Murals, Futbol, and Movies

Author: Andrew
Location: San Cristobal
Today we woke up to the usual hospitality exhibited by our hosts in San Cristobal- "CAFE!? TE!? CHOCOLATE CALIENTE?!" As we made our way into the dining room, it was apparent a few of us were too sick to partake in the community service program planned for today. Unfortunately for them, it turned out to be one of the best projects we've done thus far.

We trekked to a local high school several blocks from the hotel around 8:00. The campus was pretty decent; dozens of buildings sprawled on several acres gated in by a few faded murals. Needless to say, this local high school in San Cristobal has better looking facilities than my high school on Long Island.

However, our task was apparent. Restore the existing murals and create a Lifeworks inspired fresco style painting that embodied the flora and fauna of the Galapagos. First we set off into groups of 2-4 to paint over the old pictures. Rebecca, Elana, Allison, and I started on a painting of a blue footed booby and a dolphin overlooking a sunset. After playfully arguing with Rebecca over the shade of orange for the sunset, we finally set to work. Four hours later, we finished what looked like a more vibrant version of the formal murals. A few of the others worked on the original painting. It featured a hammerhead, coral, a sea turtle, crabs, and a sting-ray. We headed off to a local restaurant for lunch.

We packed all 24 of us into a small cafe and ate traditional empanadas. After lunch we came back to the hotel for an afternoon swim. Audaciously enough, we then decided to challenge some locals to a rousing game of "futbol." Fortunately for the athletically challenged Lifeworks folk, the soccer game was at the school we worked at earlier, so we were able to touch up the murals while the others demonstrated how bad Americans REALLY are at soccer.

After the second session at the school we headed off to "Interpretation Center" for a matinee showing of Roberto's home videos. He's actually a great cinematographer, and his movie was awesome. They featured a lot of native wildlife and some really cool bike tricks...

We headed off to dinner for some Gringo-style pizza. We met up with Dr. Dustin, the American intern at the local hospital that helped the majority of us in the past couple of days. After chowing down 12 pies collectively, we headed up the hill to the hotel...Well that's all folks.

Flickr Photos from Today
Flickr Photos from this Voyage