Honduras

Honduras is cool.

Sean and I visited Copan, a city right on the border with Guatemala that has a large site with Mayan ruins. The ruins are smaller than Tikal, but really impressive because of the sculptural details. It was also cool seeing ruins that hadn't been totally restored and had large trees growing right through the pyramid steps. There were also Scarlet Macaws and giant forest rats all around!

We also spent two fantastic days at a coffee and cardamom plantation about 20 miles outside of Copan. The countryside there is so lush and beautiful. We stayed in the guest house and when we weren't out having fun we ate great homemade food and lounged in hamocks.

I think the best part was the horseback tour of the finca. We pretty much ate our way through - we stopped to taste fresh coffee beans and cardamom and to eat grapefruit, starfruit, and coconuts fresh from the trees!

At the stables when we were getting ready to ride, the guide asked who was nervous and Sean was the only one who raised his hand, so he got put on this sweet little pregnant pony. I didn't say anything and somehow managed to get the big old horse that doesn't like other horses and took off running every time someone tried to take over his spot as first in line. Later in the trip, Sean switched horses with the guide and his new horse kept trying to race my horse. It was really fun going fast, but also a bit terrifying since I had very little control and was pretty much just hanging on for dear life.

When the guide stopped to pick grapefruit for us to try, the guide's horse took off without him. He asked me to chase after it with my horse and bring it back. I thought he was kidding and laughed it off, but he was serious and said my horse would know what to do and I just needed to grab the rope from his horse when we got in front of it. So, I gave grumpy old Lucero a kick and we took off. He was right, all I had to do was hold on then grab the rope from his horse. I'm thinking about joining the rodeo if this teaching stuff doesn't work out :-)

Our last day in Honduras consisted of too many hours riding and waiting for chicken buses. The only bright part of the day was a little kid at one crossroads town who sat down next to us as we were eating peanut butter and crackers. When he found out we were from the U.S., he got all excited because we must know Andy, a guy who volunteered in his community and helped his dad. I tried to explain that we didn't know him, but the kid went on describing him insisting that we must have met him being from the same place and all. So if anybody knows Andy who is white and has brown hair and Volunteered near La Entrada, tell him that a little kid who really likes peanut butter says, "Hi."