Green Jello

The chow hall here has a bit of a challenge when it comes to getting Jello in a color other than green. I don't have a problem with green Jello, but it is the only color we ever get. I'm not asking for exotic flavors like Mango-Kiwi, I would just like to see an additional color, like red or orange. I think this may be the legacy I leave -- I'll be the guy who brought red Jello to Honduras.

Blogged with Flock

Beef

They definitely know how to cook beef here. I think I mentioned before about the best steak I've ever had was just down the road from the base, plus I had an outstanding steak in El Salvador and had some great fajitas. I cannot complain about the food here.

No photos today, but I think we are going into town tomorrow, so I'll take the camera. If you want to see the photos I shot in El Salvador, go to The El Sal photos at my Flickr site.

Blogged with Flock

Mixed Bag

I was a little tired yesterday, so I didn't update, which means today is a mixed bag update.

I went to the comedy show on Tuesday night and some of the comedians were funny. One of them was really funny -- the Canadian. Here's a picture of me with them after the show.



Look, I'm wearing a T-shirt from a gas station in Luling, Texas -- home of the Watermelon Stomp.

They had ham at the chow hall tonight, so I had some. Apparently, I didn't get enough ham in Michigan over Christmas. And speaking of Michigan, I found a group of Euchre players here who are looking for a fourth -- I guess that is me.

Comedy Night

A few comedians traveling with Armed Forces Entertainment are here and have a show tonight at the Oasis. We ran into them at the chow hall today, so we sat and had lunch with them. I can't remember their names, mostly because I am really bad with names, but I'm pretty sure no one who reads this blog will have heard of them anyway. One of the guys is from Canada, so we started talking about Tim Horton's coffee and Mr Dressup, which left the rest of the group in the dark, a bit like I am doing to many of the people reading this right now. I'll probably go to the show tonight, if my laundry is done. In fact, here's the laundry room I use:



Aren't you glad you checked to see if I updated today, just to read about me doing laundry and see a blurry photo?

I may have some photos with the comedians for you tomorrow. I'll also tell you about the show.

Blogged with Flock

El Salvador trip

I'm back from El Salvador, where I believe it is sugar cane harvesting season. I saw several truck loaded with sugar cane, like the one pictured below. They were also burning the fields, so in some areas it was very smoky, and the smell of smoke was pretty heavy when we were flying.



So you may wonder why am I posting a picture of a sugar cane truck when I went to El Salvador to cover training of Salvadoran troops for their upcoming deployment to Iraq, especially when I shot more than 700 photos of the training. Two reasons: 1) I try to keep too much of the mission I support away from this blog, and 2) I haven't had the chance to go through the photos and decide which I am going to release. When I do get them released, I will put a link on this blog to my Flickr site. I might even post one here.

I did shoot a couple personal shots during the flight. Here's one:



I don't have any trips planned in the near future, but we have a big jump next week, and I'm going to the opening game of the local football (soccer) team. I may also go into town tomorrow, and I may shoot a few photos.

Blogged with Flock

Flor de Caña

The favorite rum around here is Flor de Caña, which translates to "Flower of the Cane." It's made in Nicaragua and is well known as a quality rum in Central America. I tried some for the first time Saturday night at Club Med and it really is the best rum I've ever had. So, I visited Ron today (more on Ron in a later post) and bought a bottle. Sure it's an enormous bottle, but it's inexpensive and I'm here a year. Note for family and friends back home: I will be bringing with me the legal maximum every trip home, so rest your liver!

Blogged with Flock

Mountains in the early evening

The day kind of got away from me and I didn't shoot any photos, so on the way to dinner, I took a quick shot of the mountains. The base is nearly surrounded by mountains, and clouds like this have come in every night I've been here. We also start to get a nice, cool breeze in the late afternoon and evening.





Local birds, by the thousands, also come in and roost as the sun starts to set.  It appears the trees by my quarters attracts the most birds. The volume  is difficult to describe.

I tried the coffee this morning and it was very good. It's strong, but that's how I like coffee.

I'm going on a mission to El Salvador later this week, so I'll come back with some photos, and hopefully an interesting story or two.

Blogged with Flock

Cafe El Indio

Tomorrow morning I am going to try the coffee I bought yesterday at the grocery store in Comayagua. The roasting plant for this brand, Cafe El Indio, is almost across the street from the base. I've yet to smell them roasting coffee, but a few people have told me you can smell it here at times.



I also tried a bit of the local favorite rum last night, but I'll tell you more on that later.

Blogged with Flock

Comayagua orientation

I went into Comayagua for a "tour" with a guy from my office who has been here for four months. I don't think I'll have much trouble finding my way around since it is not a large city.

We didn't spend a lot of time in town, just enough for lunch and to wander around the markets. We also went into the "Jumbo" grocery store. The store is not large -- Jumbo is the name of the grocery store. I picked up some coffee. By the way, they have very good coffee here in Central America -- imagine that. I also learned you can buy a lot of bananas for 50 cents at the street markets.

We stopped to take a couple pictures at the Comayagua Cathedral. It reminded me a lot of some of the missions on the California coast. I've been told the clock on the church is the oldest in the Americas.

Blogged with Flock

Club Med

This is Club Med, the bar I hang out at on base. This is not a joke -- it is really a bar, and I really hang out there. There is a sand volleyball court out front, but I haven't yet seen anyone play -- or a volleyball or a net. The dart board and pool table get heavy use. The best part is it is a couple minute walk from my quarters. I'll be there tonight.





We plan to take a trip into town tomorrow.

FInally in Honduras with Internet

I arrived in Honduras a few days ago and finally had Internet hooked up today.  The weather has been very nice -- high 70s during the day, high 60s at night. They do have a bit of a humidity issue, but I'll eventually get used to that. I think I am really going to like it here.

On Tuesday, we went into town and had the best steak I've ever eaten at El Torito restaurant. In fact, I've been eating quite well since arriving, but that's ok, because we step it up in the gym here.

Below is a photo of my new office. If you look closely, you'll notice our Mango trees. I've been told they produce quite a bit of fruit. I'm looking forward to that.

 

Phone travels

Phone travels
Originally uploaded by submarginals

We had barbecue; pounds of barbecue.