First the “Taste” then next: Bearing Gifts we traverse afar….

When we got back in October the big fundraiser for rotary seemed far away, but of course it showed up quickly! I was impressed by the expertise and hard work of the rotarians who brought together 15 restaurants, great music, and one of those irresistible silent auctions.

I was even more impressed by the “tastes”. Sashimi, Ceviche, empanadas, tamales, brisket tacos, homemade pasta plus 6 desserts… all of which I tried. I am proud to say I missed only one restaurant. Had I been capable of walking after eating all those tastes, I would have had it too!

The best part of the silent auction are all the great trips… kayaking to Espíritu Santo, golf packages, fishing… even a week at Mar y Sol.

BUT Of course the best part OF ALL is when the club gets to use that money for the area. One of their annual projects is a big toy drive. For the past 2 days they have been delivering toys for King’s Day. (Holiday is celebrated here on January 6… think “We Three Kings” to understand the day). This is the traditional day that gifts are exchanged.

On Day one, a group delivered gifts to 3 communities (El Cardonal, San Bartolo and Boca de Alamo). On Day two, I joined the fun. Another 3 communities with lots of gifts and piñatas to be delivered! The first town was El Coro. It was a 30 minute drive up into the mountains with our caravan. Surprising to find that a group had already gathered after seeing very few homes along the way. Apparently there are many large ranches tucked away in this mountainous oasis and so they arrived a bit early to await our arrival. And so the routine begins: tables set up, toys and blankets arranged on tables, piñata tied to tree. Toys chosen (not easily), piñata smacked open, pack up car… next place!

To get to this small town, we drove through the dump. Santa made a quick stop to drop off a couple gifts because his assistants tipped him off there were a couple of kids there. Santa’s helpers did lots of research!

We began our journey at 9am but it was lunchtime by the time we got to Santa Cruz. Lucky for us we found some barbecue ribs, coke, tortillas, rice and macaroni salad. We were now carb loaded for the next stop.

The next town had a much larger park. The mayor was there to greet us and assist. Same well organized routine. Same fun of watching the kids pick toys. Amazing how often the coloring book is chosen above all else. Brant was working the piñata again…and Santa was busy dodging the piñata stick. I believe this was Brant’s fourth piñata raising in 24 hours. He took gloves on day 2.

The next community, Campamento, was the largest. The group was a little nervous about this one because they were expecting about 250 kids. As we had an hour to spare we found a nice bar to have a cold drink.

They were right to be nervous! There was a long line when we arrived and it was cold and windy. The ten of us plus Santa, set up tables, gifts and 2 piñatas then proceeded to hand out what we estimate to have been 300 children. Oh my! My job was to put a smiley face on every hand that went through….not easy when they want to get that toy ripped open. Honestly I did not think this one would work out, no one did, but it did!

Lots of moms got purses and some older girls loved getting makeup. We could only give one blanket to each family. It was so very sad when other kids in the family asked for blankets but there was not enough for everyone.

Rotary has many more projects but I’m glad I got to be a tiny part of one that has such instant feedback. The spontaneous hugs by little ones are a pretty wonderful reward for a long day . One day one, a young boy ran to grab his shell collection, then came back and gave each volunteer a shell to thank them. Brant proudly brought his home to show me.