A few quiet minutes before final lists are gone over. Manuel is out and about translating for two people from Canada who are here looking at the project and some of the other things we have been working on. So, I can’t quite hand things over to Manuel until he returns.
My luggage is packed and waiting to head to San Pedro Sula tonight to catch the plane early tomorrow morning. I realized this week that my first flight to Houston is over seven hours long. There is a stop at San Salvador and another in Belize to pick up passengers. I don’t think we will get off and on so it will be a bit of a drag. Two extra chances for luggage to get lost. Whoopee.
The Board of CPI Honduras has begun serious lobbying efforts to get the project funded. Now that my six months is over, they are realizing how important the project is and how they are the ones who need to work to release the funding. It is very heartening to see their positive attitude and efforts. Hopefully, when the national budget is released later this month, our project will be among those listed.
I went to see the bees yesterday and they seem to have settled in very nicely. That is lovely to see. In fact, the one hive seems to be even more active since getting into better quarters. We checked on two others and they were still settling in but, for the most part busy with their work and not interested in folks who were watching them. That is a good sign. We took out a solar cooker and set it up so that Vincent and Barnabus could extract some honey that resulted from the transfer. It worked very quickly and did a good job. I introduced everyone to the tasty treat of honey coated bee larvae. Vincent had heard of people in one part of Honduras who take the comb, larvae and some honey, wrap it in a tortilla and eat with gusto.
Five of the Stevia cuttings look positively healthy. That would be marvellous if the continue to grow.
Saturday night was the last hurrah of the annual fiesta. Five band stands were set up around the town centre and were featuring various live bands. Lots of noise and colour. It rained for two hours before everyone could get into full party swing. The town streets were packed with people so it was a people watcher’s paradise. The cross dressers still took the prize for best dressed. Rosa told me later that one of the men had actually been married and had two children before beginning life out of the closet.
As I sat packing the last things, my neighbour came over with a bowl of soup. It was a speciality of Olancho area and featured beef, pork, sausage, plantains and cassava. Completely filling and totally delicious. A lovely gesture.
For all who followed my adventures, thank you. I am still somewhat hopeful that this project will get the needed funding to continue. The potential it offers to the region is enormous and the cost savings for the school system equally helpful.
Honduras continues to amaze me with its potential for wealth and progress. The incredible growth rate of agricultural products and the incredible markets that await anything produced is truly wonderful. Yet, despite this, the poverty of mind and pocket is often overwhelming. The corrupted power of the ruling elite continually cripples innovation and industry. Ironically, the rich live, themselves, in cages that, although shoddily gilded, bind them in equally damaging ways. Their corruption eats away at their hearts and denies them the very freedom they seek to protect.
To Sassy and Jerome. Please send me an email so I know who you are ... pretty please.
Peace,
Bryan
Monday, May 11, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Floods and Whatnot
The end of the dry season is coming soon. The dry season here is only about six to eight weeks long so, in African terms, hardly qualifies. However, it does alter the colours and landscape significantly and, in many areas, leads to fires that burn the undergrowth.
Monday night Dave and I headed out for supper. As we sat waiting for our order, the thunder and lightning increased to the point where it was definitely louder than the TV, fair and traffic noise. That is significant. Suddenly the rain began and it pounded down for about forty minutes. Water was cascading down the street and taking all within its path.
Predictably, the power went out as we were served our supper. The restaurant was equipped with candles and we were able to enjoy our supper without delay. Of course, for the “just of the boat” Dave, the lack of electricity also meant lack of air conditioning and the temperature climbed noticeably throughout the meal.
I dropped off Dave at his hotel and drove through the rain ravaged streets to my house. As I opened the door and felt my way inside, I realized that my shoes where making a sloshing noise as I shuffled towards the candles. I made my way throughout the house and heard nothing but water. Candles found and lit, the sight of about two inches of brown water throughout most of the house met my eyes. My flip flops were floating merrily about and, after a glance at the water, I felt that leaving my shoes on may be a bit safer.
Fortunately, as I began sweeping out the water, the power came on and I was able to see clearly what was happening. An hour later, most of the water was outside the apartment. My neighbours came back to their apartment and found a similar situation. Together we cleaned the layer of mud off the front walkway and then I finished getting most of the water cleaned up inside. I turned on the fan and went to bed. My neighbours kept at it until midnight.
Yesterday, Julia came and helped me continue the cleanup. Very fortunately, virtually nothing of my things was on the ground and so no damage was done to clothes, books or equipment. The plastic shelving units feature a couple of inches clearance which proved to be just enough to protect most things. Some monitors were on the floor but, fortunately, the floors in my apartment are not level and happened to be stacked in a high spot – phew.
The five concrete hives are now out and ready to be placed for transferring the bees. We were able to hire a man with a big truck that easily took all the hives plus the blocks to set them on. Loading and unloading the hives was certainly work. Next time I will build them in situ. Bring the bees to the hives – not the hives to the bees. But, for something that promises such a good return on investment, a couple of minutes of hard work should not be seen as too much of a drawback. We hope to start transferring bees tonight.
TTYL
Bryan
Monday night Dave and I headed out for supper. As we sat waiting for our order, the thunder and lightning increased to the point where it was definitely louder than the TV, fair and traffic noise. That is significant. Suddenly the rain began and it pounded down for about forty minutes. Water was cascading down the street and taking all within its path.
Predictably, the power went out as we were served our supper. The restaurant was equipped with candles and we were able to enjoy our supper without delay. Of course, for the “just of the boat” Dave, the lack of electricity also meant lack of air conditioning and the temperature climbed noticeably throughout the meal.
I dropped off Dave at his hotel and drove through the rain ravaged streets to my house. As I opened the door and felt my way inside, I realized that my shoes where making a sloshing noise as I shuffled towards the candles. I made my way throughout the house and heard nothing but water. Candles found and lit, the sight of about two inches of brown water throughout most of the house met my eyes. My flip flops were floating merrily about and, after a glance at the water, I felt that leaving my shoes on may be a bit safer.
Fortunately, as I began sweeping out the water, the power came on and I was able to see clearly what was happening. An hour later, most of the water was outside the apartment. My neighbours came back to their apartment and found a similar situation. Together we cleaned the layer of mud off the front walkway and then I finished getting most of the water cleaned up inside. I turned on the fan and went to bed. My neighbours kept at it until midnight.
Yesterday, Julia came and helped me continue the cleanup. Very fortunately, virtually nothing of my things was on the ground and so no damage was done to clothes, books or equipment. The plastic shelving units feature a couple of inches clearance which proved to be just enough to protect most things. Some monitors were on the floor but, fortunately, the floors in my apartment are not level and happened to be stacked in a high spot – phew.
The five concrete hives are now out and ready to be placed for transferring the bees. We were able to hire a man with a big truck that easily took all the hives plus the blocks to set them on. Loading and unloading the hives was certainly work. Next time I will build them in situ. Bring the bees to the hives – not the hives to the bees. But, for something that promises such a good return on investment, a couple of minutes of hard work should not be seen as too much of a drawback. We hope to start transferring bees tonight.
TTYL
Bryan
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Bulls – Well ... Almost
The town fair and rodeo continues on in full spate. Lots of fun, interesting things and surprises. The strings of coloured bunting provide canopy for the streets surrounding the city square. Beer tents are set up along one side of the square with a number of the town’s restaurants and pubs setting up shop. There are plenty of carnival food places with the familiar fair food smell permeating the atmosphere. The Catholic church has a food stand in front of the church and it is busy, presumably with Catholic customers (that is who I have seen there). It would be a grave political error to bypass the Catholic booth and patronize another booth from “who knows what religion?” down the street.
Last night, before mass began, a brass band struck up music on the church steps. One sousaphone, one tuba, three trombones, two saxophones, one trumpet and two drummers (one equipped with a saucepan type cymbal set up that he clanged in time with his drum). They were very good and had some nice numbers. I believe that one of the reasons they were hired to grace the steps was because the mass featured a wedding as well. The one song I recognized was, “Those were the days my friend.” Obviously my wedding repertoire needs brushing up. As you can guess, the silent adoration section that sometimes precedes mass was not on the agenda.
The wedding was lovely and the church had been decorated with streamers and flowers. Along with flowers and so forth to go with the Holy Cross festival (the real reason for the fair at this time) (Christ is always the reason for the season), the church looked rather spectacular. The bride and groom seemed quite young (but ... what do I know – I’m getting old?). I will digress a tad bit. In Africa, the churches preached monogamy and went to great lengths to ensure that that was the norm among their adherents. Well, the importance of fertility and children within the traditional African religions did not go away quite so easily. It was critical that each couple be certain that children would be a part of the union. So, as one of our friends said, “You don’t get married until your tummy is pointing to the altar”. Nuff said.
An amazing surprise last night was the inclusion of a fifty plus piece youth orchestra from Tegucigulpa. What a sight to see these young people dressed in black, semi-formal outfits and to hear classical music from the grandstand. Completely unexpected.
Friday afternoon we went to the rodeo. So fascinating. The Lavoy Community School Rodeo was a class act. Still, this rodeo had plenty of entertainment. The stock consisted of twelve head of cattle. Three of them were bulls and the rest were cows that ranged from somewhat stocky to downright screws. Each animal was roped around the horns or head and then dragged into the chutes. That was really the exciting part of the show. After long minutes the cows/bulls were readied for riding and, provided they didn’t lay down for a rest, equipped with a suitable bull rider. The chutes were opened and the animals came out. A couple of times they came out bucking. At the eight second mark (give or take) they stopped and the cowboy gracefully dismounted. The clown made up for the lack of bucking entertainment by playing fake matador. One cow was very obliging and, as a reward, given half a can of beer to drink before taking up the chase again.
In between animals (and with only twelve animals there was plenty of in between) various musical numbers were featured. One gentleman, clad in classic Mexican sombrero, tight pants with lacy stripes and bolero type vest was a great entertainer and had the audience laughing. In fact, one of the cows was laughing so hard that she had to lie down for a while as well. Another of the bands featured a drummer who was chosen, I suspect, for her abilities off the stage. She made the “Kitchen Band” in my mother’s Golden Hills Lodge seem ready for the road (get those walkers and pots packed gang). We did enjoy the whole event immensely.
Today, on the opposite side of the road, horses and riders were competing in an event that featured small bands of ribbon looped over a rope. Each of the riders was equipped with a specially carved (lathed?) pointed piece of wood or metal about six inches long. Riding at full gallop they would try to pierce the ribbon and have it stay on the “lance”. Each time they succeeded, they were given a handkerchief to tie at their belt so that it was easy to keep score. Some very good horsemanship and some beautiful horses made the stop very worthwhile.
The carnival queen has been crowned, along with the junior miss queen. We were lucky to meet the procession of all the queens and princesses (along with escorts in black suits and ties) being brought to the evening stadium by a school band. The band made sure that the procession took its time so we got to wave to the queens and escorts for some time.
Today we went to a nearby park which is protecting a watershed. A lovely hike took us to a beautiful waterfall. As well, we were able to see a view of Lake Cajon (a man-made lake) that was spectacular. All sorts of ideas came to mind with the closer look at the lake. It was nice to find an access to the lake that is so easy to get to.
In a restaurant we stopped in there was, displayed on the food service counter one half of a caribou rack. Dave, who has spent a number of years in the north of Canada recognized it right away. I have no idea what it is doing in a Honduran restaurant.
TTYL
Bryan
Last night, before mass began, a brass band struck up music on the church steps. One sousaphone, one tuba, three trombones, two saxophones, one trumpet and two drummers (one equipped with a saucepan type cymbal set up that he clanged in time with his drum). They were very good and had some nice numbers. I believe that one of the reasons they were hired to grace the steps was because the mass featured a wedding as well. The one song I recognized was, “Those were the days my friend.” Obviously my wedding repertoire needs brushing up. As you can guess, the silent adoration section that sometimes precedes mass was not on the agenda.
The wedding was lovely and the church had been decorated with streamers and flowers. Along with flowers and so forth to go with the Holy Cross festival (the real reason for the fair at this time) (Christ is always the reason for the season), the church looked rather spectacular. The bride and groom seemed quite young (but ... what do I know – I’m getting old?). I will digress a tad bit. In Africa, the churches preached monogamy and went to great lengths to ensure that that was the norm among their adherents. Well, the importance of fertility and children within the traditional African religions did not go away quite so easily. It was critical that each couple be certain that children would be a part of the union. So, as one of our friends said, “You don’t get married until your tummy is pointing to the altar”. Nuff said.
An amazing surprise last night was the inclusion of a fifty plus piece youth orchestra from Tegucigulpa. What a sight to see these young people dressed in black, semi-formal outfits and to hear classical music from the grandstand. Completely unexpected.
Friday afternoon we went to the rodeo. So fascinating. The Lavoy Community School Rodeo was a class act. Still, this rodeo had plenty of entertainment. The stock consisted of twelve head of cattle. Three of them were bulls and the rest were cows that ranged from somewhat stocky to downright screws. Each animal was roped around the horns or head and then dragged into the chutes. That was really the exciting part of the show. After long minutes the cows/bulls were readied for riding and, provided they didn’t lay down for a rest, equipped with a suitable bull rider. The chutes were opened and the animals came out. A couple of times they came out bucking. At the eight second mark (give or take) they stopped and the cowboy gracefully dismounted. The clown made up for the lack of bucking entertainment by playing fake matador. One cow was very obliging and, as a reward, given half a can of beer to drink before taking up the chase again.
In between animals (and with only twelve animals there was plenty of in between) various musical numbers were featured. One gentleman, clad in classic Mexican sombrero, tight pants with lacy stripes and bolero type vest was a great entertainer and had the audience laughing. In fact, one of the cows was laughing so hard that she had to lie down for a while as well. Another of the bands featured a drummer who was chosen, I suspect, for her abilities off the stage. She made the “Kitchen Band” in my mother’s Golden Hills Lodge seem ready for the road (get those walkers and pots packed gang). We did enjoy the whole event immensely.
Today, on the opposite side of the road, horses and riders were competing in an event that featured small bands of ribbon looped over a rope. Each of the riders was equipped with a specially carved (lathed?) pointed piece of wood or metal about six inches long. Riding at full gallop they would try to pierce the ribbon and have it stay on the “lance”. Each time they succeeded, they were given a handkerchief to tie at their belt so that it was easy to keep score. Some very good horsemanship and some beautiful horses made the stop very worthwhile.
The carnival queen has been crowned, along with the junior miss queen. We were lucky to meet the procession of all the queens and princesses (along with escorts in black suits and ties) being brought to the evening stadium by a school band. The band made sure that the procession took its time so we got to wave to the queens and escorts for some time.
Today we went to a nearby park which is protecting a watershed. A lovely hike took us to a beautiful waterfall. As well, we were able to see a view of Lake Cajon (a man-made lake) that was spectacular. All sorts of ideas came to mind with the closer look at the lake. It was nice to find an access to the lake that is so easy to get to.
In a restaurant we stopped in there was, displayed on the food service counter one half of a caribou rack. Dave, who has spent a number of years in the north of Canada recognized it right away. I have no idea what it is doing in a Honduran restaurant.
TTYL
Bryan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
