Good Times

Went out last night for my first night on the town, so to speak. Had an amazing dinner. Lobster, the best I've ever had. I was lured to the restaurant by the sounds of Garifuna dancers/singers/drummers performing in the restaurant. It was great. Afterward I followed the sound of more music and found my way to a club that I didn't go in. But, it was next door to a pool hall.

Full of men and not at all an inviting place for a girl, but I went in anyway. Had such a fun night. Met a gay couple right away who were tons of fun to talk to and practiced my Spanish with me while we played pool.
Spanish went awesome this week, although, very hard. I had my last session today. I have already noticed a HUGE improvement in how I'm able to communicate with others. Its pretty cool. I'm going on an eco-tour tomorrow to a national park called Los Micos. Supposedly chalked full of monkeys. Hence the name, eh? Fun, fun. I'm moving on to La Ceiba on Sunday or Monday and will take another week of Spanish there.
Today I did a little resort crashing at a posh place down the road
then, took a nice long bike ride to and through Lancetilla Botanical Garden. One of the largest in the world. Was planning this earlier in the week, but the rain held me back. Today it was perfect though. It was sooooooo beautiful. Truly amazing. Found this huge swimming hole on the river with the help of my armed guard who followed me through the park.

I basked under an umbrella of bamboo in teal green water. I must have floated around in that pool for an hour. It was the best. I haven't wanted to admit it for some reason, but I think that the truth is my heart is much more wooed by rivers than the ocean. It is so fresh and peaceful.

I love it! Anyway, Tela is sort of a pilot project for the Honduran tourist police. The country decided to increase the force by almost half as much as it was and publicize that tourists should feel free to ask for an escort no matter where or when you are going. I didn't ask for one today, but I got one anyway and he was lovely. It was a little strange having a man with a big gun following me around, but he was great and I did feel safe.

There is some housing within the Botanical Garden, I believe for the workers, and there was a place that had a brand new, one month old baby horse. So cute. She let me get pretty close to her and we visited a bit. The momma was nowhere in sight, but the human momma visited with me a little. I didn't get to give the baby any love, but she did stay close and play near the river with me. So fun!
Anyway, all is well.... Hope you are too!

Peace