It is in the journey -- not the destination.

I am writing from El Progresso, a small town in North/Central Honduras. Adam and I spent the past couple days at Lago de Yojoa and today we have traveled North to spend tonight and tomorrow at his farm before heading farther north to the Carribean Sea.

A lot has happened since I last wrote -- mostly good things, though some hot bus rides and mosquito bites are thrown in there. I am reading a book by Paul Theroux called The Old Patagonian Express about his journey from Boston to Patagonia by train. He writes about the fact that most people look at summits more than the actual journey getting there, so I think its only right that I talk about the trip to the lake.

I left off in Comayagua but I am going to rewind from my last entry to mention where we caught our first bus. We took a very fast driving cab to an interesting part of Tegucigalpa where the mood was somewhat frantic and slow moving at the same time. Lots of activity, smells, and loud music... but noone actually doing anything. We found a bus headed North that was leaving in ten minutes and then literally ran down this chaotic street to a small comador where we ordered breakfast. We unpacked our picnics on the bus and ate the typical hot, heavy food. Since that breakfast I have been a picky eater and requesting less fried food. It makes it harder for Adam to order for me but I tasted and enjoyed the typical food and now I need something a little lighter. So anyway, we got off that bus and hung out in Comayagua. After an hour spent eating slushies and playing frisbee we headed to the bus terminal. We weren´t hurrying at all and it turns out we got the last 2 seats on the last bus!

The bus filled up and a man was standing in the aisle next to us. He told us all these far fetched stories as the bus twisted and turned up and down mountains. At first he was interesting but then he started insulting us. I couldn´t understand him but Adam was doing a bit of translating. It was interesting because he was telling everyone that Americans are ignorant and have no culture, etc. etc. but then would speak nicely to us in English. He knew Adam spoke Spanish and I thought he was crazy. This was the only time I have been scared on this trip because this bus was headed to a city and we were getting off in a small town and I didn´t want this man to follow us. Adam promised me he wouldn´t let that happen and we were both happy to see that bus drive away.

So we got off the bus and we were standing in front of a hotel and a beautiful lake. It was exciting to finally be face to face with Lago de Yojoa! We were at the South end of the lake but staying on the North end so we intended to get a water taxi across the lake. However, it was dusk and we were informed we were 15 miles away and there were no more boats. We could stay at that hotel but we really wanted to get to the place we had reserved. So we decided to start walking. We ended up getting a ride in the back of a pick up for a couple miles and then we got out at the crossroads and started walking. However it felt like it was going to rain. We passed a pineapple stand it was also a bus stop! So Adam got the scoop to get us into town while I picked out a piña! A few minutes later we were on a bus headed to Peña Blanca, a small town on the Northern end of the lake.

We got to the town and then walked through the center. We passed an alley where some girls were dressed for a beauty pageant. They were about 15 and I half jokingly suggested we ask them for a photo. Adam loved the idea and so did the girls! We took their picture and then they wanted to each individually pose with Adam and then with me. So we have like 15 pictures of these girls. We then continued on walking and some men in an ice cream truck offered us a ride. It was just a mile or so and the fare was cheap so we hopped in. Turns out the driver could speak English so well because he learned it in prison!

We were happy to finally be at D&D Brewery but it turns out they had given away our reservation and were full. We headed next door where we met Roger Ferrara. I will write more about him later. He gave us a very enthusiastic tour in the dark and hooked us up with a really nice cabana for $35/night. We were disapointed they had given away our room next door (this ended up being a great thing because we had an awesome time with Roger!) but our new spot was really nice so it was fine. http://www.hiddenriverhotel.com/

We headed back to the brewery for dinner and enjoyed some Tilapia. An Englishman named Malcom who takes people on bird watching tours came to our table to tell us about his trip and Adam invited him to join us. We had a really interesting conversation about how he had spent his life traveling the world and he stoked his long braided beard while telling us stories about India, Morroco, and drifting for decades.

As we finished our daiquiries and planned our next day, I thought about the day and all the unusual things that had happened. I could have just told you we got to the lake, but it was a pretty interesting ride. I´ve been thinking a lot about ¨vacationing¨verus ¨traveling¨ because they feel very different to me. I think a key to traveling is looking for experiences everywhere you are -- both in the journey and the final destination.