.WE.ARE.GNOMADS.

OF RAIN RAIN RAIN!  We are going to start work on the ark Jim is designing now if the rain does not stop in 10 days!  We are used to it now and I have finished three books and almost done with my fourth.  Jim is reading all of our travel books front to cover and some sections twice.  We will not miss a bit of Central America if the rain does not stop.

Photos of Jim´s birthday day trip at the bottom along with the written details!

But there is a bit of sunshine at the end of the dark dark rainy cloud….we finally broke down and bought the best umbrellas ever.  You think everything is better when it is made in America…well not the umbrellas! Wait, I am sure the ones they sell here are made in China though!   Super large in diameter (think golf umbrella…but not that crazy), double layered in the material, and no my friends, I am not done yet, at least twice as many of the metal spines holding it all together. I feel as if a strong wind came along I would be off Mary Poppins style.  Of course, this umbrella onsteroids does not fold down into a little handy pack away accessory, you walked with it proudly at your side even looking a bit dapper.  And I have to say I feel as if I have a sort of a weapon too if one may be needed.  Okay, you thought that was exciting, the best part is yet to come!  My umbrella is Pink, yes, my beloved Pink and with another color I so dare admire, orange, in the polka dot fashion.  Who could ask for anything more?  Jim, of course!  His is dark blue with light blue rain drops all over it.  Quite the scene we make!  And by hell or high water (pun intended) we will bring those home with us to show off with pride! 

Okay back to the rain, I learned a new phrase from my good friend Patty while visiting her and her family in Brooklyn.  When you do something that ends up stupid and costing you cash, it is called ¨Stupid Tax.¨ Well, although not sure what the rain is costing us, but coming here during the rainy season is a bit of a Stupid Tax move!  But it does make for better Spanish homework and study weather.  Imagine Jim and I laying on our bed, quizing each other on spanish words!  Now, that is fun! Brag time here, I know more words than Jim knows, but I have a feeling he will speak the language much better than me down the road.  Gee…he already does that in English! 

Speaking of our Spanish school, Centro American Spanish School, CASS threw a little birthday celebration for Jim after classes on Friday for his 40th birthday that falls on Sunday! We were supposed to go to this Jungle River Lodge that has white water rafting, canopy tours and hikes in a national park Pico Bonito, but with all this rain the road to it was washed out. We are celebrating his birthday here in good old La Ceiba! I ran around the market today looking for all these little things he has pointed out…he will be getting a fine bag of cheap an odd things, but it is the thought that counts, right!

So, I have to tell you about our new friend, Lola! We live in her home actually! Lola is a Guara, a big red parrot. I love her, and she has taken a liken to me too! Check out what she looks like:

Guara

Guarasare the national bird of Honduras and I think they were or either are going extinct, so I am not sure why she is living in a cage with a clipped wing in the of the family we are homestaying with, but she is well loved and taken care of there that is for sure. Matter of fact, Lola has run of the house sometimes. She is out of her cage quite a bit sometimes and knows how to open the screen door to the glass sliding door near their kitchen. She walks right in to the green mat in front of the kitchen sink picking at it like it is a long lost child. She also has a fondness for leather flip flops. Now, you see I had to have these Chaco flip flops because they are well made and very comfortable, but the only ones I could find where leather. I stupidly (another Stupid Tax move) left them outside our bedroom door right in the pathof Lola´s wrath…and now my flip flop has Lola bite war wounds! She does have her moods, but all in all we get along just fine. And the best thing about her, is she follows voice commands from the husband of the couple we are staying with. She is truly a loved pet there and I am glad to call her my friend. Jim and her, though, are not on such good terms. There is a trust problem. Jim is worried she will peck her, and she does! We have more time to work on that relationship with all this rain…so I have hope.

Will talk about our gracious homestay hosts, Rosario and Luis, in the next blog….and it may be from under water or with Lola and her mate as well as a boat load of other paired up animals!

And one more thing….Jim´s birthday was yesterday and we celebrated, the only way we know how to do things in Honduras…IN THE RAIN. We went to the Cuero y Salado refuge…wonderful time…but could have been tons better if it did not rain too! We took a taxi took the tiny town of La Union. Waited there for a tiny trencita (little train) to take us to the refuge. The ride was around half an hour. We checked out the little informational building, paid our fees and scurried off to a boat for a ride and look-see around the mangroves. We saw some birds, monkeys and a baby crock. It was a nice ride…even in the down pour! When all said and done…we had missed the bus back to La Ceiba…and no taxis way out our way. So we basically hitched a ride with the train conductor going back home for the day. We mushed in the front of a small truck, me sitting on something hard and uncomfortable for the half hour ride home, but glad to be out of the rain! My favorite thing was seeing him hid the hand gun at his waist. Should we have been afraid…no…he drove us all the way to our front door and wouldn´t even take the money Jim offered him, but Jim insisted! Now, do not be concerned…many men wear guns here…so much there are metal detectors at restaurants, bars and banks…and lockers to put them in while your are visiting the establishment! The wild west goes Honduran!

Jim´s birthday day photos at the refuge:
PHOTOS

~ by My Gnome Little World on November 2, 2008.

Posted in Oct - Dec 2008, Year Away in Central America: Oct. 7, 2008 - Mid December, 2009
Tags: Central America, Honduras, Travel