So my wife is training the kids to do the Papaya Dance. In case you are curious, here is a video of the Papaya Dance.

I arrived at the airport on July 1st. It was a typical Honduran madhouse. The power was off and they were trying to sort the bags and instead of being able to use a conveyor they carried in the bags, one by one. Loli and Nena’s mom Irma and her boyfriend Howard were waiting at the door. I had brought down two bags for Loli and so I had to fight through the mobs with my bags. It was a sight. All the sites and sounds of Tegus were flowing in.

Now Tegucigalpa is a city of like a million people. I think all of them were out on the streets that day. After my bags were loading in the car, I realized I was in a car in a foreign city with people I didn’t know going who knows where! It started to all sink in. Howard turned on the car radio and we cruised through the jumbled city streets, making twists and turns that destroyed my good sense of direction. Finally we turned off the paved roads onto a dirt road with potholes big enough to hide several small cars. Down the road we went. Near the end of the road, we stopped. We had finally arrived at Mamita Irma’s house!

At this point I was thinking, oh my God, what have you done this time? I was kind of scared and kind of exhilarated. I sat in a house surrounded by a lot of people. They were treating me like an old friend and I still wasn’t 100% certain that I went with the right party. In all the haste, Tulio (Loli’s brother) had went to the Pulperia to buy some Coca Cola. In my travels I have found that there is but one constant in the world, that is Coca Cola. Upon sipping some Coke, I felt a little more comfortable. I still had 8 strange people asking me many questions in Spanish, a language even to this day I am not very proficient in. I figured now was the time to break out the video camera and show the tape I had made of Loli, her daughters, and Nena.

I was right, the videotape was the trick. The problem is that since the tv had no a/v inputs, I had to show it on the screen of my Sharp Viewcam. The crowd at this point had grown to a dozen people, all gathered around a tiny screen to see Loli and Nena. it was like I was the bearer of a precious gift. In a way I was. I took this opportunity to head to my assigned room and do a bit of unpacking. My bags had already been taken there so I didnt have to continue breaking my back. It didn’t take long for me to be discovered by more neighborhood kids. I had brought candies from the US so I gave some candies away and the smile on the faces was worth more than a Queen’s ransom. At about this time, I was being called into the main house.

Mamita was asking me if I was hungry. Si un poquito, which in my broken Spanish means yeah a little. I learned in time that that reply isn’t a very good idea. Dinner was promptly made for me. Now before I came Loli and Nena had to go to extra length to assure Mamita Irma that she didn’t need to make any special arrangements with me and that I loved eating Honduran food. So food was prepared. Now I am overweight so I think my portions were supposed to reflect the appetite I should have. When I visit Mexico, I tend to lose weight over my stays, but here; aint gonna happen. I was served with a heaping dish of rice, beans, some kind of beef product, and a gigantic stack of freshly made still warm corn tortillas. I thought at that point I had died and went to heaven. The food was so so so awesome.

One thing that surprised me about Honduras was the fact that it gets dark earlier. I didn’t expect it to be getting dark until later, not at 5:30 in the afternoon. Another thing that affected me was the tiredness I started to feel at 7:30 at night. I don’t know if it was a product of Honduras or me to this day. Well as it began getting dark it was time to relax. I got to sleep that night surprisingly early. My body forced myself up that morning at 8am. I was not totally surprised to see everyone at work. I was quickly asked if I was hungry and while I wasn’t really hungry I said si un poquito and was promptly told breakfast was ready.

Ah my heart was won over by Honduras. It was a bright sunny morning, I was eating some delicious chorizo, tortillas, eggs and beans and I felt a lot more comfortable. Mamita Irma asked if I wanted to take a shower and I was like, sure! I didn’t know that she would get the cold water and heat it for me. I finished eating and then I went to room to gather my shower stuff and clean clothes for the day. While gathering them, mamita came to ask for my clothes to wash them. I was like, well ok.

I quickly fell into a routine there. I was also showered with gifts in order to know Honduras better. I was brought hot fresh made donuts from the family next door to give my gringo stamp of approval on. I had little craft items made for me to display to my gringo friends. I was also the subject of many photo request so that people could show a picture of their gringo friend. It was cool. I also was the one people who knew but one English word would come to. They would be so proud to share their English with me. I was even prouder to hear them, I felt respected. I felt like I was someone. My Spanish while horrible was more than adequate to communicate all of of my feelings and expressions. It was awesome.

In this trip, resting, relaxing, and enjoying life seemed to be the order of the day. A routine punctuated by bingo games, coca cola and knowing people. It was an awesome time. It is why I call Honduras my little Margaritaville.

How it began:
Well so you wanna hear about my Mexican jail adventure. It all started in the most uninteresting fashion. I left El Paso, Texas on a visit to central America. I wanted to see a new part of the world. I arrived in Mexico City by bus from Ciudad Juarez(on the border) and then boarded Copa Airlines for San Pedro Sula, Honduras. It was a very interesting trip as I was seated next to a Export businessman from Cartagena, Colombia. You can guess what export I was thinking he handled.

After my arrival in San Pedro, I was expecting at least some adventure to befall me.I had heard that La Ceiba was an interesting place to visit, especially with the Bay Islands close by so the next day I headed off by bus to La Ceiba. They use old school buses for their long distance buses. I didn’t fit in very well to the seats. Mostly it was a comedic joke. People are so poor there. It is sad. I had planned to spend a month in Central America, but I was getting tired of it real quick.

After 3 days in La Ceiba, I had decided to leave early to return to Mexico. I much prefer Mexico. I did meet a person who was on her way to the Mexico to visit friends of hers. We decided to travel together since my Spanish is bad and it is always more fun to have a travel partner.

The trip north:
We left La Ceiba together traveling to the border with Guatemala. It was an experience and a half. So much poverty but also so much natural beauty is seen in Honduras. We crossed the border into Guatemala late in the afternoon and proceeded in the back of a truck from the border to the next biggest town.

The pickup truck was traveling very fast on the dirt roads. I think we forded at least 4 rivers. On this part of the trip I think I laughed 40% of the time. I remember the little villages and waving to the people as we flew down the mountain. The next morning we headed to Guatemala City and the border with Mexico. We arrived late in the day to Tec Uman, Guatemala. I was tired of traveling with someone else so I kindly went along with her idea that I proceed on to Tapachula while she waited for her papers to enter Mexico. We agreed to meet at the bus terminal. A few shorts hours later she unfortunately arrived….

The arrest:
We proceeded north to Mexico City. We had planned to part ways in Mexico City as I wanted to do more traveling in Mexico. The bus was stopped at an immigration checkpoint just north of Tapachula. The bus was boarded by immigration officers and we were asked to show papers. I had my passport, but she had nothing. I was shocked.

When I seen she was in trouble I asked if there was anything I could do to help and the officer asked me off the bus while other officers pulled our bags off. I was assured this wasn’t anything major and I would be on my way shortly. That was the first of many real good jokes.

The Legal Problems:
That was the first place I was detained. After a wait there of one hour I was transferred to the main immigration office. I was still assured it was nothing and I would be quickly on my way. I believed them. After about an hour of a wait. I was called into an office by the Jefe of the office and he read me something in Spanish that said something to the effect of 10 years in jail. I immediately asked for a translator and to contact the Consulate. He told me to wait a little bit longer. All I was thinking is how much of a bribe does he want?

About 30 minutes later three men arrived and pulled me into an office. They claimed to work for the US Embassy and began interrogating me like I was a criminal. I told them the truth and they told me they wanted to speak to girl. They talked with her for like 20 minutes and then pulled me back into the room and said they had decided what the truth was and laid out a false story. I told them they were wrong. They said it didn’t matter and they left.

About 2 hours later I was taken into another room where they insisted I sign a document. My Spanish is bad but they said it was just so I could be released. I trusted them. It was a confession to the story the US government had formulated. That story was that I was a pollero and was trafficking in illegal aliens. That was a joke!

I thought I was being released that night as I was taken downtown to the police station. I was told all I had to do was show the paperwork to a lawyer and I would be released. Wrong again. I got the funny feeling I was not in a good situation when they asked me to empty my pockets and take off my belt. I was then put in a jail cell with rats and the like. I was assured it was only for like 30 minutes. It ended up being 2 nights.

The next morning I went to see the lawyer where he had another document for me to sign. I again asked for a translator and for the ability to contact the embassy. As of this time no one on earth knew I was in jail. They allowed me to make one phone call, which I tried desperately to call someone. You are allowed only one phone call. You can call family, friends, a lawyer or the embassy. I got a hold of my sister who contacted the embassy for me. After talking on the phone, I was told to sign the document because all it was just the papers so I could be deported from Mexico. At this point, all I wanted was to put this experience behind me. I signed confession #2. Looking back, it was funny because statement #2 was copied from statement #1 and they didn’t even agree.

I spent the next night in jail with the rats and with inedible food(I fed it to the rats) on the assumption I was getting out the next morning.

The Big House:
The next morning instead of deporting me they put me in a VW Bus with 7 gun toting soldiers for a trip to my new home, the big house. The facility was old and dilapidated but it was my new home. The people did seem friendly, at least most of them. I kept demanding to have a translator since before they took me away I had discovered my rights from Micheal Veesy of the American Embassy.

The big house produced Rico and Paul. Paul was an American being held for the same offense they were holding me for. He too was innocent. They both took me under their wings and helped me immensely in my jail stay. Without them I probably would have died in that stay. By the time of my release, I had taught an English class, I had made many friends and had won respect from the various fellow inmates.

You can get anything in a Mexican jail, it is a lot different than an American jail. The rules are very lenient if you have a few pesos to pay. You can also eat pretty good as they have many vendors selling everything and anything imaginable. If you are there for awhile you can buy your own cell and decorate it as you please with stereos, tv’s, vcr’s, just about anything you would have in your own bedroom. If you are married and your wife isn’t in jail also, she can even come visit anytime or even come live with you. It was like a city with the walls.

I was finally released because the judge saw that I was innocent and that I was capable of paying a bribe. The Mexican legal system is so messed up, messed up almost as much as the US system. I can’t say i was overly happy to get back to the US of A.

The Aftermath:
On the day I was released, Paul was also released. I discovered that they were INS agents that visited me on day 1. They are required by Federal Law to notify the embassy whenever they come across an American being held and they are not allowed to act on behalf of the Mexican government in interrogating an American. They interrogated me, they fabricated the story, and they didn’t notify the US Embassy that I was being held. They violated my civil rights.

It doesn’t seem to matter to the US government that I was innocent. They conspired with the Mexican government to detain me, and in fact I believe that they pressured the Mexican government to arrest and charge me. I place full blame on the US government for my detainment!!! God bless the USA! It needs all the help it can get!!! I know I had the help from Jesus Christ and my friends in getting out of this ordeal..and for this I am grateful!

Update:
I have had a bit of time to think about everything in the past year so now is the time to comment on it a little more. I realize that life deals you things and you have to learn to deal with them as they come. I have had an interesting time telling my story. It is not nearly as tragic as it was at the time and now consider the jail experience to be one of “fun” times of my life. I harbor no resentment except to the bloodsucking attorney. I still wont go back to visit Chiapas though.

It will be fun getting back in the swing of things. I have big plans as I being the process of unifying the content goals of the websites that I do own. It should be a lot of fun for me and for you as a true blogging network arises. Filipino Pawnshop will be a part of this new network of interesting and engaging content.

I hope to help people find out more about the weather around them and ways to enjoy their lives better.

To me, a travel food is one where special shops are devoted to it and it takes on characteristics of the local tastes. Pizza fits the bill. From Tom Yum Pizza in Thailand to Mole Pizza in Mexico, pizza truly is an international travel food.

It seems like it has morphed and shaped to fit just about every taste in the lands where it has entered. Getting a pizza in a new city is all about taking in the taste of your new temporary home.

One place I have always dreamed of going to is Alaska. I think it would be so awesome to be able to visit and see Alaska in all of its grandeur. I have seen pictures of the Inside Passage and I think it would be awesome to look at going on some of the great Alaska luxury cruise ships.

It looks like the Travel Store in conjunction with Cruise Locators has some of the best cruise packages out there. Now, we just have to look at the schedules.

1) Ask around at your hotel for things to do or places to see. Ask the clerk where his or her favorite place is in the city.

2) Go visit the museum. Most places have some sort of museum and it’s great to learn the background of the place. You’ll get lots of great ideas.

3) Now, here’s a secret. Go find a local restaurant that seems to be busy. Order some local food and then ask the waitress for ideas on places to visit.

Try them, you might be surprised.

Here are some Philippine Army soldiers doing the Papaya Dance. It’s a several minute video and the first minute or so is devoted to solider drills….and then they break out and start doing the Papaya Dance.

Rental cars are expensive and so is the gas. Plus if you are traveling in an strange location, it can be difficult to make sure that you do not get into an accident. The easiest cure to all of these is to use public transportation systems when you travel. You’ll save money and better live the travel lifestyle.

Don’t worry it’s easy. Public transportation actually works in most of the world.