Caribbean brass section: good times with good friends

It's been awhile since I've sat down at my computer to update you all and I'm sorry about the wait! Over the past week and a half we had our friend Dani visiting us from the dates and we were the busiest we have been all year...I SWEAR!  She arrived last Thursday and it was non-stop until yesterday.

We of course introduced her to Expats immediately where we enjoyed Monkey La La's and the typical Thursday night line up of a retired man named Peter singing old Jimmy Buffet songs :) Ken and I both had to work on Friday so it was an early night for us.

Dani came and visited my school Friday afternoon where she met some of my colleagues and my students of course. They absolutely adored her (who wouldn't!) and they enjoyed asking her questions as they used water colors to paint landforms of the Northeast (a topic we had been studying in Social Studies). Friday night was eventful by attending a Bingo Fundraiser by Ken's senior class at a community center down the road. I'm never very lucky at these things but Ken ended up winning 2 free lunches at a restaurant owned by one of his students. ROCK ON! To be completely honest, I started getting antsy, and a little outrageous with Dani, since we had been sitting (and losing) for the past 2 hours, so we finally left and enjoyed some buckets of beer with our friend Dan at Expats.

Ken's so happy with his prize!

Saturday was rainy and overcast so we ended up lying low and baking a bit. We made an apple pull-apart bread (perfect for fall!) and read magazines, books, and napped a bit. In the afternoon we headed to Jenna's to play Catan before stopping at the grocery store to pick up some fixings for a homemade dinner. We ended up throwing together a homemade sausage with vodka cream sauce pasta dish, a large salad, and some cheesy bread all complemented with a nice bottle of red wine. Our stomachs were full and we were ready to start bar hopping in the Zona Viva with our good friends Carla and Anuar. It was a whirlwind of a night and Dani got to experience 3 different bars that night. She got a good feel of what the night life was like including how promiscuous some girls can be with their dancing.

Hard at work making bread. Dani learned how to need dough for the first time!

So proud of our creation.

Delicious!

We're classy here in La Ceiba.

Ken enjoying my dance moves.

It was a slow start to the morning on Sunday, to be expected of course, but we ended up going to the beach to relax for a few hours just outside of town. One of the secretaries at my school and her husband own a great place called Las Baceras about 20 minutes from town where you have the option of swimming in the river or the ocean. I had never been there before and I couldn't believe I had waited this long to go. It was breath taking with all of the tropical plants and completely serene With all of the rain we've been having the beach was a bit dirty with wood and other garbage that had been washed ashore but overall it was exceptional. We enjoyed a few hotdogs and some coconut water before heading home and eating Anuar's famous buffalo wings and playing "Pass the Pigs" (an instant hit in Honduras)!

Beautiful.

Dani enjoying the waves.

"Did I get all the suntan lotion rubbed in?"

Coconut water from the actual coconut!

Beach babe.

Besties at the beach

Yep there was a wild pig running around.

Looking to see if the pigs were touching in Pass the Pigs!

Ken and I both took Monday off from work as a personal day to spend a bit more time with Dani. We headed to Rio Maria to show her our river hang out. Although the hike to the top kicks our butts every time the end result with the beautiful waterfall and the cool river is amazing. We spent a good portion of the morning there before coming back into town and going to a yoga class (no Ken did not come along for that!). What a relaxing way to end a long weekend.

The hike down to the waterfall.

Rock jumping!

The rest of the week Dani enjoyed relaxing in our hammock, lounging by the pool at La Quinta Real, or walking around the mall while we were at work. After school we walked around the main market in downtown, enjoyed some chai tea lattes from Espresso Americano, got manicures and pedicures at a local salon, and splurged on some Jugo Chapala (similar to Jamba Juice) with our banana granola smoothies..YUM! On Dani's last night, Anuar cooked us a gourmet meal of Pasta Carbonara from scatch. She got to experience it all and so did we!

Chai Tea Lattes

Ken sad that he didn't get the "Bomba" Sundae.

Babes on a mo-ped...ow ow!

Pasta Carbonara - Anuar "Master" Chef

Ken and I have been relaxing ever since and taking it easy from this past weeks activities. It was great to have a friend from home visiting once again so we could show her what we get to experience in Honduras. We are so fortunate to live in paradise! :)