The Ride to El Rosario...

We were planning to leave at 7:00 am, but this is Honduras… We left a few minutes before 9:00 am. 

Trifi and Charly were going to El Rosario to check out the feeding program we are a part of there.  When I found out, I asked if I could go along.  Trifi said ‘yes’ and then told me they were going by motorcycle.  That sounded fine to me.  In fact, I thought it was great.  Except… I told Trifi and Charly that they would probably have to drive a little slower since I probably wouldn’t be able to go as fast as them on the unpaved roads.  They were both fine with that.

So, a few minutes before 9:00 we were on our motos in front of Enlaces, had a short time of prayer, and then took off.  It was a glorious day.  One of the best, I think, that we’ve had recently.  The sun was shining, but it wasn’t too hot.  Even though we’re in the midst of the rainy season, it hadn’t rained in over two days, so the humidity was not unbearable.  As we were thanking God for the beautiful day, I realized that the lack of rain for several  days should help us get around in the mountains since the roads probably wouldn’t be overly muddy and puddle laden.

Within 3km, we were out of pavement.  I knew it was going to happen, but I thought we would have paved roads for a bit longer.  Oh, well.  Deal with it, Susan!  Charly was in the lead, me in the middle, and Trifi had our backs, in our little 3-person caravan.   It didn’t take me long before I realized that I was the most skilled of the three of us in this kind of riding.  I’m sure it’s because of my bicycle riding.  I have learned how to pick out the best line without zigging and zagging all over.

I settled in and enjoyed the ride.  The views were magnificent:  The sun was shining.  The sky was an incredible blue canvas that made the brilliant white clouds just pop.  The trees and plants were painted in so many shades and hues of green it was incredible!  Looking out across a valley, I could have easily counted 85 different colors, and all of them would be a variety of green.  Simply breathtaking!

See what I mean?

During the ride, we dodged men with machetes walking along the side of the road.  Some were going from one field to another.  Some were simply going home or wherever.  But they all had machetes.  They always do.  We slowed down to ride through a herd of cattle.  One of them didn’t get the idea that Charly was trying to drive through and kept walking right in front of him.  If Charly turned, he turned directly in front of the moto.  Hmmm, maybe it was because of the red motorcycle?  We wound round and round the mountains, up and down, always trying to find the smoothest line.  I was also aware that overcorrecting might cause one of us to go careening over the edge and that would not be a good thing!!

We passed “fields” of corn growing on almost sheer mountainsides where only a mountain goat should be able to maneuver.  And most of the time, there were so many boulders and rocks in the fields that it was a miracle the corn found any soil in which to take root.  Yet, it had.  The determination of the corn to grow in an area that makes no sense to my U. S. way of thinking mirrors the determination of the people here to eek out a subsistence and actually thrive where they are.

After about one hour of driving, we arrived in El Rosario.  Imagine my surprise when I saw that the town’s roads were paved.  Paved!  With real cement.  That was a welcome treat since our last 500 yards of traveling included making a 320-degree turn on about a 20% grade road.  I stalled out.  In front of locals.  I hadn’t downshifted early enough to make the turn at such a slow speed.  Looks like I gave the people watching just one more thing to talk about:  Not only was I a gringa on a motorcycle, but now they could talk about the gringa on the motorcycle who couldn’t “make the grade”.

That’s all for today.  Tomorrow I’ll add more about El Rosario and the feeding program.