Writing is difficult, because it makes everything real. I am not ready to talk about everything that has happened over the past month and I hope you all will be patient and understanding. I don’t know when that time will be, but when it comes I promise to write. Recently I have done some heavy thinking and I have come to the conclusion that the easiest way to ease back into the writing/blogging routine is to talk about happy memories; so today specifically, I will talk about our trip to Honduras that we took in December. After three years of dating Luis, I heard so much about Honduras and I knew that I had to get there, somehow. After years, literally, of convincing my parents into letting me go, they finally gave in. I remember the way Luis’ face would light up as he was showing me around Tegucigalpa. Whenever we finished visiting a place, or after we took a picture he would look at me and say “you have to put this on your blog!” I started to write this post a few days before Luis passed away with hopes of surprising him and making him smile. He wanted everyone to know how great Honduras is, and I am going to use this opportunity to brag on this beautiful country, for Luis of course.
We all have a certain person whose compliments carry a weight greater than the compliments of others. For me, that person was Luis. A hundred people could compliment me on my writing, but the only opinion that truly mattered to me was his. I don’t understand technology, but somehow Luis “subscribed” to my blog so he was notified by email whenever I would publish a new post. Within minutes after publishing a post, my phone would ring and it would be Luis bragging about my post and telling me that he was proud of me. He even encouraged my mom to print “business cards” with the link to my blog; he always carried a stack of them in his wallet and would hand them to everyone he would meet. He was my number one fan to say the least. I have been putting this post off because it is going to be so painful knowing that after I publish this, he will not be calling me.
There are not enough great things that I can say about Honduras to fully describe the overwhelming kindness I received the week I was there. Honduras often gets a "bad wrap" because of their crime rate, however, so does Memphis. Over the course of the trip, there was never a moment where I felt unsafe or uncomfortable. The Honduran people are the most selfless and loving people I have ever met in my life. I could go on and on about about the beauty I witnessed... but I will let the pictures explain.
The next day, we headed to Cristina's house for lunch. Cristina lives at the top of the mountain so we stopped for a second to enjoy the incredible view!
After lunch, we headed with the group to "El Picacho" which is a replica of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil. It was very rainy and foggy which made it hard to see the top of the statue, but we had a great time and made wonderful memories!
Gaby, Alé, and Maria Jose are so beautiful and lovely!
These pictures were taken at a GAS STATION. Everything in Honduras is so beautiful!!
Berta and her dog Nala!
Marco, Maria Jose, Alé, Fortin, Luis and I went to the roof of the second tallest building in Honduras! Before, we went to buy 'baleadas', one of the most famous Honduran staple foods and they were delicious. We took them to go and ate them on the roof, overlooking the beautiful view. We had such an incredible time; the pictures do not do the view justice!
Katherine, Skarly, Said, Luis and I went to Santa Lucia a town about an hour away from Tegucigalpa. I remember how much we laughed because Katherine wanted to take us to one of her favorite restaurants, but when we got there it was closed. We tried to go to about four other places and they all were closed! We finally found a restaurant that was open and we enjoyed a delicious meal before we climbed to the top to watch the sunset.
We were invited to join Bianca and her twin sister Marcela for coffee at their family's coffee shop. This was the best latte that I have ever tasted! Luis and I both talked about the coffee for about three weeks after we got home from Honduras haha, it was that good!
Happy New Year! I wish I could turn back time to this night. I remember we were all so happy watching the fireworks with hopeful eyes that this would be the year that Luis would get better. After we watched the fireworks from the balcony we went downstairs into the street and we lit fireworks that we bought from a stand in Valle dé Ángeles. Luis was so happy; I remember the huge smile on his face. He loved to rub it in my face that "everything is better in Honduras" and let me reassure you, he was completely right. The fireworks were beautiful, more beautiful than any other ones I had seen before. The three of us has a great time together; there is no one else I would rather have shared this moment with and I will forever treasure this special time with Bibi, Luis, and the rest of his family.
Our last day in Honduras. We took these pictures at Luis' house, look at all of the beautiful plants!
The lovely Pineda sisters! I am so thankful that we were able to see each other. Just like Clarissa, I would always text them so it was really nice to "officially" meet them in person. They are so beautiful inside and out! I love them dearly.
Whatever you have experienced, no power on earth can take from you. I will forever treasure these memories and I will always remember Luis. I would like to thank everyone for being so kind and welcoming to me during my stay in Honduras. I can't wait to come back as soon as possible!
Awesome writting Mckendree!
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