Blogs from Western, Honduras, Central America Caribbean - page 3

We left Managua, Nicaragua at 4am on a direct bus to San Pedro Sula in Honduras. The bus was reasonably comfortable but I was more than happy to finally get off it as it had taken an hour longer than expected arriving around 6pm. The night before we left Nicaragua I read that in 2012 San Pedro Sula had been named the murder capital of the world. This made me a little nervous travelling through Honduras and staying in San Pedro Sula however we had no problems and didn't feel unsafe. We were picked up at the bus station by the owner of our hostel. He explained to us that it is the drug cartels and gangs that like to fight and kill each other which has seen the murder rate go out of control. Generally ... read more

I am still struggling with blog posts and I am not sure where they are going or when they show up in this blog. Today was a good day on the site. Good news, we finally reached depth in our trenches. Even better news, the heavy rains last night did not make them fill up, collapse or float away as I dreamed they might. You guessed it. Today we filled the trenches with the rocks. Some of us made concrete in a pit and the masons began building the foundations with the rocks and cement. Several team members were really good at figuring out the puzzle of which rock fit best where, while others, like me, just lugged rocks and dropped them where we were told. I was surprised when the super asked our team to ... read more

Yesterday was an uneventful, but long travel day. Flights were on time, but the lines in Honduran immigration were almost 90 minutes long. Our drive from San Pedro Sula to Santa Rosa was close to 4 hours in a 15 passenger van, with 15 passengers. Not quite my new SUV, but it worked. The lush landscape and mountainous views made the drive interesting. We checked into our comfortable welcoming hotel, "Hotel San Jorge". They provided a delicious dinner of chicken, beans and rice. Today was a day to acclimate and explore the local culture. We started with an orientation to Habitat Honduras provided by our in country host, Luis. We reviewed the history of Habitat, safety concerns and learned a few 'Luisisms'. My favorite for today. . . "Remember to 'squeeze the lemon' before getting in ... read more

While sitting in my cozy, comfortable home, typing away on my computer, packing the essentials for our trip, I am reminded again how fortunate I am to live the life I do AND have the opportunity to serve others. My last trip (18 months ago) to build Habitat Home in Honduras had a profound and lasting impact on my life. So much so, that when presented with the opportunity to train to be a team leader and take a group of people to Honduras to help build and advocate for affordable housing, I jumped in with both feet. As a team leader my focus on this trip will be different. Although I will build alongside my team and our Honduran partners, my primary responsibility will be my team. Their safety is first and foremost. It is ... read more

We didn’t have to head to the ruins until 08:30 but being on holidays I’m to bed early after full days and up early, which fortunately gives me time to blog, and catch up on life. Wi-Fi is provided in all the hotels we are staying at; however whether it is working or not is yet another story. So I’m blogging, but posting isn’t working out so well! Thankfully all my faithful, loyal readers, while breathless with anticipation of my next blog also have lives and while eager to read the next one (please?) will survive until the modern world can get my word out! The ruins are less than a KM away, so we walked the road to them with another group of very young travellers, dressed in flip flops, short shorts, itsy bits tank ... read more