Lake Yojoa, Honduras

Brian wasn't feeling so hot when we left Copan. We planned to stop at a coffee planation, but after an emergency roadside stop, he wanted nothing more than to get to the lake and relax.

During our time in Honduras, it was time to pick coffee beans at the highest altitudes. The people of the highlands, seem to plant coffee plants everywhere. All along the hillsides. As we traveled, the hillsides would catch your eye because the bushes were moving something fierce. They pull the plant over, pick the beans which grow near the top, then release the plant which causes it to spring upright. (Think "weebles wobble, but they don't fall down.") Once the beans are collected they are laid out to dry. Throughout our drive, the houses along the road had huge cement slabs as "driveways," but that is where they spread the beans out to dry. Often the whole family was involved with spreading out the beans in the morning, and then shoveling them back into bags at night because of the moisture in the air. Once the beans are dried, then the outershell is removed and two coffee beans (like we think of them) are inside. Brokers will pay the individual families for their beans and the price goes up the further into the process they get.

We arrived at Lake Yojoa, which was a beautiful lake. Brian slept and I relaxed in the hammock and explored the grounds of our hotel. The most interesting aspect was the wedding that took place that night. The ceremony was outside, so we conviently sat down for dinner as things were getting started. (Well, I ate dinner, Brian was able to keep down a Sprite and few bites of my dinner.) The ceremony had two efficients, one from the state and one from the church and they both had speaking parts. There was dinner and lots of dancing, for the guests, which unfortunetly didn't include us.