A Quest to Find the Sun

Our Cruise Ship anchored in Honduras. After the rain, the rainbow.

So, we finally found the sun! It meant going all the way to the Caribbean but we found it. We left Houston on a cold rainy day, about the way it seems like it has been most of November and December. This is very reminiscent of our last winter in Florida. On Monday (a week ago) we woke up to find ourselves docked in Cozumel Mexico and hallelujah the sun was shinning. Ahhhhhhh.............

This is how we spent the day at Playa Mia

In Cozumel the ship is able to dock in the port so off the ship and on to our first excursion. Looking for some relaxation in the sun, we chose to go to Playa Mia which is a beach park. We found some beach chairs and sat in the sun with our Kindles and it was beautiful. We had to be careful about sitting in the sun so it wasn’t long before we moved to some shade. These lily white northern folk know better than to bake too long and luckily we only got a little red. Totally worth it to get some sunshine.

 

A refreshing dip in the pool after a bike ride.

Iguana at Bacab Eco park

Tuesday when we woke up we were anchored in the harbor of Belize City. Today’s adventure was the Bacab Eco Park. We were headed for a jungle bike ride and then a swim in their gorgeous pool. The bikes were interesting. They were mountain bikes with one working gear and only the back break or a cruiser bike with coaster brakes. They worked fine though as we rode on a trail over tree roots and thru the mud. Our guide was Darren and he was a hoot. He also had a lot of knowledge about the vegetation and the animals. We did get to see a big iguana sunning himself on a log, and a

Belize river at Bacab

howler monkey hanging out in the trees above us. They have a jaguar that passes thru the area regularly but luckily we didn’t get to see it. After a nice sweaty ride they had a great meal for us that included the local specialty of red beans and rice. We loved this so much that tonight I made it at home. Mine turned out ok but not as good as theirs, guess I will have to keep working on the recipe. Another great day in the sun.

This calf was born the morning of our farm visit.

Wednesday and our last port of call in Trujillo Honduras, the banana coast and we woke up to......rain!!!!. Yuk. I was bummed but decided I’d just hope that it would clear off. Today we were headed to a farm that has a small resort and they grow most of the produce that they serve and raise the cattle and milk cows too. They have horses and provide trail rides, but that wasn’t on our agenda. This actually was a fascinating place but mainly because of the woman who started it all. She was a

This is the gal who owns the farm

cook on a ship, cargo I believe, and ended up marrying the captain, a Norwegian gentleman. When he died she bought the first acres to start the farm. Oh I should say she has 4 sons and a daughter who all work with her, but make no mistake she is the driving force in their endeavors. She married again and they bought another larger amount of acres further in the mountains where they raise cattle. The main farm is right on the ocean with a nice beach. They have built several villas for visitors. We spent a lot of time listening to her stories and she shared her red bean and rice recipe (kind of) and lots about the farm. She was wonderful, her English is sketchy but she makes you want to listen to every word.  This port of call is new for the cruise line and they are trying to develop it into a regular stop. Honduras is beautiful and the people are I think the most friendly that we encountered. The infrastructure of the country is very fragile but the people here really want this to happen and for them and future travelers I hope it does.There is one more story to tell and it is the story of our bus guide to the farm. I’d like to let John tell this story as it is incredible.

These are all photos of the farm. Absolutely beauthiful.

Saying good bye to Trujillo Honduras, an amazing place.

We have been staying at the Escapees park (Rainbow’s End) in Livingston, TX. We have enjoyed our stay here but now its time to get a move on and head west. The sun finally came out today and sounds like it might be an ok weekend weather-wise. Our first stop will be in the Hill country at Canyon Lake, not far from New Braunfels. It is a COE park and with John’s Senior Pass the price can’t be beat. Planning only 3 days there. Not sure after that, it all depends on the weather. May have to go all the way to Arizona to find warm weather but I am determined to find it.

Happy Trails....................