Much of the family took the 3-4 hour trip to San Pedro Sula to see Guillermo and Jake off on the airplane. It's always hard to say goodbye.
Back in Comayagua the family visited the newly restored City Plaza. The Comayagua Cathedral boasts that its clock is the oldest in the Americas.
This fish pond is filled with water piped in from the nearby river and was recently restocked with 3000 Tilapia fish. The fish will provide a tasty and inexpensive source of protein for the family. The fish themselves eat algae grown from the waste of a few of hogs on the farm that is added regularly to the pond.
November and December is orange season on the farm. Jake and his cousins, Ulyses and Abilito, had fun climbing the orange trees to pick juicy treats. But you have to be careful, because orange trees have sharp thorns all over their branches.
Visiting the Rio Negro waterfall just down the road from the farm house is always fun. So is bathing in the cold water (yes really washing up with soap and shampoo). The bridge was built several years ago by a group of youth from Vermont.
This corral close to the house is for Maximo's 15 cows at night when they've been brought in from other more distant pastures. The blue building on the right is the community elementary school that serves about 70 children. The white building in the middle is the small community catholic church. The building on the left is an unfinished house
It was raining for 30 days before Guillermo got to Honduras, but while they were up on the farm, they only had clear sunny days.
Muddy roads, here on the way up to the Coffee Farm at Rio Negro, are a regular challenge of living up in the mountains. A four-wheel drive vehicle is a must during the rainy time of the year.
Up on Sabel's coffee farm, Guillermo checked out the upcoming coffee harvest with his brother. Red berries are picked 2-3 times as they ripen. In this region, the harvest is typically during February and March. In contrast, the area where Guillermo's parents have their farm, the coffee is usually ready in November through January. This difference in climate between the family farms provides some level of flexibility for the family and our coffee supply.