| On one of the days we spent in Melinka we drove to a nearby village called Repollal. It’s still on the island of Melinka but they have their own church and school (with about 10 students). The road that goes from Melinka’s center to Repollal is still fairly new and before it was built the only way to reach the village was by boat. We stopped at a beautiful lookout point and took the opportunity to snap a family photo with all of the Vanderbilt sweatshirts my mom sent with us for Javier’s family. While we were there we watched a young kiddo with his dad loading a boat up with firewood from another small island across a stretch of water. Many if not most Melinkanos use slow-combustion wood-burning stoves both for cooking and heating the houses, so cutting firewood is a pretty common chore. | En una de nuestros dias en Melinka, manejamos a la localidad de Repollal. Esta en la misma isla de Melinka pero tienen su propia escuela (con 10 alumnos) e iglesia. El camino que une Melinka y Repollal es relativamente nuevo, y antes de que fuera construido la unica manera de llegar a la localidad era en bote. Paramos en un mirador para sacar fotos y aprovechamos la oportunidad para fotografiar a la familia usando sus polerones de Vanderbilt que mi mama habia enviado como regalo. Vimos a un nino descargando madera de un bote, la madera es usada como combustible y habia sido colectada en un islote frente a la isla. La mayoria, si no todos los Melinkanos usan estufas a lena de combustion lenta para calentar sus casas y preparer comida. Cortar y colectar madera es una tarea del diario vivir. |
| Many people in Repollal know Paula because their children are her pupils. We were invited into the home of the oldest person on the island, Don Juan, who was in his late 90s and still kickin’ it with as much energy as you please. He was recently honored with a national award to recognize his long life – there’s not really a translation for the award except to honor him as a human national treasure. Anyway, we had a nice afternoon in his house meeting and talking with him and his family. Javier and I fell in love with the stove in their kitchen – we want one just like it. | Mucha gente en Repollal conoce a Paula porque sus ninos son sus alumnos. Fuimos invitados a la casa de la persona mas longeva de la isla, Don Juan, que tiene mas de 90 anos y todavia esta muy activo y lleno de energia. Recientemente recibio un premio a nivel regional y nacional que reconoce su larga vida – algo asi como un honor por ser un tesoro humano. Fue una linda tarde que estuvimos en su casa conversando con el y su familia. Javier y yo nos enamoramos de la estufa en su cocina – queremos una igualita. |
| As we were heading back to Melinka we met a family whose daughter is one of Paula’s students and they invited us onto their farm to chat for a minute. They had a beautiful rooster walking around with a gang of hens and Cora, Javier’s grandma who paints birds, asked me to take a photo of him so she can paint him later. Roosters had been plaguing us the whole trip – there are five of them that live around Paula’s cottage and they would wake us up every morning at 6:00 on the dot. So this was a nice way to capture that little bit of our trip… | Cuando volviamos a Melinka, encontramos a una familia donde la hija es alumna de Paula y nos invitaron a ver su granja y conversar por un ratito. Tenian un gallo muy lindo que caminaba con su grupo de gallinas. Cora, la abuela de Javier quien pinta aves, me pidio que por favor le sacara una foto al gallo para poder pintarlo despues. Los gallos estuvieron con nosotros todo el viaje – habian 5 de ellos que vivian al lado de la casa de Paula y nos despertaban cada manana muy temprano. Asi que fotografiar este gallo fue una linda manera de capturar parte del viaje… |
| Repollal was a beautiful, even more remote spot to visit. If you ever find yourself in Melinka, be sure to take a trip out there. It’s a rocky drive but worth it! | Repollal es precioso, y un lugar aun mas remoto para visitar. Si alguna vez se encuentran en Melinka, asegurense de visitar Repollal. Es un camino un poco rocoso pero que vale la pena! |
Los Rodriguez Life 
One response to “Visiting Repollal Alto”
You should send this to a Vandy office!