Day 8 - Where Copan Began - Los Ruinas de Copan

8am
We got up early today and are having breakfast in our favorite spot, "Casa de Todo". Its a beautiful place and the people so friendly. We meet lots of travelers here and have met so many from Holland. There are these two fellows we actually saw on the bus from La Ceiba that we saw here at Casa de Todo yesterday. I couldn't figure out why, but they were both dressed in these army green safari looking gear and smoking cigarette after cigarette drinking beer. I say hello and point out that we were on the same bus from La Ceiba to SPS and they seem indifferent like they could care less. I ask them a few questions and they remain on the cold side so I give up trying to make further conversation with them. From what I gathered they are traveling all over Central America for some unknown reason and only wear these green army looking fatigues and heavy boots like they are these big bad tough guys. We see them later in the evening with two young looking blonde female tourists walking through central park. I have a sneaking suspicion that they are just on the prowl.
I've been eating the yogurt at Casa de Todo hoping it helps my tummy, but the stomach problems are not getting any better and are making a turn for the worse. I'm starting to border on dehydration and am trying to drink lots and lots of water. I pull out the antibiotics and look at them and read the travel guides on when antibiotics are needed. I don't want to take them since I hate antibiotics, but I'm thinking it's going to be needed.

Here is what we did yesterday on Day 7 Wednesday.
After breakfast we went to Los Ruines de Copan.
The ancient Mayan civilization who supposedly was like the Paris of the Mayan culture across central america. Again, breathtaking. How amazing everything was. We went and sat in the museum cafe for something to drink after all the walking we did when some children come to sell souvenirs. We decided to buy these little corn-ear dolls. Cute! I ask why they are not in school and Papa says that they have to make money for the family. There is an older girl about 10 and then a younger boy and girl about 5 and 6. Then of course Papa asks if they want anything to drink. We buy them 3 cokes. I don't like buying the children sweets like that, but they enjoy it. The older girl is so shy and doesn't want to smile showing her teeth so covers her mouth a lot when Papa asks her silly questions. Shortly after we are sitting there drinking our "frescos" talking with the children when a woman walks up with a baby in her arms. I think one or two of the children belong to her. No one has strollers and all babies are carried in arms with light towels over them to block the sun so you rarely get a good look at the babies. Papa gives her a few lmps ($) and then we have to go. I hope those children are well...I think about their smiles.
After seeing the ruins we took one of the little 3 wheel taxis up to Hacienda San Lucas. I can't even write how amazing this place is. The photos do not capture the beauty and peace of this place. If anyone wants to come to Copan, I would recommend this place as a wonderful place to lay your head. It overlooks the city of Copan and also the Mayan Ruins. Being here gives you a sense of the past. Like the spirit of the ancient culture is still strong here.

The kitchen just recently had electricity run into it. These wonderful Mayan women work in the kitchen making the meals from scratch each day with the freshest foods. They even make the corn meal by hand for those yummy tortillas and tomales It gave Papa and I a lot of inspiration. A perfect setting. We want to move here so badly. How....how?
We are going to a coffee finca (farm) and horseback riding all day today. Hopefully another amazing day. There is so much to see and do we could take another 2-3 days here for sure.

Day 6- Arrival in Copan Ruinas

8:30pm
We spent last night (Monday) in a crappy hotel in SPS. I don't know what I really expect out of hotels here. In comparison, it was no different than many others here and a lot nicer than most, so really, I need to get off my high horse and just deal with it. It's mostly tied into the fact that I really don't care for the city. It is so congested and there is an uneasy feeling when I walk down the street. It is just in general not comfortable to me. Maybe it's the stares I get because I stick out so badly. Or maybe that's just me being self conscious that I stick out. But we did go to a birthday party last night in a gated community. It was really nice. I told Papa that I would want to live in a place like that if we had to come to Honduras. But it is hard to imagine even that. I have images of me and the kids being holed up in the gated community because I'm too damn scared to leave.

I woke up this morning and the little amoebas or bacteria had decided to take up residence in my gut and boy did they make quite the appearance. I tried not to cry and then I tried not to laugh. I suddenly was rewinding in my mind everything that had passed my lips since I had arrived and really...It could have been anything. I wanted to blame Papa for pressuring me to eat and drink. Telling me to just brush my teeth with the tap water b/c I'd be fine just as he was fine. Maybe it was the ice in the pop I drank last night at the birthday party...who knows! But I was surprised b/c I felt okay...after my intestines were emptied.

We got on the bus to Copan Ruinas this morning. It was on time as expected. The ride was breath-taking. So beautiful. Rolling green mountains twisting and turning with lots of peeks and valleys.

So here we are. This is where I can see us living. A feeling came over both Papa and I as we arrived. We both were saying it. Both looking around imagining our lives here, our children here. We are talking much about so many things. We didn't waste any time and already found out where the bi-lingual school is and went and spoke to a realtor. I can only imagine living in this paradise.
We stopped at a small shop called Casa de Todo and Papa had a coffee and I had an all natural homemade yogurt and a mango that fell from a tree. Papa says fruit tastes different when you let it ripen on the tree rather than force the fruit to be ripened on the shelf. It was like candy it was so sweet. This shop has everything. Internet, souvenirs, laundry service, printing services, and more. Hence the name- "House of Everything".

The first impression we have is that this is simply the most perfect place. Children walking freely in the streets. I can only imagine Sister Sprout walking with her friends after school in her uniform! I love the thought. I know that there is no perfect place...but so far we love it here.

Day 5- Honduras Trim

9:20am
Sitting waiting for the bus back to San Pedro Sula. Its a bright warm morning and the sun seems to wash things out. We are in good spirits and have enjoyed our time here, but we have seen enough of La Ceiba. It rained...no poured last night. The hotel we stayed at was nice with good décor and clean. All of Honduras seems to use the same brand of cleaner so I have now associated this sweet pungent smell with Honduras. The staff were very nice and helpful. The hotel was called Bahia Una. It is new. Only opened about 2 months ago. There has been no time for things to get run down here yet. But! I saw my first roach here. We figured out that they came up through the floor drain in the bathroom. Keeping a towel over the drain kept them out. We had about 4 and big brave Papa took care of them no problem.
We are now sitting next to the bus station at a large grocery store that the power went out and is running on generators so it's kind of noisy. A small generator is running the whole store. The lights are out. I'm sure most of the power goes to the coolers and as you walk into the store you have to check your bags into a cubby. A theft deterant. I'm eating yogurt bought from the grocery. Papa strikes up a conversation with a little boy about 9 or 10 years old who was in search of money and food for the family. The boy is eyeing Papa's pop and asks how much it costs. Papa hands him a little money and he runs into the store. He comes out a minute later with a can of pop happily taking a few conservative sips. Papa was drinking a bottle of pop. Obviously this boy was smart to buy the cheaper can and pocket the change for later or maybe to bring home to his mother who he said was going to try and get some eggs to eat later. I can tell he is a very polite little boy. No shoes and he was not in school. Why must it be this way?...but I can't answer this question so I just ask God to provide and thank Him for my blessings.
10:45am
On the bus. The scenery is the same. All along houses and stretches of farm lots. African Palm trees grown huge and offer peaceful shade below. These are a big cash crop. Pineapple and sugar cane fields are also common along the roadside. Some houses are decent with gates, but most homes are run down. Laundry is done everyday by hand, most likely on the stone washers. Then all hung up to dry. It is everywhere -all the time. All things are done by hand. Laundry, to picking crops, to building homes, or any construction. Nothing seems to be finished. Everything is either half built or is completely falling apart.
The laundry goes on and on and on...It is the colorful trim across the Honduras landscape.

Last Day in La Ceiba- Day 3

7-16-06 Sunday 4:45 pm
We ended the last night at a bar next door to the restaurant we ate. The rain started what seemed like from nowhere. I could see lightening in the distance and shortly after the rain came. Pouring. The thing that was different about the rain here is that I couldn't smell it and after the humidity raises a bit. That's another thing that was different. In MN if it rains, it usually relieves the humidity in the air.

We got up again at dawn and had breakfast at the hotel. I love the oatmeal here in honduras. Yummm!
We took a taxi to this place called Pico Bonito. We had a tour of the forest. It was interesting and beautiful to see. Our guide pointed out so many cool creatures and things. A honduran naturalist. Then we went back and had a very good lunch overlooking the lodge's grounds. I ate ice and water not from a bottle here. Hope I don't get sick. This is a luxury hotel that has 95% American clients so I figured it was probably safe. They assured me it would be okay. I drive Papa nuts with all this water worrying.

After lunch it was back to a swimming hole (sans the tour guide) at the river on the trail. We didn't bother with suits. We thought it would be safe since there were very few people at the lodge on a Sunday afternoon and our guide told us we were the only booked tour that day.
You bet it felt refreshing after a sweaty hike through a humid rainforest. Then we heard people coming and needed to get dressed in a hurry. Ha! We laughed our tails off as we scrambled to get dressed. The people coming were great sports. They waited for us to get dressed to come down and we had a good laugh as we had to pass them on the trail. They were young locals coming to have a picnic at the river.
We had asked the taxi to pick us up at 1pm to bring us back to the hotel. Turns out this guy totally ripped us off by overcharging. So we were no-shows when he arrived to pick us up. He was pretty pissed and left us a note at the hotel that he wanted money for the gas to come get us. I guess I get why he is trying to rip us off, but come on. We talked to the locals at the lodge and asked about the price of a taxi and they all agreed that we had been way overcharged. So we walked down the long rocky road to the highway to catch a bus. We were in search of a ripe cocoa fruit from one of the dozens of trees lining the road. I wanted to see what it looked and tasted like.
We got to the bottom of the mountain/hill and waited for a bus that comes by. This worked out great and was WAY more cheap. This taxi had charged us 250 lps, which is like $13. The bus back cost us $.50 to the bus station where we got a taxi to the hotel for 30lps ($1.50US). Imagine that! At the most the taxi should have charged was 100-120lps ($5-$7). He really ripped us off. I know $13 bucks seems trivial, but we obviously are watching our money closely and it is the principle. We leave back to San Pedro Sula in the morning.
My legs are very sore from the hike. Hungry now for dinner too.

The Perfect Day - Day 3

snorkeling 4
Originally uploaded by zelaya.

7-15-06 Saturday 5:10pm
We had the most beautiful morning and afternoon. We got up at dawn and went to a place about 15 minutes outside La Ceiba, called Samboo Creek. A village with all dirt roads and beautiful children all over the place. I felt safe there, but maybe that's just wishful thinking, but b/c so many children were around, it seemed safe.
We took a boat to a small island to snorkel & sunbathe. Paradise. Amazing. I wish I could put into words the amazing experience we had. You can walk around the island in just a
few minutes. One end of the shore line is all dried coral and shells.
We found a big beautiful shell to bring home. We had fun laying on the beach and digging for little hermit crabs. After here, we leave to have lunch made by the Garifunas that live on another island. It was like magic at this place. We were greeted by smiling children showing us shell necklaces for sale and escorted to a table and served a plate of amazing food. Fish, rice & beans and fried plantains with a sauce and lime to put on everything. I enjoyed every last bite. We literally sucked the bones clean. And the children around were so beautiful. Playing and they seemed so happy. They lived in wood and cardboard huts and they were just beautiful people. Warm and welcoming. At the house where we ate, the family had a large photo hanging on their wall of a snow-capped mountain. Funny that their home would be a picture that we would hang on our walls with the white sand beaches and perfect water all around. It was such a nice afternoon and we had so much fun swimming with the boys, Felix, & Angel. Smart boys.
The time with my husband was beautiful too. I couldn't ask for a more perfect, fun, romantic, enjoyable day.
All for now. Dinner is next.
8pm
I am sitting at the most romantic restaurant with my husband. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect dinner on a terrace overlooking the ocean. We watched the sun go down while eating a dinner of fine cooked meat on an outdoor grill. The owner is from Paraguay. He serves no rice and beans at his establishment. The breeze is blowing in from the water. It's beautiful here. Everywhere we go Papa starts conversations. He learns so much from listening to people. He is talking to an older man who was a judge for twenty years. And it also turns out that his wife could very likely be cousins with Papa's biological father. Very interesting. I've had a wonderful day. Perfecto!

July 14, 2006 Friday- 1st night in La Ceiba, Honduras

la ceiba beach 15
Originally uploaded by zelaya.

I can't believe its been just over 24 hours since I've been here in Honduras. Everything is so amazing.
I have not seen such extreme disparity in a country. A very nice looking place on a corner, and nothing but a dump and debris all around it. Its hard to know where the good spots are from the maybe not so good ones. We met a young guy tonight who was just recovering from gun shot wounds to his hips. He was robbed and shot. But at night in La Ceiba the shabby side of things look a little less run down.
We stayed in a nice hotel in San Pedro Sula last night. I was sooo exhausted so we just chilled after dinner. Very happy to be next to my husband again. We were being pathetically gushy, so I'll spare the details.

We got up this morning in San Pedro Sula and had breakfast at the hotel. It was my first Honduran oatmeal (Avena). This was not like American oatmeal. Made hot with milk, which I'm certain was whole. And they chipped cinnamon sticks on top. But there was something else in it that gave it a certain flavor. (update- I later learned that it is made with powdered milk they have for toddlers here. Obviously a need if milk gets scarce.) We took a bus from San Pedro Sula to La Ceiba at about 10:30am. About 3 hours. The bus line is very reliable and a clean run business. At the bus station they wand the men (not women) with metal detectors as you walk in. They check through the purses and carry ons as you get on the bus.

As we are pulling into La Ceiba Papa strikes up a conversation with a man on the bus and it continues while we are collecting our luggage. This man has a friend picking him up. They offer to bring us to a good hotel and do a quick pass through town to point out where to go. Ha! It pays to have a chatty husband I guess.
Turns out these men work for Habitat for Humanity all over Honduras. They are good souls. Papa sits on the bed of the truck with his new friend and I sit in front with Gustavo and he takes the opportunity to practice his English with me. We get dropped off at an over-rated seafood joint and share a meal then back to the hotel to change and run to the beach.
So the beach is not that great, but the ocean is pretty. There is a professional soccer team practicing on the beach and we watch them and chillout before going up to a beach front bar for a drink.

We head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner. Now I'm here writing while Papa dozes with our bellies full. Wanted the salad bar at the restaurant but didn't dare.
We just shared very yummy chicken fajitas and fried yucca.

It's been amazing to meet the family here in Honduras, to see where the family comes from. I'm a little culture shocked still.
I'm really enjoying being with my husband. He's a good travel partner. Easy to hang out with, we enjoy a lot of the same things and foods and he likes to make conversation with strangers which is not only a very nice quality, it makes things much more interesting too.
Write more later...
Goodnight.

Old San Pedro Sula Airport

Old San Pedro Sula Airport
Originally uploaded by zelaya.

just a drive up shack really. Probably just used for small personal planes. I also saw some military planes parked about.

On My Way

4:15am

Standing in line at the airport and no one from Delta is here checking people in. Got here at 4am. They tell you to be here 2 hours early. Obviously they didn't anticipate a need for 2 hours. Wonder if folks were waiting here for a an hour? Jeez.

I'm hungry. Forgot to eat. But also have that anxious feeling in my stomach so not sure what I'd eat.

5:15am

grabbed a muffin and a juice and sitting on the airplane next to a group of kids going to Jamaica for a mission trip. Most are young teenagers flying for the first time and they are all chomping on gum.

I'm calm and relaxed. But wonder how it will be just before I land.

12pm

I love sitting on the emergency exit. So much leg room. Sitting next to a man who has been traveling to Honduras for many years. He is giving me many tips and advice.

I need to figure out how to fill out these immigration forms and they are all in Spanish. Hello! I don't speak Spanish!! What am I going to do.

1:15

Touchdown. The airport is about the size of the HHH airport in MN. It's pretty new. The old airport is next to it and it looks like a drive-in restaurant compared to the new one.