Karen's Log 5 October 2004
Puerto Lempira is a small city of about 15,000 people. It’s in the region of northeastern Honduras referred to as La Moskitia. It’s the “wild west” of the country where few laws prevail. The majority of the people here are Moskito and speak an indigenous language as well as Spanish. I’m encouraged that it’s their second language, and Ed says they make numerous grammatical errors when speaking Spanish. This gives me hope for trying my Spanish on them.
It seems that nothing is grown here and all the produce is shipped in. Most of the little stores in town carry the same things. Common fruits are oranges, apples, pineapple, bananas, plantains and sometimes papaya and watermelon. Keep in mind, this fruit sits out with insects swarming around it- not exactly the most appetizing to look at (not washed, waxed and shined and looked over for gross imperfections like Danny Wegman’s fruit). If the ship doesn’t come in for a while (due to weather, technical difficulties, or because the captain now has a girlfriend at a certain port-I’m not making this up-) there is no fruit so I try to keep raisins in the house. I’ve become more confident shopping. Yesterday I bought cabbage, cucumbers, onion, potatoes (I ruin a sponge cleaning them they are SO dirty), and carrots. The owner gave me back incorrect change, in his favor of course. I starred at it and repeated the amount I originally gave him with a question mark. “Dos cientos?” He gave me a look of surprise, apologized profusely, then gave me more change. I wonder……
People walk by our home all day and all night. It’s a little unnerving. But it seems to be business as usual, and nothing to do with the gringos in the house. Many of the homes here resemble shantytown dwellings. I think this area resembles Appalachia in the U.S. except for the palm trees, tropical climate, and flat topography. Speaking of the climate, the rainy season is officially here. It rains off and on 24 hours a day. I guess more on than off. The local people walk around as if nothing‘s happening. No raincoats, no walking quick to get to their destination. When it rains, it often comes in massive waves of torrential downpour. It makes drying clothes a little tricky. We’ve resorted to hanging a clothesline in our one big room with an oscillating fan blowing on it. One good thing that accompanies the change in season is cooler temperatures. As a result of being inside more many of our weird bug bites are able to heal before getting a new round.
It seems that nothing is grown here and all the produce is shipped in. Most of the little stores in town carry the same things. Common fruits are oranges, apples, pineapple, bananas, plantains and sometimes papaya and watermelon. Keep in mind, this fruit sits out with insects swarming around it- not exactly the most appetizing to look at (not washed, waxed and shined and looked over for gross imperfections like Danny Wegman’s fruit). If the ship doesn’t come in for a while (due to weather, technical difficulties, or because the captain now has a girlfriend at a certain port-I’m not making this up-) there is no fruit so I try to keep raisins in the house. I’ve become more confident shopping. Yesterday I bought cabbage, cucumbers, onion, potatoes (I ruin a sponge cleaning them they are SO dirty), and carrots. The owner gave me back incorrect change, in his favor of course. I starred at it and repeated the amount I originally gave him with a question mark. “Dos cientos?” He gave me a look of surprise, apologized profusely, then gave me more change. I wonder……
People walk by our home all day and all night. It’s a little unnerving. But it seems to be business as usual, and nothing to do with the gringos in the house. Many of the homes here resemble shantytown dwellings. I think this area resembles Appalachia in the U.S. except for the palm trees, tropical climate, and flat topography. Speaking of the climate, the rainy season is officially here. It rains off and on 24 hours a day. I guess more on than off. The local people walk around as if nothing‘s happening. No raincoats, no walking quick to get to their destination. When it rains, it often comes in massive waves of torrential downpour. It makes drying clothes a little tricky. We’ve resorted to hanging a clothesline in our one big room with an oscillating fan blowing on it. One good thing that accompanies the change in season is cooler temperatures. As a result of being inside more many of our weird bug bites are able to heal before getting a new round.
posted by Eric Stephens at 16:21
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