Day 2

Let the work (and play) begin - day 2
After a 4-hour ride through some of the most beautiful country we've ever seen, we arrived in Iloca to begin working on 2 houses. Just over a year ago, Iloca was hit by a magnitude 9.5 earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which sent three massive waves decimating the small fishing town and tourist area. IAM has been working in the area to help the people here recover and have built several houses in an effort to help the town move forward. This town is beautiful, with the Pacific to the west and a lush, dense forest to the east. It is amazing to see such a beautiful coastline unspoiled by hotels and multimillion dollar homes, and humbling to realize that such devastation can come out of something so serene.
We dropped our bags off at the cabanas, ate lunch, and, after loading what seemed like 10 tons of lumber and other materials into the truck, we got to work. The kids jumped right in to work and did an incredible job together. Our team is being led by 5 great guys: Eric and Gabriel (the brothers), Rene, Juan, and Fernando. With their patient direction, we were able to finish half of the floor on one of the houses, which for about 4 hours was a good amount of work. We got in a quick dinner and left for the "baby futbol" tournament put together by IAM.
"Baby futbol" is a uniquely Chilean game, and although they tell us there are indeed particular rules, it seems as though much of it is made up on the fly. The entire town was invited, and most of them made it; most of the boys have never played in front of such a large crowd. Eleven teams, including 2 Agoura squads and 1 featuring our IAM friends, are participating in this event adverstised on flyers posted around town. The other teams consist of players from Iloca. Our first team played the opening game against what we later found out was probably the best team in the tournament and, although we had the entire crowd cheering for us, we lost 5-7. The second team had the benefit of watching a couple of games and learned a little more about the "rules." Although they played very well, again with much of the crowd on their side, we lost 3-6. We impressed the locals with our effort, and despite losing, our first team made it to the next round based on the smallest goal differential. Even though the boys were exhausted from the travel, work, and play, they stuck around for a pick-up game with some of the players. Around 11pm, we headed back to the cabanas for some much needed rest (we'll be back at it at 8am)...