It's not beginning to look a lot like Christmas

 We were on our way to Chitre and were stopped in traffic for some time.  It was worth it when we saw the cause.   The cows passed first, then this man.  We were still stopped so I had time to ask his permission.  He smiled and was pleased.  Just like in the movies!

 The cows here are always thin.  I suppose the meat might be high in Omega 3 fatty acids, as I'm sure all they get is grass.  They have bigger ears, as well.

 The monkeys are finally done.  We enjoy them with children, and hope we are teaching their families a bit of English that they will repeat often.  Too bad they take too much time to make just to pass them out indiscriminately.

 We took Ledis and her brother to the beach.  We invited her grandparents, but they looked very surprised and refused.  This is the saint of the fishermen.  The beach wasn't very exciting.  There must be a river, because there are no waves, and the water is really muddy.  We only saw one hermit crab and a few other tiny crabs.  The water is warm, even now when it isn't the hot season.

 These trees seem to grow right out in the water.  They have a special name which I can't remember.  It reminds me of gladiola.  Maybe later I'll find out.

 This rice was drying in the yard of one of our students.  She says it breaks up in cleaning if it isn't really dry.  She took us to visit her friend with the rice and corn cleaning operation.

He prepares corn of different types with this machine

 

 I think this one cleans corn as well.  They have white and yellow.

 He let Rod pour in the rice so we could take this photo.  He was really friendly.

Here is a video of the machine working.  It was built in Syracuse, NY.  Who knows when.  It reminded me of the grain grinding one when I was a kid.
Interestingly, it spits out white rice.  The hulls on this rice are thick.  Brown rice may be different, but I always thought it wasn't hulled as much. 

 We went to a branch activity in Las Tablas.  We aren't doing as well there.  This man was making hats.  He says it takes 8 DAYS to make a hat.  I didn't even dare ask how much he sells them for.  He bought the mold.

 The hats are kind of plastic-y.

My head was too big to fit well.  They are perfectly round, so they don't feel right, but they are colorful, and, I expect, durable.