HONDURAS part 3-a little of this and a lot of that

i certainly meant to get to this sooner, but alas, i have been a little busy-did i say alas? what i should have said was a blast-i am having a blast, which has slowed down my ability to sit down and write. i am in VA, visiting my cousin carrie, who i haven't seen in about... um.. we figure about 17 years (which, by the way is way too long- especially when it's someone you appreciate!) but that's a part of the trip i haven't gotten to yet-be patient, i promise that i will get there!

so, we left la ceiba on sunday morning, and stopped at tio dolmo's for a quick little rest stop. it was the perfect place to stop, and we were able to get some typical candies and corn tamale-type things. YUM!

we missed out on the movie that we were thinking about going to for our sunday evening in sps, so we did a little tour of the mall iinstead(remember, this was my first mall i'd been in since we got to sps, and i was impressed!) then we went on a longer tour around town to see some of the new neighborhoods that were not in existence when i left. because it felt like just yesterday that i was home, it was very strange to see all of the changes, even though i knew there would be changes, i didn't realize how much!

from many of the restaurants that we have here to malls in almost every sector, you can get pretty much anything we can get in the U.S...

monday morning I pulled out some tie-dye kits that i had taken down
 with the specific intention of making t-shirts with steph and elias; let's not be modest, we made some of the coolest shirts! of course it took a few hours...ok we had to let them marinate overnight until we were able to pull them out and reveal their awesoawesomeness! that is the nature of the tie dye! Fortunately that worked out really well and allowed Sheryl to get some things done that really needed doing! i knew that she was going to have to run a lot of errands and get a ton done because she was leaving for the U.S., so i loved that we got to do the everyday routine errands together (that she was willing to drag this gringa along)  maybe for some people that would not be their cup o tea, but for me, spending time with people doing ANYTHING is quality time! i know, weird, but i loved it!

Part of our errand-running including getting to meet up with this handsome guy-Sheryl's dad never a dull moment!

i wasn't expecting to, but it worked out that i was able to get together with my old volleyball co captain (mind you, i am NOT calling her old-that would get me into a bit of trouble!!) actually hanging out with yanira was a highlight because when you hang out with someone after so long, it really does change things! It's one thing to catch up on facebook, it's a bit better to catch up in letter-form (actually it's great because it is something that you can physically hold on to and read over and over again!), even better to talk on phone and Skype, but nothing beats face to face physically being together!! So when yani got in touch and we went for coffee, i loved hearing all about the growing and learning, family, fun. i am SUPER IMPRESSED by her commitment and dedication to running and prep for the upcoming ironman! i have such a high regard and admiration for the lady she has become!

My co-captain, my friend!

i also got to see my old classmate juan pablo for coffee the next day, and catching up with him was enlightening. although our time was short, it was good to hear what was going on in his life and the way everything cycles around. i am so proud of him and the way that things are going for him and his family! one of the greatest things about jp is that he is a life-long learner and he really takes knowledge seriously! that was refreshing!

never stop dreaming and believing, jp!

there were a couple of friends i was hoping to connect with, that just didn't work out-for work or vacation reasons, which was sad-not like i cried sad, more like-bummer, perhaps can plan better next time-sad. such is life, and as tom hanks says, there's no crying in baseball, well, i submit that there is not enough time to cry while vacationing either! so, moving right along, i was beside myself (like...dancing beside myself!) when i finally got to see erika and her husband for dinner! this was the first time that i got to meet jose enrique, and i knew he was the right match for erika because i could see the adoration and pure joy between the two of them!

i had one day to swing down to the Mercado guamilito, where I was looking for some small-ish things. i had one thing in mind for sure- i knew i wanted to find some stationery that was handmade in HONDURAS (which you may recall i saw for  the first time when I received one from brandy)so i scoured the place until I found it; i actually had to describe what i was looking for to a man and he pointed me to a lady down at the end of the aisle, and when i got to her, i re-explained what i was looking for and she thought for a minute, then opened up one of her glass cabinets and these beautiful cards were kind of hidden in the midst of all of the other knick knacks, so i bought all of them.

This was the view from my room-great inspiration for letter-writing!

then i decided to run over to the shop of one of my friends to drop off a simple note and something that i had thought to bring her. so i dropped that off, and decided to go in to look around so that i would be able to imagine it better when i see posts on fb; i'm so glad that did because it really was an elegant store and the girls that were working there were very attentive- great customer service! i found some merchandise that i really kinda fell in love with and may have spent more money than i should have!!

Adorable shop! I love the feel-very quaint.



this is the dress I fell in love with, now i just need to find an occasion!

then friday came, and i went with erika and jose enrique to copan! oh wow! the trip was a long one, but the views were to die for! there is just something about the untouched mountainside of this area of HONDURAS that is simply breathtaking. i wish that i could post a picture along with the way that the scenery makes me feel in every fiber of my being-admiration, love of country, peaceful, relaxed--if you could look at a picture and feel the way i felt as i absorbed the surroundings.. more than happy; i'm not sure if it's pride or peace or perhaps exhilaration would best describe the feeling.

 as I said, it is somewhat difficult to explain, but these hills, this terrain, it is a part of my identity. it brought back so many memories of travels with my parents in the truck to different churches in small villages and outlying neighborhoods! the closer we were getting to copan,the worse the road got, and of course, as it goes in driving, it seems that when the roads get bad, you are almost certain to get stuck behind the slowest bus or truck for several miles because passing on crazy mountain roads is ill-advised unless you are 125% certain of your odds! but, even at that, it felt so normal and routine.

we arrived at a little tucked away area called hacienda el jaral, and checked into a cute little cabaña. what impressed me the most was all of the vegetation and greenery. had we more time, i would've really taken an afternoon to thoroughly put the hammocks to use! yes, yet another tidbit to add to you julie file, i am an avid hammock napper/sleeper- i'm pretty sure i would have NO problem doing one of those canopy adventures in which you sleep above the rainforest in the hammock-no problem!

oh to have just a few more days!!

birds of paradise!

these two are such a cute couple! the epitome of fun!

i would have loved to attend church in his little chapel!

anyhoo, once we got settled in and looked around for a minute, we went into the little village of copan, which is a nestled in mountains; there was a little bridge that was a sort of guardian to the city, and as soon as we entered, we were greeted by the cobblestone hills of the village. i was immediately enamored. i'd been to the ruins, but never to the village. we went to this great little restaurant which they were familiar with and our server carried the anafre-beans and cheese-if i remember correctly-on her head (an impressive feat when climbing the stairs!). what a meal!

my world would be better if i had one of these around every day...and the food would be great addition as well!

 the next morning we had grand plans, but because we were thorough, we made it through two parts of the ruins, and the museum; which is fine, one more reason i'm going to have to return. i am fascinated by history and this has always been right up my alley. so, although i took a gazillion pictures, i don't want to bore you, so i will only pose a few, suffice it to say, there is much more to see, and i hope that if you ever get the opportunity, you will venture down to check it out!! It will be well worth it!

I was  loving the macaws! they were so beautiful and i especially like the way they were being reintroduced into the wild! there is no reason these majestic birds should be in captivity!

The view of the plaza from the top of the ruins



hieroglyphic stairway was finally 75% accurately completed

the tunnels were finally complete-very cool!

and this guy? well everyone needs a good 'stone face'

Hug/resting station... it's all the same, right??

Life- sized replica in the museum-pretty amazing

one of the better macaws so great with the beak, tongue, garras...



I loved the colored stones-symbolizing the elite.

copan the village vendors

 i did nothing to deserve it, but erika and her husband spoiled me. their generosity was over the top- i had an incredible time and i loved every minute of hanging out with them! as i said before, being with friends that you have shared so many experiences with in the past is invigorating because it allows for comfortable conversation. it was certainly refreshing, and it made me really appreciate our friendship so much more! the saying is that distance makes the heart grow fonder, but truthfully, it only makes the heart grow fonder when there is the acute wake up call reminding me of what life was like when proximity was involved! i in fact felt a little like robin williams in hook when he realized he was pan and started to remember things he'd forgotten...

 so, lesson learned-don't put those memories away for safe-keeping, they must be revisited and stoked often! i am going to work on being keenly aware of my priorities and being intentional! i will probably be sucking it up and using the phone more as well... pick your jaw up off the floor, ya heard me right.

i'm falling behind-but no worries, i'll have a spell here soon in which things will calm down and i'll be back to writing about silly things again!

good day! julie