Journal
Day 14 May 26, 2013
We woke up this morning to the awful
realization that we would be leaving Zamorano within an hour. Why was I upset? Because I feel as if we actually established
lives there! Even though we were only
there for 2 weeks, we had worked in the school as if it was our job, we had gone to the bank and the store, and we
had made friends that we hung out with regularly. We had even developed a good relationship with
the cafeteria people! So, even though we were excited to be going to Copan to
begin round 2 of our adventure in Honduras, it was definitely bittersweet.
We met for breakfast at 8 and had
our last meal in the cafeteria: cornflakes, cheese quesadillas, and scrambled
eggs. Oh, and that delicious breakfast
juice! As soon as breakfast was over, we
walked our last walk back to the Kellogg Center, past the pretty trees and
under the tunnel. Wow, I’m sure going to
miss that place.
After one last room check, we
brought all our stuff downstairs to wait for the bus. Katie and I also stopped by our friend
Wendy’s room to say goodbye to her.
Unfortunately, Karen was in Nicaragua for her brother’s birthday, so we
weren’t able to say goodbye to her.
Then, before we knew it, we were on the bus/van for a 3 hour drive to
Lake Yojoa. And what an interesting
drive it was.
Both Megan and Becca had gone out
with Ivy last night, and Ivy didn’t feel good when she got back. She was fine this morning, but Megan and
Becca both felt extremely sick! They
were convinced it was a mixture of dehydration, sunburn/sun poisoning, and the
bean dip they had eaten. So, about 20
minutes into the drive, Becca asked for a bag, which I gave her and into which
she promptly threw up. Anyone who knows
me knows that I hate puking, so I was kind of freaking out to be sitting on a
closed space with a bag of puke. We had
to stop on the side of the road and throw it out the window, which sounds
really bad because that doesn’t happen in America. However, in Honduras, as you drive down the
roads, trash just lines the street. We
stopped at a gas station then to get them Gatorades and so people could use the
restroom. Fortunately, the girls both
felt better after getting some electrolytes in their systems, and then
proceeded to laugh about their illness the rest of the day, comparing it to the
scene in the movie, Bridesmaids, when
everyone gets food poisoning and starts sweating and looking pale. Honestly, the description fits perfectly!
The rest of the bus/van ride was
pretty uneventful. We played some CatchPhrase
and had a nice jam sesh with my speakers and Kayla’s Copan playlist. Luckily, there were no more illnesses for the
rest of the trip.
Last night we had voted on the place
we wanted to stop for lunch today. Jubin
wanted us to mess with JoAnn and vote for the pupusa place because she doesn’t like it, and so we did. However, when we did our real vote, we still
picked it! But when we got to the
restaurant, we saw that Wendy’s was right next to it, and most of us changed
our minds and decided that we wanted fast food instead. And thank goodness we did, because FROSTYS,
HOLLA!! I have developed a whole new
appreciation for frozen delicacies since going without during this trip.
We drove the last 40 minutes to the
hotel at Lake Yojoa and got our rooms with the same roommates as in
Zamorano. The rooms are gorgeous! We each get a double bed (which is so
awesome, because I miss my big bed at home and the Kellogg Center only had baby
beds) and there’s even a hammock hanging up in the room! I’m currently laying in it as I’m typing
this, and I even took a nap in it before dinner tonight! So freakin’ comfortable! But we only had a few minutes to admire our
rooms and change into our swimsuits because we were leaving to go to a park
right away to go under a waterfall!
The ride to the park was only about
20 minutes, and as soon as we got there and got out of the vehicle, we could
feel the humidity blanketing our skin.
It was so incredibly hot! But it
wouldn’t be for long! We met our guide
and stripped into our suits and began our H2O adventure. Everyone decided to participate, except for
Shazia and Eloisa, who were the official photographers of the experience. It was only 200 lempiras, or 10 dollars, so
why not?? The waterfall was so
incredibly beautiful, so we couldn’t wait to see what it was like up close.
We began the tour by following our
guide down this path on a cliff next to the pool at the end of the
waterfall. We were all barefoot, so many
of us came away with scratches and bruises on our feet with all the rocks and
gravel on the ground. It was like a
freakin’ obstacle course with all the climbing around on rocks we were
doing! But we finally got down to where
the water was, and it was absolutely amazing!!
We ended up behind and underneath the waterfall, so when we looked up,
we could see the water falling from the top, and it was awesome! It was so hard to see sometimes, because the
mist from the waterfall was spraying in our faces. In fact, most of the time we were maneuvering
around the falls was spent holding hands in a long chain so we could find where
we needed to go even though we were blind from water. We even got to go inside this cave type thing
that was basically pitch black that was behind the fall. We were all constantly screaming and yelling
and whooping and telling each other, “Can we just stop and reflect on our lives
right now?” because it was just so gorgeous and amazing. The best part was that it started pouring
down rain while we were there, but none of us could tell because we were
continually getting sprayed in the face with the waterfall water!
On our way back up the cliff, we
stopped on this little ledge and did a short 10 foot or so jump into a mini
pool. It was a lot of fun, but Megan got
really scared and said she couldn’t do it.
We were all screaming and cheering for her to do it, and finally she
did, but only after the guide jumped in with her. Lia slipped on the rock and everyone gasped
because we thought she hadn’t jumped out far enough from the rocks on the edge,
but she was okay.
But that little jump was wimpy in
comparison to the grand finale of our tour: jumping off a 25 foot cliff and
into the water at the base of the waterfall!!
It was so much fun!! When I got
to the very edge of the cliff, I was a little nervous, I admit. I mean let’s be real: it’s not rational to be
excited about jumping off a cliff into potentially snake-infested and mercury
filled water. But I’m so glad I did it,
even if my butt did hurt a little after it made contact with the water. Megan and Lia were the only 2 that decided
they weren’t able to jump off, and Ivy took a lot of convincing!
Since it was still raining when we
finished jumping off the cliff, we were all so soaked and piled onto the
bus/van dripping wet. A hot shower was
first on our agenda back at the hotel, and then dinner after that at a
restaurant at the hotel. I had chicken
fajitas, beans, and platanos verde,
which tasted like potato chips. It was
really tasty!
Right now, me, Lindsey, Laura,
Katie, and Kayla are watching a movie in our bug-infested room and listening to
the thunderstorm outside. Unfortunately, the internet doesn’t work, but it’s
very peaceful and relaxing, and I know I’ll sleep well tonight!
Photos:
Waterfall with Katie and Laura!
So purdyyy
Hammock in our room!
Cocoon
Breakfast
Dinner
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