A popular hot springs is about an hour´s drive from Copan along a dusty road. The drive to the hot springs is far more fascinating than the hot springs themselves. Most of the hills around the city have been cleared to some extent of vegetation to make way for coffee plants, bananas, and other crops. It is incredible how the farmers plant crops on slopes that are fit only for sledding or snowboarding where I live. Our driver told us about the cooperative for raising organic coffee in these hills, where about 15 to 20 families joined together to raise shade grown coffee in a sustainable way. We saw very young plants, carefully tended under shadecloth, for replacing coffee plants when they die. The families had been gathering lots of firewood and storing it in a ... read more

I have a new family. Donia Orphilia is about my age, and she warmly welcomed me into her home. Her niece Sabrina is a talkative 7 year old who is learning English, and who translates for Orphilia when she needs it. Her sister Elda and her parents also live in the same house. I have my own room painted in the classic yuk green, and a private bathroom. I can stare at the underside of the tile roof, criss crossed by electrical wires. It is quite cozy. Last night I was cold, however, even though it was about 80 degrees F. The family has four dogs and two cats, who all seem to get along well. The cats are lanky, with the weirdest triangular faces. I have not yet met the dogs. So far I love ... read more

I greeted San Pedro Sula, Honduras last night. My charming taxi driver, Wilmer, graciously gave me some basic Spanish lessons on our drive through the streets of the city to my hostel. It could have been a city in the US, except for the Spanish signs. There was McDonalds and Applebee's, traffic lights, several lanes of traffic, people driving sensibly. And two senoras greeted me at the hostel, where they were having a small party outside in front of the building, in the street. "Sola" they ask, si, I respond--yes, I was very much alone. This morning I bought a bus ticket to Gracias, the capital of Honduras from the 1500's. I bought it with the utmost difficulty, and was dismayed that I would have to wait two hours until the bus would leave. But at ... read more