06.07.10

I am on the train now. It is quiet. It doesn't quit feel like it has occured to me yet that I have just said goodbye to the ones I love, and that I am not going to see them for quite awhile now. But a huge adventure awaits me now.

08.07.10

Welcome to Miami!
About 5000 miles later and a lot of long hours of waiting I landed in Miami. Eventhough I was exhausted and somehow tired of flying and being on the go I was still exited though. I was in Miami! After 24/3 in aircondition, stepping outside the airport felt like hidding a wall of moistorous heat. According to the pilot I just went from danish degrees of cold (and it was very cold that night) to an estimated 33 degrees C (and a quite more tropical climate indeed, HOT!
Feeling all exited about seeing the hotel and Miami I allmost forgot how tired I was until I saw the huge double bed in my hotel room. My back was killing me so I thought I would just lay down on the bed for like 10 minutes. I woke up six hours later...

The morning after ( and after having slept in almost 14 hours) I had breakfirst at the hotel and then catched a shuttlebus back to Miami Airport. I was ready for my next flight as it decided to break down and then I waited for another four hours for them to find another plane and transfer all of the loggage to the new plane. What a luck that you'll never get tired of waiting in the airports.. no.

Well.. around six ·o· clock I arrived in Honduras - San Pedro Sula. I was picked up at the airport and now a 2 hour long, very bumpy, ride was waiting ahead. I remember how the mountains amazed me eventhough they were covered in rain. No, more like a tropical storm it was, actually. Not exactly the kind of weather I had fantasized about in my Caribbean dreams, but actually it was quite comfortable in addition to the heat and extremely thick air going on there. Allthough the 2 hour long ride in the cap wasn·t exactly a pleasant thought when I finally got off the plane it was quite exiting to drive through all of the little villages with locals during their thing, just chilling around and selling bananas in front of their houses, some houses more humble than others. It actually made quite an impression on me how obvious you could sense their income by the look of their homes. Huge ·casa·s· placed side by side with houses I wouldn·teven dare calling houses. These were made of palm leaves and many different alternatives to a brick wall, while the others looked like dream houses with great balconees and swimming pools. What a neighbour when all you own is a shack made of sticks.

10.07.10

I am on my way to the banana plantation now, looking forward to see where the Chiqita·s come from. Barry White is on the radio. It makes me feel quite at home actually. Barry is singing; "My first, my last, my everything". I am wondering if this is going to be my last, considering the chauffer·s driving skills and lack of respect for human lives. One time, when he was, according to me, too close to run down a little boy crossing the street, I said:" Please, please slow down a bit, I don´t wan´t to die today." And he answered: "why? you´ll die someday anyway, princess". I answered him; "I know, but just not tody allright?" He answered; "Then what about tomorrow?"..

13.07.10

It has been awhile since the last time I wrote something, so a lot of things have happened, but I·ll try to catch up. And yes, I am still alive.
After visiting the banana plantation in San Miguel I went to see the great waterfall of Pulhapanzak. It was amazing, really. And what was even better - I paid a 100 lempiras and a guide took me all the way behind the waterfall and into a watery cave. It was so, so, so beautiful with rainbows everywhere.

Afterwords we drove to Copan where we arrived around six p.m. Here we stayed at the Iguana Azul for three nights. The morning after I went to see the wondrous and mystical Maya Ruins. Afterwords, CANOPY!

After a good nights sleep I went for another long and bumpy ride to the wonderful Agua Calientes (Hot Springs). A well arranged spa experience in the rainforest with natural springs of many temperatures and foot and neck massage. Ahh.. so wonderful.

In the afternoon it was time for some action so I decided to go horse back riding for a couple of hours. We went up the mountain to San Lucas where the children were playing soccer. We ended up playing against them and we won 1-3 eventhough they managed to pull a couple of tricks where we definetely could not follow. It was amazing to get so close to the locals. We even got permission to get inside of the ouse they live in. No doors or windows, walls made of sticks and a bit of mud as concrete. But then, for my big surprice, a refridguator looking exactly like the one we have at home. well, you gotta keep it cool.

After the game and the visit it was full galop back home. What a great day!

13.07.2010

Today we drove to a small town. Before we got there I did not know anything about that place, I just knew that it had a beautiful name. Santa Rosa, which it was given by the Spaniards back in time.

The city was founded in the early 18th century by Spanish settlers at the site called Los Llanos,later the first settlers named out as Santa Rosa, and later as Santa Rosa de Los Llanos;An industrie of Tobacco was develop in early 18th Century and was picked as the site for La Real Factoria del Tabacos, the Royal Tobacco Company a Spanish crown company in 1765. Later, the province of Gracias a Dios was split in two departments, becoming Copán and Lempira. In 1865, it was renamed Santa Rosa de Copan.

It is not known for much but if you are familiare with cigars you might recognize the name.

When we arrived I went to see the old cigar factory of Santa Rosa. A kind woman showed me the factories sections where I witnessed the making of, among others, the famous Romeo and Juliet cigars, from moisturous leaves to leaves that were folded out completely by hand. dried, pressed, coloured, rolled, glued, cut, double-checked for flaws, packed, stored and sent.
The Romeo and Juliet cigar can only be purchased in the U.S. It is not even sold in Honduras where it is made. There they are sold for approximately $10 each. I defenitely did not buy some from the lady in Santa Rosa and brought them home. Defenitely not.

25.07.2010

Wow. A lot of time has passed now since the last time i opened this book. I can only come up with one explanation:

U T I L A

One of the Bay Islands in the Caribbean. A divers paradise. A world of beautiful coral reefs, dolphins, whalesharks, crabs, dive centres, bars, and new people, not at least.