I somehow lost my pictures of Carnival Day, so I will have to begin my account of that interesting 36 hours here, with a picture of Annabel and myself. I got up at 10 a.m. and rode around with a friend of mine while he got his float ready for the parade (I was supposed to be on it, but I wiggled out of it at the last minute). I watched the parade from the Spanish school, then strolled around and played some games at Carnival. Annabel and Chris arrived from Guatemala around 8 and the party began.... 

My pocket got picked. It was a huge disappointment, but kind of cool, too. I felt like a real Honduran, I had been robbed. The thief was a pro, (s)he bypassed my camera, my glasses, and just pulled out my coin purse. I felt the need to document the moment. 

I found this picture to be an excellent depiction of Carnival. People got there the night before to set up their tiendas, there was so much excitement, kids would just fall asleep anywhere they could.  

Paul, Chris, and some other bloke provided me with this excellent photo opportunity. One thing about Carnival, there are no trashcans, and no bathrooms. The guys made due. 

The cockfights were one of the most interesting and horrific experiences I have had (does anyone remember me crying my eyes out after the movie Saw? It was sort of like that). It was intriguing to see this way of life, the seediness of it (it IS a lot like the dodgeball tournaments), but I couldn't stand watching the animals just attack and attack when the other was so obviously dying. Finally I was crying pretty badly and insisted upon leaving. 

Saw the sunrise on Sunday morning (we were still discussing the effects of our experience at the Cancha de Gallos, when we noticed the sky lightening). The view from the hill at the top of my neighborhood is spectacular, you can see the entire town, the Caribbean, and Utila all at once. 

After the sun came up, we decided that we weren't tired (nothing a couple of Imperials couldn't cure), so Chris hobbled down the hill with us and we took a taxi into town. 

I thought we could go to Expats and the guard would let me in to make us breakfast, but alas, no. So we snuck into the hotel across the street and spent a couple of hours by the pool. Joe (my boss) says that my tan means I have too much spare time. I say there is no such thing as too much spare time. 

Chris caught a nap on the bus up to the river, but Annabel and I couldn't manage. 

We headed to the Rio Cangrejal for a day of swimming, relaxing, sunbathing, and SLEEP!!! (We threw in a rousting game of Scrabble, too). 

Finally! Sleep! We hit the hammocks at around 2 Sunday afternoon. 

We wound up at Applebees (Star Wars was sold out and we couldn't bring ourselves to travel anywhere more origonal for food).