Out for another ride today... Ah, it really does feel good. I saw more farm animals today than I have in a while. On my first lap, toward the top of the boulevard, there was a cow in the road. Some cars were honking at her and I wondered if she was going to get hit. Before I reached her, she made her way to the side of the road and was heading near some bags of what appeared to be trash. So, a guy standing near the trash decided it would be best to keep her away from the trash. He started waving her back out into the road. Brilliant. As I passed her, I thought she looked mighty uncomfortable. She looked like her udders might burst at any second. She was gone by my second lap.
Ah, the second lap. It started out okay, but as I was returning, about halfway down the boulevard, I head a huge *BAM*. Startled, I realized that I was the offender. I had a rear blowout. So, I started walking the bike because I knew that 'my mechanic' was a short way ahead. I brought my bike in and when they started to work on it I saw that my back tire was completely torn apart. OK, I guess I need to replace more than just the tube. I picked out a tire, found out the cost of it and a tube, and then explained to the guy that I only had 60 Lps with me, but I could quickly return from Enlaces with the rest. He seemed fine with that. The total cost of repairs? 138 Lempiras, or $7.30. So, with that, I came away with a new tire and tube.
I decided to keep on riding and I'm glad I did. There were more farm animals to be seen. On that third lap I looked up one side road and saw three horses, just standing there. As I was on the backside of the loop, I had to slow down a bit to allow an oxen-drawn cart to cross the boulevard. Yep, just an average day in Honduras.
Today I also realized why I had never noticed the old shack before: at that point in each lap, I am usually looking up at a mountain ahead, mesmerized by the village that seemingly hangs on the side of it, hypnotized by the stark beauty of dirt roads that beg cars to defy gravity. But today, I checked out the shack on three of my four laps.
In addition to garland around the door, there is an artificial tree on the porch. Yes, it looks just barely better than Charlie Brown's tree, but it's out there with such pride, how can anyone not see how beautiful it is? Today was also wash day for the woman of the house. The laundry is all hung, inside out of course, on the line. She even had four or five clothes pins available to hold some of the smaller items in place. Yes, I like the shack. Very much.
For the first time today, I noticed that there is a wooden cover over one of the sewer manholes. I thought it was interesting that I hadn't seen it before. So, then I started to look and see if there were any more. Not that I've noticed so far, but let's see.
As I was riding, I saw beautiful coconut palms in front of dilapidated homes and thought of something Jenny told me this weekend. She said that when her mom first visited Honduras, she said, "Um, this isn't quite the paradise that I pictured it would be from your description." Yeah, I get it. I'm sure it would be difficult for many to see the beauty through the trash, the richness through the poverty, the abundance through the need. But, mark my words, it's there.
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