Muse by David Teitsma

For an extended weekend my parents came down to visit me. I was excited to see and interact with people that I am familiar and comfortable with, along with showing them what my life looks like here. We then went to their hotel, where they unpacked, freshened up and gave me presents from home. My mom had packed snacks and treats, along with the exam study pack from Shawnee. I promptly ate some of the home backed goodies.

Afterwards relaxing for a little while, we went up to El Picacho, a park on top of one of the hills that surrounds Teguc. Here there are many beautiful gardens and lookouts on the city, but it is most well known for the huge statue of Jesus that looks out on the city. It is visible from almost anywhere in they city. Also the view from here helped to give my parents perspective of the city and now I had been here long enough that I could point out landmarks like school, home, and their hotel.

Later in the day we visited my house and introduced them to my family. It was hard as I had to translate everything, eventually I invited Matt over to meet them. My parents were glad to see where I lived and who I was living with. My Honduran mom made some snacks for us to eat. Everybody was interested in each other and talking.

On Saturday, we headed to the island of Amapala. We went to the bus station and after waiting a while we boarded the bus and left. We stopped several times along the way, including an unplanned stop when we had a flat tire. My dad went out and watched as they changed it. We was shocked and in awe at what bad shape the tires were in. They were almost bald, which was common for Honduras. We didn’t have much further to go until we arrived at our stop. Once we were there we looked around for how to get the rest of the way, either another bus or a group taxi. After several minutes of looking we eventually hired a taxi to bring us the rest of the way. Along the way we were stopped by cops, where the driver kept saying that we were okay. We quickly bribed him and we were off. My parents didn’t see this happen, but were surprised later when I told them.

We arrived at the ocean, and had two more legs to go in our journey. We still had to find a boat to bring us to the island. The boats that bring you to the island are small fishing boats. We waited for a bit and eventually it was our turn. We were the only tourists in our group. They delivered all the locals to their drop off and then the driver brought us to a small hotel. We saw a room and the hotel owner and the boat driver were pushing us hard to stay there, and convince us that this was the only hotel. We knew this wasn’t true. We demanded that he bring us to the main port on the island, which they did against them saying that there was no where else to go. Once in the small city, we searched for a way to get to Playa Negra. There were no taxis, but we eventually found one to bring us to the hotel on Playa Negra.

We rode along a beautiful road made of paver stones along the edge of the island which is an old volcano. The road to the hotel was beat up and rough. At the hotel we unloaded and checked in. The hotel was huge considering the small amount of people around, and it was a apparent that this used to be a popular place.

We spent the rest of the day on the beach and relaxing by the pool. We had a dinner at the hotel (it was the only place to eat) of stuffed fish with rice and beans. It tasted great.

Sunday, consisted of relaxing by the beach and pool again. We took the taxi around the rest of the island to the beach where we boarded a boat back to the mainland. From one point on the island we could see El Salvardor, Honduras, Nicaragua. There we had lunch and ice cream. The previous day we met a doctor and his family at the hotel. We talked to them for a while, and eventually they offered to bring us back to Teguc. in their truck. So we rode back with them. My mom was in the cab and my dad and I rode in the bed of the truck. It was uncomfortable for a while, but I enjoyed watching the scenery up close and the wind in my face. I give my dad a lot of credit for riding on the hard bed for three hours at his age.

Back at the hotel we went across the street to a higher class restaurant for dinner. My parents weren’t very hungry, but I was. Great food, but it was pricey.

My parents then left the next morning. I missed some of class to see help them get to the airport and see them off.

It was great to have them come and see what the last couple of months have been like for me. It was also fun traveling with them. They’re pretty easy going and willing to do things other people their age won’t.