3 Countries and a Volcano

So this past weekend left us with yet another holiday - which meant more time for travelling! And so off six of us went on Thursday night (that is us in the picture: me, Mark, Noel, Katherine, Deb, and Caroline who is taking the picture) with the hopes of hitting Tegucigalpa (Honduran capital) and staying there the night at a friend's house. For about $2 US (40 limpera) we headed on a 2 hour bus ride that ended with us standing on a street corner in a sketchy part of town. The 6 of us crowded into a small Toyota taxi-cab and off we went to Marlin's (the friend) - grounding out frequently along the way. Up the next morning we set off in yet another cab to another bus station. And might I mention that it was at this point that the rain started and did not stop for pretty much the entire weekend. We boarded another bus for about 2.45 hours towards the southern part of Honduras along the Pacific Ocean with the hopes of hitting the island volcano (yes folks a VOLCANO - only it hasn't been active in a LONG time) by nightfall. So here we were - bombing along in this bus. I was blessed enough to be sitting but there were many people in the aisles who stood the entire way. All of the sudden the bus pulls off the road and us 6 gringos pile out of the bus - much the amusement of everyone else on the bus - especially because the stop was unexpected - and we are left to wait at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere - literally. Twenty minutes later a school bus pulls on and on we pile, along with screaming babies and groceries, and people of all ages. We sit for 30 minutes until we arrive at the ocean! By this time, it is pouring and we have been wet and then dry and then wet for about 6 hours. About 20 people pile into this 15 foot long boat and the water level is like six inches from spilling over the edge. People huddle under umbrellas and we get a piece of plastic that looks like it might have been part of a garbage bag at some point. Off we go - slowly, steadily, soaking. I glance up occasionally into the rain and the mist and out of the distance appears an island that seems to be entirely a volcano. It is here that we are headed. Yikes! Eventually we make it to the island and we all pile off - the rain soaking us to our skin. Now this trip has not been planned at all and we have NO idea where we are going to stay and it is not exactly the height of tourist season. Eventually we find a couple of rooms at what appears to be a type of resort. Now the price is kinda high for that area (in Canada it would still be considered cheap) and so we debate whether we will stay for one or two nights. Whatever. It is raining and since we are already wet we decide to swim in the ocean - some of us not even bothering to change because we are so wet already. And the ocean is warmer than the rain. Hmmm... The next morning we are up to order breakfast and hopefully hike and find the volcano. I have never been at a restaurant where I order breakfast, they go out and buy the food, walk in with it while I am sitting there, cook it, and serve it to me a few minutes later, but that is exactly what happened. It was amusing. We decide to check out and risk finding another place to sleep. We packed up and headed out - IN THE BED OF A TRUCK! It was one of my favourite things - scooting around this small island in the back of this truck. Six gringos all standing holding on the the bars with our faces in the wind like a couple of dogs. A memory I shall not forget. I wish travel like that was legal in Canada. So the truck took us to this place we thought we could sleep - a deserted shabby little beach off the beaten path. (see picture - that is Caroline). I have to say I have never slept anywhere like that in my life. It was a shack with four hammocks and four beds. Even with my back problems I thought it was safer to sleep in a hammock than risk whatever was alive in the mattress of the beds. No bathroom other than a hole in a shed in the backyard. I didn't want to think about it. Five of us trekked off to hike the volcano while Caroline slept. And we hiked up for 3 hours - thankfully the rain stopped for the entire trip! Right until we were walking down the road to our 'shack'! So we walked and walked - the rocks and the leaves beneath our feet - the view of the ocean and the land promising better views the higher we walked. And when we finally got to the top - we could see three countries! Looking north El Salvador was on our left (they are currently trying to claim the island as their own), Honduras in front of us, and Niceragua to the far east. Pretty sweet! (That picture is me at the top - the mist is covering the view of Honduras. Yes, I am also in my pajama shorts! It was one of the only things that I had that was dry. I know - who climbs a volcano in their pajama shorts? We all had some element of the ridiculous in our clothing because most of it was wet.) At the top we had a reward picnic of some food that we had bought in the market that morning including a Snickers Bar. (THis is exciting stuff =- you don't always know what you will be able to buy so if you find something that is good you load up.) We headed down which took us about and 1.5 hours. We hitched another ride and as dark was falling and the rain began we arrived back at our hut. We changed (or some of us not because we were wet AGAIN) and headed for another swim in the ocean. Whoot! In light of there not being a shower (though there was a water hole that we shared with small fish) we all washed in the ocean. For dinner I had 5 small lobster with banana chips for....$6! It was SO yummy. We stayed there for as long as possible because we did not have a great sleep awaiting us. When we outstayed our welcome we headed home to layer up and settle in our hammocks (or beds.) I have to say that I was pretty comfortable other than the fact that I continually smelled my wet sweater all night. Some creature definately skuttled on the floor but I didn't worry about it -after all I was hangning from the ceiling! We were up at 6 the next morning but stayed in bed- lounging and talking. We packed up and off we went to catch the boat, then the bus, then another bus, and yet another bus - eventually arriving back home after hours of traveeling. Oh, did I mentioned it rained pretty much the entire way home? Home for a shower - then into dry clothes (I have never been wet for so long) and to bed (in a flat surface with no bugs). Oh life and thankfulness for little things!

\manda