Last weekend, a group of ten of us traveled to Amapala which is about 3 hours south of Tegus on the coast. We got lucky that one of the drivers from GB has his own "busito"or small bus/large van and we all paid $20 to have him drive us there and back. We actually had to be dropped off in Coyolito and take a boat called a lancha from there to get to the island of Amapala. The whole island is actually a volcano, which we intended to hike but no one was ever willing to hike early enough in the morning.
After arriving to the island of Amapala, it took the ten of us about an hour to decide which beach on the island we would stay at. We finally decided on Playa Negra where we stayed at the only hotel on that part of the island. The hotel was pretty nice with a pool and beach access but definitely not the cleanest place I've ever stayed.
That afternoon, we spent at the beach and walked to a small restaurant owned by a family that was pretty much in the sand directly on the beach. There was no menu..the only option they had was a big fish or small fish. Since I do not eat fish, especially with the eyes and skin still attached, I asked the waitress if there was any vegetarian options. She was super nice about it and brought me eggs,beans, and tajaditas-which are plantain chips.(*see Vegetarianism below)
It was incredible to be sitting right on the beach and having the option to swim in the ocean while waiting for our food. Even the chickens that most likely they use for food and eggs were wandering freely in the sand. The little chicks were so cute! As you can see in the photos...
After a day in the sun, our group ventured into the center of town to find a place for dinner. We ended up at a fried chicken place, where I resorted to the only vegetarian option of french fries. After dinner, just a few of us ventured to the only club in downtown Amapala, Hey Mister. There was a really great mix of music playing throughout the night and we actually met some French Canadians who were living nearby working in a community. I attempted to talk with two guys but there was quite a language barrier. The little Spanish they knew was difficult to understand with their accent and then they would occasionally say some words in English and then in French. However, they were all very nice and it was kind of fun attempting to decipher what each other were saying in three different languages.
The second day was pretty much just a beach day. We ventured to another beach called Playa Grande where we again ate at a restaurant that only had fish or shrimp. The woman who was our waitress and also a cook offered to make me beans rice tajaditas and avocados. While we waited nearly two hours for our food, we swam in the ocean. I played catch using a coconut with the little boy who's parents owned the restaurant.
Something I have enjoyed living in Tegus and also during my first trip out of the city, is that I do not feel like a tourist. Since Amapala and Tegus are not marked top tourist destinations, I have felt very much a part of the local culture-with the exception that everyone stares at me when I go places-as I cannot blend in at all. In Buenos Aires, I was able to blend in much easier. After I told one of the GB staff that I learned Spanish in Argentina, he thought that I was from there. This made me feel pretty good about my Spanish.
Sunday night, we all hung out at the hotel and attempted to get snacks or food of some sort but there was literally nothing so we just finished off the little food we had brought. Monday morning we woke up early to catch a few hours at the beach and then headed back to meet our driver in Coyolito.
Since it was 4th of July, we were very lucky to have the day off. So when we returned back to Tegus around 2:30 we made typical 4th of July food and grilled on the roof of the apartment. I made black bean burgers for myself and Alex, who is the other vegetarian in the house. Unfortunately it rained as soon as we moved all of the food upstairs. Being the rainy season, that was expected, so we put up a tarp and ate underneath it.
The rest of the week was pretty busy with meetings and office work. My boss, Michelle arrived on Thursday as well as two other advisors. So we are working on training a little bit this week and getting to know each other. This weekend a bunch of the staff as well as some Honduran friends and staff went out for one of the old advisors' "despedida"-farewell/goodbye. We went a place called El Patio which was a karaoke bar...pretty entertaining.
Yesterday afternoon, Fabi, who is the girlfriend of the HR director/Program Lead for Water Brigades, Ben, had us over for lunch. Her mom made sopa de mariscos-seafood soup. She was afraid to make something vegetarian for me,so she said to me "this is your home" and opened the fridge and allowed me to make my own food.I wasn't really expecting because the day before she told me she would make something vegetarian. I can understand that vegetarian food is pretty uncommon here, so I was fine making my own food. Next time, i will make a dish to bring and share it with everyone.
Today, Danny, the microfinance program lead, the new medical advisor, Nicole, and I ventured to the American school to play ultimate frisbee with some people from the US Embassy. We arrived there and the security guard let us in once we told him why were there, but there was no one there playing frisbee. We ended up walking around the school which was really nice and in a pretty cool neighborhood. Once we were leaving, the guard then proceeded to tell us that they played this morning. Why he didn't tell us that when we got there, I'm not really sure.
This week should be good. Two medical students, Hirel and Daisy, that are here for the summer, are going to take me to a Honduran vegetarian place. FINALLY!
*Vegetarianism doesn't really exist here in Honduras. So I usually have to explain that I do not eat any meat-including chicken and fish. When I visited Tomatin a couple of weeks ago, the wives of the Caja members wanted to serve Alex, my co worker and I lunch -which included fish.I was going to accept whatever they served us because I would have felt rude to refuse to eat something that they had to work so hard to prepare. However, Alex interjected and told Roberto, the Caja president that I was vegetarian and didn't eat fish. They women were so sweet and offered to make me beans and eggs. When I returned the second time they remembered that I didn't eat meat and again offered us lunch and made me fried yuca. Yuca is a potato-like vegetable and is sooo delicious! Its so amazing to me that the people in Tomatin who are definitely one of the poorer communities we visit and yet are so willing to offer us a food. Explaining to Roberto that I was vegetarian partially for moral reasons was somewhat difficult because I know that they do not mistreat the animals they eat in the communities like they do on factory farms in the US.
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