Drilling a Well in Jacaleapa
Outflow of drill
Adventures are somehow always unplanned and unexpected. Despite months of planning, we arrived to find a festival in full swing on the town square. We were supposed to drill there but there were festive tents set up, food booths, paper streamers across the streets, and a band playing. After much discussion and a lot of waiting, an alternative site near the school was identified.
Streets here are quite narrow and it was a challenge just watching the machinery traverse the streets, negogiate the corners and maneuver into place. Fortunately there is not a lot of motorized traffic and ox carts don’t seem to have a problem waiting.
Drilling is noisy and there was a great deal of activity in getting everything organized. Of course, the difference in language plus the inexperience of the majority of the workers hampered the speed. We were all eager to get started.
Pipe stems were unloaded, a yellow umbrella set up at the end of the DR20, mud was mixed in barrels, more water was retrieved from the river, pumps were primed and run after much tinkering, and a trench was dug for the outflow of the drill. At the end of the day, we had gone drilled 80 feet with water found at 50 feet.
More photos are on smugmug at
http://ysr612.smugmug.com/gallery/7362010_rE3gz#473929246_dQkrH
