Traveling Abroad...in the same country

About 20 minutes ago I returned from a brief trip to the capital city of Tegucigalpa (known as "Tegus" to the natives). September is a month full of celebrations all in preparation for this Wednesday's Honduran Independence Day. And as such, September is filled with strange holidays that give us strange time off. This past Friday was día del niño which meant a half day at school and a chance for us to try an do something fun this weekend. Our Honduran friends who happen to be in a band were playing in a free concert in Tegus so we decided to make a trip out of it and see the capital.

Tegucigalpa is like being in a different country. There is nightlife, there is good food, there is actually some culture, and it is significantly cooler so we were not sweating the entire time. Generally it has more of a Latin feel to it, what I had originally expected when coming to Honduras.

Our vacation was relatively brief considering we spent close to 10 hours in transport and only one complete day in Tegus, but it felt like much longer. The honest truth is that it was great to get out of Cofradía and San Pedro. Though life here has become routine and normal, the constant strain of the heat and lack of social outlets can be very taxing both mentally and physically. The heat we experience in Cofradía weighs heavily on one's desire to do active things, not to mention your comfortability while sleeping.

Tegus was very much the opposite. The climate is comfortable enough to wear pants and not sweat and there is a life about the city that does not exist even in a city the size of San Pedro Sula (2nd largest behind Tegus).  Walking around the city was very enjoyable and you could easily notice how much more developed it was than Cofradía and the difference in the daily schedule. For example, businesses on the weekends here start up around 7 AM and close around 5 PM and even earlier on Sunday. A few of us were out of bed and in the city by 8:30 this weekend and we struggled to find an open coffee shop or place to get breakfast. But finding a good place to eat dinner was no struggle. In Cofradía, finding a place that sells dinner is like pulling teeth.

It was a great escape but a dangerous one. Being away from the normal can be fun and refreshing, but it also makes the return a little more difficult. It is hard to believe that I am in the same country when these two cities are so different.

I will post pictures soon after I get a chance to finish some work I have. I ended up becoming the ad-hoc photographer for our band-friends and was back/on stage taking pictures of them which I will post soon enough.

Back to normal...planning.