Greetings again from Honduras.
Last week I returned from a trip through Yoro and Colon, two departments (like states) in the north of Honduras. It was a trip for the books indeed. Most of the way I was accompanied by a good friend and fellow volunteer Justin living in Yoro. Oh the places we went.
This is where I have to tell you about sitting on rocks. Oh sitting on rocks. My trip was meant originally to discover the department that is Yoro. There are only 5 volunteers there and it normally goes unvisited due to extreme heat and the occasional western style shootout by drug lords marking territory. Two of my friends live there and I felt I just had to make it out to know really what goes on. I ended up hitting the luck box by experiencing the very rare cool temperatures and no shootouts. Although with the shootouts part I think I was unlucky.
After visiting the town of Morazan, Justin and I moved on to his town of Victoria and then onto the beautiful beaches of Trujillo. We had some fun in the sun. We played a classic game my brother invented when we were kids called run into the water as fast as you can until you face plant. It was really nice.
But let me tell you about rocks. After Morazon we’d have to catch 3 different buses to get to Vitoria, where Justin lives. The second bus is a 2 hour dirt road ride on a chicken bus, or as you would know it, a yellow school bus.
After this bus, we had to get off and wait for bus #3 which is a short ride to Justin’s site. This is where we meet the rocks. These rocks lay under a beautiful tree amidst, well, not much else. It’s just a crossroads, a tree, some country houses and these rocks. It’s pretty normal to wait in places like this for buses when traveling in Honduras.
But let me tell you these rocks were something else. They were smooth, as if the rock’s hard edges were worn down by a river, but no water was in sight let alone a river. The mystery of how this happened will keep you up at night.
You can sit on them for hours waiting for a bus and surprisingly, nothing will happen. You can see men with machetes talking to themselves and watch mothers breastfeed their children with a full boob buffet out and still she looks at you with the “oh my god it’s a gringo” stare. Her other child throws rocks at chickens.
Then you see the red ants, and they just want to take you down. I mean, we are on their rocks. Oh these rocks are amazing. You can sit on them and think about this movie scene…
You may think you have it made. Back in the states most my friends are working in the city, going to nice restaurants, spending beautiful times with their friends and significant others, going to fun bars and baseball games…and here I am, just sitting on rocks. Where else can I experience that?
Life is crazy. Sittin’ on rocks…sometimes its just what we do.
…Until next time
