10 Feb--Aguas Calients...or NOT !

Fri, 10 Feb the internet was working in the morning, so i worked for awhile, then went back to the Hostel. nothing on the Hot Springs :( .... but ... they said i could go down to where the mini-buses congregate and take a local bus for 35L to the Hot Springs. i had all day ... why not ? there is no food at the Hot Springs, so i stopped into KFC .... well, not really, ...but a place that had fried chicken, and it tasted just like KFC ... and bought a piece of fried chicken and a few tortillas. ... then walked through the park and found the mini-buses. i said, 'Aguas Calientes' and they shook their heads yes and pointed for me to get in. no one spoke English :) ....this was the typical mini-bus, with 4 bench seats in the back. there were already about 12 people in there, and it was hot ..... i'd rather not sit inside until we were ready to go. after a few minutes and a few more people arriving, they wanted me to get in .... in i go, ... all the way to the back, the last seat ... after a few more minutes ... more people crowded in ... i counted 21 ... serious .. no joke ... are we going for a Guinness record here ? i'm beginning to think that i've made a mistake ...... a bit slow on the reality, huh? ... but it will be ok, it's only 12 miles ... a couple more people get in, the engine starts, door closes, and we take off ... stop again, a guy with a cowboy hat gets in and stands and bends at the waist and kind of hovers over the people in the first couple of rows ... there is no more room in this van .... i've lost count of the number of people. i know you think i'm probably exaggerating, but i swear, i am not! ....we start out of town, and yes, .... start up that horribly bumpy, rutted, STEEP road that i took to get up to the Macaw Bird Sanctuary; ... downshifting all the way .... this van isn't going to make it with all this weight. ... and i am ignoring the fact that we are going up a mountain with a rather steep drop off on one side. .... i failed to mention that while we were waiting to leave, guys were piling and strapping bags of heavy stuff on the top of the van; ... i suppose we are top-heavy enough that we could just tip over ? at this rate, the 12 miles is going to take us hours !!! now i'm starting to change my mind. ....this could be funny ... even fun ... if i had Eddi, or Lonnie or Jolene with me ... but i am alone. .... i know this is not a 'direct' bus and we will stop along the way, picking up more people, and hopefully letting some people out. i decided one of those people getting out would be me. ...but i am in the LAST seat in the back :) i wasn't positive that i was on the same road that i took; until i saw the Bi-lingual School that i recognized from yesterday. i remembered that the guy from Germany said it was an 'easy' walk back to town from the Bird Sanctuary. i yelled ... 'Alto ! ..Aqui !' ...everyone turned around and looked at me .... 'Alto, Aqui, Por Favor, Senior' ... he drove a little further and then stopped, ... i pushed and climbed my way off the bus, ... asked the driver 'quantos costa?" he said 'diez' .. i gave him 10Limpera, and pointed to the School .... smiling ... like that is where i wanted to go :) ... i wonder what the dialog was on the bus after i got off ... 'stupido gringo !' i guess i just wasn't up for that much of an adventure today. we were close to the intersection of where the detour road and the new road being built met. i started walking down the road with the newly laid blocks ... it's going to be a very nice road when they finish it. i was happy to be breathing fresh air and the nice breeze felt good as the hot sun beat down. i continued my journey until i came to a bridge that crossed the nice river that passed by the Bird Park ... the same river that they re-routed around the Ruins, ... and it looked peaceful. i had my fried chicken, so i decided to work my way down to those large boulders and relax and eat lunch. not exactly a hot springs ... but it is water, and i can at least get my feet wet there were a couple of boys playing and they came down to the river, jumped some rocks, then came over and sat with me. we exchanged names and smiles ... no English, no Spanish .....then they went on their way. i took a little nap listening to the water then started the rest of my journey into town. there was a fork in the road, i was pretty sure that i needed to go left, following the river. but i had my map of Copan, so i asked 3 guys standing there, pointing to Central Park, a big yellow square in the middle of a lot of streets. they looked at me like i was showing them a map of the Moon ! ... and pointed for me to go back the way i had come, up the mountain. ...i walked a short way, but knew it wasn't right, i knew i needed to follow the river ... so i turned around and continued on the way i was originally going ... and arrived back at Central Park in about 5 blocks. knowing the local language really would be beneficial :) ...but it so much more of an adventure this way :) enough of Copan ... i'm ready to continue on my journey ... i am missing the islands and the sea and the fishes and the turtles !!!!!!!!!! in the Park, i stopped at the fruit stand where i get my 'usual'. .... they peel mangos and slice them, and put them in a baggy, then sprinkle it with some sweet salty spicy concoction ... it's awesome ... i LOVE it ! then i saw this young guy with a cart ... he had a piece of ice on this plate that spun around and some type of 'shaver' ..... he was making a 'slushy snow cone'. ...but that wasn't all .. then he poured some fresh squeezed lime juice on it ... and added what looked like hot sauce; then sprinkled it with 2 more things. i think one of them was the seasoning they put on my mangoes .... and then finished it off with more of the lime juice .... i wanted to try one; but he was done for the day ... :( ...darn .. i love trying new things ... with maybe an exception for those chicken feet in Pana :) continuing through the Park the Catholic Church is at one end, and i went inside ... it was pretty simple ... i walked around a few more blocks ... the vendors here don't have 'stalls', they just put their tables up in the streets. back at the hotel, i asked about the buses to San Pedro Sula. the Hedman Alas (nice direct bus) at 5:30am, no longer goes; and their next bus at 10:30am will not get me to the Ferry to Utila in time, and i'd have to spend the night in LaCeiba. i don't want to do that. so i decided to take the Casasola bus ... which is 'just as good as Hedman' ... only cheaper. it didn't really matter, the only other choice was the mini-bus shuttle ... but i wasn't signing up for a 7-8 hour journey in a shuttle !!!!!!!!!!!! the woman at my hotel told me that the 6am bus was not a direct bus, but the 7am bus was direct. ...... i wanted to order a sandwich to take with me in the morning, so i went to the sandwich shop that i found earlier. .....Jessica, at the sandwich shop told me that the 6am bus was direct as well, and i should take that one or i might not make it to the Ferry on time. ... grrrr .... conflicting information. ok ... she was from Holland and spoke perfect English, and had a tour company ...she must know what she is talking about. an additional hitch with the earlier departure ... TucTucs do not run until 6am, and i needed to be to the bus by 5:30 ... it would be a challenge to roll my luggage on those cobblestone streets at 5am. .... but the nice man at the hotel arranged for a TucTuc for me 'special' at 5:30am; and for a 'wake up knock' at 5am. i was all set. i went to Via Via Hostel for dinner ... and got seduced by a young very handsome boy selling jewelery that he made himself. he didn't go to school because they didn't have any money, and his mom and dad were hungry ..and would i please buy some of his earrings ...... i caved .... if it's not the animals breaking my heart, it's something else ! back to the hotel with my new earrings :) ... before i went to sleep, i was concerned that someone would forget to wake me up ... so i search on line and i found an 'ap' that i could download onto my computer that was an Alarm ... how ingenious!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .....and i could wake to the choice of my own iTunes song :) ...i tested it out a few times and it worked ...i might just use it at home too !!!!!!