No more homework! We’ve completed Spanish classes at Koinonia. On Sunday we, along with about 15 Japanese students, attended a fiesta at the school and received diplomas. The traditional Honduran food (rice, refried beans, grilled meats, fried plantains, cheese) were delicious, and speaking with Japanese in Spanish was fun.

We spent the past week in Costa Rica (three days traveling and three days there) to renew our visas. The time in Costa Rica was refreshing, but the travel by bus to and from was tiring. The warm humid climate and Americanization of Liberia, Costa Rica stood in contrast to the cooler non-humid climate and semi-rural feel of Valle de Angeles, Honduras. We endured a 2.5 hour bus ride each way to enjoy a few hours in the Pacific Ocean on Tamarindo Beach. The beach was beautiful, and despite the touristy commercialism, we found a long stretch of coastline to ourselves.

Enjoying a cup of coffee

Scenes from a Costa Rican market

Despite the reports that roads might be closed, we did not have trouble reentering Honduras. There were more military at the Nicaraguan/Honduran border than at the beginning of the week, and some officials boarded our bus for careful examination of passports. In addition, at one police stop all males were required to exit the bus for a quick check. No roads were blocked and we did not see any demonstrations or protests.

On Sunday we joined the Horsts, Andrea and some of the older boys for lunch at Oscar’s house. Oscar does construction work at La Finca. His house set high in the mountains required some creative maneuvering on Harlan’s part to transport the grill, table and food. Many people hiked up on foot.

Javier's sister

Janelle and Brenda (Javier's mother) mixing fruit salad


Danilo cooking rice
Dwain retrieving a soccer ball he accidently kicked over the side of the mountain