Honduras Mission Trip 2011: January 2011

I got up early and found some amazing flowers growing in the Hotel Maya's garden, which was the area around the swimming pools.

There's a statue of Christ on the hilltop behind the hotel. The statue appears to be about four stories tall. It's lighted at night, and competes with a huge Coca-Cola sign, also lighted.

We walked down the (steep) hill from the hotel to the main square in the city, to see the cathedral.

Everyone was busy with photography.

Matt and Harold

A street scene on the way from the cathedral square to the market square.

The market is right next to a square fronted by another large church.

The church and its square are very beautiful. There's a superabundance of pigeons.

The market is very compact, with dozens of shops connected by narrow passages. Every kind of apparel one could want, but not much else. It was certainly colorful.

Melissa and Pat looking over a purchase.

We don't know why this man was carrying a life-size papier-mâché mannequin, or perhaps a piñata. In any case, it's unfinished.

Back at the hotel, I put the camera away and officially retired as mission trip photographer. Travel home was long, but without incident.

A great mission trip.

Early Friday morning, with the moon still visible above the cross.

Flaco, ever hopeful, waits outside the dining hall entrance. He's in luck: Kent arrives.

Thanking the breakfast kitchen staff.

Melissa gave the last morning prayer of our mission week.

Everyone poses for our group portrait. That's our bus driver on the far right, back row.

Matt, Melissa, Brian, Kristen, Mark, Kay, Carolyn, Kevin, Carol, Tom, Lisa, Dickie, Myrna, Karen, Emily M., Stuart, Susan, Marta, Jeri, Kent, Tamra, Cristina, Yolanda, Lindsey, Tom, Judy M., Pat, Alejandrina, Judy E., Harold, Ubaldo, Rick. Not shown: Emily G.

We retraced the route that had taken us two days before. Now, starting early in the day, we'll make the journey to Tegucigalpa in one long day. We stopped near where we got stuck on the outward journey, and looked at the view that was hidden by fog and rain before. Again we had an armed guard through the mountains.

We stopped for lunch at the Mennonite Bakery. A woman was making and selling bowls hand crafted from pine straw and colorful yarn, a craft native to this area.

Kristen and Dickie

Lindsey watching

Across the street was this fire engine, with a story and an Austin connection to go along with it. Honduras law forbids importation of used vehicles more than 10 years old, to keep the country from becoming a dumping ground for North American junkers. It had taken years to find an appropriate used fire engine in the US and arrange for its purchase and transportation to Honduras. It waited another year or more until a special law was passed by the Honduran legislature to permit this one vehicle to come in, even though it was 12 years old.