Finally a sunset

Our days in Honduras have not exactly been sundrenched. But today was a breezy but warm and sunny afternoon and we took advantage by heading down to the beach by La Quinta Real hotel for some, ummm, studying. Yeah.

Our school chums

We`ve gotten to know our school chums over the past two weeks and we plan on culminating our "dos semanas," with a big night out on Thursday. Here you see Paulus from Holland, Diana from Colorado, and upstairs, Karen and Lisanne from Holland. Also on the left of Paulus is the school`s director, Rafael. Kelly was almost in these pictures but was inexplicably absent.

Rafting

Think I forgot to mention our rafting expedition last week. The toughest part may have been getting to the raft dropoff in what seemed like a circa WW2 RV. But then we got to experience a thrilling class 2-4 raft trip down the Rio Congrejal. Our guide Johnny was hilarious getting us to scream responses to "Who`s the best?" ... "WE ARE!" as the river tried to devour us.

Utila pics

Okay, okay, not all was bad on the island of Utila. We did get some peaceful sunshine, and ate meals and drank beer while the Caribbean sloshed all around us. Also pictured here are my crazy co-participants at the full moon party.

Waterfront Property

Once in a lifetime opportunity. Grab it before others have the chance. Needs some TLC but overall sound foundation and quality. Wake to the sounds of the ocean. Sleep to the gentle breezes of island air. Close to shops and transport. Priced to move.

Never say never

So after experiencing a boat ride from hell, a room robbery, and torrential rain, Sunday night had to be an improvement right? Nope. Would you believe a night of homelessness was in order as well? Since we had to share a roomkey, I left the key in the office when I left for dinner in case my roommate returned before me. Unfortunately the office did not inform me that they would be closing thirty minutes after I left with no ability to access said key till they reopeoned at 6 am. So when we returned from dinner we found a locked office and a new night guard(to watch for robbers) who had no ability to help us get our key. Luckily a gal with extra beds in her dorm took pity on us and we spent the night in our clothes on a bed that was still unchanged from the prior guest. Lets just say I will be doing a little negative web publicity about the Mango Inn on Utila.

Oh, some good news! I finally got to go diving. Monday morning the seas calmed just enough to allow dive boats to go out. I dived with an instructor to about 20 feet and was able to see some amazing coral, some big ass blue fish, and a medium sized ray of some sort. Pretty cool. After the dive the ferry was running so I got the hell away from Utila.

Utila uggh

Well, the trip to island of Utila this weekend has been less than ideal. Usually one takes a smooth 45 minute ferry ride to this sun drenched scuba haven. But due to rough seas our ferry trip became a horror movie like 2 hour hell ride. The boat was constantly tossed in 8 to 10 foot waves and passengers' stomach contents were constantly tossed into plastic bags. It was not a pretty sight nor a pretty smell. Add to that, kids screaming and bags being drenched by waves, and you can imagine our desire to kiss the ground when we finally reached the island.

Last night inbetween intermittent torrents of rain we checked out a very cool treehouse bar decorated with thousands of pieces of recycled glass. Very cool. We then went to the Full Moon Party at the Coco Loco. But sadly the music of choice for island DJs is electronica and after listening to the same repetitive beat for over hours we called it a night.

This morning we woke to find out that ours and several other rooms had been robbed, likely while we slept. Luckily all we lost was my phone but a 4th roommate whose stuff was closer to the door lost quite a bit of stuff. And finally, to add insult to injury no scuba was to be had this morning as the seas were too rough again. T and Sara, our friend from Hood River, returned to the mainland by plane. I'm sticking it out one more day because, well, things have to improve tomorrow, right.

Missing Kelly possibly found

No APBs required. Missing Kelly may have been spotted and seems to be real. Someone answering to her name and with similar appearance was seen using the Internet at our hotel and ate dinner with us on Friday night. While it's possible it was an imposter or decoy, she insisted that she was indeed the real Kelly from Utah. Sources say that she may even show up at school on Monday.

Super Baleada, Missing Kelly, and mucho lluvia

Days 3 and 4 in La Ceiba have included more head-pounding spanish studies (today I learned the phrase ``cada loco con su tema`` -- to each their own), getting much closer to our fellow students, and the discovery of Tanya`s and my favorite discovery de comida, ironically right next to our hotel. At the Super Baleada one can eat a tasty, giant chicken quesadilla on a fresh flour tortilla for about $1.25. It was pure gastronomic delight and we returned for dinner the following evening. If they were open before 4 pm we would probably eat three meals a day there. We`ve also spent time getting to know Sara from Hood Canal, WA and Lisanne and Karen from the Netherlands(pictured with Tanya). The only student we have not gotten to know is the infamous but mysterious Kelly, a gal from Utah who is supposed to be enrolled in the school and volunteering at the jungle school but people have only caught a glimpse of. She is an enigma like the Yetti or Sasquatch.

The last two days have also included thunderous torrential rain, so loud that it often wakes you up. But the flip side is that temperatures are much more comfortable and you don´t feel like taking a shower every ten minutes.

La Ceiba is nice but relatively boring since we cannot venture far with school each day. But this weekend promises more excitement as we travel la isla Utila, home of sun, scuba, sand, much cervezas and the supposedly must-be-seen treetop recycled glass bar. Mui interesante!

First few days in Honduras

Arrived on Sunday around noon in San Pedro Sula where Tanya was waiting for me. We then connected on a scary, seemingly 30 year old prop plane to La Ceiba, pretty much holding our breath for most of the way. Arrived in La Ceiba where it was HOT, around 90 degrees with equal humidity. Our school´s director, Rafael picked us up and we made our way to our hotel. After a scrumptious shrimp dinner at Mango Tango, we both passed out.

On Monday morning we woke at 6:45 AM !?!? to get to school for our 7:30 start. I was quite anxious as I met my instructor Melisa, and after testing my sad Spanish, she quickly opened the text book to the very beginning. No advanced placement for this estudiante. But I must say, after 2 days of lessons, I feel like I´m improving rapidly. We´ve met some cool peeps in the school including 2 Dutch gals and some Canadians, all of whom seem far better in Spanish than me:( Last night at dinner we met the infamous ¨Rickys," pictured here. Gringo Ricky is a 49-year-old Canadian retiree who has purchased a home here and plans on making Honduras his and his wife´s home. Military Ricky, is a lawyer who´s primary business is helping the Gringos who want to get situated in Honduras. Buying a car, house, need to get out of jail, etc., Military Ricky is your man. This afternoon, maybe happy hour at La Quinta Real, La Ceiba´s nicest hotel, followed my mucho homework which I think is "tarea de casa." Man, my brain has not worked this hard in awhile.

Travel Bug Strikes Again

Yes, believe it or not, I´m hopping jet planes again. On the morning of October 16th, I left a somewhat gloomy Seattle to begin a 6 week sojourn. This trip will take me to NYC, Honduras, Argentina, California and back to Seattle. In Honduras I´m signed up for an immersive Spanish program so I hope to end this holiday somewhat decently able to ´hablar espanól.´

First stop: The Big Apple. I spent 5 days in NYC which was experiencing quite the Indian summer. Temps were in the 70s and the humidity felt like it was July instead of mid October. Global Warming?? Who knows, but I was happy to be walking the city in shorts. Lacking a car and staying with my friends in Edgewater NJ, I walked across a major NY bridge for the first time. Kinda fun passing cars stuck in traffic on the George Washington Bridge. On the NY side the A Subway gets you to midtown pretty fast. My stay included a visit to the NY Historical Society´s 9-11 exhibit(very humbling), walks in Central Park(New yorkers with dogs are fun to watch) and some great Tapas food at Bar Carere and Sala both south of Union Square area. Also watched the Rugby World Final with some crazed but ultimately sad English folk(SA 15, Eng 6). One of the great things about NY is that no matter what matters to you, you can find friends to share the love. I walked into The Mercury Bar on 3rd & 34th on Saturday and was immediately transformed to the state of Alabama. I was surrounded by Crimson Tide faithful cheering their school´s romping of Tennessee. Waitresses wore Tide cheerleading outfits and, though not a ´Bama disciple, I was welcomed as long as I was not wearing orange. Even got a free Alabama Slamma shot to celebrate the win. My next visit I hope to find the equivalent Duckspot but damn, those Bama peeps were fun! Now, on to Honduras!