Arising early for the pre-dawn view of the sunrise over the northeastern mountain range from the veranda just above the covered soccer court was a sight to behold. The beauty and splendor of this magical land of Honduras never ceases to amaze me… Even at this early hour the locals are traveling via an plethora of motional forces… by foot, bicycles, horse, and on the occasion a motor taxi. As the sun begins to crest the summit of the mountains… the coruscant of light that twinkles thru the trees reminds me of the blessings we are given everyday. Everyday is a gift and should not be taken for granted… We are not promised another day, but we are called to glorify our Lord in all things. After a brief moment of clarity the reality set in that I had not slept all that much in past few nights… So crawled back into the bed to nap before breakfast.
We left the compound around 7:30 local time with a new driver be hide the wheel… Memo was his name and “git r dun” was his game. Memo was a man who was rejected from F1 not because of his lack of ability or reckless driving… contraire he was just to good for them… the corporation deemed it necessary level the playing field and therefore, they pulled his licenses… So he came home to drive for Mario Francisco’s microbus taxi service… SPS to Penalajo was his specialty. Like the veteran that knows the maximum one can push the mechanical limit of his machine he also knows the track or the road he must travel… every bump twist and turn is burnt into his DNA. Daniela was asked how long until we arrived at the beach, he replied 2 1/2 hours… Memo did it in 1 hour and 50 minutes. Never, and I do mean never have we every arrived on time as described by Daniela… much less to arrive ahead of schedule! Memo is the MAN!
Our first stop of the day was in the city of Omoa which is sandwiched between Puerto Cortez and the Guatemalan border on the Gulf of Honduras. We toured the Spanish Fort San Fernando de Omoa that was built in the 16 century to defend the sea port from the soddy English and the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow and the merry band of Pirates of the Caribbean. Back to the microbus and off to the beach… upon our arrival a Vina del Mar; a semi private beach front restaurant and full service wait staff, we were escorted to a cabana near the ocean, and the wait staff took our orders and served us … I never knew how the other half lived, that was some kinda nice.
Several folks to a swim in the Caribbean… some walked the black sand beaches searching for treasure… while others practiced shade squatting under the cabana, practice makes perfect. We first sampled some sea food prepared in the traditional Omar gastronomy that consisted of conk meat and picante sauce followed by a combo tray of surf and turf items that included fresh fish, beef ribs, pork chops, shrimp and sausage… o my goodness, taste and see that the Lord is good. After playing awhile longer we loaded up and headed back to Qumistan. The drive was even more exciting than the trip earlier in the day, Memo had heavy traffic to contend with…he was courteous but passively aggressive… he passed frequently… he passed often and some of the time he passed aggressive, even to the point I thought he was going to pit a taxi driver in San Pedro for cutting him off. I wish that I had a go pro to capture the events from my perspective in the front passenger seat…
Arriving back at the compound just in time for supper, thank you Jesus it was a light supper of tacos for I was still full from the primo meal served on the beach earlier. We fill bags full of beans and rice to take up the mountain tomorrow and pass out to the families in the community. The hour is late and my eyes are heavy… until a predisposed time shall we blog again.
Honduras Agape 