Dec 30 - At Least Nobody Barfed On The Catamaran

Ferry, bus, taxi
And we're back in San Pedro
for Jordan's last night

Dec 29 - This Is What Happens After Six Days In All This Sun And Surf

We should stay up late
to mark our final night here
But we're all worn out

Dec 28 - Four Divers And Two Snorkellers At Big Rock

Gage and I circle
the divers far below us
At night, a movie

Dec. 27 - Snorkelling Airport Reef

From this humble shore
Rise underwater mountains
Fish circle the peaks

Dec 26 - We Snorkel Water Cay

Captain Al takes us
to a tiny isle that is
surely paradise

Dec 25 - We Snorkel Paradise Cove

The bacon and eggs
Are all that's traditional
Hours at the beach

Dec 24 - A Fine Christmas Eve

Deep-water snorkel
Amid fish, coral and eels
A sunset dinner

Dec 23 - Sometimes A Tropical Holiday Spot Really Does Look Like The Promos

Ferry's down, but we
get lucky with a charter
flight to paradise

Dec 22 - One Night In La Ceiba

Hotel room for six
Eight-hour drive, lots of beer
Intense seaside town

Dec. 21 - Ground Zero For The End Of The World

The Spaniards argue
And make us wait for tickets
Mayan tales beckon

Dec. 20 - Preparing For The Orphanage Christmas

Twenty-three presents
Gage writes labels, Zach wraps gifts
They like the pigeon

Dec 19 - Our Canadian Visitors Dive Into The Angelitos Experience

Christmas pool party
Fifteen kids pack into cabs
To swim with Canucks

Dec 18 - What A Birthday!

Firecrackers sound
An Oreo cake to share
A new babe back home

Dec 17 - CASM Goes To Aguas Termales

Scalding creek flows by
Feeding hot pools in the woods
Mud masks and meat feast

Dec 16 - Way Better Than Snow

My birthday week starts
With a happy day poolside
Reading in the sun

Dec 15 - The Final Market Day

The shopping is done
Tiny legs won't make that hill
Today, a cab home

Dec 14 - Santa Claus Parade

All these little elves
Wait for Santa's arrival
He comes with candies

Dec 13 - The Unintended Benefits of Shopping At The Same Market Stall

This market seller
Will have a merry Christmas
Selling all these clothes

Dec 12 - The Calm After The Storm

Silence descends here
The gang's Guatemala-bound
Packed in a small van

Dec 11 - The Great Christmas Clothes Purchase Begins

New clothes for the kids
Happy market sellers rush
To find the right size

Dec10 - Horseback Ride to Carrecelitos I

Stirrup problems and
Stiff legs, but we're glad for steeds
To take us higher

Dec 9 - Showing The Family Around Copan

Lunch in the market
And later a soccer game
Kids without borders

Dec 8 - Back And Forth To San Pedro To Meet Our Gang

A day in the bus
Willing everything to work
It does, more or less

Dec 7 - Drinking With The Guys Outside Via Via

My new friends with dreads
Pour me rum and tell me tales
From their four countries

Dec 6 - Reflections After Two Hard Days In The Truck With My Work Buddies

They drive way too fast
Eat too much, drag out meetings
But they're sweet people

Dec 5 - We're On The Road To Tomala

Another long drive
But the pine trees and blue sky
Make up for bad roads

Dec 4 - In A Land Where You Don't Need Prescriptions

No doctor I trust
So I diagnosis myself
And hope for the best

Dec 3 - The Endless Need Of Endless Need

I  bring bags of clothes
But the kids don't understand
I can't make it fair

Dec 2 - Five-Lemp Treats At The Parque Central

The kids line up for
fruit-flavoured shaved ice, topped with
sticky caramel

Dec 1 - Our Big Padrino Debut

Nora graduates
Wearing a turquoise gown she
learned to make in class

Nov 30 - No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

How can I hate debt
Yet end up on the wrong side
Of a big, bad loan?

Nov 29 - Field Trip To Penasco, Municipio de Proteccion, Departamento de Santa Barbara

Hours in the car
Borrowed boots, a muddy walk
But interesting

Nov 28 - Siguatepeque II: Who Invented This Road, Anyway?

A gruelling trip home
Hot chocolate on the way
Chatter behind me

Nov 27 - A Gift From The Heavens?

A day-long sermon
But things really pick up when
Four toucans fly past

Nov 26 - A Nauseating Ride to Siguatepeque

Carsick for hours
Edy takes the curves too fast
My friend Dramamine

Nov 25 - A Different Sunday Activity For The Angelitos Gang

Too cold for the pool
We go for ice cream instead
A raucous young crowd

Nov 24 - The Luxury Of A Lazy, Stay-At-Home Day

A day of nothing
Is exactly what I want
Time to wash the clothes

Nov 23 - Team FCC Honduras Pays A Visit To Angelitos

A long but good day
Building beds and helping kids
Get past their illness

Nov 22 - The Relative Euphoria Of A Better Day

Short trip, fewer stoves
Everybody comes home happy
Free day tomorrow

Nov 21 - First Thoughts On La Libertad

Young dogs and garbage
Pile up on rough, rocky streets
Small, poor, unpretty

Nov 20 - A Long, Hard Trip To Guaramal In The Back Of The Truck

I am a mummy
Wrapped against the stinging dust
Braced against the bumps

Nov 19 - Doing Duty As The U.S. Doc's Assistant

I turn away when
the talk turns to testicles
But I still translate

Nov 18 - The First Glimpse of Angelitos Breaks Your Heart

Leaning into dad

The girl cries for what she's seen

Helpless to change it

Nov 17 - The Walking Tour That Never Was

My tour-guide debut
Goes wrong when the group decides
to buck cohesion

Nov 16 - Meeting The Americans

Stuffed into a truck

We hustle to San Pedro

Then back in a bus

Nov 15 - Taking Paul Up On His Challenge To Use The Bean-Salad Line

In a day that was

Largely unremarkable

We have bean salad

Nov 14 - Merlin Takes Me To His Home Town

Really, I should have
Declined this long, bumpy ride
To San Fernando

Nov 13 - A Really Terrible Travel Day

Planes, buses, waiting
An excruciating day
But finally, home

Nov 12 - A Yummy Launch Into Our Last Day

Luxury breakfast
Starts our final day, which lasts
Long into the night

Nov 11 - Volcanoes, Pirate Ships and Dancing Waters

We bundle up more
And hit the strip one more time
Catching the free shows