Road Trip to Novillo

Yesterday Macho Man took me on a road trip.  This one had a purpose.  I have an Internet friend, Jennifer, whom I wanted to meet in person and become "real"  friends.  I  knew Jennifer and her family have milk cows and I wanted some fresh milk to make cheese with, so that was another reason for going. 

Jennifer agreed to let us take some of her valuable time, and believe me, her time is very valuable.  You see, not only does she live on a farm in rural Honduras, Jennifer has eight children of her own, and two that belong to her husband from another marriage. 

To say that Jennifer and her family live out from town is an understatement to say the least.  The directions are something to the effect of  'turn at the intersection between the pink house and the pulpuria, go about 10 minutes, go down the hill and cross the bridge and then cross over the little ford.......We found her though, without any problem.

What a great family!!  Did I mention that eight of the ten children were at home?  Did I mention that the six youngest ones are stair-steps from about age seven down to about one year?

What a great Mom!  The two oldest children are teenagers.  They are polite, with great manners.  They helped with the younger children, and carried on intelligent conversations.  I phrase it this way, because so many teens today can't say three words, without saying "like, you know", or really murdering the English language in some way.

The six younger children were all friendly, outgoing, and very loving.  They are extremely well behaved for their ages, and again, those beautiful manners.

Jennifer and I got along as if we had known each other for ages.  She is a very kind, outgoing, generous young woman.  Nana, you did a great job of raising her.  And, Nana, I got to rock Lara almost to sleep.  Be jealous!

When we started to leave I had about 8 liters of milk.  Jennifer had asked if I wanted some green bananas, and I said sure.  I didn't realize she meant a whole stalk of bananas.  Plus, she threw in a big bunch of chatas, a kind of banana that you cook with.  When I asked her how much for the milk, she told me to put my money away.

Friends are always a blessing.

Road Trip to La Ceiba, Day 2 - What We Found and Where We Found It

I have already mentioned that we stayed at the Hotel Paris.  This is one of the older hotels in downtown La Ceiba, right on the Park, and central to almost everything.  The hotel is in the process of remodeling, but we found it to be clean and comfortable.  The staff was exceptionally polite and helpful.  There was security on the premises, and a secure parking lot. 

We had a room on the ground floor, pool side.  There is a bar at poolside, as well as a very nice restaurant, where you can eat inside or out.  They have a beauty shop on the premises, as well as conference rooms and free wireless internet.

This is the pool area.  The bar is in the background.  We found it to be a very relaxing place to sit and have a drink, and we were also able to get our dinner brought to this area.  The bar is a full-service bar.  The restaurant has a very extensive menu.  We both had calemari, Juan's was a la diabla (in a hot sauce) and mine was fried.  We had a baked potato and  salad.  It was all good, and not expensive at all.

Who is that handsome, dark-haired man walking by the pool?  Why, it is Macho man!  To his right is the restaurant, where we had supper,  and where we had a very relaxing breakfast before starting out for the day.






The first order of the day was to find some 3x5 index cards, which we did, at Casa De Los estudiantes on Avenida San Isidro.  This little place has all kinds of paper good and school supplies.

Then, on to Pais, which is the Honduran version of Wal-Mart, and is actually owned by Wal-Mart.  Pais is just down from the central Park.  It is a large store, with wide, comfortable aisles that I had no trouble getting the scooter through.  The store was clean and the employees were helpful and polite.

I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  They had almost everything I was looking for.  I found Hershey's Cocoa.  I found bay leaves.  Rachel, take note and strike these from the list.  Pais had a nice meat market, but we were going to try another place, so didn't buy from here.  There was a good assortment of cheese, even sharp cheddar.  And whipping cream, real, live whipping cream.  Their bakery department had a variety of baked good.  Juan bought caballitos, a gingerbread sort of cookie, shaped like a little horse.

After we left Pais we headed over to a carnecería that was recommended to us has having meat 'bien blandisimo' (very tender).  As most of you know, finding a tender piece of meat has been a big problem for me, so I really had my hopes up.  So, here it is!

Carnecería Express.  The sign says, on the left, "Fresh meat,  and for Exportation ".  On the right it says "Experts in Special Cuts"  This place is located on Avenida 14 de Julio, between Calles 16 and 17, two doors down from where I had my spa day. 

The store was clean, with no bad odors and no flies.  The cuts were recognizable.  The butcher did not touch the meat with her bare hands.  The meats are mainly from Olancho, but the American style cuts come from Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School.   One of the sausages we bought was also made at Zamorano.

We bought a tenderloin large enough to cut into  eight 3/4 - 1" filets and a piece left over that will make a nice roast.  We also got six T-bones, about 1/2" thick.  We added six smoked porkchops, each 3/4" thick,  and two different types smoked sausage, one spicy and one mild.   All of this ran us about $55 USD.    We loaded all this in the cooler, covered it in ice, and off we went to meet Pablo and Magda, my in-laws, for lunch.

After lunch we made a quick turn through the MegaPlaza Mall, which looks like any other mall in the US.  They even have my favorite shoe store, Payless.

Then it was time to go pick up Chico and head home. 

UPDATE on the Meat:  I am proud to report that the meat is, indeed, blandisimo.  We had a couple of the filets Sunday night, and they were so tender and juicy.  Tonight we had smoked pork chops, black beans and rice, and the pork chops were great.  Definitely worth a 3-hour road trip to La Ceiba

Road Trip to La Ceiba, Day One - The Spa Day

We finally decided to brave the rain Thursday and drive to La Ceiba, and our prayers were answered.  The rain stopped for the road trip, then started up again after we got to Ceiba.

Chico says everyone should wear a seat belt while traveling in Honduras.  He never goes anywhere without his seat belt.  It keeps him from falling out of the car, or landing in the floor after a sudden stop.

Our first stop was at the office of Dr. Higinio Calderon, the vet recommended by several members of Honduras Living.  The best recommendation came from Chico  himself.  Sometimes Chico is a little slow to make friends, especially with men, so we were really impressed when he immediately made friends with Dr. Calderon.

The vet was very accommodating.  He looked  over the medical records we brought and did a cursory exam.  No problem that we just walked in unannounced, nor that Chico needed a spa day the same day.  Again, no problem when Chico ended up needing to stay in the Hotel Calderon for the night when the Hotel Paris would not allow him to share a room with us.

Dr.  Calderon says he can fix the international health certificate and the exit papers we need when we leave the country with 24 hours notice, although he would rather have a week.  He does not open the Ceiba office Wednesdays and weekends.  The clinic is located on the street just before the DIPPSA Super 7 on CA 13 going toward Tela and San Pedro.

Next on the To-Do-List was to find the place Macho man needed to go to get the Xterra officially registered in Honduras.  When he was satisfied he could find the place again, we went to look for Rumors, so I could have my spa day while he took care of the car.

Rumors was recommended by a member of  Honduras Living.  It is located  on Ave 14 de Julio, between Calles (streets) 16 and 17, across from Nicole Imports.  Sorry, Americans, but this how you give directions in Honduras, as there are very few addresses as we know them.

Owners, Nolvia and husband, René, speak English and are so very nice.  The shop is clean and well maintained. Nolvia is the stylist and René takes care of the business.  The first thing René did was offer me a choice of gourmet coffee, tea, juice, or water.  He was very clear that the water was bottled, and the drinks and ice cubes were made with  it.    I did have to ask for warm water for my shampoo, but that detail was take care of immediately and cheerfully, no questions asked other than was it warm enough      

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I was greeted at the door by Miriam, a sweet little pixie, who is learning English.  Since we both speak Spanglish, we got along just fine.  The word 'shampoo' does not come close to describing what she did.  After we got the water warm enough,  and while I had shampoo in my hair she massaged my scalp for several minutes.  After she rinsed out the shampoo, she applied a deep conditioner, covered me with a plastic cap, and we were off to the pedicure station. 

I was given  the most luxurious pedicure I have ever had. After the usual soak in warm water and basic pedi, Miriam started a routine of massage alternating between Dead Sea salt and minerals, then lotions.  She applied a hot paraffin treatment, then more massage. 

After the pedi, we went back to the shampoo station, washed out the conditioner, and I got another scalp massage.  By this time I was purring like a kitten and convinced I wanted to take Miriam home with me.   

Then, I went to Nolvia's station.  She did not even flinch when I told her to take off about 4".  We discussed a style and then she gave me what I think is the best haircut I have ever gotten.  It is a classic bob done with a razor.  This morning  I  brushed my hair and it just fell into place.  That is a rare occurrance for me.  Unfortunately, Macho Man finished his business before I could get to the facial and the full massage, but we will be back every 4-6 weeks so there is still time.

Nolvia recommended a carnecería (butcher shop) that she says is the best.  The meat comes from Olancho, which prides itself on the quality of its meats.  I will have more to say about that in Day 2.  

From here we went to get Chico settled in for the night, then to the Hotel Paris to settle ourselves in for the night.  We had a couple of good margueritas out buy the pool, then a good dinner, also poolside.   I actually got to watch some TV;  and we slept without any mosquitos trying to eat us alive. 

Oh, happy days!!                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                   

                                                                                       

The Road to Sante Fe

Today we took the day off......no unpacking, washing, sorting or finding a place to put something.  Just a nice Sunday afternoon drive towards Santa Fe. 

Santa Fe is a Garifuna village about 25 kms from Trujillo.  The Garifuna are the descendants of slaves who were deported from St Vincent to Roatan, Honduras in the late 1790s.  They settled along the coast of Central America.  We like to go to Santa Fe to eat seafood, which the Garifuna are famous for cooking.

We got side-tracked on the way when we turned off first at Tranquility Bay Resort, a small, well-kept, boutique style resort on a great stretch of beach.  We sat out under the champa on the beach and relaxed to the sound of the surf.  Definitely a place to go if you want peace and quiet.

After we left Tranquility Bay we headed down the road and again got side-tracked to Banana Beach.  We met Rand, with whom I have an email friendship, and he immediately welcomed us to Trujillo Bay and Banana Beach and made us feel right at home.  We ordered drinks and lunch, and all I can say is, "Oh Boy!"

I had a mixed ceviche which was served with home-made tortilla chips and is, without a doubt, the best I have ever eaten.   I really hated to have to share it with Macho Man.  I also ordered conch fritters.  They were more conch than fritter, just the way I like it.  The conch was obviously fresh, sweet, and tender. Done just right.  Macho Man ordered fried shrimp.  He was not doing much talking, but a lot of eating, so I am sure he was just as impressed as I was.

The restaurant is in a champa which also houses  an excellent bar, a pool table, a flat-screened TV and hammocks.  There is a tennis court and a volley ball court.  The beach is so close you can hear the tide change and the breeze had the palm trees swaying. 

Check out their web page at http://www.bananabeachbums.com/.  We plan to go back and take the whole family.  Thanks, Rand, for a relaxing good time.

As soon as I learn how, I will post some pictures.