The Adventure continues...

Today started off with a visit to a local coffee cooperative that produces fair trade organic coffee. This cooperative works with 600 small farmers to produce great quality coffee which is shipped all over the world. In fact, the Just Us coffee which YMCAs in Atlantic Canada sells, comes from this facility. We use this as a fundraiser for our Honduras project so it was exciting to actually see where it is produced. As well many of the young people in the ACJ projects live on these small farms and are learning organic farming methods from one of the programs run by the local YMCA.



Part of the cooperative operation...



Raking the coffee beans so they will dry faster...



We were shown the process of taking the coffee bean from the raw state to where it is ready for roasting. It is a very labour intensive process and they take great pride in having a high quality product. They are also very passionate about going the organic way as they now understand that traditional methods were very harmful to the environment. We were fortunate to have a couple of producers there who told us why they switched to organic farming and how they now understand that they must be stewards of the environment that God has given us.



Loading up the outer husks of the coffee beans. Before going organic they would be dumped but now they are used for compost on the farms...



The coffee grower showing the beans and how they are sorted for processing...



We then took a long bus ride to our next destination. Most of the highway was very well maintained as it was built and continues to be built by American money. We also passed an American base which is near closure but is now being taken over by the Hondurans to build a new airport.



A pic from the bus window...you can see pass the tree down to the valley that we are climbing mountains again...



Also past lots of basket and hammock stands...



We then turned off the road and started to head to our next destination which was San Jose de Comayagua and it was here our adventure began… The roads got rougher and rougher as we went through the valleys and up the mountains and then we came around the corner and there was no road only a river! The bus couldn’t go through because it was too deep so we had to wade through to the other side. Then we had to walk for miles to reach the town. The plus side was that the landscape was so peaceful with lots of crops and livestock.

Bev getting ready to cross but Jan led the way...

Silke and Vickie making it across...

When we finally arrived at San Jose de Comayagua we were treated as special guests by the young ACJ people who were running a town fair on the church grounds. We were given refreshments as well as a gift of roses. Organizing and running this fair was one of the services they provided as part of their community development program. The fair is held every year to celebrate their patron saint as well as to celebrate Father’s Day. The young people also integrated education about HIV/AIDS into the program. We also met another group of young people from another community who had walked two hours to meet us. In fact, we were the first group of people from another country who had ever visited their town!

Some of the young people who walked 2 hours to meet us.

Karen with her rose...



Performing traditional dancing...



Some of the ACJ members performing in the band...

Isn't this little cowboy just the cutest?

Trying to catch the bus but it was already full, too bad we just had to keep walking!

So the back of the pickup was the way to go!!!

Our final adventure after wading the river, trekking the mountains and riding through the countryside in the back of a pickup truck was arriving at our hotel where they were not expecting us and there was no room at the inn! In fact the hotel didn’t even have a roof on it!

 So now we are in the middle of nowhere without a place to sleep and what was our host to do with 14 people in rural Honduras?? Well Rossibel and her staff jumped into action and we ended up in a Lodge way off the highway sleeping in a dorm with bunk beds and shared showers, just like summer camp!

We were so glad to see this room, cold showers and all!!

So it is here that we are writing our blog using our headlamp to see as we reflect on another great day!!

Bev's Thoughts:
Today was definitely an excursion. The trek through the river and then the hike in the country was a reminder of home for most.  The landscape was breathtaking,  it was sunny and warm with a soft breeze, and we just chatted and got to know alot about each other.  We were all troopers throughout all the obstacles and the end of the journey was rewarding.  We were warmly welcomed by a large crowd who had come to the fair, and to be presented with roses was a treat indeed, then treated to performances by the youth of the community and served refreshments, as I said - quite the reward at the end of our journey.   Our accomodation trouble was for the best as we got to share a camp-like adventure and again, we are resilient.  The day was long and we had lights out by 10:00pm.

Debbie's Thoughts

Again we had a wonderful day albeit full of fun and adventure. To walk through this beautiful landscape and be so warmly welcomed by these friendly people was something I will never forget. This village was tiny and it seemed the whole town was out for the fair...including babies and grandparents. This feeling of community is something we don't see at home anymore as it seems we are all too busy to enjoy the simpler things in life.
The town was so proud of what the young people were doing and we were so proud that the little money we contribute every month can do so much for people in this little village.