We Moved Out of Our Studio

Sorry it's been awhile, we really have been busy! Joseph is still loving his job and we are very happy. He has been applying to jobs and we are hopeful that he will be able to get a job soon after we return. This is the house that we have moved into while the owners are on vacation. We are also here taking care of their two dogs. We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Our bedroom.

Trips in Honduras

It's like a mini vacation while on vacation! A couple weekends ago Joseph and I went on a tour with a couple other people from the embassy. It was a 4-5 hour drive but the sights are pretty awesome. Our destination: Lake Yahoa and the ecological center called Naranjo. I got the pictures swapped out of order. We went to the cave first and then to this lake where we had lunch.

Our first stop was a cave. It was so humid inside and warm I could barely breathe! I was surprised because I assumed it would be really cold inside.

Next we stopped at a small restaurante by the lake pictured above. It smelled pretty bad and we were told that the fish we were going to have for lunch were caught right in this lake. Yum. It wasn't bad actually although I would have prefered that they cut the head off before giving it to me on the plate!

These next photos were taken at the ecological center. They preserve wildlife and give tours of the swamps land. You can just barely see the woodpecker on the dead tree on the right side. There were so many birds on our walk and they were so loud. It was fun to hear different kinds of birds than I am used to hearing in Utah and Idaho.

During this time of year the main route is flooded. They built this raised wooden walkway around another part of the swamp. It was so beautiful! (I'm working on a great tan!)

Underneath this hill is a Myan ruin. They don't have the funding to dig it out. On our way back to the center/museum we were swarmmed by mosquitoes. We were constantly waving our arms and swatting. I still had several tiny bites on my arms, legs, and face.

This was the last stop on the way home. We took a short boat ride out to where they have a tilapia fish farm in the middle of the lake. On most of the ride back we had these sardines jumping out of the water. It was so cool!

Catacamas

Well, Joseph and I were able to volunteer to report on the Honduran elections! We were sent to a town called Catacamas, an area where Joseph served part of his mission. He surprised himself by remembering where some people lived and also that he recognized some people. We were able to visit a family that he met before on his mission.


The hotel we stayed at is called Papa Beto :) It makes me laugh. I think that I accumulated a couple bed bugs while staying there and brought them home with me :( Gross.


We stared out on Saturday morning and it took us about 4 hours to get there. Once we got there we checked in and then did a dry run to all of the polling sites we had listed in our area. Sunday was election day so we were running around and watching how things we going. It was very peaceful. No threats or anything.


Monday morning we left the hotel just after 9 and drove out to a cave in Talgua. It was only discovered in the 1990's by some Peace Corps workers just hiking around. Part of the cave was used by a native tribe to bury people in and since the cave is called a living cave (meaning water flows through it) most of the bodies or skeletons were washed out. There is still one part of the cave they need to excavate but need more money to do so. That part has a lot of bones inside it

After going through the cave we went to their little museum to see pottery and replicas taken from inside the cave.

The entrance to the cave.

Cascades of calcium deposit.

A cool little man drawn by a native tribe with charcol.

It's supposed to look like a bear.

This is a replica skull in the museum. It had a fierce gaurdian sitting on top of it!

Shopping!

Yesterday I got to go shopping! Although I didn't buy anything it was a lot of fun. I went with 4 ladies whose husbands are embassy emlpoyees. Everyone was really nice and it was so fun to meet new people.

We went to a place about 30-45 minutes outside Tecuigalpa called Vaye de Angeles. They had so many shops with really awesome Honduran items. Paintings, hammocks, jewlery, carved boxes, bags, little girl dresses, scarves, nativity scenes, pottery, etc. I am going to have Joseph take me back so I can buy lots of cool things! Does anyone want anything in particular? Just remember I'll have to bring it back on the plane! We are planning on bringing a little gift for everyone but if there is something bigger you'd like, let me know and I can let you know prices.

Honduran Food

Here are some of the foods that we bought from our grocery store called La Colonia. It's just up the street so we are able to walk. We need to buy water to put in the house for drinking and brushing our teeth.


Corn Flakes

Cheese flavored popcorn

Milk

Apple Juice

Looks good huh?! The apple juice is a lot thicker than what we get in the states. They have American food products too but it's more expensive. I've never really liked bottled water but here it's all we can drink so we buy tome drink mixes and they're pretty good. They have really different flavors here such as guanabana, jamaica, mora and tamarindo.

Hola Familia!

Almost one week we have been in Honduras! Today we went to church, it was fun to sing in Spanish. Everyone was saying hello and it was nice to be received with smiles. I tried so hard to understand what they are talking about in sacrament meeting but most of it was over my head. Joseph recognized one man that he had met on his mission.

Here the money they use is called lemperas. A capital L is equivillant to our dollar sign. 18 lemperas is about one dollar. We just bought a cell phone for me that cost L249. Can you figure out how much that cost in dollars?

This is my cool bracelet that we bought from a guy on the street who made them as well as necklaces and anklets. This bracelet cost L20.

The very bottom of our apartment complex is the garage which we have to pass through to get out. There is a gard at the door, his name is Antonio. He is very nice and he also does most of the carpentry here for the owner. We always see him working on a piece of furniture. I love how they work with wood here.

Here is the beautiful potted orchid garden that's just outside our door.

This is the Catholic Cathedral Suyapa (soo-ya-pa). They didn't want the LDS temple to be built right in front of it.

Joseph hard at work on his papers. He is loving his job!

Banana soda!