October 9, 2006

• It’s Thursday so this must be La Ceiba

  I had originally scheduled to leave La Ceiba on Thursday afternoon but changed my plans after having breakfast with Rigoberto that morning.  He is a leader  of a local church there in La Ceiba and he asked me to join them that night at  their weekly prayer meeting.  I was glad I stayed.  Their church building is two stories with the meeting room upstairs.  That makes it so that there is a breeze to flow through the windows on each side of the room.  Speaking absolutely no Spanish did not keep me from singing along with them.  Rigoberto’s wife gave me a song book and I read right along and even sang out during the step outs that the men were doing  during one of the songs.
  
  
  
  
  Here is a picture of Rigoberto.  He is the short guy.  He and his wife speak very good English.  They let me lead the closing prayer and he translated so everyone could understand what the Gringo was saying.
  
  
  
  
  When the meeting was over, he and his wife took me out to eat at one of their favorite local corner food establishments.  It was not a place that I would have chosen but since they enjoy eating there, I was not going to turn my nose up at it.  You cannot judge a book by it’s cover.  This is where the torillas are made and cooked.  After she cooks the tortilla, she spreads the refried beans on it and puts the folded meal on the plate where it is transported inside for the additional goodies to be added.
  
  
  
  
  I had scrambled eggs, cheese and avocado added to mine.  These things are a full meal and cost a whopping 63 cents each.
  
  
  
  Before we arrived at the restaurant, we stopped and prayed for a woman who was scheduled for back surgery on Friday.  I cannot remember her name.  She is on the right and Rigoberto’s wife is on the left.
  
  
  
  
  Thursday was a good day to relax after the seminar.  I took a walk to the mall during the day just to drink in the culture.  The mall was a 15 minute taxi drive and it took me around an hour to get there on foot.
  
  My mission on this walk was to show that these people have lives just like ours only their standards are different.  Not wrong or lower, just different.
  Here are some of the sights along the way.
  
  A funeral home just a few minutes from the hotel.  There is a casket in the window.
  
  
  
  
  Local body shop.  These guys are straightening out the frame on the car that was one of the many victims of no traffic laws or traffic cops.  Notice the construction in the background.
  
  
  
  
  Here is an upclose look at the construction site.  I am pretty sure they are not OSHA compliant.
  
  
  
  
  Here is what the finished product may look like.  This house is a couple of lots down from the one under construction.
  
  
  
  
  This is a picture of the dock that once saw hundreds of tons of pineapples, bananas and other tropical fruits being shipped to foreign destinations by the Standard Fruit Company years ago.  The railroad track goes right through the middle of town out to the end of the dock.  When the cost of labor skyrocketed to $5 per day, the shipping port moved to the west to a less populated portion of the country.
  
  
  
  
  I had to get pictures of one of the lumber yards along my route
  
  
  
  
  as well as a hardware store,
  
  
  
  
  ceramic tile store,
  
  
  
  
  auto supply,
  
  
  
  
  and yes, coffee shop.  I did not see a Starbucks but these places are everywhere you turn.
  
  
  
  
  Finally, I made it to the mall.  I could go on and on as to how they really have everything we do but pictures tell the story much better.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Nuff for now.
  

  • 9:20 pm
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