Thursday......My second day(ever) of Stove-Building

I'm still not going to take a sick day. So I've wondered what I learned from day one. Breakfast is at Le Merced Restaurant not too many steps to the right of Casa Argentina. Today I try the mountainess fruit on top of a waffle breakfast. The fruits are papaya, bananas and pineapple mixed in with a light coating of yogurt. That and cups of caffeine make for a substancial meal.

The team today is lead by Gringo Max from Merrickville. He is one of two gringo stove-building leaders. The other is, of course, Paul Hauraney. So Max has Marg Lee, Jackie and myself to contend with. He and other masons spend the longest time on the intial foundation layer of concrete blocks. If this layer is not exactly level and exactly rectangular the stove will never look or perform optimally. So this time I'm able to mix more cement, do more cement buttering and also more parging at the end.

Jackie is in his element with the roof tiles. Two seperate ceramic roof tiles must be cut in semi-circular fashions so that the stove pipe can go through the roof. In some houses the man of the house can do this job but in this case Team Guatemala Stove Project has Jackie who is a potter by trade. We take pictures when the job is complete.

Lunch today is sponsored by Dr.Bob delGrande and team. Make your own cheese-ham-pickle-and-tomato sandwich. Also grab a bakery bun with a small amount of black beans inside. There are refried black beans everywhere..

Hot shower after work is again the best ever. A Moza bock beer also comforts the soul. The entire gang of about 22 volunteers goes to the Blue Angel Restaurant tonight. So many that we sit at two extended tables. The restaurant is a favourite because it is so large and has good prices. This time I listen to others for what they like best. The potato-with-vegies dish is good but a little on the small size for my appetite. The meal is completed by one of their favourites: bananas flambeco. (But not flaming at the table.) My travel diary tells me the meal comes to only Q50.00 ($7.00CAN) which includes that great bock beer.