SailingKnitter

So, if you have a town that has no roads through the jungle to it and the only access is by boat from sea or the river, how to you transport injured or sick people in from outlying communities? By an Amubulancha of course! It's simply an ambulance that is a boat (lancha) instead of a street vehicle.

This photo was taken at the docks in Livingston, Guatemala which is an outpost on the far eastern side of the country on the Caribbean Sea. Along the coastline and up the Rio Dulce river there are many small Mayan or Garifuna settlements which benefit from this service to Livingston. Also, I have to assume that the lancha can blast over to the larger hospital in the big port of Porto Barrios about 15 miles away down the coast.


The "gurney" looks so soft and comfortable. Hopefully we'll never need to find out how it feels. Hey, I should put one of these padded lounge beds in our lancha. That way when Jonesy takes me out for a ride or to town to shop I'll be comfortable instead of sitting on the hard fiberglass benches. Okay, maybe I'll get an upgrade after we install the cupholders...one day.

KNITTING CONTENT:
Yes, there has been plenty of knitting going on in these parts. I volunteered to test knit a new sock pattern from James G. Davis called Waterslides. Naturally, I had to keep this secret until the pattern was officially released on the Six Sox Knitalong yahoo group. Do you like the knitting basket? A friend brought this back to me from her explorations of the city of Antigua up in the Guatemalan highlands. It is made from pine needles and the white cording is cut up plastic grocery sacks. What an innovative use of natural resources and stuff that would otherwise end up in a landfill (or alongside the highway).