We got up at 7, got ready, and left the hotel around 7:45. We ate breakfast at Antojos Dana. It was a great breakfast with eggs (estrellados), beans, tortillas, cheese, crema, plantains, and a fresco made of seeds. The fresco had ice in it, and we were concerned that it might not have been made from pure water. We also had a big flour tortilla that we shared and was absolutely delicious, especially after eating corn tortillas for so many weeks. After we ate, we went to find a colectivo to get to the border. We found one and paid Q20 each. The colectivo had an interesting collection of people: a man who moved from the U.S. a year ago to teach English and travel (his relatives were from Guatemala), Maximiliano (a cute grandpa man), among others. The English teacher had had a motorcycle accident and had a huge infected wound on his arm. We arrived at the border and had our passports stamped on the Guatemala side. We also changed money. I only changed Q400 for 940 lempira. I should have changed more. The exchange rate was 2.35 between quetzales and lempiras, which was very close to the 2.4 that we had found online the day before. We rode a little farther in the colectivo when they deposited us on the border of Honduras. We had to walk to the immigration office where we filled out forms and paid the entrance fee of 60 lempira. A man advised us to take a taxi for ten dollars each. We just wanted to find a public bus. We walked for a bit on a slightly sketchy road and then found an old school bus. The temperature was very hot and humid. There was a pretty woman with a baby inside the bus and also a lot of mosquitoes! We left after 10 minutes. The bus cost 51 lempira. The bus stopped many times (every two minutes) and the driver played loud music. After a long time, we arrived at Puerto Cortés where the ayudante showed us the bus to San Pedro Sula. This next bus was very good with comfortable seats and air conditioning! I sat in the front with Amber and Lauren sat a few rows behind us. It was nice to have some time to talk with Amber about things I have been thinking. This bus cost 48 lempira and took one hour. This bus, too, stopped frequently, although it was labeled a “direct” bus. We arrived at the bus station at 2. The bus terminal in San Pedro Sula is connected to a mall. I wanted to buy a green soft serve ice cream cone from Burger King for 7 lempira, but we only saw an ad not the actual restaurant. We looked for a telephone so Lauren could call her uncle. We walked a long way to the terminal for Hedman Alas, the bus company Lauren had used when she came to Antigua. I watched the bags while Lauren went to call him. After this, we bought licuados for 20 lempira (one dollar). I had watermelon with milk. The watermelon flavor wasn’t very strong, but it was very refreshing after a dehydrating day of travel. Tio Victor arrived and we went with him and his daughter Victoria (Vicky) to their house. They have four dogs including two Golden Retrievers who like to swim in the pool and then jump on people, a Boxer, and a Chihuahua that bites. We went up to the room where we were going to stay. It worked out well that the room has two beds, a twin and a double. The room had air conditioning, which was wonderful. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading Lauren’s Central America book to decide what we wanted to do with our time in Honduras and then we showered. Around 6, Lesli, the woman who works for the family, came to tell us it was time for dinner. She came to their house in September when she was pregnant. Tio Victor is very generous. Lesli lives and works at their house with her baby Andrea Fernanda. There is another woman named Monica who lives in the house, too. She used to work for them a long time ago. She didn’t know how to read or write, so Tio Victor paid for her to go to school and then college. Now she is a nurse but still lives with them. We ate avocado, fried plantains, and beans with cheese and cream. After dinner, we talked for a long time about family history and Lauren’s family tree. Tio Victor wrote out a family tree for Lauren’s grandpa’s part of the family. Vicki spoke English to us most of the time and it was hard for us to keep speaking Spanish. Tio Victor showed us pictures of his farm and La Mosquitia (an undeveloped area of Honduras that has a lot of problems with drug trafficking). He also showed us the hair from his grandma (that was cut off in braids) and ancient documents from Lauren’s relatives including birth certificates, marriage licenses, and passports. At 9, we returned to our room and wrote for a while before getting ready for bed at 10:15. Amber was already asleep in the small bed and Lauren and I shared the large bed.
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