Travel Tales #12 – Salvador?

• The border, El Salvador

• Hours travelled: 6 hours

• Distance travelled: 213.2km

• Transport: buses, mototaxis + a brief walk into Salvador

• Rating: toilets were alright

11 hours of buses. A breakdown. One attempt at a border crossing. A whole lot of bad luck.

The journey for Giselle + I started with I waking at 4:30 from a bad dream (so omninous). We got our food bits together (consisting of: guavabya, beetroot, banana pancakes, a fruit salad + some plantain) + managed to make it to the busstop for just before 6. Here we waited in the fresh morning air till 6:30 when a bus to Santa Rosa passed. This is where the bad luck really begins for me. There wasn’t much space on the bus so we were forced to sit on the last row. What I remember being a huge treat for those in year 11 turned into what can only be described as a seriously uncomfortable journey. Firstly, the skyline had broken meaning blasts of chilly air were continually slapping us in our faces. Next, I was situated next to a rather large Honduran man. At first when he started chatting to me I thought nothing of it, except that it was good spanish practice. Why was I here, for how long, etc… until he turned to me, looked me dead in the eye + asked if I had a boyfriend. End of that friendship. As more people crammed on the bus we ran into another issue. Giselle felt uncomfortable being in the middle seat so had moved to one side. As 2 Hondurans made their way to the back I could anticipate one of them sitting in this now vacant seat. As it turns out, both of them did. Wonderful. So now I had a creep Honduran on my right, 2 squished on the left (+ one of these practically half in my lap) + Giselle too far away to communicate with. I closed my eyes + imagines I was anywhere but surrounded by men. After these two got off the journey was much more pleasant, especially because at a later stop even more people disembarked meaning we could find a two seater to ourselves. I read the incredible book Rachel lent us + then we were there, in Santa Rosa.

^The catrachas with their residencies

First things first: a free bathroom. My advice is seriously to always find a Texaco. Not only are the toilets normally pretty decent but there’s often free WiFi too (not that we took advantage of it this time). We headed down the streets with our bags to the holy Texaco where we almost bought snacks then saw everything was double the price. 4 Oreos for 10L? No way. It was back to the bus station for us where we found some bags of water then suddenly got a call and the girls had arrived. We had to find a bus for the border but as it was leaving almost straight away there was no time for food. I shared what little was left of my banana pancakes + we had a 2 1/2 hour ride through the Honduran mountains. It certainly was beautiful + we chatted lots but something about the travel made my ears blocked + they proceeded to be this way for almost a good hour afterwards. As soon as we got to Santa Rosa we were put in a taxi + taken to the border, which is where the troubles really began. Giselle, Megan + I were easily stamped through (thanks to our residency) + stood excitedly at the side. However, as soon as Rachel called Giselle over to speak to her woman, I knew we had a problem. The short story is Rachel had two extensions in her passport + Salvador were claiming they could only accept one. The Hondurans directed us to the Salvadorian security man who, in turn, directed us to management, so off we went across the border, 3 of us legally. The men asking if we wanted to change lemp to dollars were constantly asking so I replied “ahora no” so one replied “y despues?” “Yah; es posible” – but what he didn’t realise is there would never be a despues…. We’d been told to ask for the management who took us off into a side room for an even longer chat. As I’d rung Jake at the 1st sight of trouble (huge thanks to him!) who gave us the lawyers number we had her on the phone. Although the Salvadorian claimed he couldn’t speak with her directly they could both hear each other. When she started accusing him of being wrong he would raise his voice so she could hear his side of the argument. We were told we should go to Belize or Costa Rica then come back + try again… sure… At this point Megan + I were at the side, totally done, + to be honest I was just finding it funny. My sympathy lies with that man because realistically it was completely a problem on the Honduran side of things. Eventually we could fight it no longer, the extent of our Salvador adventure was going to be the toilets in the emigration office.

These actually were a bit of an adventure though because they were so freakin’ small our heads + shoulders popped out of them! Of course, there were no flushers, water nor soap but an 8L well spent because it was hilarious.

Giselle had jokingly said in front of the man “we could illegally try to cross” which could be part of the reason for why we were escorted out of the border. Once safely back in Honduras we had to be stamped back in, for spending around 1 1/2 hours on the other side. We attempted one last time to sort out Rachel’s but the Hondurans were adement they wouldn’t stamp her passport. With slightly heavy hearts we walked to get a bus back to the town.

At this stage I was still feeling pretty positive: sure, we couldn’t get into Salvador, but we were all together + we’d still have fun. Little did I know what was coming…

The plan was to try to get back to Yam but once we thought about the 6 hour travel time we realised it was impossible. I rang our family who confirmed this. So, new plan: try to get to Gracias. This is a cute colonial town + thanks to training + Thanksgiving we know it pretty well so figured it was a safe place to be. Once in Ocotopeque we had 5 minutes before the bus left to grab snacks (at this point we were running on little food) which were: cookies, a bag of water + an ice cream. The appitimay of health. This next bus was no less packed than the rest so Giselle + I suffered with trying to eat our ice creams whilst standing up which involved us falling into each other more than a few times + the nice Honduran we made friends with catching me at least twice. At one point I was trying to hug Giselle went the bus jolted + I ended up sighing “solo necesito un abrazo”. We shared a cookie with this guy which he in turn shared with his mum + had some cute chats. Eventually one seat was free so Giselle was on my lap for a while which the Hondurans found hilarious. Once there was more space at the back she moved to Megan + Rachel leaving me next to a very sweet but slightly creepy man. At one point in the journey his ticket flew out his pocket so I passed it back to him. In return I was handed a letter where even the spanish wasn’t correct listing the days of the week, saying he didn’t speak English + in one line, asking for a kiss. After this whirlwind romance I was pretty ready to be done with the bus, but another stop meant yet more people + more specifically, more men. Cue one drunk man + 2 guys with backpacks who thought the best place to stand would be less than 10cm from my face. Obviously. I ended up nearly on lover boy as I tried to squirm away from the situation which I’m sure he was thrilled about. The money collector told them to be careful of me which saw one move away, + I guess one arse is better than two. Then, as a distraction I managed to finish my book (number …) but after this it was just my me + my music. At one point I closed my eyes to sleep but was abruptly woken from my daydream by the fact our drunk friend had fallen as we zoomed round a corner + was now on top of me. Thankfully, he was relatively quick to recover though so was I as my eyelids snapped up + I flashed a death stare at him. At this point I was not feeling the love for Honduran men.

Around 5:30 we made it to Santa Rosa where there were no buses bound for La Esperanza, only one last one to Gracias. We climbed aboard this although it ended up being the busiest bus I think I’ve ever seen. We were all on the section next to the driver, the aisle was full to bursting yet still more were coming on. I asked the driver if I could sit upon the front section + he said yes so this ended up in Giselle, a Honduran lady + I staring down the bus. There still wasn’t a lot of room here as my leg was fully over the gear stick + half in the drivers space. Thankfully, he was hilarious + played some really good music so my mood was improved as I jammed along, alone, at the front of a bus, watching the sun setting over the mountains. Of course, this didn’t last too long as when it turned dark the bus broke down. By this point there really weren’t very many people left but I was still sitting at the front (atop my rain jacket as my arse was burning) because we didn’t have too much longer to go. Well, there we were, stuck in the middle of nowhere with a starry sky above us. We were told it would be 10 minutes so Giselle + Rachel ran to find some bags of water. 10 turned into 20 which turned into 30 but still we were stuck. We moved our bags to the front which resulted in a little spill of gasoline as Giselle hadn’t realised our bags were resting on a open barrel of the stuff. Just as I went to ask if there was time to use the bathroom, a replacement bus turned up. Pretty decent for Honduras! Although we weren’t allowed on the 1st they did put us on the 2nd so soon we were speeding off to Gracias.

Another bus, another time being dropped off randomly at the side of the road. Once we found a mototaxi to all squeeze in we headed to the only place we could think of: Guancascos. As we were walking up the steps we were saying “ha, wouldn’t it be funny if they didn’t have any room”… turns they didn’t have any room…

At this point giving up seemed like a good option. Thankfully, the wonderful owner of Guancascos has a soft spot for Project volunteers so she rang another place she knew + seriously helped us out. She even gave us a lift there in the back of her truck. Sometimes after hard days its nice to know there’s goodness left in the world. Eventually we arrived at our current hotel: hot, dejected + completely exhausted. After dumping our bags + making our way to the square for some cheap baleadas, we headed to bed.

At least we’re still smiling!

From a little room in La Ceiba (the adventure continues soon…),

Charlotte

Travel Tales #11 – Sunshine in Sigua

• Siguatepeque, Honduras

• Hours travelled: 1 1/2 hrs (más o menos)

• Distance travelled: 70.4k

• Transport: bus + van

• Rating: 6 1/2

After not raving about Sigua the 1st time, I thought another one of these was due because my opinion has drastically changed. We were picked up at 6:30 on Saturday morning by some of the Americans (thank you sooo much) as they were taking Kate to the airport. She was here for 5 weeks which absolutely flew by + it felt really weird to be saying goodbye to someone in Yamily. I don’t even want to imagine what it’ll be like when we have to say goodbye to everyone…

We were dropped off at Texaco + after a bathroom stop decided we were capeable of walking to town. Buses passsed but still we trudged down the highway armed with backpacks, caps + reaaally good music – cue mini dance party. Against all the odds we made it yo Wendys, only to be informed that the Frosty machine wouldn’t be working for an hour and a half. Slightly dejected, we headed to the very small ‘mall’ + found (what we were later informed was) a dodgy chicken shop, Chester’s. Here we only had to wait 10 minutes for ice cream, which of course turned into a little over half an hour. It was freakin’ worth it though as we had really yummy Mr Whippys for only 16L – a well deserved treat after the walk. However, it turned out we could not walk into town so gave into the 8L bus.

Once this dropped us in we made some rather wild guesses as to where the squares were, though these turned out to be right. We were already dying from the heat + it was only 10 o’clock so we were glad to get to Twins where we met the girls. We returned a passport + letter then chatted about travel plans (which Giselle + I have yet to make for the summer) before Chloe sadly had to get a taxi home; feeling sick.

Giselle + I purchased massive cinnamon swirls to keep our energy up before we went on a thrifting adventure, trying to find trainers for her. As we were sitting enjoying the sweet goodness of these a woman came up to us calling us beautiful. This conversation quickly took a turn for the weird when we were asked if we had boyfriends + to make sure to keep our pants on then went to what name we call Dios. Apparently God was not an acceptable answer?… However, she was a cutie + certainly made me chuckle. Thanks random Sigua lady! We had no such luck on the front, but Cat pointed out an extra section of Rosy’s where we found lots of cute stuff. I couldn’t decide whether a Nike t-shirt + rainjacket were worth paying 45L for but was pleasantly surprised when, on paying, we discovered everything was 10L. I, rather stupidly, pointed this out to the guy which meant that when Giselle + Cat went to get more it went up to a relatively more normal price. Still, we managed to find some great bargains! (Police academy joke…)

Some beautiful pictures of Rosy’s next top models:

After this we searched for a bus to take us to an ice-cream place Vegas non-stop raves about but after giving up in the heat we accepted the taxi option. Only to discover the ice cream place was shut, haha. We didn’t wanna pay another fare so headed to the buses but found a super adorable coffee shop on the way with such a sweet barista who served me my iced coffee (my weakness out here).

Again, we had no luck with the buses so decided this time to walk home – which really wasn’t too bad. After a short stop for a licuado for x Giselle we made it back to their new (+ much improved) apartment. Its the top apartment so offers incredible views which, after a seriously deluxe shower, I enjoyed watching the sunset whilst videocalling friends.

We treated ourselves to 99L pizzas which were seriously yummy whilst chatting about the joys (+ sometimes pains) of teaching. Giselle + I then had a bonding session (por supuesto – it was our 7 month anniversary) where I braided her hair, we jammed then chatted in our cushy double bed.

In the morning I awoke at my usual time (5:30) + enjoyed a meditation session with the sunrise + ace view from Cat’s window. It was then spanish time before getting up my 7 month blog. As it was Mother’s Day I got to videocall my mumma as she showed me around the streets of Cambridge, which have been easy to forget in my absence. It was super weird to see them in coats + hats, all wrapped up, + I do not look forward to returning to the icy climate of the UK. Although she made me jealous with all the freebies she was receiving I think cold pizza with a view like that pictured below was a pretty ace way to start the day…

Eventually it was time to say goodbye to the girls + head back on the road as a duo again. After walking into town Giselle got another cinnamon swirl whereas I treated myself to an ice-cream in the sweltering heat of the morning. Then we were packed onto a super hot little bus to take us to Texaco, where we barely had time to grab bags of water before another, much bigger bus back to Esperanza. Thankfully I had Q&A with me (such an ace book) + the journey passed pleasantly. After buying too many veggies for 190L to last us the week we further treated ourselves to tajadas con carne – yuuuum!

A quick hitchhike home resulted in us getting in the same truck as one of my students + her friend who speaks English + whose niece is in Giselle’s class – are you following all the coincidences okay? 😉 an ace end to an ace trip, especially because I had opportunity to use my new rain jacket with the 1st drops of the year falling as we headed inside the house!

Until the next adventure, from a little blue house in Yamaranguila,

Charlotte

The Months Are Slipping Away…

~7 Months~

I never expected to be quite so settled into life out here, to get to the point where Yam becomes the norm. To get to the point where I barely remember just how I lived in the UK (without paletas, without Giselle, without struggling to communicate occasionally). I’m some ways I feel like I’ve always been here + in other ways I feel like there’s this distance land I came from that I have no memory of. Seriously, it’s sort of like amnesia. I know there was a past life before Honduras but exactly what that was, who knows…

We started this month with Pancake Day (one of my favourite holidays) which the Americans, rather surprisingly, don’t celebrate. Instead Giselle + I made some very happy banana pancakes + enjoyed these with a movie in a rather dark room thanks to having no power.

El día de Amor y Amistad came the next day which was incredible. I’d been off school for two days (read my 6 month blog to hear the fun tales of my illness) but Wednesday I was finally well enough to go back in. Firstly, as soon as we walked into the office we were met with a hugmongous treat table filled to the brim with cupcakes, sweets, fruit kebabs, pencils + pens and even fruit! By the coffee table was an adorable box filled with “Te Amo” teas of which I grabbed a yummy green tea one – woo! This was all set up by the Looneys + was such a cute way to start the day. Thanks guys!

After over indulging here I walked outside to be greeted by calls of “Miss Charlotte!!” + maaaaany hugs. It’s safe to say I missed my kiddos in 2nd Grade. I was gifted love notes, biscuits, a key ring + even a toy dinosaur from a very sweet girl. These kids seriously melt my heart + I really did miss them whilst I sat at home – I was happy to be back!!

There was valentine math sheets, cards + at the end of the day each child picked one other student out out a hat. They then wrote them a very sweet card + gave them a sucker (lollipop) which all enjoyed – plus I love seeing their little smiles☺️ we even gave each one a little pink balloon that resulted in some very adorable pictures:

I even had a pink dinner thanks to adding some beetroot, how lovey of us:

That Friday we were treated to a visit from Rosie + Vegas. Although it was super weird to have another person from the UK out here we got to have lots of lovely chats, eat loads of super yummy food + even have a half day! We were observed in our lessons (+ I’m assuming all went well) then headed back to our apartment for the very brief tour of our kitchen, bedroom + bathroom. Pictures were taken before we headed into town + to La Hacienda – a really incredible restaurant with Honduran food! For starters we shared an anafre then Giselle + I both had kebabs which neither of us could finish (a rarity) before Vegas + I headed to a coffee shop whilst the other two had their interview. Commence a super yummy mocha + lots of interesting chats, mainly about the attitudes in our home countries. I then had my chat with Rosie + it was super weird to have an “official chat” because a lot of the time we forget this is a serious year that we get a qualification from. Obviously we work as hard as we can but it’s so normal now – we just enjoy living here. We were kindly referred to as some of the most positive volunteers + Rosie even said she’d never seen two partners as lovey dovey as us – forever partner goals Maria Isabella💙

Parent teacher conferences came around once again which saw us spending Saturday morning meeting the owners of our kiddies. It still shocks me the difference in parents there is because of the fact some pay + some are sponsored. We rode into town with the Americans afterwards to get our groceries + ended up hanging out in the truck with Abi – one of our ace Honduran buddies. This was before a delicious lunch of soup from our current favourite comedor + grocery shopping – woo!

I even found some biscuits all the way from good ol’ Cambridge!

The next exciting event was my birthday week which was FREAKIN’ ACE!! To start it off, Shawna gifted me the most incredible strawberry pie I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasing on Monday which I shared with Giselle + Mrs Looney.

On wednesday Austin fell ill so I covered the class in the afternoon which was lovely + the kids were so excited to find out it was my birthday over the weekend. We did little 4 leaf clovers with what we felt blessed about on + my wonderful kiddies all said: family, food, school, life, etc. Surely that’s what we should all be blessed for everyday – think we could all learn a little from these stars✨ I obviously put Honduras, which I’m incredibly grateful for, as well as my family, friends + the wonderful students I’m blessed to teach! It was a veeery positive way to end before the break:

We then had one of the best weekends of my life at the lake, written about here: https://helpcharlottehelphonduras.wordpress.com/2018/02/27/travel-tales-9-lago-de-yojoa-round-2/ before coming back to school on Monday.

On Sunday night the neighbours invited us in for dinner by candle light (thanks to no power) + even gave us soup for the next day😋 honestly the kindness of the people here never ceases to amaze me – muchas gracias a todos mis amigos Hondureños💙💙

In the morning I had a birthday party with my kiddies where I was given so many cards + even a beautiful blue lenca scarf from Mrs Looney. The kids put up their hands saying the cutest comments about me (“you’re beautiful” “my favourite teacher”, etc) + Diego even got up + prayed for me! It’s wonderful to realise that you are appreciated so thank you so so much to everyone who made this 19th so incredibly special💙 I love you, I love this life, I love this country🇭🇳

Giselle + I now rock our scarfs, her’s being very funky (much like Giselle) + mine being blue (much like everything in my life):

As a huge thank you to all of their parents for their help with Fiesta Típica we had a movie session (veggie tales) + free pizza during chapel one week. Big shoutout to Alex for the INCREDIBLE pizza that was seriously delicious!

One weekend we made the long trip down to Teguc to see the boys which I’ve written about separately because it was seriously so fun: https://helpcharlottehelphonduras.wordpress.com/2018/03/06/travel-tales-10-terrific-teguc/

It’s amazing that we’re fortunate enough to have such good buddies out here, in another continent. Thanks boys for everything💫

The Looney family unfortunately suffered a lot of illness this week which meant I was left to my own devices with 2nd Grade for 4 days. As I write this at the end of the week, I can look back with hindsight + say I think it went pretty well. I absolutely adore my kiddos + enjoyed actually teaching a lot more than I thought it would although it comes with its difficulties. Behaviour management with 35 crazy kids shocked me on Monday (they spent 10 minutes with their heads down) but the rest of the week has been wonderful. I never really felt like a teacher but talking to people this week who have said “but you’ve managed a class of 35 Spanish speaking kids” makes me realise hey, maybe there is a little teacher in me after all. I’m just extremely thankful that even though it’s a big class, my kiddos are adorable + normally very well behaved!

^presents in class😋

As part of this week there was 1st my mumma’s birthday + as it coincided with Emily’s birthday I got a little video of all the kiddos singing which was mega cute☺️

Just want to say that I love you so so much mumma + even from Honduras I appreciate you more than you could ever realise💙 thanks for showing me what it means to be a strong, happy woman👊

On the topic of women, we also celebrated International Woman’s Day with a chat about who women are (doctors, mums, aunts, etc) + what they can do (sports, study, etc) + what they are (strong, love, etc). I taught the kids that this day doesn’t mean women are better than men, nor that men are better than women but that we are all equal + sometimes women aren’t seen the same. I got them to raise hands + it turns out in my class we have budding lawyers, doctors + more and that both girls + boys wanted to do these. I have a class of very strong, intelligent + capeable kiddos that will definitely go far! Keep rocking it to all the inspirational women out there, especially as today is Mother’s Day👊

Yesterday we made a trip down to Siguatepeque to visit the girls here + I’m currently watching the sun rise over the mountains. I have a bottle of water by my side, a podcast on + it feels like a pretty perfect way to start our 8th month! Sending good vibes to all x

Just a little view from one of our sunset walks this month:

From a crisp sandwich + a scotch egg currently in Sigua,

Charlotte

Travel Tales #10 – Terrific Teguc?

• Tegucigalpa, Honduras

• Hours travelled: 3 hours (más o menos)

• Distance travelled: 199.7km

• Transport: truck

• Rating: 8 1/2

Once again, we were on the windy road to the capital. This time though, actually sitting in a car with some fellow teachers + one of their husbands. We’d left almost straight away after school on the Friday + after a short coffee stop in Sigua (thank you so much Alex, that moccachino was ace!) we were back on the road. The best part of the journey, excluding the company, was the views we got entering the city. A humongous, bright moon shone ahead with the hundreds of lights of the city illuminating the mountains.

We rather hilariously drove down a street where we couldn’t tell if it was a one way or not but managed to safely make it to our meeting place with the boys. There were lots of group hugs before we all headed back to their uni house, where we met one of their roommates, Nixon. Tortillas con quesillo were enjoyed (thank you Daniel) as we caught up before the watching of a very sweet spanish film, Coco. We had to pop out to grab picnic stuff for our adventure the next day so stood in a very dodgy little street with a bunch of drunk men whilst Daniel got sandwich stuff + Doritos but all ended up safely in the house.

The next morning we were up a little late as we’d been up for far too long on Friday night but we had a very American breakfast of pancakes + OJ that was super tasty. Eventually we were out the door + once we’d grabbed a taxi got a bus to Parque Obrero which was a 10 minute walk down a dirt track with some pretty ace views.

I ran over to the play equipment as I am still a child then we all ate our sandwiches whilst playing charades which is even funnier if A) you’re doing it in 2 languages simultaneously + B) you have Giselle with you – you’re re-enactment of a bear will be forever in my mind😂 Daniel also amazed us with The Matrix + another which involved him running around like crazy making hilarious sounds. Then we played with my tennis ball on the football pitch before Giselle + I took a dip in the amazingly deep pool. In front of a slightly abnoxious group of catrachos I managed to do a belly flop that coloured my thighs for the rest of the day + taught Giselle to dive. It was only slightly embarrassing because my feet are pure white (the only remaining British part of me) whereas my ankles/legs are brown. I’m slowly but surely becoming catracha!

After a cold shower + changing together (partner goals) we all headed back on the road to St Lucia. If you’re looking for an adorable mountain town that has Cornwall village vibes I certainly recommend here. As the bus dropped us at the beginning of the town + it was quite a walk in we did a mini hitchhike then walked by the lagoon. It was beautiful with lots of people in boats on the water + too much to resist so we headed out on our own barco. This was hilarious; especially watching the twins trying to paddle together. Giselle + I were obviously the pros though, thanks to our kayaking practice! Many pictures were snapped + we did a phone swap with another group where we were trying to paddle

+ into the best angles. Once this was over my best bud conscienced time to invest 20L into matching necklaces which was such a good idea because they are adorable! We wandered through the town, grabbing some paletas, then headed to the lookout where you are treated to a simply stunning view over Teguc + the mountain range.

Whilst we were sat here admiring the view I heard an exclamation from Daniel, turned around + was face to face with the biggest dog I’d ever seen. It was simply ginormous! The man was describing him to us in Spanish, but I hinted American in his accent so when he said his name was Zeus I asked “oh, like the Greek God?” – I was given a weird look then asked “oh, you speak English?” Man. Look at me, of course I speak English! Once we explained us 2 were English volunteers here for a year + the boys were pure breed catrachos we got back to Zeus. Guess where in the world he was from? The humble city of Cambridge!! I freaked, leading to this truly stunning picture. Although Zeus is some sort of Latin American champion (whose met Johnny Depp?) he’s sadly got cancer in his eye + whilst I was stroking him I he appeared to be crying blood. So although cool, it was a little sad.

Not often a view causes this reaction:

With Zeus the wonder dog:

Then it was time for a beautiful bus ride back to the depths of the city where I fell asleep on Roberto (sorry man) after our exhausting but amazing day. After another super crazy bus that saw the boys freaking out (+ when the locals freak you know it’s bad) we walked home which after that ride, honestly seemed like the safer option. As we walked past a sports complex I heard the all too familiar sound of shoe squeeks on a court + freaked out. The boys kindly took us inside where we enjoyed the free entertainment of a men’s volleyball game – super intense!! My eye kept being drawn to some badminton at the back of the court (I reaaaally miss sport) but when there was a power cut it was time to make a swift exit. Thankfully it returned as we were walking home + so we could enjoy Robbie’s ace baleadas. Us two were shattered so both caught an early night, though the sheer intensity of the heat in Teguc makes it pretty hard to sleep.

On Sunday we lazed around in bed for aaages, discussing the difference in poverty in the UK + Honduras. It gets you thinking that maybe we shouldn’t even use this term in our country because although poverty is relative when you see that those in poverty out here literally can’t even eat, you start to see things differently. I got to videocall my Spanish fam before we got to enjoy more baleadas. Then the 3 of us grabbed a taxi to the mall where Giselle + I managed to get out money (woohoo!), cry at the prices in Walmart then head to the food court to buy a huge portion of Chinese, half of which we saved for Monday. Once there we met the Americans so we shared a wonderful Frosty from Wendy’s which are well worth it!!

Thanks to a stand in Walmart with free samples of coffee I got to show Roberto the coffee I have in the UK:

^Suffered 2 nosebleeds on Sunday, one being in the mall

After saying goodbye to Roberto we carefully arranged all of our things then headed back home. After another stop at Sigua Cafe (shout out to them for our free stickers) it was back on the road, where I write from now. We had an absolutely incredible weekend full of adventures, yummy food + laughs. Thank you so so much to the boys for such an ace time! Until we meet again…

^View point of St. Lucia

From a happy car on the way to a little blue house in Yamaranguila,

Charlotte