June 28/29, 2015

(Skip the plane ride)

Driving through the narrow roads from San Pedro Sula to La Ceiba was insane. It was a test of my mental strength due to the near close calls (in my opinion) passing other cars and bikers while going up and down reasonably-sized mountains. (I think they were honestly small in comparison to regular mountains, but oh well.)

Since I was too worried I was going to die to sleep, I watched the scenery which reminded me of the last time (ages ago) when I went out of the country. It's an incredibly humbling experience to see the lifestyle of true Hondurans that is "off the beaten track" in a way. There were houses which had bright colors in fresh paint which were few and far between, and there were homes with rusted metal roofing, some without doors. Still painted with the Coke and Pepsi logos though which makes me sick that multi-million dollar corporations have basically taken over this culture while still being able to keep them in poverty. Of course, Dante (chef who has Jack Sparrow's beard style) just explained how the children here are so poor that giving them pencils is like giving them gold bars. It's definitely one of those feelings of "I'm so sad for them, and I'm so lucky." I really hope US citizens are able to see, at least once, how the world is. Not to have their problems seem minuscule, but give them a sense of gratefulness for the good.

(Skip Hotel Gran Paris which had A.C. and a pool and dinner with Gilchrist)

A note on the boat ride. I loved it. (4ish/13 of us got seasick...) I was laughing the whole time and enjoying breaking the waves in the huge boat, casually getting sprayed with saltwater. The mountains were in the landscape while I watched the water change colors with the depth of the ocean. I was enjoying the entire thing.

(Skip entering Cayos Cochinos, seeing the 3 island dogs, and the first of many steep cabin walks)

Going snorkeling for the first time was amazing; the water had great visibility and it was amazing to see the corals in real life. You can't go wrong with parrot fish, ever.