Kelly and Ben in Honduras

May 2007

For the Porvenires project– the one that the Municipality bought land from Don Oloroso– the water source dried up in May.  This was a design that was done before I got here and by the time I reviewed it was already the rainy season so I couldn't confirm that the water source was sufficient.  To avoid this problem in the future, I visited all the communities that still don’t have water systems (about 14) in the dry months of April and May to measure the flows.  I can now do the designs whenever and still be confident in which water sources are good.   You would think this would have already been done, but in Honduras planning ahead and thinking about the future is kind of a foreign concept.  Everything is reactionary which is partly because all the money comes from outside.  Its hard to plan when you don’t have internal budgets for anything.

Anyways, this is quite a big problem considering the project already has $70,000 worth of funding from a Rotary Club in the states.  The pictures below are from when I went out there to measure the flows (the picture with the men and the PVC tube) from different points to see how to modify the original design.  As the pictures show, there is quite a bit of deforestation and further downstream where there is more water, which is a common problem.  I found a solution but now we need to go back to talk to Don Oloroso to see if he is willing to give permission and sell more land.  He has already expressed that he can’t afford to lose more of his land, so it is still a complicated issue that will hopefully be resolved before we have the money in hand to start construction.

Since about January Ben, Jamie (one of the other PC volunteers in Copan) and Ron from Art in Action (youth development NGO in Copan) have been coaching a little league baseball team in Copan.  Baseball is not exactly a big sport in Honduras (soccer however is) and for most of the kids it was the first time they had really thrown a ball.  Between 2 and 5 times a week they would get together to practice with about 25 kids between the ages of 9 and 14.  All of the practicing was in preparation for the Rural Baseball tournament sponsored by Peace Corps in the capital Teguz.  By default Copan qualified and was invited along with 9 other teams from around Honduras.  For just about all 12 of the kids that made the team it was their first time to the capital (about a 9 hour trip), and for many of them it was their first time in a city. 

Unfortunately, Copan lost the two 1st round qualifying games and was eliminated on the 1st day (combined score of the 2 games 32 to 8).  Which was probably partly due an extreme lack of sleep.  The team slept in the same bunk room and this was also the first time the kids were away from home with their friends, without parents, and thus none of them slept at all the whole time.  The losses were taken in stride though because there were always other games to watch and activities going on.  A few hours were spent at an interactive kids museum (photos to right and left) which the kids really loved.  The team also went to see Spiderman 3 at the city mall.  Some of the kids had been to a movie before but many had not and one commented on what a big TV screen it was.  The escalator at the mall gave some of the kids and the adult chaperones (who had never seen one prior) a little bit of a problem.  It was a long few days but nobody got hurt, or lost, or in any serious trouble so ultimately it was a success.  The goal next year is to win a game or two.

The end of May my sister Nealie and brother-in-law Bryce came and visited us.  We met up with them in Roatan to start their trip which is one of the bay island off of the north coast in the Caribbean.  We were there for 4 nights and were able to relax and enjoy the sun.  We stayed in a great hotel in the West End which was on the beach, plus the room had a TV which we had not really watched since December, so that was a real treat.  The island is loaded with dive shops and quaint little restaurants, which are all excellent.  For us going to Roatan or the islands in general is like visiting another country.  English is the common language and the island is much much more developed and wealthy compared to the mainland.

It was a good spring break for my sister and Bryce as well.  We spent a lot of time on the beaches and did a lot of snorkeling from shore.  The island is part of a reef system that runs from all up the coast of Honduras and into Belize so the snorkeling and diving are excellent.  That along with the beaches and the turquoise water are pretty much what everyone goes to Roatan for. 

Following the trip to Roatan we headed to Copan to give my sister and Bryce a chance to see our home and take in the sites around where we live.  Fortunately, Nealie really likes to take photos so our temporary lack of a camera was not too much of a hindrance.  Bryce was only able to stay for a few days before having to head back to the US to work.  We of course did the must see tourist things around town like the ruins, the bird park, and Hacienda San Lucas, which have been featured prominently in both this and prior updates 

Nealie stayed for an additional week and was able to see much more of our life in Copan including such high points as seeing where we buy much of out food in the open market (photo to the right), hanging out with Roni and Jessica (photos below to the right), eating lunch are our regular spot (photo below to right), a trip into a small village (photos of kids below and to the left), and me working in the Municipality at my desk (photo above).   I think she did a much better job than I have done in capturing pictures of our normal life.  She can get away with it a little more easily as a tourist.  Taking pictures of my neighbors house, the market I go to every day, and my office just feels a little weird.

The picture of the the toad is in my sister’s room a few inches from her suitcase.  I think it was a little starting for her when she first saw it hopping around her room.  It was pretty funny.

The picture in the bottom left corner is from the fancy hotel next to my office.  We discovered that if we order lunch there you can also use the pool.  The lunch was delicious and not too expensive, and the pool felt heavenly in the middle of the day when the sun is scorching hot.  It was a great find.

 Her being able to spend a while here and the fact that she can speak a little Spanish made for a relaxing trip for everyone.  She was able to do quite a bit on her.  They even went to the Ruins by themselves..  Although the Ruins are great, after the 6th or 7th time in one year it’s a little less exciting.  It was also nice that she could communicate with our neighbors a bit-  I know they really appreciated it too.

Porvenires is probably my favorite community where  I have worked.  It is really remote so they have  received little aid and are very appreciative of the help.  They are also very hard working.  Communities that have already received a lot aid, especially when it is in the form of charity, can be very challenging to work with.  In Porvenires, however, every time I show up there is a big group (all piled in the pick up truck above) and very helpful.  Don Juan below always lets me ride his strong healthy horse that is actually big enough for my long gringo legs.  He is one of the leaders in the town so he passes by my office in the Municipality weekly to talk to me.  He’s great.

The surrounding photos are from the snorkeling and diving that we did while on Roatan.  The snorkeling right off the beach was amazing.  Fortunately this time on Roatan the weather was great and the water was very calm compared to when we were on the island at Thanksgiving time with Ben’s family.  So we were able to take full advantage of the water.  Ben and I spent a day diving and did two single tank/hour long dives to a couple different locations along the reef.  Being able to dive once in a while has been a definite benefit to being placed in Honduras opposed to someplace like Mongolia or Turkmenistan. 

The dive and snorkeling photos managed to come out pretty well but the only downside to the trip was that while diving our camera broke.  We have a replacement on its way and we figured we would break the thing sooner or later so it is not much of a loss.  The diving was great and being underwater is always a relaxing.  We saw a sea turtle and a couple of big ray fish, the coral is always pretty and the vast quantities and variety of fish are always pretty spectacular.  We did not notice any sharks.