It Gets Rougher

September 15th 2009 7:30pm

I slept in today until I was awoken by the roar of jet engines roughly 50 yards above my head. Three of the Honduran fighter jets began doing manuevers today over the city to celebrate the Independence day. It was very loud, and very close to the roof, so I went up and watched for a while as they did twists and turns very close to some of the taller building in the city.

I then spent some time on the internet checking email and working on some translations and Spanish conjugations. I made myself some breakfast and hopped back into bed to watch the rest of a movie before really starting my day.

Verb conjugations and practicing my new vocabulary took up most of my morning, and after lunch, I continued studying until Freddy called me around 1:00 wanting to know if I wanted to go mountain biking with him and Sadok (not Sedat). I said sure, and within the hour, the three of us were headed to a place where we could rent a bike.

The place was just this guys house, and after a brief exchange, we were driving our way up the mountain by the Cristo del Picacho. As we wove our way up the mountain, we discussed some of our favorite TV shows, and again the topic of my needing a Honduran girlfriend came up.

"They aren't very high maintenance."

"If you ask, I'm sure they will cook or clean or something."

Well I'm sold, I don't know how Freddy and Sadok knew exactly what I look for in women, but they really summed it up. Girls who aren't very high maintenance and might cook or clean or something if I asked.

We stopped and got some bags of water for the ride. Yes, bags of water. The local water company, Aguazul sells bags of water. Its roughly the size of a ziplock sandwhich bag, and you just bite one end off of it, and drink it. It was new to me.

We parked the car, and got out the bikes out of the back. Freddy and Sadok began suiting up their armor, and I was not really sure why they felt the pads so necessary. They were covered roughly head to toe in pads and gear. They both had camel packs on their backs (a backpack device with water in it, that you can drink straight from a little hose that connects to it). They both seemed to be taking things very seriously.

I, on the other hand, had no pads, no helmet, and asthma. We began our ascent up the mountain, and I quickly discovered not only that mountain biking was very difficult, but also that the some of the gears on my bike stuck. It was a rough climb, and we had to stop a couple of times for rest, and for Sadok's leg cramps. When we finally got to the top of the mountain, it was so beautiful and peaceful.

The sunlight filtered through the trees and shed its light on some of the local villages on the other side of the mountain facing away from Tegucigalpa. Looking around, I could see for miles and most of what I could see was the green trees covering tall mountains.

After taking a moment to rest and to enjoy the beauty of God's creation, we began our descent. This is when the pads would have been helpful. I did not realize that going down was supposed to be the fun part where you don't use your brakes at all. I went very slowly, but Freddy and Sadok were soon out of sight. I tried to speed up, but hit a rock at one point, and had to jump over the handle bars to keep from falling. I then continued at a safe speed until there was a fork in the trail.

I didn't know which way to go, and just as I was about to yell for Freddy and Sadok, I heard them yelling for me. They told me to go to the left, and I rejoined them shortly. I slowly gained confidence and began zipping down the mountain trail. It was scary. I felt like I didn't have very much control over my bike. It was fun.

We then went down a very steep very rocky part that opened up into a clearing. Going down was rough, but the clearing was beautiful and we stopped to take a few pictures. At one point, I looked over at Freddy and said, "Whew, well at least that last steep part is behind us."

"Oh, it gets rougher."

Damn. I thought I had conquered the mountain. So, we went down with Sadok in the lead zooming, with me in the middle taking my time, and with Freddy behind, making sure I wouldn't get lost again. Soon, I couldn't see Sadok anymore, and the drops got steeper and rockier. After every one, I would turn and look at Freddy to make sure he acknowledged that I was still alive and on my bike.

"It gets rougher."

Damn. Sure enough, every time I thought it was leveling out, there would be another deep and rocky drop. I took them at my own pace, but I knew I was slowing Freddy down. We continued along down the mountain, and it did get progressively rougher. So rough in fact, that at one point, I was able to see Sadok. Not going down the path, but dragging his bike up the side of the mountain. He had wiped out, but thanks to his pads, he was fine.

The three of us then continued until we reached a road, which we then took back to Sadok's truck. We piled in very hot and sweaty, and drove to a restaurant in Tegucigalpa where they served baleadas. Freddy was excited for me to eat my first baleada, which is an authentic Honduran dish. It consists of a corn tortilla, beans, and a special sauce. After that, its up to each individual to include, or not include a variety of topings. It reminded me of a Chipotle.

When I got back to my apartment, it was 7:00, and I spent some time looking over my new vocabulary. The rest of my evening will probably go along the same lines. As I'm reading more and more Spanish, I am now thinking..."It gets rougher."