MyShadowProductions #73 - Honduras/Loma de Luz Days 26 - 28

Hola amigos! 

The weather was great Saturday and I hiked to Balfate and walked the beach there and hiked back, total around 8 - 10 miles? Not sure why I “hiked” part of it and “walked” the other??

Along the way, I saw a few opportunities for a “joke”:

3 HP (horse power) grass mowing at the Campo de Futbol (soccer field) above.

I don’t know if it crossed the road, so I didn’t ask it Why? (above)

And a photo not a joke:

This is the kind of tree they use to make the hand hewn boats. It was around 3 ft diameter and over 60 ft tall. 

Here are a few movie/videos created from my photos:

Shelf-making with Mario continues, we finished our third set today and have a couple of work tables to start on tomorrow.

I was looking back at my photos (before shelf-making started) and realized that Mario is not shy of a camera:

And, why not? A quick movie/video of the shelves including a piece for the Christmas Nativity Scene :)

As far as I know the election and post-election have been peaceful. I think Honduras is getting their first female President. When I was in Balfate on Saturday there were military/national guard personnel in town near the election headquarters.

Try wouldn’t let me take photos. Also, when I was in Roby’s Cafe Express, an international election observer (my term) came in with a Honduran escort and bought a Coke. She said she was from Switzerland, thought Coke would be safe, didn’t want to try local coffee, her loss :)

I liked the view when I stopped on the Balfate beach to take this photo but I like it even more seeing it in a photo, I should have cropped the small piece of debris at the bottom :)

Have a great day!

MyShadowProductions #72 - Honduras/Loma de Luz Days 19 - 25

 Hola amigos!

Struggling with putting thoughts on “paper” at the moment so I just wanted to share some photos over the past week in a movie/video.

Yes, that is a “Poinsettia Tree” in the movie/video and in the photo below:

Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Honduras as a whole but at Loma de Luz it is considered a “holiday”. A potluck Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, etc. with desserts) was held at the Guest House’s large common area and was attended by over 60 people. Gringos and Hondurans alike.

The Honduran Presidential Election is Sunday November 28 and word is it can get a little “exciting” with demonstrations and gatherings following the results. We will see!

Hoping to take a hike west to Balfate today and see it in the daylight. I went there on Tuesday night with some other visiting volunteers and long-term volunteers to eat at Arena’s Restaurant (the fish in the movie/video) and get a snack at a new little coffee shop.

Hope you are having a nice weekend!

MyShadowProductions #71 - Honduras/Loma de Luz Day 18

 Hola!

Saturday was my 18th day here and I decided to walk through the Canadian Development nearby, Villas Paraiso Escondido (roughly Secret Paradise Villas) and access the beach from there and walk West a little and then to the East.

Here is a map with my route and a closer view of the Villas development:

It turned out to be a great day with many, many photo opportunities so you may have movie/videos overload if you are brave enough to finish this post.

By the way, my photos include some locals and I asked each of them before I took the photos :) (except guys in the boats) :)

The security guard at the Villas gate was very nice. I knocked and asked him if I could walk to the beach. Puedo caminar a la playa? He said Si 

Here are three movie/videos:

I have been told that someone donated their Villa to Loma de Luz and it is available  for Loma de Luz long term missionaries to use for a “beach getaway”.

The water was so clear and inviting I stopped for a swim about midway heading East.

The sailboat looked like such a peaceful ride, I was hoping to catch them at the shore and ask if I could pay for a short ride but they didn’t come to shore while I was there.

Here are a few short videos using the iPhotos memory movie tool:

I definitely plan on making this trip a few more times. Hopefully see a sunset there too.

Here is a photo of my collection of rocks and shells so far. Nothing amazing about any of them, usually just sitting by themselves on the beach calling my name.

                                     Feliz Lunes !

MyShadowProductions #70 - Honduras/Loma de Luz Days 15, 16 & 17

Hola everyone.

It rained very hard just before sunset on Wednesday. This is a photo off of the balcony of my room showing the water shooting off the roof. Wondering how they knew how far from the roof the water would shoot? The photo doesn’t show how heavy the rain was. Since that downpour which lasted a couple of hours the rains have been very sparse.

I thought I would share some photos around the Hospital itself. In the last couple of days while working near the shop, I have heard a few newborn babies crying (they were born in the Hospital, not the shop) :)

Coming uphill from the gate this grey wall will be painted white and will have signage. The main entrance to the Hospital is to the right and Emergency is to the left. 

8 Casitas where people who live far from the hospital can stay if they need continuing outpatient follow-up.

The infamous storage container with shelves by Mario and Kim. It will be painted and the doors replaced with a roll up door.

They hand mix the concrete and pour the pavers on site in a form that makes 6 separate pavers.

                         Now, some food photos:

Jugo de Piña (pineapple juice) and chunks of watermelon, cantaloupe and pineapple.

Menu for La Parilla the restaurant by the gate: I added the currency conversion note. They don’t have all the items every day, it varies. Same owner as the Cafeteria at the Hospital (where I get most of my food).

Someone brought a huge bag of naranjas (oranges) in the morning for everyone to grab a few.

I like this, Aloe Vera water with grape pulps, very tasty and not a tremendous amount of sugar.

Hamburquesa with papas fritas. Yes, that is an egg and the meat is thin and well done/charred. Pistachio ice cream with almond bits.

One of the naranjas sliced, fresh and tasty but not overly special.

Strawberry ice cream.

Corn tortillas, rice, chicken and vegetables.

Corn tortillas, rice, pork chop and vegetables.

The drink is mixed juice of carrots and oranges.

We finished the shelves in the container (I haven’t taken a finished photo yet) and have started on some new shelves in the shop. The old arrangement has been demoed (including the green workbench) and we have made some of the shelf “ladders” but we are waiting on plywood to cover the wall before we can finish the shelves:

Today I got to work on a 1” water line re-route which was fun!

On Thursday I had lunch at Dave and Teresa’s house, this is the view from their back porch:

Have a great weekend! 

MyShadowProductions #69 - Honduras/Loma de Luz Days 13 & 14

Hola!!

Sunday started off with some rain but it soon became partly sunny around 2 pm..

I decided to take a walk to the East towards the little town of Lucinda. On the way there I passed the El Camino Bilingual School (will visit there someday when kids are in school) and the Palmera Este (East African Palm farm) which is also a part of Loma de Luz.

Also, saw these guys along the road:

MyShadow liked the view of the clouds hugging the mountain in the distance and a painted concrete wall which may be a school?

Life looks pretty challenging in Lucinda BUT there were kids playing and laughing, men and women waving Hola and roosters crowing. 

On the way back, guess where I stopped?

Earlier in the morning I took a quick visit to the Hospital’s nice little courtyard and took photos of art that they have on the walls there.

Here are a couple of movie/videos of art around the Loma de Luz campus:

This artwork caught my eye out of the group:

This artwork has a lot going on and has its own appeal:

Love the frames too, maybe Mario and I can make some of those when we finish the shelves? Worked on them again today and should finish in the morning unless someone decides to add something :)

The repaired jeans were hanging on my door in a bolsa (bag) when I got back to my room around 4 pm. They look good, we’ll see how it works.

                             Have a great day!

MyShadowProductions #68 - Honduras/Loma de Luz Days 11 & 12

Happy weekend everyone!

Friday was another beautiful day and Mario and I made a lot of progress on the wooden storage shelves for the container. The shelves will be used by the Hospital to more efficiently store many different types of supplies for use by the nurses and doctors. 

I took photos of some different art at Loma de Luz for use in a future post.

Wanted to share some words I have learned:

claro = nail , peligroso = dangerous , martillo = hammer , cortar = to cut 

cena = supper , quinientos = 500 , presa = dam , escalero = ladder , 

 tubo = pipe , basura = garbage , secadora = dryer  

Saturday started out with a little rain and my third attempt at laundry. Now I have 2 pair of jeans with some holes. I found enough courage with my Spanish to ask the housekeeper that works on Saturday if she knew anyone that could fix the jeans. Conoces a alguien que puede repare mis pantalones?

She said her Mama could fix them and she will bring them back on Jueves (Thursday) and put them by my puerta (door). I will pay her on Saturday if I am not there when she brings the pants back. That’s how it works here :)

I can’t seem to resist el mar (the sea). The 15 minute walk there is perfect and I love that moment when I can first hear the waves, usually a good 5 minutes before I can see the water through the marvelous trees.

I found 2 possible walking sticks on the beach today, pictured below, I chose the one on the right, it is sturdy and should last the entire trip.

While I was walking on the beach I saw a fisherman putting his hand-hewn boat into the water. In a matter of minutes and with what appeared to be little effort he was well over 1000 feet offshore. I could see a white marker of some sort floating where he stopped to fish.

Launching his boat

                     On the way to his fishing spot.

Here are a couple of photos I took on my first beach walk where I saw the hand-hewn boats:

I think a boat being made?

Completed boats?

They make the boats from a fast growing tree that I can’t remember the name of, no luck googling it either.

While at the beach I also couldn’t resist another swim. The water is a perfect temperature for me and again no undertow or large crashing waves. I did get my first sting from a jellyfish though. I felt it on the top of my foot in waist high water and I quickly shook it and swam away. It stung/burned/itched for about 15 minutes but went away and has a faint red mark.

Here are a couple of movie/videos from today’s walk on the beach:

Here are a few drinks I like to get at the Hospital cafeteria for my refrigerator in the room.

Pineapple juice and a spicy vegetable juice :)

Grateful that I had a nice walk at the beach, sun has set and it is raining pretty steady, good for sleeping and the plants too :)

MyShadowProductions #67 - Honduras/Loma de Luz Day 9 & 10

Hola!!

I want to start with a few things that may or may not be interesting but worth mentioning?

One of the jobs that the Honduran maintenance crews do here is cut down the grass?/weeds that grow just about everywhere. They do this with machetes (I am so glad they don’t use weed eaters). Mostly in a group of 5 or 6 guys and they cover an amazing amount of ground in 8 hours.

The photo below shows a termite nest on the side of a tree. Farmers sometimes take the whole nest, termites and all and feed it to their chickens.

The Hospital Loma de Luz did 109 surgeries last month, a record for them. I am usually not in the hospital itself and I try to respect the patients privacy.

Click here for a video about the Hospital that I saw online prior to coming here.

Some of the smaller islands in Cayos Cochinos Archipelago that I have mentioned a few times have been the site of some Survivor shows by Italy, France and Spain.

The quebrada (mountain stream) that I am going to talk about below is panned for gold by some locals who I am sure are very private about their “spot” and “finds”.

Yesterday I hiked with Dave through the jungle to check on a couple of additional water tank locations up the mountain along Quebrada Caigüina (I think that is the name of the stream). I can’t explain how cool, beautiful, jungley, a little slippery in spots, definitely wet in spots, boulders, very tall jungle trees, small waterfalls, ferns, etc and three different water pipes in various locations along with an electrical line in piping. One water pipe, the larger in the pictures is for a property owner near Loma de Luz, a second pipe is for the personal residence and land of the Founder of Loma de Luz and the third serves the El Camino Bilingual School of Loma de Luz. The machete crew will be working to clear around the water pipe trail too!

Near one of the tanks is this huge Boulder (easily over 12 ft diameter) “stuck” in the walls of the quebrada:

I can just picture Indiana Jones and friends scrambling down the quebrada to escape the rolling Boulder and they are saved when it gets caught in a narrow part of the ravine!

I need to say it again, this was fun and cool!

Here is a movie/video created from my photos:

Today, I was working with Mario again on sawing and nailing more shelves for the container. These are the only photos I have so far of the container and the shelves, but maybe it gives a little idea of what is happening.

Today the weather was mostly sunny so I took another walk to the beach after “work.

I went swimming today. The water is safe and no undertow. Sand dollars everywhere. I like bodysurfing and was able to get a few short rides. Almost my private little beach. One local guy swimming a ways down the beach and one jogger with his dog. At the beach you can see holes in the sand where the crabs are hiding and after dark I think locals catch crabs for eating.

The sunset was different of course and there were some clouds that had moved in:

This next photo is a mango tree next to the Shop where we all meet in the morning. Mangos are not in season now but this tree has a bunch close to the metal roof that reflects the sun and fools the tree.

Hasta Luego !!