Honduras Trip (May 23rd - July 1 2009)
For those who don't already know, my girlfriend Ana Margarita and I were expecting our first child and that was the reason for this trip. On the 5th of June she had a beautiful baby girl we named Angelina! The details of the whole trip are below with the most current info near the top of this page and the beginning of the trip located at the bottom.
Click here if you want my take on what's going on here lately politically.
Map Of Honduras
Other adventures I've been on can be found HERE
I made it out of Honduras and landed in Columbus Ohio at around 11pm this evening. Tomorrow is a busy day catching up on lots of business deals that were made in the last week or so!
If you're one of the people who recently purchased a Sea Doo part, be patient while I get caught up! Thanks!
I made it to San Pedro Sula today and am at the Villa Nuria for the night. It's a motel complex set up apartment style and although not the cheapest place in SPS at $62 a night, for that price you have high speed internet access in the room that's actually faster than my Road Runner at home plus you get a free breakfast and shuttle to the airport. Taxis in San Pedro Sula are outrageous and usually cost 200L ($10) to get you to the airport from about anywhere in SPS so that makes the $62 not so painful!
Hopefully I can get out of here tomorrow and if I do, I'll update asap!
I made it to San Pedro Sula today and am at the Villa Nuria for the night. Hopefully I can get out of here tomorrow and if I do, I'll update asap!
Not much going on politically yet today but I'm still in La Ceiba. I was going to head to San Pedro Sula today but Continental said they didn't have any flights until Wednesday so I'm heading there tomorrow. Ricks girlfriend Bessy has a friend here from San Pedro Sula and she's actually heading back tomorrow so I'm probably going to hitch a ride with her. That way it will be a more comfortable, quicker ride and if there are roadblocks or other problems, I'm not at the mercy of a bus.
For those who haven't followed the political ordeal here, Mels plane tried landing in the capitol this evening and was turned away. No word now on where he is or what's going on but he says he's going to try every day until they let him land. Not sure why he's using a plane instead of a helicopter that could land anywhere but maybe he'll think of that soon and get this crap over with so I can get out of here.
I have to call Continental tonight and see if they can get me on a plane Tuesday or Wednesday then once I know I can get out I'm planning on heading to San Pedro Sula and probably will stay at Villa Nuria for the night. Once I find out what Continental has available, I'll post here as well.
As some might have noticed, my site and email server as well as this page were down all day yesterday. That was due apparently to a fire near where the server is located (wherever that is!) so it took quite a while to get power back to the building. My server has only gone down one other time I can remember and it was for like an hour. They're usually pretty reliable so it should be back for good now.
As for what's going on here, the ousted president Mel says he's coming back tomorrow. Last night I was having drinks with a guy who has connections in the Honduran military and he says that Mel will be put back in power then they'll hold elections early. I'm hoping that happens since that should get things here back to normal quick and get me out of here early next week. Keep an eye on the news and on this page to find out what exactly is happening.
Margarita and Angelina are back in San Juan Pueblo now and probably won't be back before I leave so I said my goodbyes yesterday when I went back with them. I'm hoping to head for San Pedro Sula Monday and out of here on the first flight Continental can get me on!
Not much new today since we're basically waiting for Saturday which seems to be the big day. I'm hoping whatever happens, it's quick and I can get to SPS right after that and get out of here. Bridges are still being blocked all day long here and protests are still going on daily so there's pretty much no way to head West to San Pedro Sula where the international airport is. Some really big building in SPS also burned down last night but since the news was in Spanish, I couldn't get what exactly that was about.
Well deposed president Mel decided to postpone his trip back until Saturday. The countrywide curfew and protests are what is keeping me here and they won't go away until after whatever happens on the day he tries to return. I'm hoping whatever happens, they get it over soon so the country can get back to “normal” and I can get the hell out of here!
Mel says he's coming back to Honduras Thursday to resume his presidency and the current acting president says if he does the military will immediately arrest him so I expect there to be real chaos that day and definitely won't be getting to SPS then. Hopefully on the weekend things will calm down and I can get the hell out of here!
Today teachers from all over came to La Ceiba to protest on the Rio Danto bridge. That's the only bridge you can use to go West to San Pedro Sula. That means no buses to and from there today and means I can't get to my motel. Due to all this crap and the pretty certain fact that I couldn't get to SPS tomorrow for my flight out, I had to cancel my motel reservation and my flight out. I don't have a set return date yet but am hoping things will calm down in a couple days and I can reschedule to get out of here by weeks end. Once I get a firm return date, I'll post it here.
A funny note... while these guys were protesting on that bridge, we had another quake this morning. Since bridges here tend to collapse in a strong breeze, maybe large groups should use some sense and reconsider hanging out on bridges? But after all, this is Honduras where common sense is in abundance so I expect to see many more protests on bridges!
(updated) On a lighter note, Margarita and Angelina made it here this morning on what she says is probably one of the few buses that was going to get over that bridge before it was closed. It's good at least they're stuck here with me! Anyway we went to the mall this afternoon with Angelina and I've come to the conclusion babies are actually better than puppies for attracting girls. You wouldn't believe the number of women who came up and asked me about the baby. It's also worth noting that I'll never be able to go out in public alone again with her.
On a different note, the lights dimmed briefly then went out last night at about midnight and I thought it was the gov't cutting the power. It turns out one leg of power which happened to supply the ceiling fans and lights for the whole house crapped out. It also killed the street lights and other peoples houses as well. It's back working now but it sucked last night with no ceiling fans! That's just another crazy thing to add to the crap that's happened so far on this trip. Earth Quakes, the President exiled, the house shorting out... what's next?!!
Rick headed to San Pedro Sula today to pick some people up but only made it to Progreso where protesters blocked a bridge between La Ceiba and SPS. He had to turn around and come back to Ceiba which was a 5 hour ordeal and a waste of time! I assumed he was going to give it another try tomorrow and I was thinking of heading there with him and getting a motel so I can get out with no problems Wednesday. It turns out he's actually so pissed he says he's done running to San Pedro so isn't going tomorrow. That means I'm jumping on a Hedman Alas bus tomorrow (if they're running) and heading over there. I have a room reserved at the Villa Nuria in SPS so if I can get there everything should work out ok.
Well that was fun... last night although I suggested my buddy close the bar early, he had lots of customers so stayed open until 10pm. By the time we got out of there, it was probably around 11pm and as you might remember, there's a 9pm nationwide curfew in effect until tomorrow. So since there's a curfew there's no taxis running at 11pm last night. Due to that, we loaded about 6 employees and us into Ricks truck and proceeded to take all of them home. We got stopped no less than 6 times by the police and once by the military and they were none too happy we were out after the curfew, no matter what the excuse. So we finally got all of them home and ourselves and Rick says maybe tonight he'll close early. I told him I'm staying at the house today!!
On a similar note, we hear there may be people striking today due to the ousting of their president and there's no busses running again so Margarita and Angelina are pretty much stuck in San Juan and I'm stuck here. Hopefully things will get back to “normal” tomorrow or I'm going to have to start thinking about rescheduling my trip home.
I'm in Ceiba for the last couple days and things are interesting here politically. This morning the president was forced to resign and no one knows who exactly is in charge. Keep an eye on CNN since they're finally starting to talk about it when they can take a break from Michael Jackson!
As of 8:30 this evening we're at my buddies bar and were planning on closing early since there's a gov't curfew from 9 pm-6am for the next two days but the bar is full and I think he wants to take their money. We might be sleeping here tonight!
Margarita and Angelina WERE on their way here today but it turns out due to all this political unrest no buses are running. I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to be able to get to San Pedro Sula for my flight out Wednesday!
On another note, guess what I bought last night... they're the real thing!
I'm headed to San Juan Pueblo again today and not sure if I'm staying there or coming back but if I spend the night, won't be updating the page again for a couple days.
I've been in San Juan again without the computer so just now am back online. Not much new once again but more pics are below. I can't remember what it's called but the seat Mom bought for the baby comes in handy when Angelina's upset and we need to buy a little time. Just set her in there and turn on the vibrating part and it chills her out for maybe ½ hour before she gets pissed again!
On a “coming home” note, I was considering changing my flight so I get home a couple days early but Continental wanted to charge $500 for that so I changed my mind! I'll be home on the 1st unless something changes.
Happy Fathers Day to Dad, Vince and all the other fathers reading this!
I spent yesterday and most of today in San Juan with Ana and Angelina so haven't had the computer near internet until now to update. Not too much new here but all's well with the exception of the fact that it's raining now and from the looks of it, probably will for the rest of the night. Below are more pics from the last couple days.
Not much new here today but Margarita and Angelina returned to San Juan this morning. I might head over that way for a visit tomorrow but I'm trying to get her to spend their time here so don't want to spend too much time over there. It's hard being away from the baby but I have to be firm on my stand that La Ceiba is a better place to be and raise the child than out in San Juan. We've been going around on this for a while now but don't really want to get into that on this page.
On a weather related note, people say around now is the start of the first rainy period before the real rainy season in October. That being said, it's now raining now and that's the first time in a while we've had any!
Not much new lately but I had some stomach issues and with the problems I was having with things not working in the house in SJP I decided a couple days ago to stay in Ceiba for a while to get that worked out. Anyway, Margarita and Angelina are here today and Margarita had a checkup at the clinic today to make sure her incision was ok and it was healing well with no problems. They'll be staying here tonight and we'll probably head back to San Juan tomorrow.
We're back in San Juan as of yesterday about 3:00pm and I have to say I'm not liking it too much. I got spoiled at Ricks place with screens and water and other things houses should really have. Last night I probably got bit several times by mosquitoes and not sure why that is since it hasn't rained in a long time. The only thing I can guess is since the shower wasn't used for a week and since there are no screens in the SJP house, they decided to breed in the little bit of standing water there. It turns out buying a baby bed with mosquito netting wasn't such a bad idea after all! Then today of course there's no water when I got up. Later Margarita tells me it's working so I head to the bathroom to take a shower. I get in the shower and there's no water! It was working, just not well enough to get all the way up to the shower head! So as of now I still haven't had my shower today and am kinda aggravated. Then add on the fact that about everyone who she knows in this town has come to visit today and you'll understand why I think I'm ready to get back to La Ceiba fast!
Anyway, this morning we took the baby for her vaccinations and that went surprisingly well. When we walked into the building where they do that, there must have been 50 people waiting. Luckily the person who does vaccinations had no one waiting so we went right in. The nurse gave her the shot in the arm and I thought for sure she would raise hell but only let out a little cry then went back to sleep.
Below is a picture I took today of a bull is casually walking down the road past Margaritas sisters' house. The dog chased it into a field or it might have came into the yard for a visit!
Margarita needs to go back to Ceiba for a checkup Monday and some friends from Guanaja are flying into Honduras Sunday so we're tentatively headed back to the house in Ceiba then. As you might guess, I'm looking forward to it!
After a breakfast of my homemade French toast, I finished rewiring several more outlets in the house today then headed to the mall to pick up a small baby bed I saw there yesterday. It's light and easy to manage plus has a mosquito net if we're somewhere where there's a problem with those. Tomorrow we're making the move back to San Juan Pueblo but I'm also going to keep the room in Ricks house in Ceiba too since it's a nice place and not so primitive as the SJP one. First before we leave though I have to head to an appliance store to pick up a microwave and toaster so we're not roughing it so much out there!
I know there are not many pictures of me holding the baby but I actually do often. I just happen to be the one who gets carried away with the camera! Sorry also to all my buddies who may be getting bored of baby stuff. I'll try and get some shots of hot chicks, fast cars and guns posted soon!
Not much going on here in Ceiba today but the baby did get her first bath and a picture is below. She did alright with the soap part but wasn't too happy about the rinse!
I spent part of the day rewiring some outlets (changing from 2 prong to 3 prong) and tried to unplug the slow draining kitchen sink but no luck with that one. Guess I'm more of an electrician than a plumber! Now I'm off to the supermercado now to grab some groceries. We'll probably be here through Friday since that's when the baby gets her vaccinations.
Everyone knows what Viagra does but what do you think the medicine below does?
One more note... I can't easily send out email from Ricks house since I don't have the mail settings I need for my outlook but once I get that worked out, I'll be able to respond to any emails I've received in the past couple days.
(It's actually medicine for stomach problems but I wonder what brilliant minds came up with that name?!!)
Last night was pretty interesting. Most people probably have heard about the 7.3 earthquake here about 10 days ago. Anyway, last Monday (1st) we had a 5.0 when I was in my buddies bar and it was pretty wild when all the liquor bottles started rattling together! Then last night at about 11:30pm we had a 5.7 centered about 20 miles from here. That got everyone awake and out in the street! We're not sure what's up with these since Honduras doesn't normally have earthquakes but if we get more, I'll post that info asap.
We're starting to get the baby thing figured out so I actually got some sleep last night and I think Margarita did too. If she's not hungry, she's sleeping so it pretty much comes down to having her fed (duh). Today I also went back to San Juan to pick up some things we forgot and things I needed for here.
We had a pretty uneventful night last night and awoke at about 7am this morning to the nurse telling us we needed to be out of the clinic by 8am. I think only 2 days was a bit of a short stay for someone who just had a c-section but I guess that's the way it goes here. Or they might have needed the room for the next patient with money! Actually though I'm glad to be out of there and we're now in Ricks place and I've set up a room in the back of the house on the opposite end as Ricks bedroom so hopefully the occasional baby crying won't bother him and his girlfriend Bessy.
We had a decent night last night up to the point Margaritas IV needle somehow got pulled out of her hand. She woke me up to her bleeding really bad all over the bed and on the floor. I've apparently never been around blood much and didn't realize I don't do well with it! I put pressure on and called for the nurse but in the mean time about passed out and had to sit down while the nurse fixed things and cleaned up. What a wimp! Who knows how it's going to go once I have to deal with diapers and other baby issues but guess I'm gonna have to suck it up and deal with it!
Anyway, this morning someone knocked the power out to the air conditioning and electrical outlets then shortly after that the water quit working. Welcome to Honduras! I did get more good pictures today despite all that and they're below. Note also I got to change my first diaper today and that experience is right up there with the blood thing but not to the point of passing out luckily!
Margarita had a bad night last night in San Juan with lots of pain so we headed to La Ceiba this morning to see the doctor at Clinica Santa Cecelia. He decided it was best to move up her surgery and do the c-section today so she went in at around 1:30 pm and they delivered a healthy 6 pound 13oz baby girl! We'll be staying here for approx 3 days then probably to Ricks house.
We're still up in the air on names since we can't seem to agree on things but I'm pretty sure Anjelina will win out. I'll update once we come to an agreement on that subject.
We went to the doctor today in Ceiba and he says we're still on for the 8th for Margaritas c-section. Just for information it's gonna cost $950 including 3 days in a private room if anyone in the future is planning on giving birth in Honduras. Note too a natural birth cost would be $450.
Later in the day I also showed Margarita my buddy Ricks house where I plan to rent a room to make things easier when in Ceiba. Pictures of his place are below...
It was quite an ordeal this time getting to Honduras from Columbus. I made the mistake of flying on a holiday weekend on a Sunday so right off, I had problems. I had upgraded my flight to 1st class so I could bring my 3 bags without paying extra. The plane I was supposed to fly out of Columbus on had mechanical issues so they bumped me off Continental and into coach on American Airlines. So I finally get out of Columbus on American and land in Miami instead of Houston. Of course the gate for Honduras is way far away so quite a hike. Once I get to the gate and wait around for about an hour, they decide to make a gate change to almost exactly the same gate that I came into Miami on from Columbus! I finally get on the plane to Honduras and am on my way, although I'm in the last seat in the plane instead of in 1st class drinking free beers. Not to mention no food is offered and I'm pretty hungry after my ordeal so far. Anyway we land in Honduras and the customs experience there is always fun but this time was something else. It turns out they're screening everyone for swine flu and that wouldn't have been a big delay if I was where I should have been at the front of the line but being that I was almost last off the plane, it turns into a ½ hour wait in a really hot hall packed with may confused Hondurans. Anyway, I finally got through that and blasted right through customs with my bags. That can also be an ordeal but this time, the x-ray guy was talking to someone instead of watching when my bags went through so I didn't wait around for him to decide to go through them or run them through again. I just grabbed them and headed for the exit!
Once out in the main airport I met up with Margarita and we headed for the truck she hired to pick me up. Loaded everything in then we headed off for San Juan Pueblo. That was also uneventful with the exception of the fact that it was a cramped ride with 7 people in there. Apparently she missed the part when I said “make sure there's room for my bags and don't bring the whole neighborhood”!
