Day 9 & part of Day 10

The rest of yesterday was spent running errands to make sure we had everything we needed for the islands. We ended up leaving last night at 12 midnight. Marco drove us all through the night and we arrived in La Ceiba at 5:30am. After a short nap in the car, once the sun was up (~6:30am) we drove to the shore and took a walk by the sea. There was an old dock that some people were fishing on, and we went out on it too to see the view. Afterwards, we had the breakfast of champions at Burger King. 😉 We are now checked in and waiting to board the ferry to take us to Roatán. We are sleepy but super excited!!

Nos vemos pronto!!

Day 8 // Maribel’s Birthday

On Sundays, at Marco’s grandparents’ house, they have a big breakfast that everyone comes together to eat. They had tamales, platanos, beans, mantaquilla (super creamy butter), different cheeses, bread, eggs, bacon, coffee and juice. It was SO delicious!

breakfast!

For Maribel’s birthday, we went to a place called Ecos de la Montana (moan-tahn-yah) for a late lunch. It is on the way to La Tigre, so we had to ride some rough dirt roads to get there. But when we did, it was so worth it! It’s a beautiful hotel/resort and restaurant that had game fields (soccer, volleyball), horseback riding, and little bunnies you could hold. They also had a ping-pong table.

breakfast!

Sweet little bunnies. They were so calm!

Ecos de la Montana. They had outdoor seating, and “inside” was open with screens to keep bugs away.

Marco playing soccer with the guys. See the volleyball net in the background?

Happy Birthday!

After we finished eating and playing games, we went to Marco’s cousin Vanessa’s house. We were supposed to cut the cake and sing happy birthday there, but we forgot to bring the cake when we left 😛 So we just visited for a while, and I was able to talk to my family on FaceTime because they had good WiFi there. It was the first time in a week I got to talk to them, and I had missed them so much!

Later, we headed back to Maribel’s house and sang happy birthday and had cake there. It was a caramel and chocolate cake from a place called Pan y Mas, and it was SUPER delicious!

Happy Birthday!

Today we are tidying up the loose ends for our trip to the Bay Islands! Roatan is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and I am so excited we are able to go! We have to leave tomorrow around 3am to drive to La Ceba to catch the ferry to the islands. This will definitely be a highlight of our trip!

**A note about ziplining: we were planning to go when we went to Valle de Angeles, but arrived pretty late in the afternoon and completely forgot about it! Hopefully we will have another chance later in the trip!**

Day 7 // Santa Lucia

We had planned to go to Tio Coki’s farm today, but we got a late start and just missed him. Instead, we went with Marco’s dad to Santa Lucia to see the pueblo. Remember, this is where Marco and his siblings grew up. Marco was 15 when they moved from Santa Lucia to Tegucigalpa because of Hurricane Mitch.

The pueblo was super cute, with cobblestone streets and people walking everywhere. There is a fair starting tonight, which is part of why so many people were out. We stopped to get some paletas, which are like popsicles. These were made of coconut milk, cinnamon, and raisins. We also peeked inside this old church, which was still decorated for Christmas and had a lady telling stories.

Later, on the way back to Tegucigalpa, we stopped to see a friend of Marco’s dad. They happened to grow sugar cane and cut some for us to try. It was so strange. You bite the fibrous part and suck out the juice, then spit out the fibers. The juice was super sweet, but it didn’t have any flavor, just sweetness.

Tomorrow is Maribel’s (marco’s mom) birthday. We are having lunch at a nice place then going to a cousin’s house for cake. It should be a fun day.

I keep forgetting to take pictures of the food. It is all incredible. Tomorrow is a big breakfast here at his grandparents’ house, so I will try to remember my camera before the food is all gone!

Yesterday // Day 6

Yesterday was truly a relaxing day. We slept in, then went to see Sherlock Holmes 2 at the mall. It was so good and super cheap, about $3/person. Later we went to the gym. Marco and his brother went to lift weights, and I started shooting baskets. I ended up playing HORSE with a guy who goes to Georgia Southern and knows people from my high school. What a small world, literally!

We came back to Marco’s grandparents’ house later in the evening. Marco stayed up talking about design plans with his dad, and I went to bed early. His grandparents are having some remodeling done so it is busy here!

The only picture i took yesterday was of my coffee at the mall. You can see it on my tweet from yesterday: http://t.co/sWx0WioI There is a company here called Espresso Americano, and it is the largest monopoly in all of Honduras. They grow, roast, package, and sell their coffee themselves. There is literally a coffee shop every couple of miles and on every corner in the mall. Their cup sizes are 6oz, 8oz, and 12oz is the large – which is the small size at Starbucks! The rumor is that the company has tried to go international and come to the States, but they “weren’t allowed” – my thinking is that they would shut down Starbucks! This is the best coffee I’ve tasted. Smooth, rich flavor, and perefect every time. Plus the price is incredible. Just over a dollar for the 12oz latte.

Today we are going to visit Marco’s Tio Coki’s farm. Hopefully I will have some good pictures!

Ciao!

Valle de Angeles // Day 5

I don’t have the connector or the computer to upload pics right now, so I am updating from the iPad with borrowed wifi. I will add some pictures tomorrow hopefully before lunch.

***pictures added! At the end of post.***

We went to Valle de Angeles (vy – yay day ahn – hel – ess) today; it is about 30 minutes past Santa Lucia, up the mountain. On the way up we stopped at a little roadside stand to buy some atol (ah-toll). It is a hot drink that tastes a lot like creamed corn. I liked it, but I could only drink about half of my tiny cup.

When we got to Valle, we parked and went into the first shop. Oh my, there were so many cool things to see! Woven seats, hammocks, handmade leather sandals, pottery, jewelry, toys, carved wood, bags… There was too much to even see it all! We ended up going to about 5-6 shops, two were large and the rest were small. Most of them had similar items, but it was neat to try and find unique things.

We walked around for a bit in the pueblo (little town) and then got ready to head back down the mountain. On the way, we stopped to eat dinner at another open air restaurant called Restaurante Pupuseria al Paso. I forgot to take pictures when our food came, but I did take a picture of the clay pot they brought for “chips and dip.” The base holds hot coals and the top holds beans or cheese, or both. They bring hot fried tortillas (chips) and this is very similar to getting chips and salsa at a place like Chili’s back home. Marco and I were able to get one of these pots to take home. It cost less than $5.

I’m not sure what the plan is for tomorrow yet, but I’ll keep you posted! We have been getting up early and staying up late, so I’m hoping the plan is for a relaxing day ;-).

Buenas Noches!

El Cristo del Picacho // Day 4

We went to visit El Cristo del Picacho today. It is a park that has a huge statue of Jesus overlooking Tegucigalpa (the capital) on the edge of a mountain. There is also a zoo, gardens, and a couple of playgrounds. The weather was super nice today, but it was really windy at the top of the mountain. Tomorrow we are going to Valle de Angeles (Valley of Angels) to see the town and do some shopping. They have a lot of handmade jewelry and furniture. We are also going to go ziplining while we are there, another first for me! Marco has never been either. It should be really fun! Sorry for such a short update, but it’s really late and we have an early day tomorrow.

Goodnight!

In Santa Lucia Day 2, pic on the terrace

view from our room at Marco's grandparents' house

Mango verde we bought off the street on the way to El Cristo

In the Gardens at El Cristo

Night view from our room. It gets dark at 6:00pm every day here.

Tegucigalpa behind us, at El Cristo

The landing strip for the airport is in the background. See how short it is? And between mountains...

Such an incredible view

El Cristo del Picacho. You can see this statue from almost anywhere in the city.

funny monkeys at the zoo at El Cristo. They wanted to eat the stick, then the big one sat on it!

Beautiful jaguar. We woke him from his nap.

Day 3 // The Journey

Jan 3rd

I have no internet access right now, so I am posting the update from yesterday this morning.

We stayed at the house in Santa Lucia again last night. In the morning (which is really around noon), Marco, his brother Ale and I stopped at a grocery store to get some food for sandwiches and bottles of water. I cannot try to drink the water here because it is most certain I would get sick, so I always have to have bottled water nearby. I never realized how much water I actually drink… Anyway, we then headed over to meet the rest of the family (Marco’s mom, sister, and her husband) to start the drive to La Tigre. Right before we left, Ricardo, one of Marco’s uncles, came to pick up his son who had been staying with Maribel for a few days. They decided to join us, the two of them riding on Ricardo’s motorcycle.

The journey to La Tigre really was a journey. It was at least an hour driving straight up winding mountain roads, but it felt like way more. That’s because the roads are completely littered with potholes. On the paved part, it’s not so bad because you can just drive around them. When we got past the paved roads, it was worn out, washed out, ROUGH dirt roads. The closer we got to La Tigre (top of the mountain) the worse the road was. When we finally got within half a kilometer of the trailhead, we couldn’t pass the road. It was super wet and soupy mud. Because Ricardo had his motorcycle, he was able to pass through and take those of us who needed a bathroom break (ahem…me;)) to the visitor’s center. So, my first motorcycle ride was in the national rainforest of Honduras.

Cows were just hanging out on the road up the mountain

taking pics on the bike

being funny

super rough roads

Monkey!

country house

see the callalillies? I had to zoom in all the way because they were far from the road

stunning

tires for stairs

crops on the mountainside

cute little boy playing with a kite

breathtaking.

wildflower and callalily bouquet

 

On the way back down the mountain, we stopped to buy some flowers from some of the people living in the mountain. There were callalillies everywhere, most of the blooms as big as my face. They were so beautiful. The scenery as we travelled down the mountain was absolutely breathtaking. I tried to get some good pictures, but nothing can really capture the incredible views I saw today.

wildflower and callalily bouquet

 

After we got back to the city, we stopped to eat at a little street corner restaurant (also completely open to air) called Tacos Tado. Ah-maz-ing. Tonight we went to see Mission Impossible 4 at the movie theater in the mall… They had a 2-for-1 sale going on, so we were able to buy 5 tickets for just $10. The movie was in english with spanish subtitles. And of course it was really good! 🙂

Tonight we are staying at Marco’s grandparents’ house. I think tomorrow we are going to see this place called El Cristo del Picacho. It has a zoo there. I’m excited! 🙂

I think I will have to post the rest of the pictures in Facebook albums. Flickr has an upload limit and I surpassed it on the first day.

By the way, I heard it was 23 degrees in Atlanta today? Brrr… It’s been around 60-70 degrees every day here, which is cold for Honduras!

Stay warm! Much love!

more pics from Day 1//tiny update from Day 2

Queso fundido, frijoles, chips…

yay food!

Jordan, Marco, Maribel (Marco’s mom)

Anneliese (Marco’s sister), Marco Sr. (Marco’s dad)

Niko (Anneliese’s husband), Anneliese, Marco Sr.

Queso frito, platanos maduros

Marco’s food – chuleta fresca (pork)

My food – El Conquistador (filet)

El Patio – the restaurant was completely open

El Patio

El Patio

El Patio

a new friend at El Patio 😉

Today we got to sleep a little, but after a full day yesterday it really wasn’t enough. Plus the neighbors have chickens and a rooster that felt it necessary to start crowing around 5:30am and continue for the rest of the day… But that’s okay, we still got to rest. This morning Marco took me on a tour of the property at the house he grew up in, and I got some beautiful pictures. I’m hoping to post a video tour tomorrow night. The rest of the day we shopped at the mall; I couldn’t believe how much cheaper a lot of the items were. However, gas is not cheaper – equivalent to $5.00/gallon! Tomorrow we are going to hike at La Tigre, the Honduran National Park. It is a rainforest so I am SO excited to get some great pictures!

Internet is a luxury here so I have had a hard time finding a time and place to update, and when I do have internet the speeds are much slower than back home. It is 1:00am here and we have an early morning tomorrow. Goodnight!

Travel Day: Safe and Sound // Day 1

Today started at 5:00am Georgia time. Our alarm went off after about 4 hours of sleep, and we quickly got ready to leave the house. Marco’s cousin and his brother’s fiancé were awesome enough to drive us to the airport at the crack of dawn.

Freezing but excited!

We made really good time! For international flights you have to arrive 3 hours before your takeoff time. That put us arriving at the airport at 7am.

ready to check in!

We had about 2 hours to kill before we needed to board, so we looked at a few airport shops and watched planes take off. The flight itself only had about 15 people on board, so we got to sit where we wanted (YAY leg room!) It was a smooth and uneventful trip, about 3.5 hours long.

riding the train to the terminal

our plane

carry-ons

Preparing for takeoff!

We watched a movie while in flight, and occasionally looked out the window to see if we could see past the clouds. Here is my favorite view…We think it may be Cuba?

Beauty of His Majesty

After a “smooth” landing, we checked in to Honduras with our passports and claimed our bag. After a few minutes of looking for family to pick us up, and no cell phone service to call anyone, Marco asked a shop owner to use the phone and tried to reach his dad. No answer… We were beginning to think we’d need to take a taxi (ahh!) but then out of the crowd came Marco’s dad and an uncle and cousin. Thank God! Soon we were on our way around Tegucigalpa.

Up next are a few shots of the city. It is unlike any place I’ve ever been. There were people walking everywhere, and there aren’t really any traffic laws. I took a ton of pictures that I will have to upload to a Flickr page and attach the link because there are so many.

no traffic laws

Tono Rosa, the family clothing business

Tono Rosa storefront

pretty church

Casa Presidencial

Hospital

We arrived! This is the gate for Marco's mom's house

Happy to be here!

Brothers

I still have more pictures from today. We went to eat at a place called El Patio (pah-tee-oh) that is known to have the best Honduran food you can buy. Afterwards, we spent some time at Marco’s grandparents house and now are in Santa Lucia, spending the night in the home that Marco and his siblings grew up in. All three of these homes are incredibly beautiful. I will have to post pictures of the rest of our day tomorrow, because we are exhausted and it is late.

Buenas Noches! (Goodnight!)

Almost ready!

running a few last minute errands & getting ready to drop our pups off!

We stayed up late last night, trying to pack and remember every little thing we might need during our trip. I was scheduled to work today, but at 5:00am this morning received the miraculous call to be put on standby. Back to sleep I went! At 11:00am I was taken off standby, and now we have the whole day to get our last minute items checked off. 🙂

Our plane takes off in roughly 22 hours!!