Home again, looking back

Our trip to Honduras was wonderful. We may have squeezed too much into the trip considering the fact that we will most likely be going back multiple times over the coming years. Nate, Cori and the kids threw their schedules into chaos to get us to some of the sights and show us the country. The kids took off from school the days we were there, and Nate took some time away from the ministry to chauffeur across the country. We never went more than about ninety miles from their home base of El Progresso. That is about as far as they have been able to explore in the time they have been in the country, but we got to see beautiful Lake Yojoa in the mountains on the way to Tegucigalpa and a gorgeous beach in the seaside city of Tela. We ate at some unusual restaurants and enjoyed some new cuisine; most of it eaten outdoors on covered patios, exposed to the gentle breezes of the mountains or the seaside. We shopped. We sipped coffee from select coffee shops. We bought fruit, avocadoes and coconuts from roadside markets. All navigating through bustling traffic, which was very frightening to Mama. There, you could be passed on the right or he left, whether or not there is a lane to do so and in spite of oncoming traffic.

Along the way we got a good feel for the country – both good and bad. It makes me wonder, of those who tried to invade the US through the Southern border, if the return to Honduras, what exactly will they have to come back to? Unlike some of the other Central American countries I have visited, poverty was on full display. However, there were few panhandlers anywhere. The way people drive there, it would be a dangerous occupation to choose. On every street, on every highway, there were dwellings built of collected items – anything that could provide a little privacy. None of those homes would have kept animals or insects at bay. Few will keep out a hard rain, but none were trashy in the area surrounding them. Although there were no starving children – everyone looked adequately fed – there were many starving cats and dogs. Bananas, pineapples, avocadoes, oranges, yucca and coconut grow in abundance, so there is something to eat year round. Whether or not there is a place for the poor to cook the food they can find is a different question altogether.

While at Lake Yojoa we took a boat ride out on the lake. Nate, Cori and the kids had not done that yet. That was extremely enjoyable. When we were done eating, we went to the dock to wait on the pilot. Once he arrived, we boarded the boat with the least amount of water in it. Nate, Cori and the kids were the first aboard. I was waiting to make sure the boat was stable before helping Mama to board. Victoria hopped in just before Mama. Blake was seated in the front and when Victoria got in, she pulled at one of the canopy supports to help her balance so the boat leaned pretty far towards us as she completed her step. That slid Blake toward the lower edge of the boat. He was more than a little surprised at the rocking of the boat. In his agitation, just as Mama was stepping onto the boat using Victoria’s support grabbing method, further rocking the boat, he said, “Great, now the heavy people are getting on.” Mama was so tickled by the words and the accompanying facial expression that she laughed for the next ten minutes. I thought we would have to disembark so she could find a restroom.  

So much happened in the ten days we were there it would be impossible to recount even a small portion. Suffice it to say, we had a great time with our children and grandchildren. The trip back home was not completely uneventful. Like the trip down, we had to hurry to catch our connecting flight in Houston; coming very lose to missing the flight. On the way back, we had a two-hour layover. We thought that would be enough to make the connection and grab a bite to eat. Not! We had to go through customs, collect our checked bags and recheck them, then go through security all over again. Fortunately, Mama took the walker that acts as a seat and I was able to use it like a wheel chair to hurry her through the airport. We got to the gate for our connecting flight about five minutes before they closed it. Had it not been for the fact that we were given preferential treatment due to the walker, we would not have made the connection either time we switched planes in Houston.

But we are home safe and sound. All of us well. Nate, Cori and the kids will get up this morning to start their normal routines, just like we did. Bummer!