honduras

The country of honduras is the 2nd poorest country in  the western hemisphere after Haiti.

This was no more evident than today where we took an 1 1/2 hour bus to some hot springs. Most people live in what could best be described as shacks.  Small one room buildings made of brick and mud; others, the poorer type, of wooden boards, the luckier, out of concrete blocks. All the roofs are corrugated tin.  The wealthier ones have clay tiles above the tin.

Like medieval Europe the small villages are not segregated by rich or poor.  One person does very well and while he have a more well appointed casa his next door neighbour lives in a shack. How many kids and relatives in those one room Casas?

The men climb into the hills and cut firewood bringing it down by horse to sell or to use for cooking.  Even our modest b and b cooks only with a wood powered stove.

The roads are ruts.  Signs along the tortuous dirt route thank US Aid, World Vision and the Rotary Club for small drinking water and power projects.

Abject poverty.

I get more grumpy as I get older.  In my undergrad we spent our entire time focused on third world issues as they were called then.  We all went to Nicaragua to help build infrastructure. Sent money to the ANC

Families stand along the roadsides chatting.  A gaucho Mayan man in a group carefully combing his young sons  hair. 10 kids playing soccer on a field barely cut from jungle in their one of two pairs of clothes.

There is a kid staring at me through the window. He is up on a hill. I am an alien. Blond. I have glasses. No one here has glasses, medicine, doctors, dentists, shoes, potable water, power or money.  No dinero.

The boy  and I stare at each other.

I say Ola and start to wave.

He breaks into a huge smile and waves back. Ola!