I was able to sleep through the night and woke up early feeling a better. I started packing up my things. Around 9, I caught a cab and went into West End on a souvenir mission. I found success at several shops (the ones that were open this early). Having not eaten much the day before, I was hungry hungry, so I went to Cafe Escondido above West End divers. Nothing was jumping out at me on the breakfast menu, but the fish tacos sounded delightful. So I relished a delicious plate of heaped up fish tacos while looking out over the water. The sun was out and West End was waking up, and I realized I was going to miss this island life a little bit.
After an ATM stop and one last souvenir stop (I didn’t have enough money before), I cabbed back to Sandy Bay. I dropped my things off at the hostel and headed over to the clinic for a final round of goodbyes. I stayed a little too long chatting with Kelly upstairs and had to scramble back to the hostel to finish packing. Dee arrived and waited while I finished packing and dropped off $40 for the wireless to Mel. Then it was off to the airport.
Miss Peggy had decided to stay another night on the mainland (she was visiting a hospital there), so I wasn’t going to be able to say goodbye to her. While I was at the bank paying my $40 visa exit fee, Miss Peggy snuck up on me! Her flight had just arrived. So I was able to give her a goodbye hug after all.
On the flight to Houston, I sat next to Mike who had been diving for the past 2 weeks. The view flying over the Caribbean was beautiful. I read the inflight magazine and did most of the crossword puzzle.
The Houston airport was a crowded nightmare. The customs line was ridiculously long, then you waited to get your bag, then you waited to recheck your bag, and then you waited in a terribly long line to go through security again. I had just enough time to grab a banana and juice at a Starbucks before my KC flight started boarding. Tiny airplane flying home. We flew around a terrific t-storm as the sun was setting. It was a beautiful sight to come home to.
But not quite as great as getting off the plane and having a jubilant reunion with my welcome home committee – Jack and Becca. As we were driving home, I started feeling worse. I am now writing this on Monday and for the past 3 days, I have been wallowing in feverish misery with all the symptoms of Dengue fever. A fantastic welcome home gift from the Honduran mosquitoes!
All in all, the trip was a wonderful experience. There were highs and lows, but it was an adventure to be able to explore a new country, new island, and get to know lots of new people. Though I already realize that I learned a lot while there, I know that the lessons from this adventure will unfold throughout the years.
This will be my last post on the blog (besides a photo dump which I will hopefully have the energy to put together later). Thank you to those that gave me shout-outs throughout my time in Honduras. I loved being away for a while, but it makes coming home all the sweeter.