Guildy in the Pila

It seems like all we put up on the blog is naked pictures of Guildy. But everyone seems to like them, so here are a couple more. First, an explanation of a “pila.” Pilas are one of the best things Central American has to offer. They have a large, cement tank with a built-in washboard either next to or partially covering it. It serves as a reservoir for when the water is off, which occurs relatively often and at the most inconvenient times. If not properly maintained by cleaning with bleach and laundry detergent, they are great breeding grounds for mosquitoes and wonderful little ponds for tadpoles. We had a whole batch of little tree frog tadpoles a couple weeks ago. We thought they might be good pila pets and keep it clean, but they just ate each other. We fed them a few corn flakes, but that didn’t seem to be what they wanted. So, in the end, we just drained it and started with new water. Many Hondurans do all their laundry and bathe at their pilas. We use ours mostly for washing cloth diapers and Guildy, who thinks playing on the washboard part is the greatest of fun.