The beginning...

Oh there's so much more to tell!

Just for those of you waiting patiently to know, we did make it back to the states! We loved the remainder of Tela, met great friends, got rained on, bought pineapples, avocados, tortillas, loved it! We then traveled to San Pedro Sula where we bought our souvenirs, were escorted in and out of stores by armed guards, and stayed in an awesome hostel to catch the Obama Inauguration. We are uploading all of our good pics to our Flickr account, so if you'd like to see more pics, just go to WildRushPhotos. Then we flew to Kansas City to get David (Jonathan's little brother) and Jennifer married off. 

We are currently in Boise living in the Rushes' basement for a great rent! Jonathan started his job today and already loves it! I got a new MacBook! Now we'll just concentrate on transitioning our minds to a new life here, find housing, and keep praying that our home in Moscow will sell! Do you know anyone looking?

Thank you so much for following our adventures! We feel blessed to have made the journey, grown closer, and experienced much!

JC

Here comes the piiiiiiiiiics

Bussing our way across the North Coast.


Don´t see that sign very often! We usually throw the toilet paper in the garbage.


Casa Kiwi

We ended up not getting picked up while hitch hiking back, so total we walked about 10 miles in the pouring rain. I look happy, right_



We got a digi cam!

Camara Digital

Well, we did it folks! It was not easy, nor barrato (cheap), but we bought a new digi cam. We decided these last days were too priceless not to capture on flim, as well as David and Jennifers wedding that we want to capture . So here we are, back in bid-ness!

Today has been rainy, we {ve hich hiked into town and tried to hike through the rainforest into a waterfall pool, but were warned a few too many times about robbers on the path waiting for gringos who have money, so we didn{t make it all the way. We also might have to stay another day because none of the carjero automaticos (ATMs) in town are working, and we aren{t sure we have anough ching to pay for casa Kiwi and get back to the west side of the country. We{ll see though, eh_ All I know is those robbers would be pretty dissapointed to find us empty-pockets on the road to the falls!

Smooches to all!

Cocodrillos and Kiwis!

Cuero y Salado
What an amazing adventure we had at the Refuge! First of all, we discovered a lost love of riding buses! We tooted along, honking loudly at every village we passed, stopping often, and driving long stretches through vast Dole fields of pineapple. In a small village we were told to get off and wait. We did, and soon enough we had purchased our tickets for the trencito into the Wildlife refuge. The tiny train had already left, but actually reversed along the track to come and pick up it's new passengers. It was a tiny little 4 car tren, completely open air, with one person running the motor. Again off we went along an ancient track through wetlands, bridges, and coconut farm. We saw so many beautiful white herons and cattle and lots of fun birds. Once at the refuge we had to turn on our Spanish full blast! Our personal guide was Rolando, and we were the only guests at the refuge! (While we were leaving the next day the trencito arrived with about 35 students and 10 tourists for the tours). So we got the entire refuge and tours to ourselves. We had access to the beach, but the north coast was very windy with big waves and brown water. We did learn how to crack coconuts for water and fill our nalgenes for free!
Canoe
That evening we took the canoe with Rolando and were in search of Manatees! It was glass on the water, and jungle surrounding us. We heard so many noises. At one point Rolando had me convinced that the crashing in the nearby jungle was a tigre, holy cow, a tiger?!? But it was really a tiger heron! We saw many many heron (garza) white, blue, tiger, and green back. We also saw howler monkeys pretty close up! Two big guys eating. We saw a baby cocodrillo (yep, crocodile) and also a few big iguanas. I spotted a green iguana on a branch right next to our canoe and our guide told me in english "good eye"! On our way back in the lightning bugs were lighting our way, and we could hear the singing from a nearby village church! It was beautiful. Well, Jonathan and I had stacked up on "groceries" so for the 3 meals we were there we prepared our famous "guacos" which are like guacamole tacos with fresh ingredients from the market in la Ceiba.
Motor Boat
We didn't sleep the entire night because the animals were up and wanted to "sing" to us all night, including the dogs, so we layed in the darkness and were "serenaded" until our alarm at 5am. We jumped into the motor boat and were off - even though it was still dark! We got to a spot deep in the jungle river that was a good spot to view the "manati". We looked and looked for that cute "sea cow" but to no avail, so we decided to go deeper in, and boy were we glad because I spotted a big black thing way up in a tree. At first look I thought it must be yet another termite nest, which are everywhere, but no - it was a howler monkey! Well, Rolando taught us how to grunt really loud like the monkey, and he talked back, but he was MAD! At first he just was grunting back, but then we heard grunts from all around us! Surrounding us, directly above by about 40ft an entire family of howlers started bouncing in the trees and hollering so loud you couldn't even hear each other in the boat! Yikes, they were really mad! We got outta there, and went deeper down the river and the foliage started closing in around us, and we were swerving around big crocodile-looking logs! They were logs, right? And then when we couldn't go any farther we emerged into an entire flock of Bald Bill Herons! They were really big and on the branches all around us. They were making a noise, "buh ha ha ha ha" and snapping their beaks making a loud clap sound. Oh they were so cool, about the size of goose and black and blue with a cool spike hairdo. Oh we loved our private tours in the refuge!
Frente Frio
Well about the time we were ready to leave the Refuge, the cold front was getting nasty! We rode the trencito back to La Union, then caught the chicken bus back to La Ceiba, then as soon as we got to the bus station, we were quickly herded onto our bus to Trujillo! Great timing the Lord has for us! Many vendors come onto the bus before they leave the station selling everything, so we bought a coke, a mini lunch with chicken and friend plantain verde and cabbage salad. We also bought a bag of bananas (probably 9 small ones) for 10 lempira (50 cents). Oh the chicken bus. Leaving La Ceiba, guess what we saw... 2 elephants and 3 camels! I'm NOT kidding you! There they were and everyone turned to look. It was crazy! There they were in downtown la Ceiba right in the middle of the Circus they were starting to set up! :)
On the (bumpy) road
We are so wise after traveling. We had already been on a bus for 1 1/2 hours from la Union, and now we were headed to Trujillo on the North East coast which was 4 hours away (nope, try 6 hours!) after stopping at any where along the road. At 2 hours in I had to pee SO bad. What could I do? I asked one of the drivers' "helpers" where I could go. Ha! They stopped about 3 mins later at a police road block, and escorted me to about 6 armed police guards. Yes, I could use the bathroom, but they weren't happy about that. Fastest pee I ever took!
Two other funny things were that we found out we needed to switch buses in Tekoa, but we had already paid all the way to Trujillo! (only another 1/2 hour, yeah right, another hour and a half!) Well our bus drivers were like, "No paga NADA" don't pay anything on the other bus. But about an hour into the next bus, here came the collection girl, who was quite upset with us gringos who obviously were clueless about the way things were. We "talked" our way out of paying twice though! The other funny thing (looking back on it, of course) was that since I get so motion sick, I have to have the window in front of me open. Well, we found out that a bridge was out on the main road, and we were taking the dirt backroads. By this time it was dark and still pouring rain and chilly! Well, I still wanted my window open! Oh, that was causing quite a ruckus on the bus. Also, the dirt road was kicking up nasty red mud like crazy. I put my sunglasses on, and by the time we finally arrived in Trujillo, my glasses had about a 1/4 inch of mud on them, and my face looked like I had picked a wrong color of foundation, and a lot of it!
Casa Kiwi
Heaven? Close to it! We got a taxi and headed to Casa Kiwi. Once here we were asked our names as we entered their screened in restaurant attached to the hostel. We were told to drop our bags and were given a cold Salva Vida beer and finally relaxed! They gave us a little private room with hot water, and a delicious dinner, still calling us by name and treating us like friends. (Too bad we couldn't figure out how to turn that hot water on!) Oh how wonderful to have God protecting us and preparing our way everywhere we go! We're still here at casa Kiwi with the New Zealanders and spent the morning on their beach, which is in the far east bay of Honduras. We have the entire beach to ourselves and Jonathan was so brave as to wear his speedo and get an entirely new tan line! :) The rain is back for the late afternoon, but we're clean and happy. Hoping all of you are well, and thanks for reading! Funny that while traveling and moving around we get the best stories!
Much love, and we'll see what's in store for the last 4 days! J&C

the Mainland, once again

Tegucigalpa thinks, San Pedro Sula works, and La Ceiba parties

Our time on the islands was wonderful, relaxing, and beautiful! We enjoyed much sun and snorkeling with Nick and Autumn. We had brick oven pizza, fresh fish, and Salva Vida! Our favorite day was when we rented two scooters and cruised across the length of Roatan! It was so fun to see he Carribean on both sides as we scooted the ridges of the tropical island. There was one place called, ¨the View¨that was incredible for seeing the barrier reef that runs the length of the North Coast, the waters were aqua and there were lots of cool trees, palm, coconut, papaya, mango, sea grape, and fig!

Finally the sad time came for Nick and Autumn to head back to the states. We shared a 5.30am breakfast of banana pancakes (which Jonathan has mastered) and sent them on their way with love and hugs! We got new roomies, two girls from the states, and also made friends with another couple at Chilies that we shared a meal with. The most interesting friend we made was a woman in her 70´s named Jeannette. She found us on the beach, learned that we loved the Lord and were from Idaho, and she instantly adopted us, telling us of her life story and the stories of her children. Sadly enough, her son died at 18 while working for a greenhouse company in Boise! She invited us to her house, which we found after much hiking that afternoon. She had our whole visit planned out, from which hammock we sat on, to what we were going to sing together, to what she had printed for us to discuss, and even an article on why not to use microwaves! It was quite a different way to spend an afternoon, but we look back on that time as a divine appointment for some reason unknown to us. We even spent the next morning reading the book she had authored about her life and family.

After Nick & Autumn left, the sun went with them. We saw a lot of overcast skies and plenty of spastic downpours, so after two more days we decided to leave Roatan. We arrived in La Cieba yesterday afternoon on an incredible ferry the Galaxy Wave (1hr and 15mins totally flew by)! We were trying to get to this wildlife refuge called Cuero y Salado. After a taxi ride, a closed and moved office building, and many confusing conversations in Spanish, we found ou how to get there (it´s going to be a journey!) and that we wouldn´t make it yesterday. So we were escorted by a guy on the street to Hotel Caribe. Four cement walls up a scary barred staircase for $12 per night. We have spent the past day walking through the city, buying produce for our time at the refuge, ducking under overhangs during the heavy rains, and practicing our spanish trying to buy a new digital camera. Jonathan has cut his baseball Morgan´s shirt from mom, and it now shows his buff arms, so we haven´t had any trouble in the city!

We are so glad that we have another week here in Honduras! Our Spanish is improving as well as our courage! (Actually last night was the only night I was scared, bu Jonathan wasn´t a bit nervous, oh, and we joined a few teenagers watching the movie 13 Going on 30! That made me feel a little more comfortable.) We are having a blast, and miss our family and friends very much! Sorry still no pics, hopefully Nick and Autumn are home safe and will post some soon! Much love and thanks to God for leading us on! J&C

The Islands

Utila
"So when you say the ferry leaves at one pm and will take an hour to the islands, what you're saying is the ferry will leave around 3:30p and bob in the middle of the ocean for three hours before making port"...
Well Utila was nuts. It was so incredible and fun, but imagine a small Central American city pushed onto a rocky island and there is Utila! Definitley catering to the backpacker crowd at $7 for a private room and shared bathroom. It had a "pirate" feel, which is what we were looking for. We took Captain Morgan's jet boat out to the cays and then kayaked to Water Cay - famous for having no inhabitants and crystal clear waters. (Our digi cam also decided to kayak, and no longer works! DOH!) Watch out for the rays and the garbage, though! We also had a favorite breakfast place - Thompson's which was a green conrete building that served buscuits and never any cinnoman rolls until our last day! They were worth the wait. We also loved dinner at the Jade Seahorse. The lady from Priates with the carribean cool voice was basically the owner and we had fantastic fish dinners and tacos. We spent most of the time looking at all the eclectic things she's found in the sea and used as art. We did enjoy a long hike to Pumpkin Hill, saw rural farmers with machetes and saw a lot of Italian men with tatoos and speedos.
Roatan
"Shoo, I do it for $150 dollars at six in tha murnin', s'long as da East winds not a blowin'" ~Captain Austin
We busted out of Utila like bandits before sunrise. Enough of that place, we were ready for our real tropical island! We talked a local fisherman into heading to Rotan, and we left before 6am. We saw the sunrise on the Carribean, we saw the pink outline of the jagged mountains Pico Bonito and Nombre de Dios on the mainland, we saw dolphins and jumping tuna, but mainly we got tossed and slammed in a tiny fishing boat in the open seas! (Nothing floatable on the boat of course). Docking in Half Moon Bay an hour and a half later was like a dream. Turquoise waters, a bright yellow breakfast restaurant, palm trees, and the feeling like we finally made it! We are currently still here! We have an incredible jungle garden cabin all to ourselves. Nick & Autumn have a room, we have the other and have a kitchen and bathroom, as well as a parch with hammocks. There are ferns and flowers completely secluding our cabin and it's paradise! We spent the day at the beach of Half Moon Bay yesterday and then had incredible brick oven pizza last night! Today we hiked a few miles to West Bay where the tourists and cruise boats stop. We know why! Sting rays, coral reefs, lots of sun and snorkling! We loved that too, but got too hoity toity, so we headed back to our more humble town of West End.
Tio Cookie is back to being 100%, and we are going to stay a few more months....
Much Love, us

Let the fun begin!

Buenas Dias familia y amigos!

We are ready to share a little more of our adventures!
Rafting
We busted out of the orphanage and went with our cabby Mario up up up into the jungle of Pico Bonito National Park. We got to Omega Tours and instantly felt excitement, freedom, and the fantastic smell of spaghetti and pesto! We ate, geared up, and talked about how we weren't going to expect too much, since it was a tour comnpany that was geared towards all customers, not just experts. Boy were we wrong! Eight solid miles of class III and IV and I'm talking hair pin turns, tons of paddling, a small waterfall drop, and a few rodeos, surfs, and even a cliff jump! We all came out bruised, wet, and wanting more. That is until we swam the last rapid and Jonathan caught a wave that dumped him onto a large rock crunching his tailbone. We were so worried that we'd have to take him to the hospital, he could barely swim and had to have the raft come get him out of the water. He's doing better now, but still has a bruised tail bone. Keep him in prayer!
New Year's Eve
We had the best New Years of all time! Once we got back from rafting we cleaned up and went to the bar. Bob Marley was drifting through the tropical jungle paradise, and our San Fran friend Andrew was hooking us up with Cuba Libres the drink of the day! We laughed a lot, talked with the guides from Ireland and New Zealand and Australia, and had a delicious dinner! Feliz Ano Nuevo!
Pico Bonito
The next morning we finally had the thing I've been waiting for! Sweet fried plantains and delicious coffee. Beautiful tropical flowers, birds, and good friends all around. We started out hiking around Omega's property and then caught a ride to the park entrace. Luckily the guard wasn't around, so we hopped the bridge fence and crossed a huge suspension bridge that hangs high above Rio Cangrejal. The park was incredible with bugs, trees, vines, and plenty of hiking and small waterfalls. Exhausted we left the park happy to have stayed a few hours extra and strategically skirted the guard who wanted us to pay $28 for a park entrance fee.
Saying goodbye
We stayed one more night at the orphanage in order to say goodbye to all the kids. We will miss them, and funny enough, 3 of the 4 of us said we'd adopt the same boy and girl if we were going to adopt any! We plan to keep in touch, and maybe go back someday.
Quinta Real
Luxury! For the first time down here we slept on thick mattresses, layed out by the ocean, and were geared up to celebrate our anniversary dinner out on the town in la Ceiba. Unfortunatly, Jonathan started feeling queasy and quickly became violently sick. We spent the whole evening and all night long in the room with 7up and crackers, travelling to the bathroom about every 45 minutes. He's feeling much better this morning, but now he's had a little too much excitement in the health arena. Again, please pray for his health bumski and all.
Utilla
Our hope is to travel over to the docks and purchase a one way ticked to one of the islands, Utilla. There they have a brick oven pizza restaurant and plenty of snorkeling and beaches! We can't wait!

May the Lord bless you as He is continually blessing us with excitement and adventure!

J^C