“Do you remember our camping trip to La Tigre?” Claudia asked. “Want to go back up there?”
I admit I didn’t have the foggiest idea what she was talking about. A camping trip? With Claudia?
“We went camping one night,” she told me. “It was going to be just you and me – but Lalo [Claudia’s little brother] wanted to come at the last minute, so he came too. We didn’t have a sleeping bag for him, so he and I shared the one. Remember? It was just us three – the only time I’ve been camping in my life!”
The memories are slowly returning as Claudia tells me about all the stuff we used to do. How could I have forgotten so much?
“Remember about the fish soup?”
“The fish?”
“Yeah – my mom says she’ll have lots of fish soup ready for you when you get to Choluteca!”
Oh gads! How could I have forgotten the fish?
I used to leave Choluteca every weekend. Every single Friday I was on the 3:00 bus out of town. My backpack was packed and all I had to do was leave school, drop by the house to get my backpack, and I was off! Except during Lent. Then I left on the 11:00 bus.
I discovered real quick that Gloria made the most disgusting – the most vile – soup on Earth every Friday during Lent. Using some dried fish cakes or some such thing, she made soup for lunch. And I hated it. I quickly figured out that I could escape eating it if I took the 11:00 bus out of town. Any excuse was good enough.
“I need to visit the Peace Corps nurse,” I would say. “I’ll have to leave school early.”
“I’ve got a package waiting for me in Teguc. I’ve got to leave early to get up there to get it out.”
“I need to get to Teguc early to buy toilet paper,” I might say. “I need to leave school early.”
Each and every Friday during Lent I made up every excuse under the sun in order to get out of eating Gloria’s vile fish soup. But I couldn’t tell her I didn’t like it.
And so it went for two years. Just before I left the country, I told Gloria about my dislike for the soup.
“Why didn’t you tell me?!” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe you didn’t say anything!”
I can just see the sparkle in her eye as she threatens to make fish soup for me 22 years later…
Claudia and I spent the day reminiscing about all kinds of things – it truly is amazing how much one can forget in 22 years. And then there’s the little fact that Claudia – being 13 and 14 years old when I was here – remembers completely different things than I do.
“Nancy! Do you remember….?”
What a great story! The fish soup sounds pretty rough!
What an amazing thing to deal with the tires and customs. I hope the tires will be worth all the difficulty.
It’s “bike to work week” next week, so I’d better make up for not biking to work at all this week. Too many crazy things were going on.
I did have a nice tour last weekend. Our club has been having a weekend camping tour in late April or early May since 1972. I went on the 2nd one and many more since then. I had a great time this year, and its a miracle we didn’t get rain and storms. I had fun riding with a teacher and we took our time.
Safe miles to you all,
-=Kevin=-
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Happy Mother’s Day!
Hope you get to see your kids today!
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Have only now learned of your wonderful trip and am determined to keep up with your wonderful adventures, the current one and the many earlier ones. Yours is a family of admirable determination; hope you will not mind our living vicariously through future discoveries. BTW: might the distaste towards the fish soup (traditional during Lent) be described owing to the salty excess (an acquired taste, surely – think anchovies?) Our best wishes go with you.
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P.S. You might care to look up ‘Hondudiario’ at: http://www.hondudiario.com/nacionales=4342.php
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Hola..!!
Muchas felicidades Nancy..!! en este dia de las madres..!!
Son los mejores deseos de tus amigos:
Ricardo, Monica, Felix, Esteban y familia, desde aca de veracruz, mexico.
Muchas felicidades..!!!
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I was just going to say that old memories are delicious–but I guess that doesn’t fit with your story. I’ve been wondering when you would meet up with your Peace Corps(?) family.
Happy Mothers’ Day!
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Thank you all! Mother´s Day was the most special one I’ve had so far – I finally made it back down to my Peace Corps site with my “mama” from those days!
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Nancy feliz dia de la madre
Eres una madre maravillosa y ejemplar
Sara, Dino, Gloria y Nelson
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