Into the Hills

9^th February

I’ve been carrying a pack or dried backpacker food with me since Yosemite.  Emergency rations.  I didn’t expect to be using them while staying at an airbnb listing.  But these lodgings are in the hills of Honduras on the edge of Tigra National Park where I’ll be hiking tomorrow.  There are some basic comedors (shacks that sell food), that I usually avoid, but even those are closed as I arrive at around 1pm.  So, the emergency rations it is.  It’s annoying because the owners of the airbnb have a house with lots of food in it, and I’ll be eating dinner there later but they told me that they never do lunch.  But I am able to get some boiling water for the dried food.

Although it’s not particularly good, it’ll do the trick until 7pm.  This is my only ration pack, as I gave the other one away, so hopefully this'll be the last time it's needed.

The view as I wait for the pack to rehydrate is amazing.  Although the weather is slightly cold and windy with cloudy, you can see how spectacular it would be on a sunny day.  As I’m only here two nights, I may not see that sunny day, but tomorrow never knows.  Hummingbirds visit a feeder a few meters from where I tuck into the dried food, and we’re surrounded by mountainous forests. 

On the way here from Tegucigalpa, a 36-seater bus accommodated around 50, with people squeezed into spaces where there were no spaces.  Thankfully, I wasn’t one of those standing, but the journey only took about 75 minutes.

I’m looking forward until dinner as the ration pack didn’t quite do the trick.  I could only manage to eat half (they're not so inspiring to the palette), the rest will do for tomorrow in the forest.  It was Kathmandu Curry, so no meat, but vegetables, rice and lentils.  Tonight is also going to be vegetarian (that's all they serve here) but hopefully more filling that astronaut food.  I should be out checking the area, but the wind and the temperature have put me off any more activity for today.  I feel like taking a holiday from my holiday.  The next few days will see me travel a good deal of miles by bus, staying one night in several places until I reach Granada in Nicaragua.  Maybe I’ll start to relax again there.  

I’m going to be missing parts of Honduras in the North and East that could well be even more amazing, but right now, I’m thinking more about how soon I can get to Costa Rica.  For some reason, that’s become the main goal of this trip. 

Although I’ve not been before, and am unsure what will prove to be the highlight, I’m looking forward to getting there.  I've decided to skip Leon in Nicaragua (and some more volcanoes) in order to arrive sooner.  I’ll soon find out whether that’ll prove to be the right decision.

That evening, I use the extra blankets and warm the bed in the cabin with a hairdryer.  The strong wind sends numerous seed pods and large heavy leaves and fruits crashing into the metal roof above my head.  At times it sounds like an apocalypse of sorts but I sleep most soundly.  By morning, the wind had settled, although the clouds remain. 

Over dinner, the owner of the guest house asked me about my writing.  I said it was a personal philosophy and reflection on the search for meaning and direction.  Not sure that’s the case, but sounded good.  I really need to finish the first three chapters of my novel and have it edited ASAP.

Travel is a good challenge, and it keeps me distracted, but the time comes nearer to do find an agent to represent me and get Kroma where it needs to be.  I have to find somewhere to base myself for a few weeks or more.  Somewhere quiet away from a city with nice environmental conditions.