Our Last Day In Honduras

Our last day in Honduras was a roller coaster. We woke, dismantled our mosquito nets and bedding, and packed our belongings into two piles: one to donate to the community and the other to secure in a plastic bag until it can be thoroughly washed at home. We had our last breakfast in the community — corn tortillas filled with scrambled eggs, beans, avocado and cheese, and made our way back up the hill to say our final goodbyes. The mood was solemn yet warm. It was the kind of goodbye where you really want to say ‘see you later’ but you really don’t know if and when you’ll ever see these people again. We all managed to hold it together until the first tear fell from the eyes of one of the men in the community… and then it got a little emotional for the whole team, resulting in some red, swollen eyes.

The people in Cedros Abajo are truly special — determined, tight knit, resilient, they watch out for each other, and are ready to break into smiles at opportunity. During breakfast we went around the table, each person summing up our week in one word: eye opening; satisfying; laughter; blast; dirty; roller coaster; rewarding; valued; and togetherness.

Our fearless guide and SOS intern, Emily, kindly offered her thoughts on the week:

For my sixth week in Honduras, I was fortunate enough to be joined by the Quarry team of volunteers. I can’t imagine a better group of people to share the experience of living in Cedros Abajo with. From the moment the team stepped off the plane they were ready to soak up any bits of Honduran culture they could. Some of this was easy to accept: like the delicious food the women of Cedros Abajo cooked for us, and some more difficult: like adjusting to the Honduran concept of “time”. The team was ready for it all, and embraced it with smiles on their faces.

Everyone was motivated to contribute as much as possible to the women’s kiosk, as well as to get to know the community. The result being that by the second day of the trip kids were heading out to visit the job site when they couldn’t have the groups undivided attention to play futbol, frisbee or kickball.

I loved being able to share the Honduran experiences I was familiar with, like pila and pyla, as well as some very new ones, including donkey polo and pushing a van up a mountain “because the hill is steep”. The week left my musclos aching from building and laughing. Judging by the goodbye the community gave the group, I would say everyone in Cedros Abajo will miss our voluntarios as much as I am going to!

After saying our goodbyes, our group left the community for our rest day. We travelled to La Tigra National Park — a cloud forest 2,200m up in the air. The plan was to drive to the top and hike around, the only problem was that our van didn’t quite have the gusto to conquer the steep terrain. We ended up walking up the mountain instead, pushing the van at times, and two hours later we were able to catch our breath and admire the view. Standing on top of a mountain is certainly a fitting way to end such an adventure.

We then drove down the mountain to the small town of Valle de Ángeles. We enjoyed warm showers, collecting souvenirs for loved ones, and devouring glutonous amounts of pizza and pasta washed down with a little Petrón. The beds were comforting, the flush toilets were appreciated, and the lack of nighttime sounds led to comatose states.

Two plane rides, a meal at TGI Fridays, a final group hug, and here we are back at home. Thank you to all of you — for supporting us, for following along with our journey, for covering for us while we were away and for asking us to share our experiences.

Adios amigos. Muchos gracias.