Aug 22, 2009

Bus Ride

I took the bus into town today. This is not unusual for me, public transportation is a major part of life in Honduras, but today it was a little different. Or maybe I was a little different.

Today normal went right out the window as soon as I sat down on my green vinyl school bus seat and propped my knees up against the seat in front of me. As I looked out the window the landscape came alive. I guess if you don't live in the rain forest it always seems green, but when you are here through the dry season everything takes on a brown tinge. Dust is always flying through the air and covering everything with a powdery film adding to the already dull appearance.

But today...the greens came alive. We have been getting a healthy shower every afternoon. The rains bring a refreshment to the land and a reprieve from the heat of the day. The dust is washed off of the leaves and everything seems to sing out at your eyes.

As I rode down this morning there was a parade of green. Deep hunters and bright kellys...lemon limes and kiwis...imagine all of the crayons in the box being a different shade of green. Then just when I thought it couldn't get any better I let my eyes trace the mountain side and sweep up to the brilliant blue sky. Gone were the misty clouds of morning and in their place where bright white cotton balls set against the Caribbean colored sky.

The landscape was peppered with hot pink hibiscus, neon orange bird of paradise and deep red ginger blossoms. A feast for the eyes...When you come to this place the first things that hit you are the heat and the colors which can only be described as tropical.

In the rainy season the greens just get greener...they get richer...they get deeper. Instead of being set against a brilliant topaz sky they are cloaked with a thick grey shroud, like a cozy cashmere sweater. The blue sky fades into a storm cloud and the turquoise rivers turn chocolate brown...but the greens...they never really die.

So I rode the bus to town this morning, but I rode it back a little bit different.

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