This weekend I went on a little trip to La Tigra. La Tigra is a national park right outside of Honduras. I really needed some time outside of my little bubble. This is how it happened; my friend sent me a text last weekend when I was on my way to Amapala inviting me to go to La Tigra with him and his friends. He’s been trying to encourage me to branch out a little and meet new people with the purpose of learning Spanish and having a truer encounter with Honduras.
Saturday at 10:30 we were supposed to meet en la Centro in front of the main church. I arrived at 10:30 and waited awhile. By 11:30 most of us (there were 15 total) were gathered and we went to the supermarket to pick up some snacks. We were able to find a bus that would take us directly up to la Tigra. The trip should have only taken 45 minutes but there was a problem with the bus so we sat on the side of the road for awhile, just another sign that patience is a virtue and also a lifestyle here in Honduras. Once on the road again, we were driving up a hill. Multiple times I questioned whether or not the bus could take us all the way on the windy and unpaved “roads.” We eventually did make it to our destination; it was a lot later than originally planned. We were debating if we should hike the long way to see the waterfall or just go directly to our lodge. I was happy when we finally agreed to go to the cascadas.
The hike was gorgeous. The path wasn’t well defined and had a rustic edge to it. The path was covered with colorful leaves that reminded me of fall in CO. There was a midst that descended upon us part way through the hike. When, we arrived at the waterfall I climbed a little up the fall and enjoyed the splashing fresh water. It felt good to cool off a little after a brisk walk. The sun was beginning to set, so we had to quickly take off to our destination. The sun did go down during our hike, fortunately, there were fireflies that helped mark our path. For dinner we ate at a puperia (a corner store) that served a very typical meal. The rest of the night we spent around a campfire making s’mores and jammin’ to music.
This morning, I slept in and then we made our way to the puperia to have breakfast, basically the same thing as dinner except with different types of eggs. Then, all 15 of us climbed into a single truck to make our way to Valle de Los Angelos. The trip was at least half an hour and semi-uncomfortable but really funny. I loved watching the kids’ faces as they stared at us passing by. Overall a very good and adventurous weekend.
I also spent some time at Micah house for worship night. Watching the boys interact and play, reminded me how beautiful humanity is. We are infinitely valuable, each one of us, and we need to be surrounded by people to be nourished and to grow. We are meant to live in a community that is loving and compassionate. That’s something that I defiantly need more and more as my time in Honduras has been rough. So know that I love and miss you all in my life.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Crispy Underneath the Honduran Sun
A lot has happened since I last wrote. I’ve wanted to write but haven’t had much motivation. Depression is gripping me very tightly and it’s hard to do anything when I’m feeling so down. This blog will be a little more positive than the previous one. We just had a spring break, which was a four day vacation. It was so wonderful to take a little pause from all the many things that cause stress in my life. I’m currently laying around in lots of pain from over exposure to the sun and also from running down a volcano.
My roommate and I joined some other friends to Amapala, an island off the south part of Honduras. Amapala is the closest beach to Tegus, its not as beautiful as the beaches that the north coast has but I enjoyed not seeing so many other gringos. This trip was simply refreshing. On Saturday morning, we took the public bus for two hours and then waited for another bus or a hitch to take us to Coyolito (where we would have taken a boat to Amapala). We ended up getting a ride; brace yourself… this is the best part of the story.
The guys who picked us up were wearing camouflage, so I thought they were military personell, later we found out that they were hunters. When we first hopped into the bed of the truck, they said that they would drop us off 5 kilometers away from where we needed to go which was fine by us. When we got to the point where they needed to turn, they invited us to see their property and informed us that they had a boat that would be able to take us across so we agreed. Once we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised by the “property.” Basically, we stumbled upon what appeared to be a resort but what was actually just an occasional get-away for the guys to spend the weekend hunting. (There are about 900 deers some imported from the states.) This was so very random! The three main guys were obviously very well off and were very hospitable; we stayed for lunch, which was a plate of fried fish with all the typical sides. They told us that they didn’t see gringos very often in this part of Honduras and wanted to make sure that we were enjoying ourselves. After lunch, before they took off for their hunting trip they asked, multiple times, if we wanted to stay. They made it very clear that we were welcome to stay as long as we wanted. We declined; then, they provided a private boat to take us across to our final destination.
When we arrived we checked in and threw on our swim suits so that we could hit up the water. Later, Marnie and I went exploring a little. We had dinner at our hotel and then went downtown to eat some more. At the end of the night, we played some cards. Afterwards, I went to the beach with my towel to lie underneath the starry night and reminisced of Santa Barbara.
The next morning, we woke up early and taxied to the base of the volcano. It took us about an hour and a half to get up and under an hour to get down. At the top we were able to see Nicaragua and El Salvador, although I was unable to distinguish which piece of land was which. (I’m not great with geography, its true.) I loved sprinting down the mountain, at the time it wasn’t pleasant but I do love the sensation of flying with each leap. We met our other friends on Playa Grande, where we baked in the sun and splashed around- relaxing the afternoon away.
Thankfully, we were able to get a ride with another friend and his parents who were also visiting the island that day thus avoiding a packed bus. Overall, this vacation was everything I needed it to be! Now I ought to go to bed to prepare for another day with my kids but will stay up a little later to watch Olympics. Night all and I miss you bastante.
My roommate and I joined some other friends to Amapala, an island off the south part of Honduras. Amapala is the closest beach to Tegus, its not as beautiful as the beaches that the north coast has but I enjoyed not seeing so many other gringos. This trip was simply refreshing. On Saturday morning, we took the public bus for two hours and then waited for another bus or a hitch to take us to Coyolito (where we would have taken a boat to Amapala). We ended up getting a ride; brace yourself… this is the best part of the story.
The guys who picked us up were wearing camouflage, so I thought they were military personell, later we found out that they were hunters. When we first hopped into the bed of the truck, they said that they would drop us off 5 kilometers away from where we needed to go which was fine by us. When we got to the point where they needed to turn, they invited us to see their property and informed us that they had a boat that would be able to take us across so we agreed. Once we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised by the “property.” Basically, we stumbled upon what appeared to be a resort but what was actually just an occasional get-away for the guys to spend the weekend hunting. (There are about 900 deers some imported from the states.) This was so very random! The three main guys were obviously very well off and were very hospitable; we stayed for lunch, which was a plate of fried fish with all the typical sides. They told us that they didn’t see gringos very often in this part of Honduras and wanted to make sure that we were enjoying ourselves. After lunch, before they took off for their hunting trip they asked, multiple times, if we wanted to stay. They made it very clear that we were welcome to stay as long as we wanted. We declined; then, they provided a private boat to take us across to our final destination.
When we arrived we checked in and threw on our swim suits so that we could hit up the water. Later, Marnie and I went exploring a little. We had dinner at our hotel and then went downtown to eat some more. At the end of the night, we played some cards. Afterwards, I went to the beach with my towel to lie underneath the starry night and reminisced of Santa Barbara.
The next morning, we woke up early and taxied to the base of the volcano. It took us about an hour and a half to get up and under an hour to get down. At the top we were able to see Nicaragua and El Salvador, although I was unable to distinguish which piece of land was which. (I’m not great with geography, its true.) I loved sprinting down the mountain, at the time it wasn’t pleasant but I do love the sensation of flying with each leap. We met our other friends on Playa Grande, where we baked in the sun and splashed around- relaxing the afternoon away.
Thankfully, we were able to get a ride with another friend and his parents who were also visiting the island that day thus avoiding a packed bus. Overall, this vacation was everything I needed it to be! Now I ought to go to bed to prepare for another day with my kids but will stay up a little later to watch Olympics. Night all and I miss you bastante.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
