Better test of white labelling

 Maybe this one will work.

Testing white labelling

 I have selected white labelling before publishing this post.

testing white labelling selected

 testing white labelling selected

testing de-selected

 testing white label de-selected

testing June 9, 2021

 testing

January

A few randon comments on our past few weeks;

A couple of weeks ago it was very chilly here. Not by the standards that we are used to back home, but damp and with temperatures that got down to 7 or 9 degrees C.(or the low 40s.) We spent a couple of days in meetings where everyone was bundled up in coats, hats and scarves and whatever else they had, as it was just as cold inside as out, with no heat, and we slept under blankets and sleeping bags. But then it got warm again and it has been beautiful for the past several weeks. Temperatures have been in the 70s and ideal for walking, hiking or running. The coldest temperatures were surprising even to the locals. Our recent weather seems more like what is common, with periodic cooler and damper weather, but not generally as cold as it was during the first week of the month.

The day before the earthquake in Haiti, we had a slight tremor here. We were sitting around a conference table on the second floor of our NGO when everything started to shake gently. This came in two waves and lasted for about ten seconds or so. Nothing broke or fell down, but the movement was definitely noticeable and everyone left the building calmly. A small quake of about 4.9 was reported near the Guatemala border, centered about 50 miles from us. We apparently are at the western end of the same plate that lies below Haiti and what we felt here may have been something preliminary to that horrible event at the other end of the formation.

Yesterday the new government took office, without controversy. In his first act, which he took during his inaugaration speach while standing on the platform at the stadium, President Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo signed a document granting a right of safe passage and some degree of amnesty to former President Zelaya and his family. Zelaya then finally left the Brazilian embassy, where he had been since September, and flew to the Dominican Republic with the President of the DR, who was one of the few foreign officials from this area to attend the ceremony. This seems somewhat ironic to us, or part of the circle of life, however you may see it. We originally went to the DR due to the controversy over President Zelaya here, and now that we are peacefully here in Honduras, he has gone to the DR to seek sanctuary, as well. Almost everyone here is hopeful that the new government will soon be recognized by the international community and that foreign aid will be restored. The economic situation of the government is nearing a crisis situation, without that anticipated aid.

A couple of weeks ago we spent a few days at Lago Yajoa, the largest natural lake in Honduras, which is not far from here geographically, but is about a five hour bus ride. It is a very beautiful lake surrounded by high mountains and lush vegetation. We spent one morning in a little row boat on a guided birding tour that was fascinating, given the wide variety of water birds, migrating birds, tropical birds and raptors. Even as non-birders, we could appreciate this as a special opportunity, and we now have 46 new entries on our bird list. There is an interesting colony of ex-pats, American and British, living in that area, the first significant group we have seen here.

All is well. Keep in touch.

Feliz Navidad

We have had a pleasant Christmas week. We spent the first part of the week in Copan Ruinas, which is about a three or four hour bus trip from here. The Mayan site there is really quite special, with the best stella and glyphs that I have seen among the numerous sites in Mexico and Guatemala that I have visted previously. The main Acropolis area is set in a dense jungle with amazingly colorful parrots and strange, small four-legged creatures. There is about a ten-acre area that has been substantially reconstructed, with some large pyramids, but there are also many mounds, covered with enormous trees, that remain to be fully explored. The stella are fantastically detailed, with a high degree of relief, perhaps due to the relatively soft tuft stone that is available in the area. The general area is a pleasant, fertile valley, relatively narrow, and it is difficult to understand how or why this was such an important Mayan center of art and science 1500 years ago. We will try to post some pictures soon, which will not quite do the site justice, but will give you some idea.

The town of Copan Ruinas is primarily a tourist town, with scores of hotels and restaurants, but it is actually pretty nicely done. It has picturesque cobbled streets and everything is well kept and feels quite safe. There are also a couple of nice museums there, in addition to the very good sculpture museum at the ruins site. For the first time since we have been in Honduras, we actually saw some significant number of tourists, primarily European, but the numbers are still far below average. As a first stop for most of the people traveling overland into the country, this does not seem like a true introduction to Honduras, as it is unlike anywhere else that we have seen thus far, but it is a pleasant place.

For Christmas here in Santa Rosa, "peace on earth" and "silent night" are celebrated with an amazing amount of fireworks. Noche Buena seems to be as important as Christmas Day for family gatherings and for many people this celebration involves shooting off lots of very loud fireworks. Much of them are more for noise than visual effect and around midnight, the sounds were stunning. Christmas Day itself was a very nice day, and much more peaceful. Peace and Joy to you all.