Semana Santa

April 7, 2013

West Bay Beach!  What we had to look forward to :)

 Here in Honduras, Easter is a big holiday.  It is so big that is has taken over the whole week and is titled, Semana Santa (Holy Week).  Because of this most places close down for the week and people have the whole week off.  It also coincides with spring break time in the states, but whatever you want to call it us teachers got the whole week off and we were ecstatic about it.

The pool and ocean at Infinity Bay

The family together :)

As usual the period leading up to break was a bit crazy and stressful.  The students and the teachers were all in need of some time off and it was evident in everyone’s behavior.  This was only accentuated only by the fact that shortly before break our copier was taken away to be serviced and our printer broke.  We were once again a school without the basic equipment.  I was making my worksheets and activities by hand and sending them to a store in town to be copied.  Luckily our printer returned to us in about a week and while I still had to send the copies out, I was in a much better situation then before.  Our copier has since arrived back (this past week) but we still have not been able to use it…I’m not sure why though.

Murphy paddleboarding

The craziness finally came to an end when Semana Santa arrived.  Friday night after school we spent time packing and had an amazing chicken alfredo dinner cooked by Kara in honor of Harriet’s birthday.  We left La Union at 3 am in the back of a truck.  It was a long and chilly drive but it was fun to drive through the mountains and just look up and see all the stars.  We arrived at the San Pedro Sula airport at about 6:30 am and checked in and grabbed some breakfast.  We took a small plane to the island of Roatan just off the coast of Honduras.  It was about a 45-minute flight.  When we arrived in Roatan my fellow teachers left for their hotels and I stayed.  I spent 2 hours anxiously awaiting the arrival of my mom, sister Kelly and best friend Murphy.  I hadn’t seen them since Christmas break and I was excited to spend vacation in the Caribbean with them.  All of our flights went well and we got transportation to our resort, Infinity Bay, in West Bay.  The hotel was beautiful.  It was located on the western tip of the island and had a reef just off the coast where we could snorkel.  There was a beautiful infinity pool and the rooms were nice although lacking a few things that were supposed to be in there.  I immediately put on bathing suit and headed for the pool and swim-up bar.  We were all swimming by 1pm.  We spent the afternoon by the pool and then Murphy and I walked along the beach where we saw a large iguana and ran into my fellow teacher Brooke.  Her and her family was headed out to do a little snorkeling so we went out with them.  It was beautiful and the ocean was warm and blue. 

Murphy and I zip lining together

Most of our days were spent by the pool and evenings were spent visiting the local restaurants and eating great food.  The weather was great, very hot although there were a few rainy afternoons.  Kelly, Murphy and I also took a trip out to look for whale sharks.  They are currently in their migration north for the summer and are easy to spot.  Unfortunately we didn’t get to see one but we did spend some time snorkeling and visiting the island of Utila.  Despite the disappointment we had a good time on the boat and checking out the reef by Utila.  The whole family also spent time shopping in West End.  Here there are a lot of local shops and restaurants with typical Honduran crafts and food.  We were all able to find some souvenirs and gifts and enjoyed seeing another part of the island.  Kelly, Murphy and I also took a trip out to a zip line and enjoyed a canopy tour.  The guides were great and showed us a great time.  There were even some awesome views of the island and we got to do a few tricks.  We went for a ride on a banana boat with some of the other teachers and spent some time on paddleboards in the water.  One of my favorite parts of the whole trip was just the food.  I was able to finally get some American food.  I enjoyed a great cheeseburger, ribs, shrimp (many times), and sushi.  Our favorite restaurant was called the Argentinean Grill.  We ate there twice and enjoyed every last bit of our food including desert. 

Water taxi ride back from West End

On the last day my family was there we rented a van and drove the length of the island (about 2 hours).  We stopped at shops along the way and got see a different part of the island.  West Bay and even West End are designed more for tourists and are a bit more upscale, but as we traveled the island we were able to see how the locals live and I was able to give them an idea of what mainland Honduras is really like.  It was a great way to spend the last day.  On Saturday I took them to the airport and had to say goodbye.  It was really hard to do this.  I am not sure why but I really wanted to get on the plane with them.  I think I am getting burnt out teaching and having to prepare at least 5 classes each day.  It is beginning to take its toll and I’m ready to spend more time with my loved ones.  I traveled to a different part of the island called French Harbour to a new hotel where I spent my last night.  It was raining like crazy and I was a little depressed so I spent the afternoon at the spa and got a nice massage.  When I came out it had stopped raining and was a bit cloudy but I decided I couldn’t let the pools go to waste.  I spent some time swimming and then watched basketball while I waited for Beth to arrive.  She stayed the last night with me and we enjoyed a great last meal at the pub where we could watch the NCAA tournament and hang out. 

The pool at the last hotel I stayed at.

On Sunday morning we met all the other teachers at the airport and began our journey back to La Union.  We had a smooth flight and trip back in the truck and arrived with plenty of time to make sure everything was ready for the next day back to school.  I had such a great vacation and was happy that my family and friend decided to make the trip.  It was a really good change of pace from the life here in La Union and I loved getting to share some stories and time with the people I love.  

The return back to La Union was bittersweet.  We got thrown right back into the craziness of school because 1 of our teachers was still with her family in Guatemala and another teacher didn’t make it back from Tegucigalpa in time because she got lost.  So it made for a long week with another teacher getting sick and many visitors coming.  We had a mission group from a church in Holland that was doing work with the MicroFinance group and another group from a charter school in Zeeland that is looking at doing an online pilot through our school.  This weekend we spent time relaxing and preparing for the week.  We also made a potpourri of food for dinner on Saturday in honor of Beth who did a lot of extra work this week while people were gone, sick or occupied with other things.  She was amazing and helped us out so much so we wanted to treat her to something nice.  It is encouraging to know that we only have 2 months of school left although I know I will miss the kids and the school the end of the school year is always an exciting time.