 |
Randy flew in for his wedding, what a Angel!
|
 |
The kids were excited to be here
After our time in OR, we flew from Portland to Ft Lauderdale.
The next day we took Spirit to Honduras. Spirit check in was chaotic. After a
long lunch in Comayagua, we were taken to Hyatt Place in Tegucigalpa. We hiked
in La Tigra NP and had a tour of the National Museum followed by a great lunch
at a Peruvian restaurant. |
 |
| The hiking group at La Tigra NP |
 |
| What a cute couple |
 |
| Violet, Patrick, Randy, Jenn and Rhys |
 |
| Here comes trouble, Linden and Violet marching in step. |
 |
| The beautiful bride, Alba |
 |
The first dance
The wedding was well attended, and the reception reflected a
lot of planning for food, music and photography. The next day, some people headed home, while
the rest flew to the Island of Roatan. We checked into the Naboo Resort and had
dinner and drinks with the group at Paradise Beach. We took an all-day group tour
which covered Myan Edan Zoo with monkeys and sloths, had lunch at a brewery,
and visited a chocolate factory.
|
.jpg) |
| Our new friend |
The following day we did a snorkeling boat trip with the
group to two dive sites, with lots of fish and good coral. The following day,
we said goodbyes to the Toppers (although Linden was not ready to leave the
pool). We enjoyed being able to spend time with family. Pat and I went
snorkeling off the beach where she saw a nurse shark. On our last day on the
Island, we started with another from shore snorkel. We took the Ferry back to
the mainland, and a cab to the airport on the other side of La Ceiba, Honduras’
third largest city.
 |
It's a baby Linden sloth
|
Driving in Honduras is not for the faint of heart. Most people thought we were crazy to rent a car here. Our plan to avoid driving in big cities backfired on us. From the airport, we were taken back to the city to complete the paperwork. When we finally got on the road it was in the middle of rush hour, the sun was setting, and there was an accident which brought the traffic to a crawl. The turn off to the resort was not illuminated and we missed it. We circled back and drove two miles on a very dark and rough entrance road. With all the banging going on under the car, we didn’t know if we were about to lose our gas tank or transmission.
 |
| The grounds at Pico Bonita |
We checked in to the Pico Bonita Eco Resort, and the next
day we went on a nature hike to their butterfly house, serpentarium and
finished with a hike to a swimming hole. The landscaping around the resort was
filled with beautiful tropical plants and flowers. The food and service were
excellent. The next day we did a much harder hike up the mountain sweating off
a few pounds. Luckily, they had a beautiful pool at the resort.
 |
| At the entrance to the gardens |
From there we drove to Tela and had a beachfront room. A
nice location, except for when the local Garifuna boys came by banging on their
drums, on and off all day, to get donations. I considered paying them to leave.
We visited the famous Jardin Botanical Lancetilla, but we were disappointed due
to lack of maintenance in the gardens.
 |
| Cannon Ball fruit 9 pounds |
 |
| Where Pat fell |
We drove to Logo de Yojoa but couldn’t find the hotel we
reserved. We ended up at D&D brewery in a small room without A/C. We hiked
at Eco-Arqueologico Park and visited their museum. On the way out, Pat slipped on
their slick walkways, and came down hard, hitting her head on a rock. Blood was
running down her neck. We finally got the bleeding to stop and managed to get
back to the car. After Pat consulted with Linda and Mimi, we decided to wait
until we got home to get it checked out. We left D&D the next day and went
to see the impressive Cataract Pulhapanzak. Upon leaving the park, the guard informed
us that we had a flat tire. He installed the temporary spare, and we headed
back to town to get the tire fixed. Turns out there were two nails in the tire,
and the wheel was bent. The kid fixed the tire and wheel, and we were back on
the road. We drove to Comayagua and took our scheduled flight out the next day
to Fort Lauderdale.
 |
| Pulhapanzak Falls |
The following day we flew back to Helena and landed during
rush hour on Friday. I called Lyft for a
ride home, but nothing was available, so I called Uber, same result. I tried Lyft again, no luck. I called the local cab company, but no one answered. We
tried a couple of our neighbors, but they were not home. Pat was ready to walk
home, which would take an hour without suitcases. I found an airport employee heading home and I
convinced him to give us a ride. It turned out he lived nearby.
Pat went to Urgent Care the following day, and they said she
was fine. Pat still had doubts, so she returned the following day for a CAT
scan. The results were negative; no cats were found. I came down with a cold,
likely as a result of exposure during the flights.
.jpg)
