigrated at age of 3 with his parents, from Hitlers Germany. He became a successful businessman [import businesses, especially electric motors], has employees that now look after things while he looks after the Paraguay Habitat affiliate.

It was an honour and a privilege to meet these two, very humble gentlemen who insisted that the privilege to meet with the hard working volunteers was theirs and theirs alone.

...what a class act!!!!! 

...prayer of hope

Alixie then led a prayer of thanksgiving [with Claudia interpreting] which was followed by an interesting and touching custom whereby we were all asked to lay our hands on the outside wall while another short prayer of hope was offered.  ...the idea was for all of our positive energy to be transferred to the dwelling.
What a neat thought, I thought!!!!
I liked the concept !!

This was followed by the awarding of certificates of appreciation along with a token gift.

Paraguay is known for it's intricate weaving, lace work and crocheting. The gift was a beautiful lace doily which will look lovely on my coffee table thank you!

This was then followed by a presentation of our group photo to Alixie, wrapped in a Canadian flag.
The flag was signed by us all as was the backside of the photo.
Alixie was stunned!

....now,not the type of group to leave well enough alone, we also presented smaller versions of the photo to the masons as well as Claudia and Azu.

It was time for all to chow down on the tastiest BBQ beef I've ever sampled!

...these people seriously love their beef!

Presenting our gift to Alixie

Reverse side of photo

Wendy & Ann & their boss

Time for a final group shot.....then it was time for good byes...and more than a few tears!!!

Lydia and Alixie

Wendy & Claudia

But wait, theres more!!!!

Sometimes, the best times are totally unplanned and serendipitous!

We arrived back at the hotel, engaged in some free time, some of which was packing for the next adventure [more in a bit] a nice dinner, during which some of us noticed the arrival of guests with guitar cases.

Those that know me will know that this would immediately pique my interest.

It seems a trio of local musicians were going to use the poolside area to practice and/or rehearse for an upcoming tour of Japan....now how cool is that!....and we were welcomed to sit in and enjoy.

Lucy, the vocalist [shown left] and a pretty fair guitarist in her own right has a wonderfully engaging voice to go along with an engaging smile and personality. 

Her English was very good and she was able to converse easily.

She was able to acquiesce to two of my personal favourite requests.

"Que sera". ...now don't even begin to think Doris Day!!!....I'm talking Jose Feliciano and his beautifully lyrical ballad.

 The other request isn't a usual one of mine but it somehow seemed so very appropriate at the time.

"Girl from Ipanema" sung in the original Portuguese....instantly recognized by all in the group, but few had heard it in it's original tongue and it was a huge hit with everyone....especially when sang with the passion that Lucy exhibited.

  

What a great way to end such a memorable Day!!!!

Tomorrow we are off for some serious R&R.....I'll fill you in later.

....but for now, I'll just sign off with......

Thursday.....the last full build day

The "official" team photo that will be framed and presented to Alixie along with the Canadian flag which we all autographed.
Rear L-R   Marvin, Kevin, Andre, Murray, Bob, Tony, Dan
Front L-R  Wendy, Emily, Barb, Lydia, Jen, Wendy, Anne

Looks like it's gonna be a hot one folks!!!  ...and indeed it was!  ....34c + high humidity + no breeze = sweating from pores I didn't know I had!!!

Once again we pretty much picked up where we left off.....grouting, haul brick and mortar, mixing mortar and Bob got to start a new, albeit smaller pit which was the "header tank" which is the first septic pit which then feeds the main pit.
....such a lucky guy!!!!

No surprise critters today, which was a relief after the the snakes, toads and frogs and lizards and oh!....I forgot to tell you about the tarantula which was resting amongst the blocks yesterday.

There was a slightly different, almost imperceptible difference in the atmosphere today.  ....partially exhaustion but mostly knowing that this tour of duty is coming to an end and there is still so much to do! .....but we have accomplished exactly what was expected us.

There was a question in the comments of the previous blog about what happens if the house isn't finished.

The fact of the matter is we are not there to build a complete house....if that happens it is purely a bonus.  ....especially when you start from scratch like we did.

In this particular type of build we can only contribute to a certain point and then the specialty trades take over.

.... today, after we reached another seminal moment [more about that in a minute] the tasks were less construction oriented and more landscaping oriented.

Our role, as volunteers, are to help keep the costs of construction as low as possible, which helps the family, to be sure, but also allows saves the Habitat affiliate the costs which would otherwise be accrued by the masons who are working as contractors to the affiliate. This also provides the luxury of having additional funding available for other families and other builds.

To put it another way, it helps speed up the construction and as we all know [sadly?] ....time is money!

...but back to the seminal moment.....

Dani, Alixie and Barb....and a Paraguayan tradition.

It seems that in Paraguay the raising of the ridge beam [first part of the roof] is a cause for celebration up to and including the holding of hands as the beam is positioned.
....what a nice tradition!!!!

....is Alixie happy or what??

The ridge beam is very carefully manoeuvred into position.
It might not look like much but that chunk of wood is about 12' long, 4" thick and 8" wide.
The name of the wood is unpronounceable but very dense and therefore very heavy.

We were guessing at maybe 150lbs or more.

...all this happening 10 or 12 feet above finished grade!


[...and yes, those are flip flops he's wearing and no fall arrest anywhere!!!]

....very precisely placed and levelled!

At this point the masons and in particular Alberto, who acts as the General contractor, are on their own. There isn't much more we can do to help.
They will continue the build just like any other contractor, at any other build site, anywhere else, and being paid by Habitat [and ultimately the family] to do so.

There will be plumbers, electricians and a carpenter to install the doors and trim as well as a glazer to install the windows, at which point I think the house truly becomes a home.

It would be nice to be able to see the project through to that point,   ....it would be wonderful to have some sort of ribbon cutting ceremony    .....it would be fabulous to watch Carlos carry Alixie over the threshold [if they do that sort of thing here]   ....but alas....it is what it is!!!!

....a post script to another comment/ question from my dearest little sister.....
Yup, pretty much blogshy I guess.....I asked, begged, cajoled and almost bribed others to contribute but they thought I was doing a fine job so should stick with it.   ....couldn't even get different pics from them!   ...they offered but ultimately, showers,  dinner or otherwise socializing interfered   ...so you are stuck with me and my photos!

My name is Dan  ....and this blog thing is definitely eating  into my socializing time!
....but you know what?   ....I don't care! ....I'm enjoying it!!!!

Tuesday....

....and the fun continues....

Claudia, our go-to-it girl

Once again the day dawned far too early and once again it was overcast and humid.
30% chance of showers. High in the mid 20s. Should be a productive day after yesterday's rain delay.

The corrugated metal covering did it's job with far less bailing required and work resumed in the pit.

The rest of us set about our tasks as if we had never stopped, working away like a well oiled machine.

We had four masons with us today which required a hectic JIT delivery of mortar and block to each.
[JIT= "just in time" for those unfamiliar with material delivery protocols]

Barb [foreground] grouting - Wendy,
[background] receiving instruction from
one of the masons.

Some hauled block to the masons, some hauled mortar to the masons, some mixed the mortar and others [myself included] busied ourselves with grouting. Then, of course, there was Bob and his crew....his pit getting deeper and deeper.

...even the young lad got into the game!

What's cuter than a 2 year old boy playing with mud?

I ask you?....so many fond memories of my messy youth!!

Kids today just don't know what they are missing!!
[but I digress yet again!]

Bob in his burrow

I brought along my iPhone and connected it to some speakers that I purchased prior to the trip.

I thought it would be nice to have some tunes to work by and indeed it was well received.

Special thanks go out to my daughter, Eden, who, on my home computer, downloaded gigs [literally] of Latino music which I loaded onto the iPod. Many of the team were unfamiliar with the various styles of Latino music..."reggae" yes, but not reggaeton, or "cumbia" or the variations that make up "salsa"....anyway, the music was welcome and enjoyed by both cultures.

We worked away, chatting, joking, and listening to the music when suddenly it was announced that we had reached a seminal moment.

L-R...Andre, Bob, Jen, Kevin, Marvin

 THE PIT WAS COMPLETE!!!


....woo hoo!!!!!

Is that not the most  satisfied grin on Bobs face?

Most of us, at some point, had a hand in the excavation. In my case at the very beginning and very briefly.
Bob, Kevin and Marvin bore the brunt of that particular project.....but all were in agreement that it really was Bobs baby!  Now it's time to set the brick lining.

...a good days work!

The rain managed to hold off until it was time to clean up anyway and we left feeling like today was indeed, a very productive day.

Time to shower and get ready for a dinner out.

...lining the pit with bricks

Dani, remember him?...the go-to-it resource with the "I" in his name?....anyway, Dani recommended we go to "Paulitos Grill" which is a "Rodezio" style, all you can eat buffet.
Those at home will recognize this as the same as "Boa Nova" in Kitchener.

Originally from Brazil, it is a typical buffet except the various meat dishes, and there are a lot, are served at your plate, presented and carved off a sword like skewer.
This method of service was kept secret from the tribe and all were surprised and impressed.

Rodezio style dinning

A good time had by all, to say the least!!

My name is Dan ....and it just gets better and better.