Linds_and_ryan's travel blogs:
|
|
  | |  |
Fell for It Again!
Entry 14 of 17 | show all | print this entry |
It feels like it has been a while since I sat down to write out one of entries to you all, and although I have gotten into a real pattern in my job, much has happened since I last wrote. Most importantly, my close friend and roommate during the last two years of college came to visit me. Prior to Clay's arrival I had some hesitations about spending two straight weeks with the same person, but not long after he arrived I was reminded why he is such an important friend to me. Probably more than anyone except my immediate family, Clay bears my idiosyncrasies with grace, which is exactly what made him an excellent roommate. We also share openly with each other and due to the time we have spent together we have a depth of understanding of the other that enables frankness and accountability. As our adult lives develop I hope that our relationship will continue to provide mutual support and that our spouses and children will share in the relationship.
Although by far the most valuable part of the trip was the presence of a close friend, we were also able to share incredible experiences. Clay arrived on a Sunday and I was able to take him into the center of Tegucigalpa to see the cathedral, the plaza, the market, and to meet a couple of friends. We did not stay long in Teguz, however, as Monday morning at six o'clock three of us, Clay, myself, and Anna, a housemate, were in the seedy part of town trying to find seats for a six-hour bus ride to the Caribbean coast. The trouble was that it was the first day of a weeklong, nationwide holiday for Holy Week. Every seat on every route had been sold the day before. Thankfully we received an insider's tip that a school bus had been contracted to make an unlicensed trip to La Ceiba, the exact location we needed to get to. Our names were eighth, ninth, and tenth on the list of sixty and so we were sure to get on the bus. (It wasn't until everyone else had formed a line that we realized the sole purpose of the list was to pacify people like us and that it had no relevance to seating priority.) As it turned out, we barely got seats in the back of the bus alongside a bicycle and a large suitcase, where the smallest stone that the back tires encountered felt like a speedbump. As consolation however, the driver played long-lost musical hits from the eighties to which we were able to sing along to the disdain of the surrounding, non-english-speaking passengers.
La Ceiba turned out to be a vibrant, clean coastal town with all sorts of potential as an eco-tourism site. With beautiful beaches not far down the coast, mountains that seem to rise directly out of the far end of the city, and white water rivers with all classes of rapids, La Ceiba makes a great stop for a couple of days. Tuesday morning we headed out for the Rio Cangrejal to raft in two-person inflatable Duckies. We each had a guide in the boat who steered while we provided the power. The guides showed us "holes" that could be run without a boat but by floating down the river with a vest. They also pulled the boats out at deeper places and led us up to rocks from which to jump. Although Clay has extensive rafting experience and I have a bit, we saw a couple of things that one doesn't see on a river in the States. The most remarkable was the spearfishers who wore snorkel masks and used handmade spear guns to catch a meal for their families.
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries by linds_and_ryan, from Honduras or try a new search. |
| |
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
1 vote 
