Good Morning Everyone,
For breakfast today we got cold orange juice, and it hit the spot! The food is still incredible, lots of fish, rice, tortillas and beans. Unfortunately Dr Gilchrist wasn't feeling well the past two days, so we took a break from our lectures. Today we started strong again with the geology and geography of the Cayos Cochinos areas. The main residents of Cayo Mayor, where we are, are native Garifuna people, including the manager of our resort, Roberto. While the British people were intent on "discovering" the Cayos Cochinos for themselves, the Garifuna people were able to escape and settle in more remote areas. Today the government recognizes them as a tribe and they are one of the most vocal and active tribes in Honduras.
Yesterday Katie, Dr Wassink and I went on a hike guided by Bertolo, one of the workers at the resort. We enjoyed some steep rock scrambles and wading over slippery rocks on our way to the East end. Along the way we were joined by a puppy who was able to follow us all the way to the village. When we arrived, we were greeted by many beautiful colors, as all the cabins were painted bright pastels. There were multicolored flags hanging from the roofs as well. After walking past some "patos" (ducks in English - though they were a different species than in the US) and through some hibiscus, we arrived at the school. We were greeted by the headmaster who was expecting us, and looking forward to our visit. As the only Spanish speaker in the group, I was designated translator as he told us about his history here. We got to meet many of the school children who were all very sweet and very excited to see us. As a thank you to them we brought pencils, pens, notebooks and a soccer ball - which received the most excitement. The school and village are all Garifuna people, however there were two teachers from Spain we met. I found it very interesting to see the differences in their accents.
Once we said goodbye, we hiked back to the resort, this time up and over the island. This meant climbing straight up for awhile, sometimes hands were necessary to ascend, then straight down. Bertolo was enjoying our struggles and pointing out many interesting landmarks and information along the way. I have not seen a pink boa yet, however I am keeping an eye out. Once we arrived back at the resort we took a quick dip before eating lunch. My brain felt very fried after translating so much Spanish and English that I could barely speak either language, however it is getting much easier to switch between them.
A view of a neighboring island along the hike
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