Two thumbs up!

This post was written over the course of 3 days...

I’m sitting on a bus from La Ceiba to Tegucigulpa, the capital of Honduras. It’s a 7 hour bus ride through the heart of Hondo. I’m not protected by the white sands and turquoise waters any more, Toto. It’s a beautiful countryside full of green, luscious mountains, coconut trees, rivers and lakes. As we pass little villages, I see all sorts of “real” culture of this Central American country. Donkeys at the gas station, a man flashing his beer belly as the bus passes by and a boy holding on to the back of a semi truck while sitting on his bike going up the hill. In just the past two hours it’s been sunny, rainy and smokey from fires nearby. I now see pine trees - very diverse and beautiful scenery. The bus is full with very little travelers. Luckily, I met a French couple who speaks Spanish and English. That helps with translation! It’s a bit intimidating not knowing where I’m going and not being able to communicate well with the ticket takers, bus drivers or other passengers. But it seems to work. I’ll stay with them tonight and take the bus with them tomorrow, as we are going to the same town in Nicaragua.

We met up with another couple from OZ and spend that night sharing a room, while figuring out the crazy 6 buses that we needed to take to cross over the border. Thank God we had the bilingual couple to translate. They were so sweet! We went to a canyon in Somoto, which was spectacular! We climbed rocks, hiked and went down the rapids floating on our backs (life jackets are a must) while looking up at the enormous cliffs of the canyon. There was one spot we had to jump off the rocks (25 ft) into the raging river. It was a blast!

Well, I made it to Esteli, Nicaragua, which is a nice town with lots of boutiques, restaurants and people. I am now alone, as the 5 of us parted ways, each going somewhere else. I choose my hostel bc it was across the street from a vegetarian cafe. It’s rare to find those types of places when traveling through Central America, the home of rice and beans! So as I was eating dinner last night and reading my book, I noticed a really good looking guy. :) I’m going to preface this by saying that in the 4 1/2 months that I’ve been traveling, I’ve literally seen less than a handful of cute locals. This area is full of poor, inbreed looking people with terrible teeth and in some cases, deformities. I’m not trying to be mean, I’m stating what I’ve experienced. So, as you can see, I was happy to see a clean cut, good looking, Nicaraguan. He spoke English very well, was getting his education in engineering and owned a farm. We carried on a great conversation, he had a nice smile and sparkling eyes. As I handed him my phone to check how many minutes I had left, I noticed the kicker...he had 2 thumbs on one hand!!! EEK, EEK, EEK! I wanted to vomit. Here he was, using my phone with his deformed hand. And when I say two thumbs, he had a normal thumb and then a baby thumb growing out of the side of his regular thumb with a nail and everything! It was, full on, another thumb! I tried not to stare or act like I saw anything. At this time, he gave me my phone back and ordered a couple of shots. He handed me the shot glass with his crazy two-thumbed hand. I was trying to be polite and nice and was really thinking, ok Julie, he’s still a person with feelings and I can’t react to this. But at the same time, it was creeping me out!! I couldn’t look, I didn’t want him to touch anything, but he kept using that hand while passing me another shot. Luckily, I was congested and sneezing (the only time I’m happy about this). After about 10 min more of conversation, I had to tell him that I was sick and needed to get my meds in my room and go to bed. He gave me his number. It was so sad, bc he’s really a nice guy and seems intelligent, I’m wondering why he didn’t have it removed, but maybe it’s just too expensive down here or unsafe conditions.

Today, I was making my way to Leon via bus. I was sitting on my bus, looking out the window, ready to leave. The bus stations in Central America are full of people watching. That’s where you get the “local” feeling. It’s cheap as shit (only $6 to go about 7 hours) and totally worth saving the money. Today, I saw a man who couldn’t use his legs. He was walking on his hands, scooting himself across the street while holding a bag of food in his mouth. It was so sad. Even the dogs are deformed. I was really feeling sad and my heart was heavy for these poor people who have no chance at a better future. I had mixed emotions. I felt shallow but also compassionate. Once I got to Leon, I decided to give some money towards the handicapped. I got a “healing hands” massage from a blind man. It was only $15 and the money goes toward a non profit. I’m feeling really humbled by my experiences the past few days.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m having a great time! I’m sleeping in clean rooms with decent showers and beds and meeting some great international travelers. All in all, it’s a beautiful country with friendly people I’m just writing about what’s going on with the rest of the world. Be grateful of your health and options.