Willy and the breadman...Junior testing his luck... Unsuccessful Junior...

Late in the afternoon the breadman arrives with a basket full of assorted pan (bread) for dinner and breakfast. Here little 4 year old Junior (younger brother of Yimmy)ran up to test his luck yelling ¨Pan para mi! Pan es solo para me!¨ (¨bread for me, bread is only for me¨). When he got denied a piece, he threw a mini tantrum, then in about 2 minutes he was climbing all over us giggling again...

Some of the kids fighting..

Moe and his brother, Moe is an ex-resident who helps out and plans to initiate a surf industry in Tapachula. He studied Surf Science at Southern Cross on the Gold COast for a year...

Willy and I have been recieved well here, with everyone giving us the low down on who´s cranky in the mornings, who always does their jobs, who are the best schemers etc etc.

The last two days I have been on the morning shifts from 5am till 2pm. This consists mainly of painstakingly getting the seven famous Chiquitos (aged 4 - 7) awake, showered, dressed and ready for school and organising breakfast and lunch for everyone. Having the morning off allows you to go explore the surrounds like the waterfall (where Willy and the crew is now).

Generally, there´s a real positive vibe here. Australian directors Pam and Allen work hard to ensure all the kids are as happy and motivated as they can be. It´s amazing to meet some of the Grandes (older kids around 16 to 21) who may have spent their childhoods on the streets or in a living hell, obtaining sponsors and preparing themselves for university which was once a distant dream.

Quique, Ene Y Yimmy

Alex

I have been really impressed on how 58 kids from the most disadvantaged backgrounds you could imagine, can all live together in relative harmony. Many of these kids have been raped by their own family, violently abused, addicted to drugs and left out on the street to alone to survive. A couple of the children still have the mindset of street-kids, scouring everyones plates for scraps and browsing the contents of the bins and sinks for some sustainence.

I can´t imagine the demons some face everyday, however from the outside they put on a smile that could melt you and little hugs warmer than the morning sun.

Never a wasted space getting around town...
Little Yimmy...

A morning spent getting to know the other volentarios in the coffee rich mountinas above the city...

Cruising through the Centro Pueblo of Tapachula gave us our first real taste of Mexican city life, narrow cobbled streets bustling with life, colour and noise. Every little town, no matter how small, seems to have a Placa (public colonial town square) where people sit and chat over some cool Orchata or sizzling Quesadillas. We got lost in the endless concrete jungle and ended up paying an old sweaty man with the cliche white cowboy hat, 10 pesos for ¨Coca¨(Coke) to jump in our car and take us to the Orphanage.

Yarns in the line up...

Devo off the rocks...

Wilz aka Gillermo

Evan aka Devo(Santa Cruz)

Hammy

Exploring nooks and crannies of remote coastlines often rewards surfers with fun, uncrowded waves. This little gem north of Barra was no exception, providing us with an afternoon of good waves and good times!

San Jose Del Pacifico

After many blissful days of perfect weather and waves at Barra De La Cruz, our muscles and bones were pleading for a break. We heard about this mystical mountain town about 3 hours inland and spontaniously decided on another adventure. The next day after 5 windy, ear-popping hours in a truck, bus and van we arrived at a town that resemebled villages of the Austrian Alps. The air was clean and cool and a thick mist was gradually decending down through the huge pine trees and engulphing the town for the afternoon...

Willy on the speed run...

Myself milking the super fun inside on a smaller day...

The main street of Barra De La Cruz...