Building a Bridge

The first step for building the bridge was to dig pits for the foundation on each side of the sludge river. Even in calling it a sludge river, I am being gracious. The assorted trash and unmentionables create a smell in the afternoon heat that could put a skunk to shame. Charlie did a bacteria test on the water and it overwhelmed the culture.

In case I may not have mentioned him yet, Charlie is the representative from Helping Honduras Kids in El Porvenir. He and his wife, Amalia, moved to El Porvenir to help those in need here. They are a great people, and a true blessing to this town. Charlie is a classic Texan, with his southern accent and hospitality. Amalia is Hondurian in heratige, but from the US. She is a fantastic cook and may convince me to stay permanently if she invites me to any more dinners.

As for the bridge, cement was chosen as the building material upon a recomondation from Charlie. Although wood would be much easier, apparently it is a hot comodity and has a tendancy to grow legs and wander off, no matter how many screws and nails you put in it. Whereas, a two ton cement bridge would make for a very impressive heist.














After the pits were dug, we built the form for the cement foundations and went to work a-mixin'. During the last project I worked on in Belize, we were fortunate enough to procure a cement mixer. I don't thing they've even heard of one of those here. Instead, all the cement was mixed on the ground in some of the most back breaking work I've ever done. I had about 4 of the local guys helping, and we were able to knock out the two foundations fairly quickly. After a long, sweaty day, I took a refreshing swim in the ocean just out my front door.