Rest Days: Exploring Natural Beauty in Honduras

February 10, 2024

Natural Beauty in Rural Honduras

The students work from Monday to Friday from 5:30 am- 4 pm. On Saturdays they work until 12pm. Sunday is their day off, and instead of lying in the hammock resting, the students like to go out to the river and waterfalls that are nearby in Quimistan.

On our first Sunday, we walked 45 minutes down dirt roads through rural communities to a beautiful waterfall. We hiked up the side of the waterfall where we found a long row of many more waterfalls. Every time we thought we had arrived to the last waterfall, the boys would say, "Just a little further, The next one is more beautiful!" The incline was so sharp that we had to grip onto the roots and rocks to climb up. It felt more like climbing a wall than walking up a hillside, and the views were amazing.

Waterfalls in Quimistan, Honduras

The next Sunday we went to a river in Quimistan. Glen took us in the back of his truck to the other side of town and then we walked down a small dirt road where there were many rural homes and grazing cows. The current was strong so you needed to be a strong swimmer to make it across quickly. Many of the students enjoyed staying by the bank and hanging out in the shallow water.

José and Roger skipped rocks across the river. Then José would throw a rock in the air while Roger would throw another rock and try to hit José's rock. Despite their efforts they never were able to hit each others' rocks hahah. It was entertaining to watch their relentless efforts, and it's nice to see that the students really like to be outside together rather than on their phones.

The river in Quimistan

One of the students, David, was always climbing trees, jumping from rocks into the waterfall, and swimming whenever he got the chance. He was an impressive tree-climber as you can see in the photos below. He grew up in an orphanage in the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, and he said that when we got in trouble he would hide up in a tree and they couldn't get him down. He is quite a character and has many stories and experiences to tell.

David climbing trees

Rosi and Katherine (students who work on the farm and in the kitchen) spoiled us with amazing Honduran food. Below you can see a plate stacked with "catrachas" and "baleadas", typical Honduran meals. As you can imagine, after working on the farm all day, the students can eat a lot of catrachas and baleadas!

(Catracho/a is also the word they use to refer to a person from Honduras.)

Traditional Honduran foods: Catrachas and Baleadas