Honduras Day 2

Monday started bright and early with the awakening of the coffee team (learning how to grow coffee) that was leaving that day. They got up before dawn and spoke loudly in the dining room. The Big House is setup to house teams of missionaries, volunteers, etc... You walk in the door and there is a large dining/common room. Off each end there are dormitories, females to the right and males to the left. At the end of each dorm there is a bathroom that has 3 toilets, showers and sinks. The beds were hard as rocks but there was hot water in the showers. So the common room is in the center and sound travels. I woke up but did not want to join the group so I read in my room, seeing how I could not sleep. Pat was out helping with the coffee, Chris was in the common room at 6:30 and the rest were asleep.

Around 8:30 we were all up and about and decided to go to the pond or mud hole as Steve called it. We all trekked up the little hill and saw some interesting things.

An Epiphyte is a special plant that grows on a tree trunk. With its big leaves that collect rainwater, it helps the tree to receive water and the tree helps the Epiphyte to grow in a place where there is more light.

We arrived at the mud hole pretty quickly in the cover of clouds which is always refreshing to climb when it is cooler.

Wild blackberries were in abundance and the boys ate as many as they could.

The clouds moved in and the rain started to come so we headed down. On the trek back there was a great view of the coffee plants and the ranch facilities.

Tom contemplating....????

The Gill boys

The Gills boys plus me

The quest for the lemon. Sunday we saw lemons the size of grapefruits and were dying to try them. So while the cats (Tom and Steve) were away we decided to tackle the lemon tree.

Andrew scooted up the tree and found an easy lemon to be had. There was one resting in the elbow of the tree. He tossed it down to Matt. The smell was irresistible. I have never smelled a lemon rine with that much scent. My hands smelled great all day!

This lemon was considered damaged because of the small bruise on the side. Do we live in a first world country or what! Most countries eat the fruits and vegetables that come from the local farms and are sold at stands. Similar to Farmers Markets in the US. The produce is not sorted through and separated out they simply eat what is available. Americans are use to not eating anything with a blemish, bruise, or discolored.

So Andrew tried to get the "perfect" lemon! There were thorns on the tree that prevented him from grabbing on. The lemon tree reaches 10 to 20 ft (3-6 m) in height and is easy to climb except for the thorns.

They decided to send Mike up to grab the lemon that was oooh so close. Pat and Andrew boosted him up.

Unfortunately he was an inch too short and could not pull it down. Up Andrew goes who is an inch taller.

Matt is trying to clinch the lemon too.

Andrew snags it and comes tumbling down. Lemon and branch together. We hid the branch quickly.

The boys cannot wait to slice it open and try it. But we need to get Steve from school and Tom who went to get the books for the school.

Oranges look small next to those lemons!

Banana trees are also abundant on the property.

Morning glories too

Local picking the coffee beans.

We have leftovers at Steve's duplex for lunch which is lasagna he made for us, pb & j for the picky eaters and banana soda. Yum!

On the drive into the ranch I saw the building of the Adobe houses and wanted to catch some photos but it was outside the ranch proper and I need body guards. So we headed down to the Big House to get what we needed for the jaunt. The boys take to their beds for an afternoon nap, Pat tries to catch up with the coffee dudes, I wait outside for Tom and Steve. I give up and go get my book to read. An hour or so later they appear and we head down the street.

Hibiscus....breath taking

The welcoming committee.

Steve was a great source of information on the drive from the airport to the ranch. There are 3 basic building materials in Honduras: Adobe, brick and cement blocks. Wood is not an option due to the law that you cannot cut down trees to build a house and the fact that bees are attracted to them and make hives. By the way Pat is a bee keeper and shared a wealth of info about bee hives. I think Tom and I will be buying a bee queen and creating our own hives. Pat does it for the honey, me for the pollination.

So adobe is the cheapest material in all senses of the word. Brick is middle of the road but not very durable and concrete blocks are exclusive to the wealthy. We saw all 3 on the trip.

Adobe is an Egyptian word for brick and is over 4,000 years old.

Adobe is one of the oldest building materials in use. It is basically just dirt or clay that has been moistened with water, sometimes with chopped straw or other fibers added for strength, and then allowed to dry in the desired shape. Commonly adobe is shaped into uniform blocks that can be stacked like bricks to form walls.

They are shaped and laid to dry. The material is usually found on the property where the house is to be built.

Covered to protect from rain, wind, and animals.

Stacked in order to make more.

Adobe is a good thermal mass material, holding heat and cool well. The same material to make the bricks is used for the mortar. In some cases the owners can afford cement. Sometimes they use both as seen here, bottom is cement. Steve also told us that they build as much as they can with the money they have. Sometimes it is years before they finish. Also land is very expensive so if someone owns land their entire family will build on it.

The largest structure ever made from adobe (bricks) was the Bam Citadel, in Iran.