This will be quick. We are here and things are overwhelming. We are currently staying in a small mountain village called Santa Lucia (the training center has been moved back to here). Everything is so beautiful-its hard to explain and hard to take in.
Our family is wonderful. We get fresh tortillas every day for every meal (almost) and lots of fruit, rice, and beans.
We wake up at 4 30 am since there are like 50 dogs and 5000 roosters cawing in our window at that hour. We are pretty much being told to stay in the village right now, since we have alot of spanish to work on. Our teachers are amazing and I am confident we will learn spanish with their guidance in no time-I hope.
Our group of trainees are great! Gotta go, we'll update in more detail later.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Honduras Packing List
How do you pack for 2 years? I'll tell you, it wasn't easy to decide what to bring. In the end-the best advice would be this. Pack your backpacks and suitcases with everything on your original list. Once they are all packed, walk away. The next day-open your luggage and take away HALF of it. No joke. Get rid of it.
You can get almost everything you need in Honduras. It might not have all of the conveniences of the United States and other countries, but it's still a country full of real people. You can easily buy things like hand wash, toilet paper, hair supplies, sunglasses, sandals, little treats and candies, school supplies-it's all there.
There is no reason to overload yourself. When you get in country, you will find it is extremely HOT and INCONVENIENT to carry all that crap around and onto chicken buses and through the streets and desvios. Also, the more you are carrying, the more you are a target for theft and robbery-a growing problem in all areas of Honduras.
Check out this Honduras Packing List. This wiki has been compiled and updated by Peace Corps Volunteers (who are always in the know when it comes to the country they serve in) and is a great resource.
Remember-Pack light! Pack smart!
You can get almost everything you need in Honduras. It might not have all of the conveniences of the United States and other countries, but it's still a country full of real people. You can easily buy things like hand wash, toilet paper, hair supplies, sunglasses, sandals, little treats and candies, school supplies-it's all there.
There is no reason to overload yourself. When you get in country, you will find it is extremely HOT and INCONVENIENT to carry all that crap around and onto chicken buses and through the streets and desvios. Also, the more you are carrying, the more you are a target for theft and robbery-a growing problem in all areas of Honduras.
Check out this Honduras Packing List. This wiki has been compiled and updated by Peace Corps Volunteers (who are always in the know when it comes to the country they serve in) and is a great resource.
Remember-Pack light! Pack smart!
Proper Footwear
With the nature of what our work was-walking around the village all day-rain or dust- climbing around in the coffee and cabbage farms, being in and out of people's houses all day-in the end we each had 3 pairs of shoes that were actually used on a regular basis.
A. Teva Sandals (or Chacos).
Tevas
Chacos
We had Tevas only because we couldn't afford Chacos at the time of our departure from the states. There are a number of different opinions on both brands of sandals and which is better. My Tevas cost me 50 dollars USD and lasted the entire 2 1/2 years.
1. They were easily washable with dish soap or any other kind of soap available, and dried rather quickly.
2. They were comfortable and never rubbed or left blisters on my feet from so much walking.
3. Easily adjustable.
4. The velcro never wore out.
5. They have a decently thick sole that I never felt rocks through-and they were great for playing in the ocean or waterfalls, rivers-or just mud.
They really were the most comfortable sandals I've ever had.
Chacos seemed to be even more popular than their Teva counterparts by travelers and volunteers of all types. I never own these, but they seemed just as nice, if not nicer than Tevas. Also, with Chacos the soles can be replaced if they go bad. The only drawback was this: If you plan to spend a long amount of time in Honduras and your sandals go bad and need replacement, you can send them back to company-but it will cost you half the price of the sandals to mail the package.
Especially if you aren't earning dollars.
Also, you have to wait to have them mailed back. Overall, communication won't be the easiest. Friends we had while in Honduras had their Chaco soles go bad, and basically gave up in the end and bought a new pair when they went home for Christmas, or had a friend or family member bring a new pair 3/4 of the way through their service/trip.
Both sandals are great and owning a pair is extremely handy and worth the money in the end.
B. Hiking Shoes or Good Tennis Shoes
Merrells
We both had a pair of Merrells, but they sometimes got a little heavy for me. And they also got really hot. It was nice that they were water-proof, but this didn't really help us much when stepping into a foot deep mud puddle. Having to wade through mini rivers in the forest was hard with hiking shoes, too. They were slippery on moss and rocks and hard to dry out later.
If you don't think you'll be doing too many hard core activities, you can probably not bring hiking boots and get away with just a good pair of sandals for a leisurely stroll through the forest or anything else for that matter. It will cost less, and be less for you to carry from Hostel to Hostel.
If you really plan to do some more heavy duty hiking and know you will be hiking in an area with scorpions or snakes or something, then closed toed shoes are a must. Also, if you plan to hike any volcanoes in neighboring Guatemala or Nicaragua, you will need shoes like this-there aren't many regulations to climb active volcanoes in Central America (as you can read in later posts) but this is their one rule and for good reason. Shoes or boots will protect your feet from getting burned.
C. Flip-flops
Flip-flops
These are cheap and plentiful in almost every Honduran or Central American village everywhere.
They will cost you a dollar, and are an absolute necessity for wearing in dirty hostel and hotel showers, for the beach or the pool, on the boat, in the back yard washing laundry, or even just for running down the street to buy breakfast from your nearest neighbor's pulperia (corner store).
Due to rocks and dusty floors and the general dirtiness of everything in the dry season AND the rainy season, having something on your feet most of the time is just smart considering the amount of parasites that can be caught from walking barefoot in the dirt.
Whether you bring them with you, or buy them when you get here, make sure to keep a couple pairs around.
A. Teva Sandals (or Chacos).
Tevas
ChacosWe had Tevas only because we couldn't afford Chacos at the time of our departure from the states. There are a number of different opinions on both brands of sandals and which is better. My Tevas cost me 50 dollars USD and lasted the entire 2 1/2 years.
1. They were easily washable with dish soap or any other kind of soap available, and dried rather quickly.
2. They were comfortable and never rubbed or left blisters on my feet from so much walking.
3. Easily adjustable.
4. The velcro never wore out.
5. They have a decently thick sole that I never felt rocks through-and they were great for playing in the ocean or waterfalls, rivers-or just mud.
They really were the most comfortable sandals I've ever had.
Chacos seemed to be even more popular than their Teva counterparts by travelers and volunteers of all types. I never own these, but they seemed just as nice, if not nicer than Tevas. Also, with Chacos the soles can be replaced if they go bad. The only drawback was this: If you plan to spend a long amount of time in Honduras and your sandals go bad and need replacement, you can send them back to company-but it will cost you half the price of the sandals to mail the package.
Especially if you aren't earning dollars.
Also, you have to wait to have them mailed back. Overall, communication won't be the easiest. Friends we had while in Honduras had their Chaco soles go bad, and basically gave up in the end and bought a new pair when they went home for Christmas, or had a friend or family member bring a new pair 3/4 of the way through their service/trip.
Both sandals are great and owning a pair is extremely handy and worth the money in the end.
B. Hiking Shoes or Good Tennis Shoes
MerrellsWe both had a pair of Merrells, but they sometimes got a little heavy for me. And they also got really hot. It was nice that they were water-proof, but this didn't really help us much when stepping into a foot deep mud puddle. Having to wade through mini rivers in the forest was hard with hiking shoes, too. They were slippery on moss and rocks and hard to dry out later.
If you don't think you'll be doing too many hard core activities, you can probably not bring hiking boots and get away with just a good pair of sandals for a leisurely stroll through the forest or anything else for that matter. It will cost less, and be less for you to carry from Hostel to Hostel.
If you really plan to do some more heavy duty hiking and know you will be hiking in an area with scorpions or snakes or something, then closed toed shoes are a must. Also, if you plan to hike any volcanoes in neighboring Guatemala or Nicaragua, you will need shoes like this-there aren't many regulations to climb active volcanoes in Central America (as you can read in later posts) but this is their one rule and for good reason. Shoes or boots will protect your feet from getting burned.
C. Flip-flops
Flip-flopsThese are cheap and plentiful in almost every Honduran or Central American village everywhere.
They will cost you a dollar, and are an absolute necessity for wearing in dirty hostel and hotel showers, for the beach or the pool, on the boat, in the back yard washing laundry, or even just for running down the street to buy breakfast from your nearest neighbor's pulperia (corner store).
Due to rocks and dusty floors and the general dirtiness of everything in the dry season AND the rainy season, having something on your feet most of the time is just smart considering the amount of parasites that can be caught from walking barefoot in the dirt.
Whether you bring them with you, or buy them when you get here, make sure to keep a couple pairs around.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
The last supper
We leave in 12 hours. I can't really sleep, so I'm just putzing around on the computer. Tonight was a nice night.
My mom and dad made my favorite dinner! Dumplings! I savored every last bite. I also decided that I needed to take a bubble bath in my parent's new bathroom whirlpool tub. Unfortunately, I over loaded the tub with bubble bath and flooded the bathroom. It was like bathing in a room full of Lemon meringue, but not getting to bathe, and having to clean it all up instead.
We are off. We will update as soon as we can! Take care everyone.
-C
My mom and dad made my favorite dinner! Dumplings! I savored every last bite. I also decided that I needed to take a bubble bath in my parent's new bathroom whirlpool tub. Unfortunately, I over loaded the tub with bubble bath and flooded the bathroom. It was like bathing in a room full of Lemon meringue, but not getting to bathe, and having to clean it all up instead.
We are off. We will update as soon as we can! Take care everyone.
-C
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Weather
(This post has been added to since our return)
The weather in Honduras really seems to depend on where in the country you visit/live in. There is a 6 month dry season and a 6 month rainy season.
On the North Coast, the rainy season is longer-more like 8 months...it rains more often there due to the ocean. It is also very hot and humid on the north coast (yeah-like 100 degrees and 100 percent humidity).
It's also hot in the South, all around the department of Choluteca. It's a more dry heat here, and dusty and brown. Not like the rainforests of the North Coast at all. It's more like the desert. And conserving fresh water it very important.
The Wild East (the Olancho region) is also hot. Are you starting to see the pattern here? Here you will find pine forests and dry land in the mountains.
Out West and nearing El Salvador and Guatemala, the country turns very mountainous. Here is where it starts to cool down. The higher in the mountains you go, the colder it gets, and in some areas, it gets so cold at night that there is even frost (La Esperanza). Now, when you come prepared to travel Honduras and know that most of the country is relatively warm, please take care to pack a fleece for those colder nights in the mountains if you plan to spend time in these regions.
We lived near Lago de Yahoa, the only lake in the country (well, it is a pretty small country). It was pretty warm and humid around these parts, but at night it could get as low as the 60s, and when you dont have things like sweatshirts or indoor heating and the house is made of brick walls and cement floors, this can be colder than you might expect. I had to have my parents mail me down a fleece and some wool socks! It also rains more often near the Lake, as it has its own little eco-system. When it rained like this, I was happy to have my Teva sandals. They were easy to wash the mud off of and better than walking around in muddy wet tennis shoes all day.
All in all Honduras is pretty warm and semi-tropical with high humidity.
The weather in Honduras really seems to depend on where in the country you visit/live in. There is a 6 month dry season and a 6 month rainy season.
On the North Coast, the rainy season is longer-more like 8 months...it rains more often there due to the ocean. It is also very hot and humid on the north coast (yeah-like 100 degrees and 100 percent humidity).
It's also hot in the South, all around the department of Choluteca. It's a more dry heat here, and dusty and brown. Not like the rainforests of the North Coast at all. It's more like the desert. And conserving fresh water it very important.
The Wild East (the Olancho region) is also hot. Are you starting to see the pattern here? Here you will find pine forests and dry land in the mountains.
Out West and nearing El Salvador and Guatemala, the country turns very mountainous. Here is where it starts to cool down. The higher in the mountains you go, the colder it gets, and in some areas, it gets so cold at night that there is even frost (La Esperanza). Now, when you come prepared to travel Honduras and know that most of the country is relatively warm, please take care to pack a fleece for those colder nights in the mountains if you plan to spend time in these regions.
We lived near Lago de Yahoa, the only lake in the country (well, it is a pretty small country). It was pretty warm and humid around these parts, but at night it could get as low as the 60s, and when you dont have things like sweatshirts or indoor heating and the house is made of brick walls and cement floors, this can be colder than you might expect. I had to have my parents mail me down a fleece and some wool socks! It also rains more often near the Lake, as it has its own little eco-system. When it rained like this, I was happy to have my Teva sandals. They were easy to wash the mud off of and better than walking around in muddy wet tennis shoes all day.
All in all Honduras is pretty warm and semi-tropical with high humidity.
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