El Lagoon de Cacao

In the middle of nowhere, there happens to be this lake, and if you ever make it this so-called lake, be sure that you know how to get back, or you will not live to tell the story…

On Saturday, we had the brilliant idea of going to visit Cacao Lagoon. It’s approximately 24 kilometers east from La Ceiba, roughly about a 90 minute trip from El Porvenir. So after a night of partying in La Ceiba, we woke up early in the morning for an adventure at the lagoon. Btw, hangovers and chicken buses do not mix. Lol. We got off on the stop to for the bus, and saw that the sign for the lagoon said 2 km. So we thought, let’s just start walking, and we will stumble upon it. We walk, and we walk, and we walk, still no lagoon. So I flagged down this SUV that was headed the opposite way, and asked for some help. Luckily he spoke English. His name was Dell, a Honduran-American from New Jersey, who’s family runs a nearby orphanage. Their setup is similar to SOS, as the children are not adoptable, and they can live at the orphanage until they are 18 years old. Dell offered to drive us down to the Lagoon, which btw was NOT 2 km from the bus stop.

Heide and Emily

Delmar searching for the monkeys

Upon our arrival, we met Delmar, our tour guide. After some price negotiation on the admission, we headed out into the lagoon on a dugout canoe. Mangroves surround the water and provide shelter to tropical birds and howler and white faced monkeys. We saw two monkeys hanging out on the tree ad we passed by this huge tree. The lagoon is named for the nearby tropical cacao plants, once used as money in pre-Columbian times, now used in the manufacturing of chocolate. The lagoon was for sure beautiful. Delmar knew everything about the lake, from the animals that inhibit it, to its seasonal water cycle. At the end of the lagoon is the beach, where the boat tour ended and we decided to lay out for several hours. Clearly I was chillin under the umbrella .(We borrowed Anne's Canadian umbrella and hauled it all the way there...lol) From the beach there was a fabulous view of the lagoon on one side, and Cayos Cochinos on the other side. We were the only ones out there, so it was pretty much our private beach for the day.

The Canadians landed in Honduras.... thanks Anne

Delmar... he's so cool

The way back is another story… since we had no Dell to give us a ride, we had lunch at Delmar’s house, and then walked back to the main road to catch the bus back to El Provenir. Another Honduras adventure…

Copan: Dia 3 Pt 2 – Buen Provecho

Buen Provecho means thank you for the food, good appetite, or enjoy your meal. Similar to Bon Appétit in French. In Honduras, if people see you eating, it’s customary for them to say “Buen Provecho”. For example, when eating our lunch at school, if the kids come by the classroom, they will say “Buen Provecho.” It’s a nice thing to say. Definitely makes me a little more thankful for my meal. During our trip in Copan, I had a blast being the gluttonous foodie that I am… so check out some of my favorite dishes!

Salad with Chicken and Avacados

Pupusas - My fave! Yummy!

Shrimp Pasta

The biggest baleada ever! Stuffed with beans and chicken!

Copan: Dia 3 Pt 1 – El Parque de Los Aves - The Bird Park

Our last day in Copan we visited the Macaw Mountain Bird Park. We had to take a moto-taxi into the hills to the park, which is located about 10 minutes from downtown Copan. We were greeted by our quad-lingual tour guide, Juan, who led us through the beautifully designed park, filled with brilliantly colored macaws, toucans, and parrots from Honduras and elsewhere in Latin America. The park also has a restaurant where you can grab lunch and a coffee shop which roast coffee beans daily. I stopped in the gift shop to pick up some coffee for my parents, and in my browsing, managed to knock over some ceramic coasters. Of course… me and my clumsy self. So I bought those too.

Heide in the moto-taxi. These things are cool, but also crazy scary!

Macaws - The National Bird of Honduras

Tucan - The National Bird of Belize

Juan with a Macaw

Me with a Macaw - I was sooo scared!

Natalie with a Macaw - She is a natural!

Copan: Dia 2 Pt 2 – La Boda – The Wedding

After our afternoon at the Ruins, we were walking around the park and saw the town gathered around watching a bride enter the town church. We caught a glimpse of her wedding dress, but that was about it. I thought to myself how cool it would be to get married in an awesome town like Copan! Later that night, after a nice nap, I woke up to this loud music. I walked outside to see where it was coming from, but could not find the source. So then I asked Heide if she wanted to come out with me and check it out. So we followed the music down the hill and a few blocks down the road, and were led to the wedding reception. Should we walk in? What will we say? Let’s just do it!

So we walked into the most beautiful outdoor reception, with candles, and white tents, and white leather seating, and headed straight to the bar. Clearly we stood out, with me in my infamous New Balance trainers and Heide with her bright orange Adidas bag, surrounded by men in suits and women and dresses. As we were debating on what drink to order, a guy named Jose, approached us and asked what we were doing. After some small talk, we discovered that majority of the guests were from Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, and the bride and groom met in college and have been in love since. Awwww!!! Lol

Jose and Heide

Me with Jose's best friend

So Jose, Heide, and I had a great time at the bar and then hit the dance floor. We were true wedding crashers! We met everyone at the wedding, along with the bride, who wore her dress and heels for the entire reception, even in the rain! By the end of the party, the bottom of her dress was covered in mud, and all the trim was ripped. That’s a true party girl!

The Bride on the stage, after she covered a Guns N Roses song

Chatting with the wedding guests definitely exposed us to the lives of those who live in Tegucigalpa. This was definitely an upper class wedding, as everyone spoke English and majority of the guests had studied abroad either in Europe or the US. They all had blackberries, digital cameras, expensive outfits, and rental cars. A huge lifestyle difference from the people of El Porvenir. When we told the guests that we work in an orphanage, many of them were very gracious and thankful. This one guy even invited us to stay with him at his school in Tegucigalpa to work with his kids. Clearly education aid is needed across the country.

Us with the Wedding Singer

We partied into the night! Anyone who knows me can guess where I was at 3am…On the dance floor dancing to reggaeton. When I looked up for Heide, I found her crashed on one of the sofas. I guess it was time for my partying to end… what a night!

Heide with some guy from New Jersey

The bar....

The Band - Who covered everything from hard rock, to pop, to salsa!

Copan: Dia 2 Pt 1– Las Ruinas

Built by a society of scientists and architects, artists and warriors, the ruins display huge carved statues, layers of temples, a ball court, and the infamous Hieroglyphic stairway, the longest hieroglyphic stairway inscription found anywhere in the Americas. At its height, a population of 24,000 people lived within the surrounding region. Because of its detailed structures and architecture, archeologists have famed Copan as “the Athens of the New World. Over a thousand years old, the ruins have been kept in great condition due to funded research. Many of the original sculptures have been replaced with replicas, allowing for the originals to be preserved in the museum.

This was the King's view of the Ball Court and the Central Plaza

We took the 15 minute walk to the Ruins in the early afternoon, once the sun cooled down a bit. The ruins are right by the river and surrounded by trees and vegetation. I guess and optimal location for the Mayans when they were looking to settle. I was very overwhelmed by the trip, just so much history in this one place, and so hard to imagine that people actually lived here. Quite amazing…

The Ball Court - Archeologists believe that the small compartments atop the slanted walls were the players dressing rooms.

Heide and Natalie above the Ball Court

Stela H - a woman wearing jewelry and a leopard skin inder her dress. She may have been one of the King's wives.

Stela A - Depicts one of the Mayan Rulers

The Hieroglyphic Stairway - the longest hieroglyphic inscription found anywhere in the Americas. The 72 steps contain more than 2,500 glyphs.

Altar Q - Depicts 16 seated men, carved around the four sides of a square stone altar. The altar shows the 16 rulers of Copan, with the first ruler passing the ruling baton onto the last. (One of my faves!)

An original structure from the ruins preserved in the museum