The calm before the storm

A new month and a new stage in my time here, spanish classes have finished and I start work tomorrow so today is a weird day of nothing. The other volunteers not staying in Tegus have set off to Copan and San Pedro Sula or wherever they are working and its all very quite here. I feel nervous and lonely but thats normal at this stage I think. It doesn´t help that everyone back home seems to be going on holiday at the moment, they should be sat at home missing me!!

I had an interesting trip to the south coast last weekend, I wouldn´t say that it was entirely positive but then we managed to get there and back without getting mugged so perhaps that makes it a success? The stress began on friday afternoon on the way to the coach stop, out of the three taxis that took us, mine was the one that dropped us off at the wrong coach stop!!! grrrrr!!!! So picture this, I´m with a French girl and an Austrian girl, neither of whom speak English and communication between them is difficult too. So we cant understand each other, we dont know where we are or where we have to be and we are clearly lost tourists asking to be mugged!!! *insert swear word here*. Somehow through broken spanish directions and phone conversations with the others we managed to make it to the right place and on time, phew!
When we board the coach however things improve. It´s a smart air conditioned, comfortable and spotless coach. Plus we get refreshments brought to us as local street sellers come in offering mango, sweets, drinks, icecreams, tortillas and other unidentifiable food stuff.
2 hours later we arrived in very very hot San Lorenzo, a small sleepy fishing town on the coast which did not look particularly affluent or touristy. In fact I think we were the only white people they had seen in a long time judging on the attention we generated. We found the hotel we´d booked but when we looked at the rooms...um I think not! Mutant ants all over the beds and a shower coated in mould. We had to try and explain to the owners we were not staying which was really hard as they looked genuinely upset, but a lack of paperwork = no obligation so what could they do?
We found a nicer hotel down the road and stayed there. We went out to eat to a nice bar/restaurant and I tried the local beer ´Salva Vida´ - it definitely helped the salty chicken meal go down. We also ordered something ICYE had told us to try ´curiles´or something ugghhh, we later found out they were some kind of shellfish that are still alive when you eat them. Thanks ICYE! I went to bed after but some of the others stayed out and found the only club in the town which happened to be of the exotic variety - the girls were less than impressed.
The next day we managed to find the right transport to get to the Island and spent most of the afternoon on the beach. Jenny found a nice hammock to read her book in but I could not really relax. I was worried how we´d get home and more importantly where was I going to pee?? The toilets looked like they were out of a horror film!! Fortunately two of the girls decided to stay the night so I could use thier toilet. I would never have stayed on the island though it just was too edgy I cant decribe it, plus they had no electricity so they would have had to go to bed really early. On the way back I finally relaxed becuase I knew Tegus and I was pleased to get back to some familiarity and to my home which I know is safe. Maybe Tegucigalpa is not so bad after all.