Hey, all,
I made it home late last night (Monday, March 9th) but my luggage was delayed. That was the only travel glitch in a full, long day of traveling so I can't complain.
Our final days in Honduras were great but it is also SOOOOO good to be back home and closer to loved ones.
Just to complete the record of our trip I will post a little about our last few days.
Thursday night at the Crab Races at Bay Island Beach Resort there was a really big crowd of resort people as well as a whole new batch of volunteers for the Clinic so it was a really lively night. Judy and I were recognized for our service at theE Learning Center and Camilla gave us both shirts with the E Learning Center logo monogram. It felt very special to be part of a great program.
Friday was our last day with the kids but we just had a normal day and did not make a big deal about it but encouraged all the kids to keep up the good work until we come back next year. We also had a special guest at the Center. Luma is a young man from the Garifuna culture on the Island. The Garifunas are a mix of native Caribbean indigenous people and former African slaves who developed their own language, culture and villages on Roatan. Luma is an amazing artist (painter) who shared with us and the kids his work that he is doing for a book on the Garifuna. Then he spent the afternoon with another volunteer, Kristen, doing an art project with us and the kids. It was an afternoon that the center was chock full of people ranging in age from just a few months (Maria managed the daycare corner!) to parents so it was exhausting, hot and crowded but Luma was amazing. On our way home we ran into lots of the kids from the morning sessions who were just getting ut of school in the afternoon. I think I could get used to be addressed "Miss Maria" by everyone I meet!
We had a quiet evening at home and Judy even got a fresh mattress after hers had been soaked early in the week and we had been bunking together!
Saturday morning we went into West End and did a little "shopping" for the very few things we are bringing back. Everyone can lower their expectations as I am NOT a shopper and I hate all the touristy stuff anyway. Then for the afternoon we headed back to Bay Island Beach Resort for an afternoon of snorkeling and in the hammocks reading our books. For dinner we needed to finish up what we had left in the refrig so we had an amazing meal of garlic sauteed shrimp and tabouleh salad and then our favorite big bowl of chocolate pudding for dessert while we watched HBO. Decadence! Vacation!
Sunday, another gorgeous day, so we just decided to snorkel off of the pier in front of the house and were pleasantly surprised that, after crossing about 150 yards of sea grass, there was lots of lovely coral and fish in the reef area just in front of the house. Current was VERY strong but we enjoyed exploring the extensive area for more than an hour underwater. After lunch we were totally lazy on the front porch with our books and watching the neighborhood hang out on the pier. When the doors on the piers are left open word gets out to the locals who clearly tell everybody in the neighborhood and, before you know it, there are 30 people (families, dogs, teenagers and their friends) all out on the pier with picnics and swimming and jumping into the water. It was really busy and attracted the attention of the local Tourism Police who stopped by (these guys are packin' heat which always amazes me!) which caused about 8 of the young men to jump straight into the water and head out deep into the reef rather than meet up with the local authorities. I am sure there are a few stories there but we did not know the details.
Maybe one of them was the kid we saw yesterday hightailing it down the beach in front of the house with a machete-wielding adult man in hot pursuit screaming "I am going to kill you!!" in Spanish. Or another really annoying young guy who always manages to be tearing up the neighborhood on his motocross at sunset while we are trying to enjoy the lovely view and think lovely thoughts.
Then our friend, Guy (a French Canadian volunteer from Toronto) stopped by for an afternoon snorkel and I just could not resist the invitation to go out one final time. So we headed out for what turned out to be the Mother of All Snorkels! We went way out into the reef which was fabulous until I realized that the current was unbelievably strong and if I did not want to be heading out to sea I needed to TURN BACK! Guy was ahead of me and even farther out but I figured he was stronger so I followed a couple of young guys who were headed back in. I had several minutes where I really had to manage my panic as I was swimming as hard as I could and not moving AT ALL. I felt like those crazy cartoon characters that just spin their arms and legs in the air and don't move forward! Finally, I was able to make a little forward progress and get back into manageable water and saw that Guy had also turned around, Thank God! We both confessed that it was more than we planned for and that we needed to stay closer in. So we continued snorkelling parallel to the shore but against the current for a loooonnnnnggg way until we turned back toward the shore. After all that time fighting the current, I felt like Michael Phelps powering myself back to the pier with the help of the current at last. When we got back to the house Judy had already had a nap as nearly 2 hours had passed while we were gone! I was exhausted and all of my poor little toes had blisters from my fins but it was great. The highlight was seeing a school of about 20 or more squids just floating together through the water in perfect choreographed movements.
Sunday night we packed and, poor Judy practically scratched her skin off as between the sun, the bugs, the saltwater and whatever else she had a big time reaction. The whole month we have felt like a couple of 7 year old kids with our arms and legs all bug-bit and with scratches and welts, but this was on a whole new scale. In spite of constant applications of hydro-cortisone cream, cold packs, claritin and fans she was just miserable.
Our travel day on Monday was long but uneventful starting at waking up at 530 a.m. and my arrival at home in Eau Claire at 11:30 p.m. without my luggage. But it is great to be home and closer to all my loved ones. It was a great adventure and my final thoughts are:
Things I will miss about Honduras:
1. the people, especially the kids, who were so lovely and kind and happy in spite of tremendous poverty and lack of resources,
2. the gorgeous, sunny days and looking out at the sparkling turquoise water with the waves breaking in white foam on the reef,
3. warm, moist air that makes me think I will not dry up like an old leaf and just blow away in the winter,
4. being completely OK doing almost nothing because there is no electricity or no water or I did not have a computer or a cell phone or a car.
Things that I WON'T miss:
1. the constant noise of dogs, roosters, noisy birds, people shouting, noisy cars and motorcycles...
2. being covered at all times with a not-so-thin layer of sunscreen, saltwater, sweat and bug dope,
3. termites, mosquitoes, sand fleas, no-see-ums, and every other biting insect that found us all month,
4. the garbage and plastic waste that are everywhere,
5. the toilets that are so marginally effective that I took up saying the rosary every time I used one,
6. and, finally the Navy showers.
Things that I am more-than-ever grateful for:
1. my beloved family and friends who I missed so much while I was gone,
2. the peace and quiet of my home and neighborhood and city,
3. fresh clean air and water and streets and buildings and public restrooms,
4. a wonderful public education system that gives every kid a chance for success.
I had a chance to read and read and read and I finished Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes which is a "must read" for all feminists, The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood which is a semi-autobiographical story about a woman who takes up knitting after the death of her daughter, Housekeeping fiction by Pullitzer Prize winning novelist Marilyn Robinson, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Nobel Prize for Literature) and which is still my #1 book of all times, Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund (who wrote Ahab's Wife) a historical fiction about Marie Antoinette, and The Beak of the Finch by Jonathon Wiener about Darwin's Theory of natural selection and the current research that is occurring now on the Galapagos Islands.
My next adventure will be 2 weeks in the Galapagos Islands in June. Stay posted.
I am glad to be back and hope to catch up with everybody soon.
Love,
Maria
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Thursday, March 5th
Wow! Our week is really blowing by fast. Thursday already. After I posted on Monday we had a big time power outage and we lost electricity from about 5:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. So Judy and I spent the evening huddled together reading our books by a hurricane lamp at the kitchen table. I really felt like I was the main character in "Little House on the Prairie" except that we didn't have to worry about blizzards or the "ague" (what the heck was that anyway?). After about an hour Judy reminded me that I brought a headlamp (duh) and so I could use that for myself and Judy got the whole lamp for herself for the rest of the evening. We decided we didn't want to start cooking in the dark so we went for "takeout" at a little restaurant across the street. The restaurant was basically a storefront with a stove but we ordered and enjoyed some really tasty "baleadas" which are tortillas filled with beans, cheese and eggs, which I guess would make them "breakfast burritos" in the states. Very tasty. $1 apiece. Dinner for 2: $2.00.
Tuesday morning we headed back to the Center for "work" which consisted of using watercolors with the kids and showing them all about the primary colors and making the secondary colors. Again, picture us 2 old ladies sitting on a hard tile floor surrounded by 10 little kids with paint boxes and cups of water making rainbows. It was great but all this sitting on the floor is kinda hard on my aching back and neck. We try to finangle a chair when possible without making it appear that we are dumping a 6 year old out of it! The rest of the day was a variety of reading books with the kids, helping the high school kids with homework and some English teaching by Maria. All good.
In the evening we again enjoyed a beautiful sunset with our beverage of choice (Maria: iced coffee and Judy: a Pepsi which they pronounce here as if it had an X like "Pexi") Movie night was "Michael Clayton" on HBO. We are always catching ourselves feeling like we are in a time warp when we are watching satellite TV in a place where the roads are nothing but mud. Which reminds me that the highlight of the day was the Road Grader going by and smoothing out all the ruts and filling in all the potholes!
Wednesday we had a power outage again for most of the morning so the computers at the Center (and the lights) were out but we could still read and paint. For lunch we joined a couple of other Americans from Florida who are working on a new water system for La Colonia here in Sandy Bay. La Colonia is a lovely word for a horrible slum of 3,000 people (half of them under 18 years old) that is across the road from us. It is a sprawling, filthy, crowded shanty town that, prior to getting 3 wells dug and water piped to multiple locations was literally a poisonous pit with children dying constantly from lack of sanitation and clean water. Now that the water system is in this group is trying to collaborate with several other groups on the island (including PIER Partners in Education Roatan which is who we work for) to set up a community center there to improve education and provide a soccer field, etc... Very interesting and it would be a total miracle to have something like that available for all the families and kids.
After our lunch together, Henry took us on a "tour" of La Colonia to see the water system and the situation. Unbelievably desperate. But every little step provides huge benefits so it is worth considering a project that would give so much to so many people.
Not much else is happening. Time at the Center is familiar and we know most of the kids and even see them around on the streets with their families and they are so happy to see us. We feel like rock stars. Pretty good for 50-some year old housewives! Tonight we will go to the weekly "Crab Races" at the resort which provides the funding for the Center and many of the other visiting Americans (who are considering the funding for the Community Center) will also be there. So we do have a social life, in case you were worried.
Our time here is winding down and it feels sad to think about not coming back next week when it starts all over again. We shall see what the future holds for next year and what else will be happenin' next year....
love to all,
Maria and Judy
Tuesday morning we headed back to the Center for "work" which consisted of using watercolors with the kids and showing them all about the primary colors and making the secondary colors. Again, picture us 2 old ladies sitting on a hard tile floor surrounded by 10 little kids with paint boxes and cups of water making rainbows. It was great but all this sitting on the floor is kinda hard on my aching back and neck. We try to finangle a chair when possible without making it appear that we are dumping a 6 year old out of it! The rest of the day was a variety of reading books with the kids, helping the high school kids with homework and some English teaching by Maria. All good.
In the evening we again enjoyed a beautiful sunset with our beverage of choice (Maria: iced coffee and Judy: a Pepsi which they pronounce here as if it had an X like "Pexi") Movie night was "Michael Clayton" on HBO. We are always catching ourselves feeling like we are in a time warp when we are watching satellite TV in a place where the roads are nothing but mud. Which reminds me that the highlight of the day was the Road Grader going by and smoothing out all the ruts and filling in all the potholes!
Wednesday we had a power outage again for most of the morning so the computers at the Center (and the lights) were out but we could still read and paint. For lunch we joined a couple of other Americans from Florida who are working on a new water system for La Colonia here in Sandy Bay. La Colonia is a lovely word for a horrible slum of 3,000 people (half of them under 18 years old) that is across the road from us. It is a sprawling, filthy, crowded shanty town that, prior to getting 3 wells dug and water piped to multiple locations was literally a poisonous pit with children dying constantly from lack of sanitation and clean water. Now that the water system is in this group is trying to collaborate with several other groups on the island (including PIER Partners in Education Roatan which is who we work for) to set up a community center there to improve education and provide a soccer field, etc... Very interesting and it would be a total miracle to have something like that available for all the families and kids.
After our lunch together, Henry took us on a "tour" of La Colonia to see the water system and the situation. Unbelievably desperate. But every little step provides huge benefits so it is worth considering a project that would give so much to so many people.
Not much else is happening. Time at the Center is familiar and we know most of the kids and even see them around on the streets with their families and they are so happy to see us. We feel like rock stars. Pretty good for 50-some year old housewives! Tonight we will go to the weekly "Crab Races" at the resort which provides the funding for the Center and many of the other visiting Americans (who are considering the funding for the Community Center) will also be there. So we do have a social life, in case you were worried.
Our time here is winding down and it feels sad to think about not coming back next week when it starts all over again. We shall see what the future holds for next year and what else will be happenin' next year....
love to all,
Maria and Judy
Monday, March 2, 2009
Monday, March 2nd
Hey, all,
Since last posting on Friday night we have had a few adventures worth posting about as well as updating you on life, in general, here in Honduras.
Ths morning started at 1:30 a.m. when Judy woke me up to tell me that her bed was soaked due to a leak in the roof and water was running in from the ceiling! So she climbed into bed with me (a double bed, fortunately) and we spent the rest of the night sleeping rather fitfully due to rain pounding the house, the surf pounding the beach, the wind howling all around us, the patio furniture being blown across the deck and a cat screeching outside of our window. We finally just decided it was time to get up and give up all attempts to sleep at about 8:00 a.m. Outside there were gale force winds and the ocean was in total whitecaps with surfing size waves crashing against the reef in huge swells and massive waves rolling in and up to and under the beach house. It was quite the sight and sound and certainly unlike any weather we have seen so far here. Luckily, we don't have to work at the Center on Mondays so we could just stagger around the apartment for a few hours and hang up the sheets to flap like dangerous weapons on the porch and locate the patio furniture and watch the local kids chasing and screaming and running from the waves on the beach. It has not let up at all so we aren't sure how long it will take before we are driven nuts by the incessant roar of it all.
We don't mind having an indoor day since both Saturday and Sunday were gloriously sunny and beautiful and we spent a lot of both days on the beach and snorkeling until we had lock jaw from our snorkels. On Sat. we went to the Bay Island Beach Resort where they have set up a snorkel "trail" underwater that you can follow and avoid the super shallow areas and see the areas of the reef that are most interesting. Plus there is a floating platform at the midpoint where you can take a break, warm up in the sun and rest before heading back into the water again. The coral and fish were not as good as most of the other areas we have been to but it was still a nice afternoon and then we could hang out at the resort in the hammocks and on the pier to relax. Then on Sunday morning we went back to beautiful Tabayana Beach on West Bay that is our favorite place so far. It was NOT a cruise ship day so the beach was delightfully empty and over the course of the afternoon was just inhabited by locals and their families and other people staying on the island. It was great to be able to just walk out onto the beach, put on your mask and snorkel and just get into the water and find wonderful fish and healthy coral right away. We managed to find the channel to the deeper areas past the shallow part and saw lots of schools of fish (mostly Blue Tang) and many parrot fish munching the coral (you can actually hear them crunching away!!) and I saw those same gigantic fish I saw last week plus another really huge fish that was all black with just some neon blue colored markings all over it. Really wild.
We treated ourselves to the most delicious smoothies (Judy had strawberry and I had creamy coconut) at Rudy's in West End and they were the perfect sweet and refreshing things to have after all the salt water all day. Back at the house we fixed some yummy fish tacos from the leftovers of our red snapper dinner the night before. Lately our routine has been to have dinner and then channel surf for a movie to watch in the evening. So we have enjoyed "Inside Man" with Denzel Washington and "Dead Poets Society" in the last couple of nights. Our other favorite thing to do is to make instant chocolate pudding for dessert and then we just each get a spoon and eat it straight from the bowl. Pretty decadent. We really feel like we are on vacation.
Just to make sure you realize that the house we are living in is not fancy, and in the interest of setting the record straight, here are a few things you should know:
We feel, mostly, like it is just one small step above camping to live here because NOTHING feels really clean. The sheets and bedding all have a vague smell of mildew and NOTHING here ever feels really dry.
The house is full of termites and every day we sweep and have a pile of sawdust and sand every time to clean up. Did I forget to mention lizards? Yup. Mostly small but very surprising when you reach for the broom handle and they jump to the floor.
When we moved in, the front porch was mostly occupied by stray beach dogs that were very conscientious about "marking" their territory every time they came by. After 2 days/nights of chasing them away and using all the plastic porch furniture to block access we have had several "poop free" mornings! So we swept up and washed off the porch as best as we could. Needless to say, we wear shoes all the time on the porch and socks all the time in the house.
Also, every day we seem to be surprised by all kinds of new human visitors which have included other volunteers at the Clinica Esperanza invited by Miss Peggy to enjoy the beach view from the porch, or any one of a number of roving local kids who are chasing each other up and down the beach and through all the houses and porches and piers.
The concrete shower and completely mildewed shower curtain would make most adults cry and run for their lives. We wear shoes in the shower, too. Oh, and by the way, EVERYPLACE in Hoduras has a wastebasket next to the toilet for the TP as NONE of the plumbing in the entire country is capable of handling anything other than human waste.
Electricity is not a given here on Roatan. Routinely we find ourselves in the total dark and without the fans and, of course, without water as well since the water pump is electrical. We just don't open the refrig and hope it comes on within a few hours before the milk curdles.
Also, you cannot, under any circumstances, drink tap water anywhere in Honduras. So all houses have one of those bottled water dispensers that you refill with huge plastic containers (5 gallon?, 10 gallon?) that I am unable to even consider lifting. Luckily for me, Pam and Judy are able to hoist those suckers up and manage to install the new ones into the dispenser without spilling most of the fresh water all over the floors. I love my friends.
So, even though we are not suffering through the cold and snow that our Midwest friends and family are, there are a number of very real drawbacks to life in the tropics.
We love you and miss you all. Maria (and Judy)
Since last posting on Friday night we have had a few adventures worth posting about as well as updating you on life, in general, here in Honduras.
Ths morning started at 1:30 a.m. when Judy woke me up to tell me that her bed was soaked due to a leak in the roof and water was running in from the ceiling! So she climbed into bed with me (a double bed, fortunately) and we spent the rest of the night sleeping rather fitfully due to rain pounding the house, the surf pounding the beach, the wind howling all around us, the patio furniture being blown across the deck and a cat screeching outside of our window. We finally just decided it was time to get up and give up all attempts to sleep at about 8:00 a.m. Outside there were gale force winds and the ocean was in total whitecaps with surfing size waves crashing against the reef in huge swells and massive waves rolling in and up to and under the beach house. It was quite the sight and sound and certainly unlike any weather we have seen so far here. Luckily, we don't have to work at the Center on Mondays so we could just stagger around the apartment for a few hours and hang up the sheets to flap like dangerous weapons on the porch and locate the patio furniture and watch the local kids chasing and screaming and running from the waves on the beach. It has not let up at all so we aren't sure how long it will take before we are driven nuts by the incessant roar of it all.
We don't mind having an indoor day since both Saturday and Sunday were gloriously sunny and beautiful and we spent a lot of both days on the beach and snorkeling until we had lock jaw from our snorkels. On Sat. we went to the Bay Island Beach Resort where they have set up a snorkel "trail" underwater that you can follow and avoid the super shallow areas and see the areas of the reef that are most interesting. Plus there is a floating platform at the midpoint where you can take a break, warm up in the sun and rest before heading back into the water again. The coral and fish were not as good as most of the other areas we have been to but it was still a nice afternoon and then we could hang out at the resort in the hammocks and on the pier to relax. Then on Sunday morning we went back to beautiful Tabayana Beach on West Bay that is our favorite place so far. It was NOT a cruise ship day so the beach was delightfully empty and over the course of the afternoon was just inhabited by locals and their families and other people staying on the island. It was great to be able to just walk out onto the beach, put on your mask and snorkel and just get into the water and find wonderful fish and healthy coral right away. We managed to find the channel to the deeper areas past the shallow part and saw lots of schools of fish (mostly Blue Tang) and many parrot fish munching the coral (you can actually hear them crunching away!!) and I saw those same gigantic fish I saw last week plus another really huge fish that was all black with just some neon blue colored markings all over it. Really wild.
We treated ourselves to the most delicious smoothies (Judy had strawberry and I had creamy coconut) at Rudy's in West End and they were the perfect sweet and refreshing things to have after all the salt water all day. Back at the house we fixed some yummy fish tacos from the leftovers of our red snapper dinner the night before. Lately our routine has been to have dinner and then channel surf for a movie to watch in the evening. So we have enjoyed "Inside Man" with Denzel Washington and "Dead Poets Society" in the last couple of nights. Our other favorite thing to do is to make instant chocolate pudding for dessert and then we just each get a spoon and eat it straight from the bowl. Pretty decadent. We really feel like we are on vacation.
Just to make sure you realize that the house we are living in is not fancy, and in the interest of setting the record straight, here are a few things you should know:
We feel, mostly, like it is just one small step above camping to live here because NOTHING feels really clean. The sheets and bedding all have a vague smell of mildew and NOTHING here ever feels really dry.
The house is full of termites and every day we sweep and have a pile of sawdust and sand every time to clean up. Did I forget to mention lizards? Yup. Mostly small but very surprising when you reach for the broom handle and they jump to the floor.
When we moved in, the front porch was mostly occupied by stray beach dogs that were very conscientious about "marking" their territory every time they came by. After 2 days/nights of chasing them away and using all the plastic porch furniture to block access we have had several "poop free" mornings! So we swept up and washed off the porch as best as we could. Needless to say, we wear shoes all the time on the porch and socks all the time in the house.
Also, every day we seem to be surprised by all kinds of new human visitors which have included other volunteers at the Clinica Esperanza invited by Miss Peggy to enjoy the beach view from the porch, or any one of a number of roving local kids who are chasing each other up and down the beach and through all the houses and porches and piers.
The concrete shower and completely mildewed shower curtain would make most adults cry and run for their lives. We wear shoes in the shower, too. Oh, and by the way, EVERYPLACE in Hoduras has a wastebasket next to the toilet for the TP as NONE of the plumbing in the entire country is capable of handling anything other than human waste.
Electricity is not a given here on Roatan. Routinely we find ourselves in the total dark and without the fans and, of course, without water as well since the water pump is electrical. We just don't open the refrig and hope it comes on within a few hours before the milk curdles.
Also, you cannot, under any circumstances, drink tap water anywhere in Honduras. So all houses have one of those bottled water dispensers that you refill with huge plastic containers (5 gallon?, 10 gallon?) that I am unable to even consider lifting. Luckily for me, Pam and Judy are able to hoist those suckers up and manage to install the new ones into the dispenser without spilling most of the fresh water all over the floors. I love my friends.
So, even though we are not suffering through the cold and snow that our Midwest friends and family are, there are a number of very real drawbacks to life in the tropics.
We love you and miss you all. Maria (and Judy)
Friday, February 27, 2009
Friday, Feb. 27th (?) or 28th (??) I have lost track....
Hey all,
I haven't posted in 4 days just because Judy and I have been totally swamped with our volunteer schedule!!! On Tuesday morning we started volunteering at the E-Learning Center here in Sandy Bay, Roatan, Honduras and it was REALLY busy all day and every day all week. So now it is 7:00 p.m. on Friday night and I have time (and a decent computer) so I can catch up.
Our day starts at about 8:30 a.m. when we arrive at the Learning Center after about a 15 minute walk down the road/beach from where we are staying. Our "commute" is an incredible combination of the most beautiful turquoise water and sandy beach with the waves breaking on the reef about 100 yeards out and picking our way through a terrible, and muddy, unpaved, garbage-strewn road that is filled with potholes the size of bathtubs. This seems to be the constant juxtaposition of when the Third (or Fourth) World meets Nature. It is breath taking and heart breaking at the same time. The poverty of many (most) of the citizens of Roatan is unbelievable. But they are also very kind and friendly to us and helpful in every way.
After a very rainy Monday we woke up to a gorgeous Tuesday and headed over to the center for our first morning. We met Janet, who is the lead staff person at the center and very quickly several kids showed up so Janet set some of them up to work on computer spelling and math games while I read books to a few of the youngest ones. The computers are HORRIBLE. I think they are first generation PC's that are so big and clumsy and slow and half the time quit on the kids but that is the best technology available at this time. We heard that many new computers are waiting and totally stuck in Customs until somebody bribes some official to get them released. Bummer.
But the kids at the Center are really great and very happy to be there and they LOVE all the individual attention we can give them. The public school system here is abysmal. There are approx. 50,000 school age kids on Roatan but only 14,000 (about 25%) are in school at all. There is no space at all for the remaining kids (the other 75%) in classrooms anyway. Of the kids who start school here, 50% drop out by 6th grade and 87% never finish high school. WOW. So we are working with the top of the top of the kids in the community and the center is absolutely OVERWHELMED. On Tuesday afternoon we had 17 kids from ages 2 to 17 (plus 3 adults) in a room the size of an American dining room (our guess is about 10 feet by maybe 20 feet). With 6 computers and one small plastic table (about 3 feet square) for all the high school students to do their homework on. In the tropics. With an "air conditioner" that basically blows hot air from the outside into the inside space. It was pretty unbelievable but amazingly quiet and the kids are very respectful of each other and us. Judy and I were pretty surprised that questions were all answered very politely with "Yes, M'am" or "No, M'am".
We get a lunch hour from 12 to 1 and are able to stroll over to Bay Island Beach Resort and have a lovely buffet lunch with the staff members of the Center. But then things start up again at 1:15 when another bunch of kids show up for their time. Here in Honduras, because there are NO RESOURCES for education, school is only 4 hours a day. So kids (the few of them that attend school at all) either go to the morning (8 to 12) or afternoon (1 to 5)sessions. Janet told us that a class of 50 students is not unusual. So you can see why a program like the E Learning Center is so appreciated by students and parents who are screened and agree to the rules for attendance. The day ends at 4:30 or 5 and it is so wonderful to just get outside and feel a little fresh air and breeze at that time of the day! On Tuesday we managed to time our exit perfectly to a huge downpour and we actually did not mind walking in the pouring rain home and got totally soaked to the skin, but it was very refreshing after the HOT, HOT, HOT afternoon indoors. But we do bring umbrellas every day now!
The rest of the week was pretty much the same every morning and afternoon with a variety of kids coming on different mornings and afternoons. Maria usually spends a couple of hours in the morning teaching English to a 17 year old girl, Ana, and Judy has spent a lot of time working on organizing the "library" of books which are classified by grade level and color coded with an extremely sophisticated system of little tabs cut out of construction paper and taped to the spine of each book. The next important task was reminding all the kids to pay attention to the colors on the shelves and to match them with the colors on the books when they return them to the shelves!
Every day is different with lots of different kids at every level of learning in both Spanish and English. Most of the kids are actually bilingual but, if not, Maria works with the Spanish speakers and Judy with the English speakers. We are both re-reading all of our favorite children's books to the kids includiing Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat (in both Spanish and English) and we are helping the little ones with coloring books and crayons and the big kids with their school reports and English translations. They all say "thank you" at every opportunity and we have gotten lots of hugs as well. They are unbelievably sweet and so appreciative of the extra attention and little supplies and books we have to share with them. Very rewarding.
Janet also asked us to help the kids write and put on a play that they can perform next Thursday at the weekly "Crab Races" at the Bay Island Resort which is the source of funding for the Center. So we found some inspiration in one of Erik Carle's books and Judy has written a great draft for the play which is basically a Lady Bug introducing another Lady Bug to all the creatures/animals on Roatan and the kids will each pick an animal to be and tell something about itself as an introduction to becoming friends. Maria is supposed to write the "finale" and I am having some issues with writer's block!!
So that is pretty much our week! We are taking photos of the scenery along the "commute" as well as photos in the Center of the kids and the setting. On Thursday we took some extra time at lunch to run out to the airport and buy tickets to the mainland for our trip home. We decided that spending a full day starting at 6:00 a.m. in a taxi to the ferry, a ferry ride to the mainland, a taxi from the ferry landing to the bus stop in La Ceiba, a 3 hour bus ride from La Ceiba to the San Pedro Sula bus station, a taxi to an airport hotel, then overnight in a hotel and then a taxi ride to the airport the next morning to catch our flight to Houston was worth $100 and a one hour plane ride the same morning as our Houston flight. Don't you agree??? We also made a shopping stop in Coxen HOLE for a few groceries, some fresh fish and shrimp for a couple of dinners and another stop at the Post Office for stamps. Still no stamps. At all. At the only Post Office on an island of 100,000 people. None. Maybe next week, but probably not. So, all of the postcards we have written to all of you will probably be mailed when we return after March 9th. Don't hold your breath. I'm serious.
Another phenomenon worth mentioning is an observation about the rain and its aftermath. Remember, this is NOT the rainy season here. The rain we have seen in the last week is quite unusual. They get about 200 inches of rain a year here. Mostly in a 3 month period from October to December. We have heard that it can rain up to 12 inches an HOUR here. If the rain we saw earlier this week is any indication then I can't imagine 3 months of it. One night it rained most of the night and when we got up and walked to "work" the entire bay was nearly completely BROWN with silty run-off and had so much garbage floating in it we were just heartsick. This is one of the most beautiful and extensive reefs in the world. And it is just being destroyed by the poverty and lack of resources of Honduras. So sad. I can not imagine what it might look like in 10 years.
OK, that is way too much for now. Back to relaxing on a Friday night after a LOOOOONG week. We miss all of our friends and family. We know our Minnesota and Wisconsin loved ones have been freezing and shoveling. We are NOT gloating about our circumstances. But we do plan to enjoy the weekend and do some snorkeling and other fun stuff before we go back to "work" next week.
Much love,
Maria
I haven't posted in 4 days just because Judy and I have been totally swamped with our volunteer schedule!!! On Tuesday morning we started volunteering at the E-Learning Center here in Sandy Bay, Roatan, Honduras and it was REALLY busy all day and every day all week. So now it is 7:00 p.m. on Friday night and I have time (and a decent computer) so I can catch up.
Our day starts at about 8:30 a.m. when we arrive at the Learning Center after about a 15 minute walk down the road/beach from where we are staying. Our "commute" is an incredible combination of the most beautiful turquoise water and sandy beach with the waves breaking on the reef about 100 yeards out and picking our way through a terrible, and muddy, unpaved, garbage-strewn road that is filled with potholes the size of bathtubs. This seems to be the constant juxtaposition of when the Third (or Fourth) World meets Nature. It is breath taking and heart breaking at the same time. The poverty of many (most) of the citizens of Roatan is unbelievable. But they are also very kind and friendly to us and helpful in every way.
After a very rainy Monday we woke up to a gorgeous Tuesday and headed over to the center for our first morning. We met Janet, who is the lead staff person at the center and very quickly several kids showed up so Janet set some of them up to work on computer spelling and math games while I read books to a few of the youngest ones. The computers are HORRIBLE. I think they are first generation PC's that are so big and clumsy and slow and half the time quit on the kids but that is the best technology available at this time. We heard that many new computers are waiting and totally stuck in Customs until somebody bribes some official to get them released. Bummer.
But the kids at the Center are really great and very happy to be there and they LOVE all the individual attention we can give them. The public school system here is abysmal. There are approx. 50,000 school age kids on Roatan but only 14,000 (about 25%) are in school at all. There is no space at all for the remaining kids (the other 75%) in classrooms anyway. Of the kids who start school here, 50% drop out by 6th grade and 87% never finish high school. WOW. So we are working with the top of the top of the kids in the community and the center is absolutely OVERWHELMED. On Tuesday afternoon we had 17 kids from ages 2 to 17 (plus 3 adults) in a room the size of an American dining room (our guess is about 10 feet by maybe 20 feet). With 6 computers and one small plastic table (about 3 feet square) for all the high school students to do their homework on. In the tropics. With an "air conditioner" that basically blows hot air from the outside into the inside space. It was pretty unbelievable but amazingly quiet and the kids are very respectful of each other and us. Judy and I were pretty surprised that questions were all answered very politely with "Yes, M'am" or "No, M'am".
We get a lunch hour from 12 to 1 and are able to stroll over to Bay Island Beach Resort and have a lovely buffet lunch with the staff members of the Center. But then things start up again at 1:15 when another bunch of kids show up for their time. Here in Honduras, because there are NO RESOURCES for education, school is only 4 hours a day. So kids (the few of them that attend school at all) either go to the morning (8 to 12) or afternoon (1 to 5)sessions. Janet told us that a class of 50 students is not unusual. So you can see why a program like the E Learning Center is so appreciated by students and parents who are screened and agree to the rules for attendance. The day ends at 4:30 or 5 and it is so wonderful to just get outside and feel a little fresh air and breeze at that time of the day! On Tuesday we managed to time our exit perfectly to a huge downpour and we actually did not mind walking in the pouring rain home and got totally soaked to the skin, but it was very refreshing after the HOT, HOT, HOT afternoon indoors. But we do bring umbrellas every day now!
The rest of the week was pretty much the same every morning and afternoon with a variety of kids coming on different mornings and afternoons. Maria usually spends a couple of hours in the morning teaching English to a 17 year old girl, Ana, and Judy has spent a lot of time working on organizing the "library" of books which are classified by grade level and color coded with an extremely sophisticated system of little tabs cut out of construction paper and taped to the spine of each book. The next important task was reminding all the kids to pay attention to the colors on the shelves and to match them with the colors on the books when they return them to the shelves!
Every day is different with lots of different kids at every level of learning in both Spanish and English. Most of the kids are actually bilingual but, if not, Maria works with the Spanish speakers and Judy with the English speakers. We are both re-reading all of our favorite children's books to the kids includiing Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat (in both Spanish and English) and we are helping the little ones with coloring books and crayons and the big kids with their school reports and English translations. They all say "thank you" at every opportunity and we have gotten lots of hugs as well. They are unbelievably sweet and so appreciative of the extra attention and little supplies and books we have to share with them. Very rewarding.
Janet also asked us to help the kids write and put on a play that they can perform next Thursday at the weekly "Crab Races" at the Bay Island Resort which is the source of funding for the Center. So we found some inspiration in one of Erik Carle's books and Judy has written a great draft for the play which is basically a Lady Bug introducing another Lady Bug to all the creatures/animals on Roatan and the kids will each pick an animal to be and tell something about itself as an introduction to becoming friends. Maria is supposed to write the "finale" and I am having some issues with writer's block!!
So that is pretty much our week! We are taking photos of the scenery along the "commute" as well as photos in the Center of the kids and the setting. On Thursday we took some extra time at lunch to run out to the airport and buy tickets to the mainland for our trip home. We decided that spending a full day starting at 6:00 a.m. in a taxi to the ferry, a ferry ride to the mainland, a taxi from the ferry landing to the bus stop in La Ceiba, a 3 hour bus ride from La Ceiba to the San Pedro Sula bus station, a taxi to an airport hotel, then overnight in a hotel and then a taxi ride to the airport the next morning to catch our flight to Houston was worth $100 and a one hour plane ride the same morning as our Houston flight. Don't you agree??? We also made a shopping stop in Coxen HOLE for a few groceries, some fresh fish and shrimp for a couple of dinners and another stop at the Post Office for stamps. Still no stamps. At all. At the only Post Office on an island of 100,000 people. None. Maybe next week, but probably not. So, all of the postcards we have written to all of you will probably be mailed when we return after March 9th. Don't hold your breath. I'm serious.
Another phenomenon worth mentioning is an observation about the rain and its aftermath. Remember, this is NOT the rainy season here. The rain we have seen in the last week is quite unusual. They get about 200 inches of rain a year here. Mostly in a 3 month period from October to December. We have heard that it can rain up to 12 inches an HOUR here. If the rain we saw earlier this week is any indication then I can't imagine 3 months of it. One night it rained most of the night and when we got up and walked to "work" the entire bay was nearly completely BROWN with silty run-off and had so much garbage floating in it we were just heartsick. This is one of the most beautiful and extensive reefs in the world. And it is just being destroyed by the poverty and lack of resources of Honduras. So sad. I can not imagine what it might look like in 10 years.
OK, that is way too much for now. Back to relaxing on a Friday night after a LOOOOONG week. We miss all of our friends and family. We know our Minnesota and Wisconsin loved ones have been freezing and shoveling. We are NOT gloating about our circumstances. But we do plan to enjoy the weekend and do some snorkeling and other fun stuff before we go back to "work" next week.
Much love,
Maria
Monday, February 23, 2009
Mon., Feb. 23rd
Well we have switched gears here on Roatan. Pam and Britta left EARLY this morning and headed back to Tegucigalpa (Pam) and Minnesota (Britta). So Judy and Maria spent the morning packing and cleaning up and listening to some torrential rains outside (the local expression for a downpour is a "toad strangler"). In between downbursts we grabbed a taxi with our bags and transferred our lives to the lower apt. which is owned by Miss Peggy of the Clinica Esperanza. It will suit us fine for a couple of weeks but it is definitely pretty simple living and no A/C at all but the celing fans will help. The rain for most of the day makes us both feel pretty soggy especially because we got caught out on a walk and spent 45 minutes huddled with a few other kids under somebody's house out of the wind and rain (almost all the houses are raised up on stilts or concrete blocks because of the moisture and termites).
Peggy loaned us her computer to catch up and we got the full scoop on where to take the laundry and buy groceries and which friendly neighbors should not be given any cash no matter how helpful they are!! Not much else for today. Tomorrow we start at the literacy center and Peggy also requested us to do some one-on-one tutoring with her administrator who needs to learn English. I think we will be busy.
Love to all, Maria
Peggy loaned us her computer to catch up and we got the full scoop on where to take the laundry and buy groceries and which friendly neighbors should not be given any cash no matter how helpful they are!! Not much else for today. Tomorrow we start at the literacy center and Peggy also requested us to do some one-on-one tutoring with her administrator who needs to learn English. I think we will be busy.
Love to all, Maria
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sunday, Feb. 22nd
We are watching the Oscar Ceremony on TV after dinner and I will use this time to catch up on the last couple of days of fun.
On Saturday we met up with Captain O, actually his brother, Captain D, who we had arranged to take us out on a snorkelling trip to a couple of more distant locations. They took us to Palmetto Bay where we snorkeled a shipwreck from the mid 1800´s. Really amazing to see the skeleton of the ship all overgrown with coral and everything else but filled with tropical fish. Snorkeling highlights were a few barracuda, a darling fluttery and colorful little squid, and a spiny lobster. We also went to another spot that had loads of great coral and fish. But there was a lot of wind so it was really tough snorkeling with lots of current so we called it a full morning after a few hours and headed home feeling fully pickled in the salt water.
The afternoon was spent napping, reading and lounging after the full and exhausting morning.
We also connected with nurse, Peggy Stranges of the Clinica Esperanza who came by the resort to pick us up as well as the gigantic, heavy duffel bag of supplies we have been lugging from one end of Honduras to the other! So we got a tour of the Clinic which is an amazing place (www.clinicaesperanza.com) and then she drove us to her nearby home which has an apartment that Judy and Maria will be staying in during their volunteer time. It is a great place right on the beach and within walking distance just down the beach to the E-Learning center where they will be volunteering. All good.
Back at home we watched the DVD ¨Ma Vie en Rose¨which was in French but with ENGLISH subtitles so we could follow it!
Sunday morning we all headed over to Tabayana Beach for more snorkeling. It was kind of cloudy and a little drizzly but that doesn´t stop us. Britta enjoyed total success snorkeling! Then Maria, Pam and Judy headed out a lot farther after Pam figured out how to cross a really shallow area of coral and we were treated to the best ever area of fish and coral. On the way back in Maria spotted the most thoughtless tourist ever, an fat Italian woman, who was actually walking all over the coral and reaching over to break big pieces off for souveniers and then she actually SAT DOWN on a gorgeous brain coral as if it were a freakin´ottoman!!! So I had to let her know that this was completely unacceptable and I was not very diplomatic about it. So Barack Obama will have a little work to do repairing Italian-American relations after that episode.
Besides the fat Italian lady I also saw the BIGGEST tropical fish I have ever seen and it was swimming in really shallow water which was so amazing. I am not kidding, these 2 fish were as big as those flying saucers that kids use for sledding!!! And they were both bright green and red. Really crazy.
Pam and Britta leave tomorrow so our Fabulous Foursome will be down to the Dynamic Duo of Judy and Maria. Love to all and I am hoping that Slumdog Millionaire wins everything!! Love, Maria
On Saturday we met up with Captain O, actually his brother, Captain D, who we had arranged to take us out on a snorkelling trip to a couple of more distant locations. They took us to Palmetto Bay where we snorkeled a shipwreck from the mid 1800´s. Really amazing to see the skeleton of the ship all overgrown with coral and everything else but filled with tropical fish. Snorkeling highlights were a few barracuda, a darling fluttery and colorful little squid, and a spiny lobster. We also went to another spot that had loads of great coral and fish. But there was a lot of wind so it was really tough snorkeling with lots of current so we called it a full morning after a few hours and headed home feeling fully pickled in the salt water.
The afternoon was spent napping, reading and lounging after the full and exhausting morning.
We also connected with nurse, Peggy Stranges of the Clinica Esperanza who came by the resort to pick us up as well as the gigantic, heavy duffel bag of supplies we have been lugging from one end of Honduras to the other! So we got a tour of the Clinic which is an amazing place (www.clinicaesperanza.com) and then she drove us to her nearby home which has an apartment that Judy and Maria will be staying in during their volunteer time. It is a great place right on the beach and within walking distance just down the beach to the E-Learning center where they will be volunteering. All good.
Back at home we watched the DVD ¨Ma Vie en Rose¨which was in French but with ENGLISH subtitles so we could follow it!
Sunday morning we all headed over to Tabayana Beach for more snorkeling. It was kind of cloudy and a little drizzly but that doesn´t stop us. Britta enjoyed total success snorkeling! Then Maria, Pam and Judy headed out a lot farther after Pam figured out how to cross a really shallow area of coral and we were treated to the best ever area of fish and coral. On the way back in Maria spotted the most thoughtless tourist ever, an fat Italian woman, who was actually walking all over the coral and reaching over to break big pieces off for souveniers and then she actually SAT DOWN on a gorgeous brain coral as if it were a freakin´ottoman!!! So I had to let her know that this was completely unacceptable and I was not very diplomatic about it. So Barack Obama will have a little work to do repairing Italian-American relations after that episode.
Besides the fat Italian lady I also saw the BIGGEST tropical fish I have ever seen and it was swimming in really shallow water which was so amazing. I am not kidding, these 2 fish were as big as those flying saucers that kids use for sledding!!! And they were both bright green and red. Really crazy.
Pam and Britta leave tomorrow so our Fabulous Foursome will be down to the Dynamic Duo of Judy and Maria. Love to all and I am hoping that Slumdog Millionaire wins everything!! Love, Maria
Friday, February 20, 2009
Friday, Feb. 20th
Dear All,
Another couple of busy days that did not leave time for posting until tonight. Yesterday we had a full day with our trusty driver, Enrique of RoatanTravelAdvenures.com
Then back in the car for an amazing drive through incredibly scenic and winding roads through the tropical and mountainous terrain. We stopped several times to look at shipwrecks that are visible above the water (some were drug boats, others just boring cargo)and many incredible views that allowed you to see the ocean on both sides of the island with that dreamy turquoise water that is between the reef and the beach.
We then went to one of the typical villages that historically is a fishing town with all the houses built on stilts hanging over the water and the mode of transportation for everybody is via boat, just like Venice! So we passed all the locals going grocery shopping in boats to stores that have docks rather than front doors and the schools have ¨school boats¨rather than buses to take kids to class and they are even yellow just like the buses at home! All the kids were so darling in their school uniforms standing all along the piers waiting for the ¨bus¨! The best part of the boat tour was our water taxi driver who was named Everal and had really long dreadlocks and was using the wildest boat (water taxi) on the island. The boat had a thatched roof that opened up for coming and going and the inside of the boat (the floor, ceiling, sides and seats) were completely covered in hand written historical facts and every imaginable plastic toy and stuffed animal was hanging from every surface. We knew it was wild when we first saw it, but that was confirmed to us when every boat carrying other tourists or people on sailboats in the marina rushed to grab their cameras and take pictures of us in this wild and crazy boat with this driver with dreadlocks halfway down his back.
We had lunch at a completely crazy place called ¨Hole In The Wall¨that looked like it had been decorated by our driver. The ceiling was covered with T-shirts from around the world and every other kind of junk was hanging everyplace else including a life sized, naked inflatable plastic female doll that was hanging over the bar!!! But it lived up to its reputation as a great place to eat and we gobbled every single bite of our lobster and shrimp sandwiches. The other clients were some very salty dog sailor types who were pretty much öff the grid¨in more ways than one.
Everal also gave us a great tour of the mangrove area that is nearby these couple of fishing villages. Pretty amazing gliding through the water in narrow lanes of mangroves that form a complete canopy overhead. There were also many huge and creepy termites´ nests the size of dressers and lots of herons, etc... nesting in the mangroves.
Back in the car again with Enrique where we continued the tour and drove through a traditional Garifuna village where the population is descended from former escaped slaves who mixed in with other native Caribe tribes and speak a different language and have many unique traditions totally unlike other islanders. Our final stop was back in Coxen HOLE where we made quick stops to pick up more fresh fruits and vegetables at the market, more fish and seafood at the fish market and stamps at the post office. We were successful at all attempts except the Post Office had NO stamps available. At all. Of any price. They thought maybe they would have some more on Monday. Four days later. Yup, that is what they mean by Ïsland Time.¨
This morning, Friday, we got up a little early and headed over to Anthony´s Key Resort so that Maria and Britta could fulfill their lifetime dreams of being mermaids and swimming with dolphins. We were not disappointed. The resort has a huge area (think football field) that is penned up and there are about 20 dolphins who live there and are part of the Roatan Institute for Marine Science. So they allow small groups of people to interact with the dolphins and even swim and snorkel in the area. It sounds corny but it was just great and more fun than I imagined. First there was half an hour where a trainer and 4 people are able to spend time with a single dolphin who is right there for touching and seeing them right up close. Of course there is the obligatory picture taking of being ¨kissed¨by a dolphin but they were amazing, huge but gentle animals that just swam and glided past us the whole time. Then those who wanted could put on their snorkel gear and spend another half hour in the deep part of the pens while 20 dolphins literaly swam and chased and jumped around us and each other the whole time. It was fabulous! I really did feel like a mermaid! Just try to imagine being underwater swimming and then 4 dolphins just glide right alongside you and you can reach out and touch them!!
Then back to the resort where the electricity was out so we just quickly opened the refrig to grab a bit of lunch and then ate lots of fruit and spent the afternoon reading at the pool until the electricity came back on. Another gourmet meal a la Pamela and now it is time for a DVD. The DVD remote cannot be located so everytiume we pùt in a movie we find out if it will be in English or Spanish and the Closed Captioning is stuck ÖN¨so it is potluck if the subtitles are in English or Spanish. Kind of confusing but all part of the adventure. But last night we gave up on watching ¨The Namesake¨when we realized that BOTH the audio and subtitles were in Spanish.
Hasta Luego to all our loved ones!! Maria
Another couple of busy days that did not leave time for posting until tonight. Yesterday we had a full day with our trusty driver, Enrique of RoatanTravelAdvenures.com
Then back in the car for an amazing drive through incredibly scenic and winding roads through the tropical and mountainous terrain. We stopped several times to look at shipwrecks that are visible above the water (some were drug boats, others just boring cargo)and many incredible views that allowed you to see the ocean on both sides of the island with that dreamy turquoise water that is between the reef and the beach.
We then went to one of the typical villages that historically is a fishing town with all the houses built on stilts hanging over the water and the mode of transportation for everybody is via boat, just like Venice! So we passed all the locals going grocery shopping in boats to stores that have docks rather than front doors and the schools have ¨school boats¨rather than buses to take kids to class and they are even yellow just like the buses at home! All the kids were so darling in their school uniforms standing all along the piers waiting for the ¨bus¨! The best part of the boat tour was our water taxi driver who was named Everal and had really long dreadlocks and was using the wildest boat (water taxi) on the island. The boat had a thatched roof that opened up for coming and going and the inside of the boat (the floor, ceiling, sides and seats) were completely covered in hand written historical facts and every imaginable plastic toy and stuffed animal was hanging from every surface. We knew it was wild when we first saw it, but that was confirmed to us when every boat carrying other tourists or people on sailboats in the marina rushed to grab their cameras and take pictures of us in this wild and crazy boat with this driver with dreadlocks halfway down his back.
We had lunch at a completely crazy place called ¨Hole In The Wall¨that looked like it had been decorated by our driver. The ceiling was covered with T-shirts from around the world and every other kind of junk was hanging everyplace else including a life sized, naked inflatable plastic female doll that was hanging over the bar!!! But it lived up to its reputation as a great place to eat and we gobbled every single bite of our lobster and shrimp sandwiches. The other clients were some very salty dog sailor types who were pretty much öff the grid¨in more ways than one.
Everal also gave us a great tour of the mangrove area that is nearby these couple of fishing villages. Pretty amazing gliding through the water in narrow lanes of mangroves that form a complete canopy overhead. There were also many huge and creepy termites´ nests the size of dressers and lots of herons, etc... nesting in the mangroves.
Back in the car again with Enrique where we continued the tour and drove through a traditional Garifuna village where the population is descended from former escaped slaves who mixed in with other native Caribe tribes and speak a different language and have many unique traditions totally unlike other islanders. Our final stop was back in Coxen HOLE where we made quick stops to pick up more fresh fruits and vegetables at the market, more fish and seafood at the fish market and stamps at the post office. We were successful at all attempts except the Post Office had NO stamps available. At all. Of any price. They thought maybe they would have some more on Monday. Four days later. Yup, that is what they mean by Ïsland Time.¨
This morning, Friday, we got up a little early and headed over to Anthony´s Key Resort so that Maria and Britta could fulfill their lifetime dreams of being mermaids and swimming with dolphins. We were not disappointed. The resort has a huge area (think football field) that is penned up and there are about 20 dolphins who live there and are part of the Roatan Institute for Marine Science. So they allow small groups of people to interact with the dolphins and even swim and snorkel in the area. It sounds corny but it was just great and more fun than I imagined. First there was half an hour where a trainer and 4 people are able to spend time with a single dolphin who is right there for touching and seeing them right up close. Of course there is the obligatory picture taking of being ¨kissed¨by a dolphin but they were amazing, huge but gentle animals that just swam and glided past us the whole time. Then those who wanted could put on their snorkel gear and spend another half hour in the deep part of the pens while 20 dolphins literaly swam and chased and jumped around us and each other the whole time. It was fabulous! I really did feel like a mermaid! Just try to imagine being underwater swimming and then 4 dolphins just glide right alongside you and you can reach out and touch them!!
Then back to the resort where the electricity was out so we just quickly opened the refrig to grab a bit of lunch and then ate lots of fruit and spent the afternoon reading at the pool until the electricity came back on. Another gourmet meal a la Pamela and now it is time for a DVD. The DVD remote cannot be located so everytiume we pùt in a movie we find out if it will be in English or Spanish and the Closed Captioning is stuck ÖN¨so it is potluck if the subtitles are in English or Spanish. Kind of confusing but all part of the adventure. But last night we gave up on watching ¨The Namesake¨when we realized that BOTH the audio and subtitles were in Spanish.
Hasta Luego to all our loved ones!! Maria
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Wed., Feb. 18th, from Roatan
Hey, all,
We have had a couple of very busy days but we are now back in the cabana in full ¨collapse¨mode so I can catch up. Well, we took the landlady´s advice and closed up the windows and turned on the A/C to block the rooster noise but that did not prevent us from sharing in the high volume, late night musical tributes that took place at a Honduran wake (yes that solemn event in the US that comes after somebody dies but before they are buried) over two nights. We are not sure if country western music is traditional for Honduran wakes or if the deceased woman just loved it, but we felt very much included in the event! I think I have convinced my friends that Ambien is the way to go if you are still awake after half an hour in bed trying to fall asleep.
On Tuesday morning we took a mini tour of a few locations nearby. First we went to Bay Island Beach Resort to meet Camilla O´Brien who is our local contact for the volunteer literacy work Judy and Maria will be doing for 2 weeks. She directed us to the nearby ˨Learning Center which is just down the beach and we met some of the kids and Thelma, the assistant of the center and got the schedule and a sense of what kinds of things they are doing with the students. As with most volunteer opportunities, there will be some one-to-one work with students with individual learning goals and some general helping with reading skills, etc...
Then we trundled into another taxi and went to Anthony´s Key Resort where Maria and Britta signed up for a Friday morning snorkel and interaction time with some dolphins that they are studying at the RIMS (Roatan Institute for Marine Science). Sounds a little corny but when else will little old ladies like us get to feel like a couple of mermaids frolicking in the waves with dolphins??? Judy and Pam will watch and, maybe, take a few photos of the fun.
Back to the cabana again via the ever present fleet of Roatan entrepreneurs who drive taxis. The routine is this: you stand out on the main road and then amid all the motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, buses and trucks you wave until a white Toyota corolla with a number on its side pulls over. Usually it already has one or more occupants and then you shout in Spanish ¨How much to go to Timbuktu (or wherever)? Then you get a response that can range anywhere from $1 each to $10 each and you either agree ($1 is the right answer) or keep haggling. Then you crawl in with the other passengers or the driver boots out his friends on the side of the road so he can take paying customers and off you go. Same thing with the water taxis and you always must be sure that you understand that the fare is either per person or the total is for everyone.
So we had some lunch and then wandered down to the beach here and snorkeled off the pier (which, by the way looks exactly like the one on the top of the blog) only it has a thatch covered area for some shade as well as a large deck with bench seating all around for the susnet crowd. We were a little intimidated about swimming out to the snorkelling area but a helpful and friendly American offered to go out with us and show us the snorkel areas so we gave the snorkel equipment its trial run. Success all around!! Although it is probably 75 yeards of sea grass before you get to coral and more fish but we were refreshed and encouraged by the ease and comfort and water temperature and clarity. After the lengthy time in the salt water soak we enjoyed the pool and made a few more tourist arrangements via phone for things later in the week.
Another gourmet dinner made by our resident chef, Pam, and then some serious DVD time watching 2 movies: Reign Over Me with Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle and The Truth About Cats and Dogs with Uma Thurman and Janeane Garafalo.
On Wednesday morning we headed into West End for some poking around and minor shopping and people watching. Pam and Britta did not want to snorkel so they headed back for lunch and Maria and Judy took a water taxi to Tabayana Beach which was a picture postcard setting of white sand, palm trees and turquoise waters. We met a young Guatemalan woman in the water taxi and she looked like she was uncomfortable alone so she joined us for our lounge time and we took turns watching each other´s beach stuff and swimming/snorkelling. Judy and Maria had a couple of long, leisurely snorkels and saw lots of healthy corals and tropical fish just wading into the water and sticking your head in and floating out a little farther. A really big area of shallow water covering a huge coral system and the only tricky part was paying attention to not getting ¨bluffed up¨into an area that got too shallow to comfortably snorkel through. It doesn´t get easier than that!
Then the cruise boat traffic arrived and things got more crowded and we both felt like we had TMJ from our snorkel mouthpieces and were covered with a thick layer of sunscreen, sand and salt so that means it is time to be done. So we water taxied back to West End for a late lunch and then back to the cabana for fresh water SHOWERS!!! Life is good. I miss all of my loved ones and think of all of you and wish we could share all of the fun. Love, Maria
We have had a couple of very busy days but we are now back in the cabana in full ¨collapse¨mode so I can catch up. Well, we took the landlady´s advice and closed up the windows and turned on the A/C to block the rooster noise but that did not prevent us from sharing in the high volume, late night musical tributes that took place at a Honduran wake (yes that solemn event in the US that comes after somebody dies but before they are buried) over two nights. We are not sure if country western music is traditional for Honduran wakes or if the deceased woman just loved it, but we felt very much included in the event! I think I have convinced my friends that Ambien is the way to go if you are still awake after half an hour in bed trying to fall asleep.
On Tuesday morning we took a mini tour of a few locations nearby. First we went to Bay Island Beach Resort to meet Camilla O´Brien who is our local contact for the volunteer literacy work Judy and Maria will be doing for 2 weeks. She directed us to the nearby ˨Learning Center which is just down the beach and we met some of the kids and Thelma, the assistant of the center and got the schedule and a sense of what kinds of things they are doing with the students. As with most volunteer opportunities, there will be some one-to-one work with students with individual learning goals and some general helping with reading skills, etc...
Then we trundled into another taxi and went to Anthony´s Key Resort where Maria and Britta signed up for a Friday morning snorkel and interaction time with some dolphins that they are studying at the RIMS (Roatan Institute for Marine Science). Sounds a little corny but when else will little old ladies like us get to feel like a couple of mermaids frolicking in the waves with dolphins??? Judy and Pam will watch and, maybe, take a few photos of the fun.
Back to the cabana again via the ever present fleet of Roatan entrepreneurs who drive taxis. The routine is this: you stand out on the main road and then amid all the motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, buses and trucks you wave until a white Toyota corolla with a number on its side pulls over. Usually it already has one or more occupants and then you shout in Spanish ¨How much to go to Timbuktu (or wherever)? Then you get a response that can range anywhere from $1 each to $10 each and you either agree ($1 is the right answer) or keep haggling. Then you crawl in with the other passengers or the driver boots out his friends on the side of the road so he can take paying customers and off you go. Same thing with the water taxis and you always must be sure that you understand that the fare is either per person or the total is for everyone.
So we had some lunch and then wandered down to the beach here and snorkeled off the pier (which, by the way looks exactly like the one on the top of the blog) only it has a thatch covered area for some shade as well as a large deck with bench seating all around for the susnet crowd. We were a little intimidated about swimming out to the snorkelling area but a helpful and friendly American offered to go out with us and show us the snorkel areas so we gave the snorkel equipment its trial run. Success all around!! Although it is probably 75 yeards of sea grass before you get to coral and more fish but we were refreshed and encouraged by the ease and comfort and water temperature and clarity. After the lengthy time in the salt water soak we enjoyed the pool and made a few more tourist arrangements via phone for things later in the week.
Another gourmet dinner made by our resident chef, Pam, and then some serious DVD time watching 2 movies: Reign Over Me with Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle and The Truth About Cats and Dogs with Uma Thurman and Janeane Garafalo.
On Wednesday morning we headed into West End for some poking around and minor shopping and people watching. Pam and Britta did not want to snorkel so they headed back for lunch and Maria and Judy took a water taxi to Tabayana Beach which was a picture postcard setting of white sand, palm trees and turquoise waters. We met a young Guatemalan woman in the water taxi and she looked like she was uncomfortable alone so she joined us for our lounge time and we took turns watching each other´s beach stuff and swimming/snorkelling. Judy and Maria had a couple of long, leisurely snorkels and saw lots of healthy corals and tropical fish just wading into the water and sticking your head in and floating out a little farther. A really big area of shallow water covering a huge coral system and the only tricky part was paying attention to not getting ¨bluffed up¨into an area that got too shallow to comfortably snorkel through. It doesn´t get easier than that!
Then the cruise boat traffic arrived and things got more crowded and we both felt like we had TMJ from our snorkel mouthpieces and were covered with a thick layer of sunscreen, sand and salt so that means it is time to be done. So we water taxied back to West End for a late lunch and then back to the cabana for fresh water SHOWERS!!! Life is good. I miss all of my loved ones and think of all of you and wish we could share all of the fun. Love, Maria
Monday, February 16, 2009
Roatan, Baby!
Sunday started at 4:00 a.m. for us as we got up and took 2 different taxis to get to the bus stop at Copan for our 5:15 a.m. bus to San Pedro Sula. The juice and cookies helped only a little. But we all slept soundly in the comfortable and air conditioned bus. In San Pedro Britta and Maria headed straight for the cafffeine and began to feel human again. Then we had a 2 hour layover until our bus to La Ceiba which we spent watching ¨Naked Gun 2 1/2¨ without sound on the overhead TV´s. I think the locals were laughing more at us laughing at Leslie Nielsen´s idiocy on TV than they did watching the movie themselves. Everywhere we go there is some American movie playing, so far we have seen Spider Man 2, I Robot, Nancy Drew, Big and Nights at Rodanthe and The Legend of Bagger Vance. Most are without audio but some are dubbed (Will Smith is not as funny when he speaks Spanish) but sometimes there are the English subtitles as well. Kind of a mixed bag.
The bus trip to La Ceiba was really gorgeous with very mountainous terrain on one side and all kinds of farms on the other, palms, pineapples, tomatoes, sugar cane, etc... Then another taxi ride from the bus stop to the ferry terminal and 2 more hours of layover. When the ferry landed on Roatan we experienced a wild and crazy method for baggage claim: 250 people line up along a huge horseshoe shaped barrier and they wheel in massive carts loaded with the bags then everybody just screams at the top of their lungs, waves their arms and points to their luggage while the porters run from one end of the area to the other in no discernable pattern at all. It is like being on the noisiest and most chaotic game show in the world and the only thing you win is your own stuff.
But Enrique was there when we emerged and took us to the supermarket and then to the Sundancer Cabana where we all collapsed in our own little sweaty, exhausted, crabby heaps and got the AC going to cool us off until we returned to our selves again. Pam made us scrambled eggs for dinner and we improved even further. The evening was marked by more roosters but the landlady told us in the morning that the best way to function is to enjoy the daytime breezes with windows open and then close them up and turn on the AC at night for more quiet. Sounds like a plan.
This morning Judy and Maria headed into town to buy more fresh fruits and vegetables and a few other grocery items. The town of Coxen HOLE (emphasis on the HOLE is deliberate) is totally hot and dusty and crowded and crazy with cars and taxis so it should only be attempted on a limited basis. But we scored all of our items and then wrangoled it all into a taxi back to the cabana in time for lunch prepared by Pam. We are now heading to the pool/beach and begin recovering from our travel day and morning of sweaty errands...
Hasta Luego!
The bus trip to La Ceiba was really gorgeous with very mountainous terrain on one side and all kinds of farms on the other, palms, pineapples, tomatoes, sugar cane, etc... Then another taxi ride from the bus stop to the ferry terminal and 2 more hours of layover. When the ferry landed on Roatan we experienced a wild and crazy method for baggage claim: 250 people line up along a huge horseshoe shaped barrier and they wheel in massive carts loaded with the bags then everybody just screams at the top of their lungs, waves their arms and points to their luggage while the porters run from one end of the area to the other in no discernable pattern at all. It is like being on the noisiest and most chaotic game show in the world and the only thing you win is your own stuff.
But Enrique was there when we emerged and took us to the supermarket and then to the Sundancer Cabana where we all collapsed in our own little sweaty, exhausted, crabby heaps and got the AC going to cool us off until we returned to our selves again. Pam made us scrambled eggs for dinner and we improved even further. The evening was marked by more roosters but the landlady told us in the morning that the best way to function is to enjoy the daytime breezes with windows open and then close them up and turn on the AC at night for more quiet. Sounds like a plan.
This morning Judy and Maria headed into town to buy more fresh fruits and vegetables and a few other grocery items. The town of Coxen HOLE (emphasis on the HOLE is deliberate) is totally hot and dusty and crowded and crazy with cars and taxis so it should only be attempted on a limited basis. But we scored all of our items and then wrangoled it all into a taxi back to the cabana in time for lunch prepared by Pam. We are now heading to the pool/beach and begin recovering from our travel day and morning of sweaty errands...
Hasta Luego!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Happy Valentine´s Day from Honduras!
Dear All who are taking time to read of our fun,
I hope everyone feels some love today in honor of St. Valentine, the patron saint of lace doilies and glitter hearts.
Judy and Maria enjoyed another night of tropical birds screeching, dogs barking and roosters crowing while Britta and Pam seem to be sticking to their story about sleeping like a couple of logs through the whole thing. Last night we noticed there was an additional noise provided by a neighbor who decided to do some home improvement project starting at 10:00 p.m. Fortunately it was a low tech project that only iovolved hammering rather than the full power tool complement. We are fully expecting that tonight he will decide to spend time ¨bustin´up that old chiffarobe¨at about midnight!
But in spite of the local auditory ambience....
We had another fun day here with the morning spent at another location of the Mayan ruins that was basically the residential neighborhoods rather than the Mayan downtown. Britta repeated her feats of daring as we all clambered up and down the heights of the homes and altars of the ancients and looked into their tombs and kitchens. Another good guide who spoke Spanish and Pam and I did our best in the simuultaneous translation department but Britta and Judy are really developing an ear for the language since they have strong backgrounds in French.
After a couple of hours doing the Mayan version of chutes and ladders Britta and Pam returned to the cool of the hotel to rest and Maria and Judy hitched a ride back to the other site of the ruins and just lounged around like a couple of sacred jaguars soaking in the atmosphere and people watching. The Honduran kids are so gorgeous and they all shyly look at you sideways with those liquid brown eyes and silky cocoa complexions. I guess I should say with the exception of the 12 year old girl who tried to sell Maria and Judy some weed on the main plaza last night while we were enjoying an ice cream cone. I guess she did not notice the gray hair in the dark!
Then we hoofed it back to town in the steaming heat and sun and treated ourselves to some creamy pineapple and banana smoothies. We picked up our laundry on the way to the hotel and my only comment to future travellers is to spend the extra 5 minutes and hand wash your underwire bras because they do not tolerate whatever system was used to, basically, re-wire the garment and remove all the fastener clasps!
After lovely cool showers we felt human again and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon reading and catching up on more coffee drinking and lounging. Tomorrow we have the ¨Mother of All Travel Days¨that will begin with a 5:00 a.m. bus ride with one connection to get us to La Ceiba and then a taxi to the ferry station and a ferry ride to Roatan Island where we will be met by Enrique at 6:00 p.m. and we will have a grocery store stop en route to the cabana.
love to all,
Maria and fellow adventure women, Pam, Judy and Britta
I hope everyone feels some love today in honor of St. Valentine, the patron saint of lace doilies and glitter hearts.
Judy and Maria enjoyed another night of tropical birds screeching, dogs barking and roosters crowing while Britta and Pam seem to be sticking to their story about sleeping like a couple of logs through the whole thing. Last night we noticed there was an additional noise provided by a neighbor who decided to do some home improvement project starting at 10:00 p.m. Fortunately it was a low tech project that only iovolved hammering rather than the full power tool complement. We are fully expecting that tonight he will decide to spend time ¨bustin´up that old chiffarobe¨at about midnight!
But in spite of the local auditory ambience....
We had another fun day here with the morning spent at another location of the Mayan ruins that was basically the residential neighborhoods rather than the Mayan downtown. Britta repeated her feats of daring as we all clambered up and down the heights of the homes and altars of the ancients and looked into their tombs and kitchens. Another good guide who spoke Spanish and Pam and I did our best in the simuultaneous translation department but Britta and Judy are really developing an ear for the language since they have strong backgrounds in French.
After a couple of hours doing the Mayan version of chutes and ladders Britta and Pam returned to the cool of the hotel to rest and Maria and Judy hitched a ride back to the other site of the ruins and just lounged around like a couple of sacred jaguars soaking in the atmosphere and people watching. The Honduran kids are so gorgeous and they all shyly look at you sideways with those liquid brown eyes and silky cocoa complexions. I guess I should say with the exception of the 12 year old girl who tried to sell Maria and Judy some weed on the main plaza last night while we were enjoying an ice cream cone. I guess she did not notice the gray hair in the dark!
Then we hoofed it back to town in the steaming heat and sun and treated ourselves to some creamy pineapple and banana smoothies. We picked up our laundry on the way to the hotel and my only comment to future travellers is to spend the extra 5 minutes and hand wash your underwire bras because they do not tolerate whatever system was used to, basically, re-wire the garment and remove all the fastener clasps!
After lovely cool showers we felt human again and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon reading and catching up on more coffee drinking and lounging. Tomorrow we have the ¨Mother of All Travel Days¨that will begin with a 5:00 a.m. bus ride with one connection to get us to La Ceiba and then a taxi to the ferry station and a ferry ride to Roatan Island where we will be met by Enrique at 6:00 p.m. and we will have a grocery store stop en route to the cabana.
love to all,
Maria and fellow adventure women, Pam, Judy and Britta
Friday, February 13, 2009
Friday, Feb. 13th posting from Copan Ruinas
Hey, all,
We have had a couple of very busy days that I will try to catch you up on. Yesterday we left Teguz before dawn to catch a 5:30 a.m. bus to the town of Copan Ruinas which is near the Guatemalan border. The bus was plenty modern and comfortable and airconditioned but we just collapsed and slept for most of the first couple of hours )after eating the cookies and juice that they passed out to the passengers!) Luckily, the bus had curtains so we were able to avoid the blazing rising sun until we were ready. Then we could enjoy the magnificent scenery passing by, beautiful mountains, grazing cattle, small villages and normally the route was along one of the river valleys cutting through the variouys mountain ranges. There were several areas of road construction and one way traffic due to washouts that had occurred last fall during some very heavy rains.
We arrived in San Pedro Sula mid morning and waited half an hour to catch the bus to Copan Ruinas, exactly enough time for Maria and Britta to track down a couple of cafes con leche. Pam had made sandwiches for lunch so we were totally fortified for the next round of cookies and juice on the next bus. The next leg of the journey was also wonderfully scenic with one beautiful mountain vista or river valley after another. We arrived in Copan Ruinas by 2:00 and found a friendly cab driver who threw all our luggage in the back of his pick up and we bounced into town and to our lovely accommodations at the Casa de Cafe. After a few minutes of throwing cold water on our faces and reviving ourselves after several hours on the bus, we headed into the main plaza of Copan to enjoy the fresh air and sights. More coffee on the Plaza and some window shopping and stretching our legs was great.
We then returned to the hotel for some relaxation, showers and wine on the terrace and enjoyed the dramatic sunset as it dipped below the multiple layers of mountains in front of our rooms. We had dinner at the Lamma del Bosque, and ordered typical Honduran food which consisted of a number of dishes including tortilla chips and refried beans, avocado and salsa, rice, Honduran cheese (kind of like feta) and then a selection of grilled beef, chicken and chorizo. All delicious but so much food!
The evening stroll back to the hotel was delightfully breezy and mild. The nighttime noises of tropical birds, roosters, and dogs were noticed by Judy and Maria but Pam and Britta missed the entire nighttime symphony.
Friday morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast on the terrace of fresh squeezed OJ, strong Honduran coffee, eggs, toast and gorgeous fruits. Then Maria and Judy headed out on foot and sent a taxi to collect Pam and Britta and we met up at the site of the ruins. Totally amazing. Our tour guide, Modesto, did an excellent job giving us lots of information and history about the Mayan civilization that occupied the site for several hundred years. Incredible arqueologic structures and art and statues. The size and scope of the area was tremendous and only represents about 75% of the total zone. Since the structures are all better preserved remaining unexcavated, there is no big impetus to uncover everything and they are doing so via underground tunnels rather than from the top down.
We also spent time at a really good museum that holds many pieces of the excavated treasures. By mid-day the sun was fierce so our friendly taxi driver, Daniel, took Brittta and Pam back to the hotel and then tood Judy and Maria to the Bird Park for a quiet, shady afternoon. We all agreed that Britta deserves 3 margaritas tonight for her efforts and stamina climbing the Mayan pyramids and walking through the massive open areas of the ruins.
Judy and Maria spent the afternoon in the cool shade and breezes of the bird park where they had hundreds of incredibly colored macaws, toucans and beautiful natural plantings and flowers all along a lovely river (creek) bed. When our tour guide, Kelvin; brought us to the hands-on area and deposited several very large and surprisingly heavy toucans and macaws on our arms and shoulders, the one named Mitzy promptly began to bite several holes in Maria´s shirt. Thank god it was one of the clearance T-shirts I had brought along!! But lots of fun and it makes for a good story afterwards even though I was fairly alarmed at the time and could do nothing to stop it as my shoulders and arms were covered with these huge birds. I will post photos as I am able.
Enough for now! Back to vacation and fun. Love to all my loved ones.... Maria
We have had a couple of very busy days that I will try to catch you up on. Yesterday we left Teguz before dawn to catch a 5:30 a.m. bus to the town of Copan Ruinas which is near the Guatemalan border. The bus was plenty modern and comfortable and airconditioned but we just collapsed and slept for most of the first couple of hours )after eating the cookies and juice that they passed out to the passengers!) Luckily, the bus had curtains so we were able to avoid the blazing rising sun until we were ready. Then we could enjoy the magnificent scenery passing by, beautiful mountains, grazing cattle, small villages and normally the route was along one of the river valleys cutting through the variouys mountain ranges. There were several areas of road construction and one way traffic due to washouts that had occurred last fall during some very heavy rains.
We arrived in San Pedro Sula mid morning and waited half an hour to catch the bus to Copan Ruinas, exactly enough time for Maria and Britta to track down a couple of cafes con leche. Pam had made sandwiches for lunch so we were totally fortified for the next round of cookies and juice on the next bus. The next leg of the journey was also wonderfully scenic with one beautiful mountain vista or river valley after another. We arrived in Copan Ruinas by 2:00 and found a friendly cab driver who threw all our luggage in the back of his pick up and we bounced into town and to our lovely accommodations at the Casa de Cafe. After a few minutes of throwing cold water on our faces and reviving ourselves after several hours on the bus, we headed into the main plaza of Copan to enjoy the fresh air and sights. More coffee on the Plaza and some window shopping and stretching our legs was great.
We then returned to the hotel for some relaxation, showers and wine on the terrace and enjoyed the dramatic sunset as it dipped below the multiple layers of mountains in front of our rooms. We had dinner at the Lamma del Bosque, and ordered typical Honduran food which consisted of a number of dishes including tortilla chips and refried beans, avocado and salsa, rice, Honduran cheese (kind of like feta) and then a selection of grilled beef, chicken and chorizo. All delicious but so much food!
The evening stroll back to the hotel was delightfully breezy and mild. The nighttime noises of tropical birds, roosters, and dogs were noticed by Judy and Maria but Pam and Britta missed the entire nighttime symphony.
Friday morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast on the terrace of fresh squeezed OJ, strong Honduran coffee, eggs, toast and gorgeous fruits. Then Maria and Judy headed out on foot and sent a taxi to collect Pam and Britta and we met up at the site of the ruins. Totally amazing. Our tour guide, Modesto, did an excellent job giving us lots of information and history about the Mayan civilization that occupied the site for several hundred years. Incredible arqueologic structures and art and statues. The size and scope of the area was tremendous and only represents about 75% of the total zone. Since the structures are all better preserved remaining unexcavated, there is no big impetus to uncover everything and they are doing so via underground tunnels rather than from the top down.
We also spent time at a really good museum that holds many pieces of the excavated treasures. By mid-day the sun was fierce so our friendly taxi driver, Daniel, took Brittta and Pam back to the hotel and then tood Judy and Maria to the Bird Park for a quiet, shady afternoon. We all agreed that Britta deserves 3 margaritas tonight for her efforts and stamina climbing the Mayan pyramids and walking through the massive open areas of the ruins.
Judy and Maria spent the afternoon in the cool shade and breezes of the bird park where they had hundreds of incredibly colored macaws, toucans and beautiful natural plantings and flowers all along a lovely river (creek) bed. When our tour guide, Kelvin; brought us to the hands-on area and deposited several very large and surprisingly heavy toucans and macaws on our arms and shoulders, the one named Mitzy promptly began to bite several holes in Maria´s shirt. Thank god it was one of the clearance T-shirts I had brought along!! But lots of fun and it makes for a good story afterwards even though I was fairly alarmed at the time and could do nothing to stop it as my shoulders and arms were covered with these huge birds. I will post photos as I am able.
Enough for now! Back to vacation and fun. Love to all my loved ones.... Maria
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Day 2 in Tegucigalpa
Another busy but good day in Teguz. In the morning we headed out of the city with Pam again at the wheel and drove up into the mountains outside of town. Really beautiful and spectacular scenery. We went to the town of Valle de Angeles which is in the next valley over from Teguz to a very historic and typical rural town. We wandered into the town square just as everybody was opening shops and headed into morning Mass at the church. There was a very pretty central plaza with lovely plantings and a fountain that was filled with water but not functioning. Britta and I insisted that we take a pause to enjoy the number one Honduran export: coffee! So we had a lovely cafe con leche and felt fully revived and ready to roam.
We went to a small ¨Museo¨which was more of a private collection of old photos and stuff from someonés attic and then wandered through a few shops for some small purchases. Many darling kids all wearing the Honduran national soccer team colors in anticipation of the big game tonight against Costa Rica that was the talk of the country. After more meandering we headed back down the mountain nad stopped for lunch at a restaurant that served some typical and very delicious fried fish and fried green bananas. The surprisingly large fish (Pam warned us to only order ¨grande¨and NOT ¨jumbo¨) arrived whole on the plates but were easily dissected and lovely and mild. They were the biggest tilapia that I have ever seen.
Back in Teguz we made another foray to visit a couple different pastors who work with Pam and Pastor Rafael in a couple of different neighborhoods, i.e., slums. Incredible poverty, terrible roads, ramshackle accommodations but families who are working hard together to improve their lives by selling homemade foods o the street, etc... All the kids attend school and the mothers are all busy scrubbing clothes or preparing food in outdoor tubs and kitchens. We were warmly welcomed and heard about all the improvements that are happening in their homes , communities and churches. One of the pastors was Gladys who has been working against all odds and the denomination to build a thriving congregation and church building that houses a literacy program as well. Because the President of Honduras decided that the response to the global economic crises was to raise the minimum wage by 50%, there have been massive layoffs acrtoss the country by all businesses and Gladys was laid off yesterday from her work at a daycare center. But her faith as a Christian and not wanting to behave disgracefully after such terrible news (she had worked there for 20 years) was helped by our presence and encouragement. Amazing.
We bounced back to Pam´s apartment with the expertise of Oscar driving us down roads so terrible and steep I would have been afraid to be on foot but he negotiated the route without incident. So we had a quiet evening at home and got totally packed up for our departure tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m. via bus to Copan Ruinas where we will be for 3 nights enjoying the Mayan ruins, some tropical bird watching and maybe even a tour of a coffee plantation.
We went to a small ¨Museo¨which was more of a private collection of old photos and stuff from someonés attic and then wandered through a few shops for some small purchases. Many darling kids all wearing the Honduran national soccer team colors in anticipation of the big game tonight against Costa Rica that was the talk of the country. After more meandering we headed back down the mountain nad stopped for lunch at a restaurant that served some typical and very delicious fried fish and fried green bananas. The surprisingly large fish (Pam warned us to only order ¨grande¨and NOT ¨jumbo¨) arrived whole on the plates but were easily dissected and lovely and mild. They were the biggest tilapia that I have ever seen.
Back in Teguz we made another foray to visit a couple different pastors who work with Pam and Pastor Rafael in a couple of different neighborhoods, i.e., slums. Incredible poverty, terrible roads, ramshackle accommodations but families who are working hard together to improve their lives by selling homemade foods o the street, etc... All the kids attend school and the mothers are all busy scrubbing clothes or preparing food in outdoor tubs and kitchens. We were warmly welcomed and heard about all the improvements that are happening in their homes , communities and churches. One of the pastors was Gladys who has been working against all odds and the denomination to build a thriving congregation and church building that houses a literacy program as well. Because the President of Honduras decided that the response to the global economic crises was to raise the minimum wage by 50%, there have been massive layoffs acrtoss the country by all businesses and Gladys was laid off yesterday from her work at a daycare center. But her faith as a Christian and not wanting to behave disgracefully after such terrible news (she had worked there for 20 years) was helped by our presence and encouragement. Amazing.
We bounced back to Pam´s apartment with the expertise of Oscar driving us down roads so terrible and steep I would have been afraid to be on foot but he negotiated the route without incident. So we had a quiet evening at home and got totally packed up for our departure tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m. via bus to Copan Ruinas where we will be for 3 nights enjoying the Mayan ruins, some tropical bird watching and maybe even a tour of a coffee plantation.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Arrival in Honduras was fine
Hey, all,
We arrived in Tegucigalpa, Honduras without any problem except the need to wake up at 3:00 a.m. to leave for the airport by 3:30 for checking into our 5:30 a.m. flight. But a friendly electric cart driver took us to McDonalds at the airport )the only place open at that hour) and Britta and I got a decent cup of caffeine by about 4:15 a.m. Then he took us to the gate and the flight departed on time. I promptly fell asleep for most of the flight to Houston. Our arrival into Houston was delayed slightly which cut our 45 minute connection time to 20 minutes but we got lucky again with the arrival of an electric cart to take us to the train that crossed 3 terminals in 2 minutes and then I sprinted to the gate to be sure they held the door and Judy and Britta arrived via cart a few minutes later.
I again, slept most of the way except for the very dramatic descent and slow turn onto the Tegucigalpa airport. Passengers always applaud the landing as it is quite spectacular. Pam was there to meet us with the Toyota truck which we filled to the brim with luggage and bins of donated items and things for Pam´s life. Then we had a quiet afternoon with naps and reading at Pam´s spacious 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment. Pam made a delicious lasagna dinner and we were joined by pastor Rafael, his wife Patricia, and their daughter and ädopted son, Oscar. Lovely people who professed their love for us since we are friends of beloved, Pamela.
On Tuesday morning we went with Pastor Rafael and Oscar the expert driver to one of the neighborhoods where another pastor who is mentored by Rafael and Pam´s ministry. By any measure, this ¨town¨of 100,000 people is a terrible slum that crawls up one of the hillsides surrounding Teguz, but amazingly, they have electricity and water (at times) amid the shacks and poverty. Pastor Francisco proudly showed us the bathroom and septic tank he had built by hand to serve his extended family of 12 living in a Dr. Seuss-like warren of shacks. We shared some of the things we brought with his family and left more for him to distribute to his neighbors. Pam especially enjoyed seeing Joel, who is 8 years old and who had surgery in the US last year for an orthopedic condition and he is now walking rather than crawling.
We came back to the apartment and made lunch for a picnic and then headed out to visit a large park at the top of the hills surrounding Teguz. Pam was a fearless and skilled driver in the middle of the honking and chaotic traffic of Teguz. The view from the top of El Picacho park was amazing and then we walked through the botanical gardens before heading back into the fray of Teguz traffic and life. The monumental statue of Jesus blessing the city of Teguz from the top caused a natural response of ¨Jesus Christ!¨from us gringas. On the route to the top of the park we saw some pretty amazing residential neighborhoods where all the embassies are that enjoy fabulous views and tropical plants of all sorts including Volkswagon sized poinsettias in full bloom.
Alos, during our trip through the city we berated Pam for taking us to see the gigantic Jesus and the Park with magnificent views and the botanical garden but she drove right past a large store with a huge sign announcing CARRION OUTLET which was certainly something we could not find in the US. She tried to tell us that Carrion was a common last name and it was only a store selling regular stuff rather than roadkill but we want her to take us there tomorrow.
After a quick stop at the apartment to grab passports we went to the bus station to buy our tickets for our other travels and then the bank to change money. All businesses including gas stations have armed guards with automatic weapons standing around. In addition, when we were going to visit Pastor Franciso, the streets climbing up to the neighborhood were lined with machine gun carrying national police because the wife of the President of Chile was visiting. Several kids running thru the neighborhood thought one of us was she because we clearly did not belong there.
We returned home for a quiet siesta and I am able to catch up and assure all of you that I am fine and happy
r
We arrived in Tegucigalpa, Honduras without any problem except the need to wake up at 3:00 a.m. to leave for the airport by 3:30 for checking into our 5:30 a.m. flight. But a friendly electric cart driver took us to McDonalds at the airport )the only place open at that hour) and Britta and I got a decent cup of caffeine by about 4:15 a.m. Then he took us to the gate and the flight departed on time. I promptly fell asleep for most of the flight to Houston. Our arrival into Houston was delayed slightly which cut our 45 minute connection time to 20 minutes but we got lucky again with the arrival of an electric cart to take us to the train that crossed 3 terminals in 2 minutes and then I sprinted to the gate to be sure they held the door and Judy and Britta arrived via cart a few minutes later.
I again, slept most of the way except for the very dramatic descent and slow turn onto the Tegucigalpa airport. Passengers always applaud the landing as it is quite spectacular. Pam was there to meet us with the Toyota truck which we filled to the brim with luggage and bins of donated items and things for Pam´s life. Then we had a quiet afternoon with naps and reading at Pam´s spacious 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment. Pam made a delicious lasagna dinner and we were joined by pastor Rafael, his wife Patricia, and their daughter and ädopted son, Oscar. Lovely people who professed their love for us since we are friends of beloved, Pamela.
On Tuesday morning we went with Pastor Rafael and Oscar the expert driver to one of the neighborhoods where another pastor who is mentored by Rafael and Pam´s ministry. By any measure, this ¨town¨of 100,000 people is a terrible slum that crawls up one of the hillsides surrounding Teguz, but amazingly, they have electricity and water (at times) amid the shacks and poverty. Pastor Francisco proudly showed us the bathroom and septic tank he had built by hand to serve his extended family of 12 living in a Dr. Seuss-like warren of shacks. We shared some of the things we brought with his family and left more for him to distribute to his neighbors. Pam especially enjoyed seeing Joel, who is 8 years old and who had surgery in the US last year for an orthopedic condition and he is now walking rather than crawling.
We came back to the apartment and made lunch for a picnic and then headed out to visit a large park at the top of the hills surrounding Teguz. Pam was a fearless and skilled driver in the middle of the honking and chaotic traffic of Teguz. The view from the top of El Picacho park was amazing and then we walked through the botanical gardens before heading back into the fray of Teguz traffic and life. The monumental statue of Jesus blessing the city of Teguz from the top caused a natural response of ¨Jesus Christ!¨from us gringas. On the route to the top of the park we saw some pretty amazing residential neighborhoods where all the embassies are that enjoy fabulous views and tropical plants of all sorts including Volkswagon sized poinsettias in full bloom.
Alos, during our trip through the city we berated Pam for taking us to see the gigantic Jesus and the Park with magnificent views and the botanical garden but she drove right past a large store with a huge sign announcing CARRION OUTLET which was certainly something we could not find in the US. She tried to tell us that Carrion was a common last name and it was only a store selling regular stuff rather than roadkill but we want her to take us there tomorrow.
After a quick stop at the apartment to grab passports we went to the bus station to buy our tickets for our other travels and then the bank to change money. All businesses including gas stations have armed guards with automatic weapons standing around. In addition, when we were going to visit Pastor Franciso, the streets climbing up to the neighborhood were lined with machine gun carrying national police because the wife of the President of Chile was visiting. Several kids running thru the neighborhood thought one of us was she because we clearly did not belong there.
We returned home for a quiet siesta and I am able to catch up and assure all of you that I am fine and happy
r
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Hey, all,
My new adventure in blogging will be to keep in touch with all of you while I am away. If I have enough fun, I may even continue when I get back to life in EC. I don't know how much internet access I will have while I am gone but I will try to post when possible.
The basic itinerary is as follows:
Mon., Feb. 9th 5:35 a.m. depart Minneapolis for Houston on Continental #2017 and then depart Houston at 9:30 a.m for Tegucigalpa,"Teguz", the capital of Honduras. My travelling partners will be Judy Stocker and Britta Bloomberg, long time college friends from Mpls. We will be met by my college roommate, Dr. Pamela Hanson, aka "P", who will be our local hostess and tour guide for the first 2 weeks of our vacation.
After 3 days/nights in Teguz we will depart via bus to Copan Ruinas.
which is an historic town near the Guatemalan border with lots of Mayan ruins and other things to enjoy. Accommodations for 3 nights will be at the Casa de Cafe
After 3 nights in Copan Ruinas we will head by bus to San Pedro Sula and then Ceiba on the coast where we will take the ferry to Roatan Island. Our local tour guide and taxi driver, Enrique, will meet us at the ferry and bring us to our Roatan Island accommodations for the next 8 nights. Check out where we will be staying:
Then Britta heads home to Minneapolis and Pam heads back to her work in Teguz and Maria and Judy will stay on in Roatan as volunteers for the PIER (Partners In Education Roatan)
organization teaching English and doing whatever else they want us to do for 2 more weeks. Then back home on March 9th to see what is left of winter in Wisconsin.
Stay posted to see how the Big Adventure turns out!
My new adventure in blogging will be to keep in touch with all of you while I am away. If I have enough fun, I may even continue when I get back to life in EC. I don't know how much internet access I will have while I am gone but I will try to post when possible.
The basic itinerary is as follows:
Mon., Feb. 9th 5:35 a.m. depart Minneapolis for Houston on Continental #2017 and then depart Houston at 9:30 a.m for Tegucigalpa,"Teguz", the capital of Honduras. My travelling partners will be Judy Stocker and Britta Bloomberg, long time college friends from Mpls. We will be met by my college roommate, Dr. Pamela Hanson, aka "P", who will be our local hostess and tour guide for the first 2 weeks of our vacation.
After 3 days/nights in Teguz we will depart via bus to Copan Ruinas.
http://sidewalkmystic.com/CopanRuinas.htm
which is an historic town near the Guatemalan border with lots of Mayan ruins and other things to enjoy. Accommodations for 3 nights will be at the Casa de Cafe
http://www.casadecafecopan.comwhich came recommended by guide books and guests can enjoy fresh brewed Honduran coffee all day! Sounds just like my kind of place.
After 3 nights in Copan Ruinas we will head by bus to San Pedro Sula and then Ceiba on the coast where we will take the ferry to Roatan Island. Our local tour guide and taxi driver, Enrique, will meet us at the ferry and bring us to our Roatan Island accommodations for the next 8 nights. Check out where we will be staying:
http://www.roatanbeachfront.com/Vacation_Rentals/index.htmlin the first one: the Gardner's Cabana. Really looks fabulous with the beach out the front door and the pool out the back door!
Then Britta heads home to Minneapolis and Pam heads back to her work in Teguz and Maria and Judy will stay on in Roatan as volunteers for the PIER (Partners In Education Roatan)
http://www.volunteerabroad.com/listingsp3.cfm/listing/45499
organization teaching English and doing whatever else they want us to do for 2 more weeks. Then back home on March 9th to see what is left of winter in Wisconsin.
Stay posted to see how the Big Adventure turns out!
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