Day 1 on the Honduras trip
Posted by Nancy Davis (Minnetonka)
Rotary/World Vision Trip to Honduras – Day 1 – 4/3/16: Steve Solbrack (St. Louis Park) and I left Minneapolis at 5:00 AM, transferred in Houston, and finally arrived in San Pedro Sula around noon. After snaking our way through customs, we met fellow Rotarians DG Tim Murphy, PDG Jim Nelson, Ron Kolb, and Jean Gray, plus our World Visions colleagues Kim Lorenz, Terry Johnson, Johnny Lopez and Javier Mayorga. Spirits were high; we were all finally together!
After lunch at a local Subway, where a 6” beef sub was 100 lempiras – about $5, we drove about 100 miles south to Santa Rosa de Copan. The roads were narrow and in various states of repair. Our drivers maneuvered between trucks, horse drawn carts, motorcycles, and bicycles. The topography was very hilly and dry with small adobe homes high up in the hills. We passed multiple fruit stands selling melons. Clouds of dust from cars created occasional whiteouts.
To pass the travel time, Kim Lorenz and DG Murph gave me World Vision and District 5950 primers, respectively.
My horizons expanded before I saw my first water tank! Our Santa Rosa de Copan hotel was next to a Texaco (“Tex ah co”) station where gas was $4 per gallon.
My horizons expanded before I saw my first water tank! Our Santa Rosa de Copan hotel was next to a Texaco (“Tex ah co”) station where gas was $4 per gallon.
After a brief rest we enjoyed dinner at a local restaurant where we met members of the local Rotary Club. Women are not allowed to be Rotarians in Honduras, but 14 wives have formed an auxiliary and are active in fund raising. Their spokeswoman joined our table and told us about her cattle and coffee farm. Six Rotaract members also joined us for dinner. What a testament they were to the future of Rotary! Steve Solbrack was delighted to see the three Santa Rosa de Copan Rotarians who have been championing the water project for the past three years – Nelson, Jorge, and Wilmar. It’s like old home week. Our World Vision hosts translated the menu and conversations around the table. We had so much in common and so much enthusiasm!