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.

Honduras Day 1

Saturday I headed to the airport with Mike and was very sad he was not coming with me. That is twice now that he has dropped me off and did not accompany me. (Worcester in Feb.) My flight left at 6 pm and landed in Houston, TX at 9 pm. I had a 12 hour layover and decided to get a hotel for the night. In the past we have had 12 hour layovers but during the day so we could run around the city (aka Budapest). My bag was checked all the way through to Tegucigalpa so I called the courtesy van to pick me up from Ramada Express.

The driver was super nice and dropped me off about a mile from the airport. I checked in, arranged a wake up call, and airport drop off for Sunday. I went to my room and got ready for bed. I turned on the water in the sink to brush my teeth and was welcomed with rusty water. Unfortunately I left my water bottle on the plane and had already started brushing my teeth. I hoped if I let it run long enough it would bleed out. 5 minutes later the water looked and smelled clean. I turned the shower on to bleed those pipes as well and waited until the rust was gone.

Setting the hotel clock, my cell phone and the wake up call you would think I would have slept sound. Nope, I was up every hour making sure I had not over slept. It was still better than being in the airport.

I arrived in plenty of time for my flight and settled in to read Jude the Obscure by Tom Hardy. I had finished Masada (we visited in January 2008) on the flight to TX. I would not recommend the book I read but the story is fascinating. I spoke to Mike and Tom, whose flight was delayed leaving Atlanta. I got the contact numbers of the people we were to meet in case his flight was cancelled.

The 3 hour flight was uneventful except the landing which was bumpy. I hate the flying part of traveling. I cannot wait until they can teleport us to our destinations. I walked through passport control quickly and was relieved that my checked bag had made it too. After customs I headed out to wait for Tom. The plan was to meet upstairs at McDonald's but the escalator was out of order and I did not want to carry my bags. I checked on their flight and it was an hour delayed. I went to the ATM to get some local money as there was no place to change US dollars. There was one machine by itself that I attempted to use but it would not accept my card. I wandered to the other side of the airport and notice 5 machines. There was a line of people waiting for one machine ignoring the others. I waited a moment and discovered this is the only machine that worked. The girl in front of me tried 3 times to get money out and I was nervous that it no longer worked. I asked if she needed help and she said yes it is in Spanish and I cannot read it. I stepped up next to her and guided her through the process.

The first question: entrez dans le nombre PIN - enter your PIN
Second question: savings, cheque, carte de crédit - savings, checking, credit card
Third question: entrez dans la quantité - enter amount

I felt like a genius. Ok it was easy but she was grateful!

I took out my 100 limpras which is about 5 dollars as I had plenty of US to change and did not want to have too much limps.

I sat and waited for their flight and noticed the airport which was immaculately clean and organized had 6 tvs. The first screen showed flights landing, 2nd passengers debarking, 3rd passport control, 4th baggage carousels, 5th customs, and 6th the exit. I thought this was great and had never seen it before. It helped pass the time.

As I was sitting there Steve came over and asked if I was Nancy. Steve was picking us up at the airport and we were staying with him for the first part of the week. He used to live with Tom and his family in MD while he was going to seminary school and home schooled Matt. He moved to Honduras 4 years ago to work with World Gospel Outreach (WGO), specifically Rancho Ebenezer. Rancho Ebenezer is an hour ride outside the city of Tegucigalpa. There are 90 acres and seven homes for the WGO children.

We chatted until Tom appeared on the first screen and we followed his process through the 6 screens. We headed out to the car and the boys stopped for a bathroom break. They placed their bags with me and Steve and headed into the toilets. 3 locals picked up the bags to help us out before we could stop them. They carried the bags about 100 feet and asked for American dollars. I said no and Christopher said in his best Russian accent: No tango American douleurs. He then gave him a quarter. They guy looked miserable and walked away. We later learned that he did not say I have no American dollars BUT I have no American pain! It was pretty funny and became the running joke.

Into the van we went and headed to Pizza Hut for lunch. Steve ordered for us and we had a great meal of American food. We then stopped at the store and picked up some things and headed up the mountain.

Photos from the airport to the ranch.

The landscape was very similar to Egypt and the trees and flowers were similar. Hibiscus (rose mallow), bougainvillea (Napoleon), and my favorite jacaranda. The poorer locals also live in the same style as Egypt as tout their wares on the side of the road.

I was impressed with the upkeep of the buildings and paint this close to the city.

The government claims forest fires are a social problem. Human beings are themselves the main agents, since they use fire to restore range land for extensive livestock-raising, to exterminate insect pests, to prepare fields for crops to meet their basic needs, or to dispose of agricultural residues. If the use of fire is not controlled, it spreads to the forests; many hectares of forest are burnt every year. In Honduras over the past decade there has been an average of 2762 fires a year, affecting an estimated area of some 68,000 hectares of forest land. It is estimated that in 30 percent of this area there is total destruction of the seedlings.

Water park

Once we arrived at the ranch Steve gave us a tour. The highlight for me was the coffee beans. I think Pat enjoyed this too.

Coffee plants like to grow in high altitude climates and under shade trees. Shade-grown coffee permits a much more natural, complex ecosystem to survive on the land occupied by the coffee plants. They have planted the shrubs under the trees on the hill. Trees last for about 50 years.

You can see if you look closely that the plants on the edge are drier and more yellow than the rest.

Did not expect berries or that they would be red and lush.

The ranch hires locals to pick the beans and then lay them out on drying racks next to the school.

The fruits, coffee cherries or coffee berries, most commonly contain two stones with their flat sides together.

The outer skin tastes like a sweet pepper and was delicious. The juice was very yummy.

After their outer hull is removed, the seeds are commonly called "beans".

The locals will then separate out the good from the bad.

They are then roasted.

It was a cool process to see. Pat got up early the next day to see the rest of the process of baggin them and bringing them down to be roasted. I slept late.

The sunsets were pretty and they cooled down the day. The kids played soccer with the boys fro Steve's house and meet the other team that was there. Go gringos!

Mt. Rushmore

One of our reasons for coming back to the states was to see a part of the US we had not seen before. So a long Thanksgiving weekend meant a road trip. We looked into several National Parks but most were too far away, closed, or we were not in the mood for. Mike decided on Mt. Rushmore outside of Rapid City, SD. We left on Wednesday morning on a beautiful day.

The landscape color actually reminded us of Egypt, the sand colored grasses, the leafless trees of brown, and of course nothing in sight for miles. It was an easy drive with great conversation, music, and sights to see. We passed many ranches with thousands of cows, horses, and tumbleweed covered fences.

We drove through the Black Hills Mountain Range which received their name because of the dense trees that make the mountain look black from a distance. Sadly a forest fire in 2000 consumed over 93,000 acres of forest. We could see the devastation as we drove through over 8 years later. The tress fell like pick up sticks and were sad to see. The animals were struggling to find food as the ground was still charred and there were no birds in sight. We did see a scrawny mule deer very close to the side of the very winding road.

Around 3:30 Mike tells me that Mt. Rushmore closes at 5 but we have plenty of time still. Sunset is at 4:30! Driving down the main road into Custer, the closest town to the Park, we noticed the Closed for the Season signs posted on the 20+ establishments and decided to guess how many cars will be at the park. I guessed one car, the Park Ranger, and Mike picked 10. As we drove the last few miles we counted the cars leaving. There were about 6 cars and Mike was losing fast. We had 6 parking lots to chose from. There were about 4 families there. So basically we drove 6 hours to get to the Park a half hour before the visitor center closed...we did leave a lot later then we planned. The actual park is opened until 10 though so we got a nice sunset and some night photos.

How many of the 4 presidents can you name?

Washington and Lincoln I know you know so they do not count.....so who are the other two.....?

Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt

Why these 4?

Washington: because he led the colonist to Independence and laid the foundation for our current democratic society.

Jefferson: because he was the author of the Declaration of Independence which inspires democracy around the world.

Roosevelt: provided leadership when America experienced rapid economic growth as it entered the 20th Century. He was instrumental in negotiating the construction of the Panama Canal, linking the east and the west.

Lincoln: held the nation together during the Civil War and preservation of the union.

These photos gives you preception of the size of the mountain.

Rocky mountain goats are not native to the area. 6 goats were given to Custer National Park in 1924 from Canada. The creatures escaped their pen and have taken refuge on Mt. Rushmore. There are over 200 of them now. The light was not good for great photos and

the beasts move fast!

They turn on the lights at 5pm. The sky looks so blue!

When we first came through you could see the Avenue of Flags much better. This gives you the idea of what it looked like even though it is dark. The flag walkway was built upon a visitors request for America's bicentennial in 1996. There are 56 flags that represent the 50 states plus the District of Colombia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands. As Mike and I walked down the Avenue we looked for the Maine and Mass flags. It is amazing how many flags look a like. We finally found them. As I researched later I discovered the flags are represented alphabetically. Knowing that ahead of time would have helped!

The coat of arms of Massachusetts consists of a blue shield which represents the Blue Hills of Canton and Milton, Massachusetts with an Algonquin Native American, named Massachuset. The Indian is dressed in a shirt, leggings and moccasins. He holds a gold bow in one hand and a gold arrow in the other hand. The point of the arrow is pointed down denoting a friendly demeanor. In the upper right hand corner of the shield is a silver five-pointed star representing one of the original 13 colonies. Above the shield on a gold wreath is a right arm, bent at the elbow and grasping a gold broadsword.

The motto of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem, is printed in gold on a blue ribbon. It can be translated as "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty." This motto is supported by the ruffle sleeved arm grasping a sword that is depicted above the shield.

The Maine State coat of arms displays upon a shield, a pine tree, a moose, land and sea. Flanking the shield, a seaman rests on an anchor and a farmer rests on a scythe. Above the shield the Maine state motto, "Dirigo" (I lead), is displayed in small upper case letters on a banner beneath the North Star. Below the shield, on a blue banner, is the name of the state, "MAINE."

Want to know about your state flag? Go to Netstate, that is where I went.

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