Showing posts with label Tela. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tela. Show all posts

Fancy Pants

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The time between Christmas Break and Spring Break is always a long stretch for teachers.  At this point you feel like you've been working with your students for such a long time, but yet, you still have so far to go until Summer Vacation.  You've been with them long enough that you feel like WHY AREN'T THEY BEHAVING??!?  but in their little minds they've been with you long enough that they feel like WHY IS THIS LADY STILL MAKING ME BEHAVE!?!?!?!?  And part of you feels like you really can't blame 'em...I'm a little sick of the sound of my own voice echoing off the walls of the classroom.  Bueller... Bueller?

So, in an effort to get that echo out of our heads and regain our sanity, we took off to Tela, a nearby beach town (yes, we've already been there). 

 We were joined on our travels by another couple, Sarah and Sava.  Sava is Dan's teaching partner in 7th grade and Sarah is the Middle School Guidance Counselor.  They are actually both from Madison, so many of our favorite places are places they also know well.  Originally we were going to stay in a budget hotel, as we normally do.  The budget hotels we tend to frequent are clean and have beds, but that's about it.  However, when we went to check-in we were surprised to find out that they were all booked up, as was their neighboring hotel.  Not knowing of many other options we did a team huddle, and came to an agreement- we were going to go fancy.  

Walking down the beach in search of paradise

Down the beach is a giant resort called TelaMar that looks like it was airlifted out of DisneyWorld or some such idyllic place, and plopped into the 2nd rate beach town of Tela.  We were a little wary of the cost, but decided if we shared a room with Sarah and Sava, it would be about the same price as if we had chosen the budget option and stayed in our own room.  As we paid for the room in the Main Building we were still a little nervous that the room may not live up to our ever-growing expectations. 


A little different than our normal "Habitaciones"

But, in a few moments we had our key and as we opened the door to our 3rd level paradise our expectations were surpassed.  The room was spacious, replete with two giant beds with firm mattresses (not the saggy, worn ones to which we've grown accustom) and covered by fluffy, clean, white comforters.  The wall was adorned with actual artwork, as well as a gigantic flatscreen TV.  Best of all, was the balcony; a large ceramic space which overlooked the 3 giant pools of the resort, bringing to our attention that one of the pools featured a "Swim-up" bar.  We had indeed gone fancy, and were happy that we would not have to go back for another day and a half.


Our travel partners in front of the luxurious pools

Swim on up...

In a typical blog post at this point I would fill you in on some adventure we had the next day.  But, there were no adventures to be had on Saturday nor Sunday- just pool time, drink time, card playing time and humongous flatscreen TV time.  And it was spectacular, every last fancy minute.  It was just what we needed, and today as we headed back to work we felt a little more tolerant and ready to face our days.  We'd gained back that last drop of patience that we just might need to get us through until we get recharged in full during our Spring Break.   

Okay, so living here is pretty great...

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Non-frozen body of water.

Not to rub it in to those of you literally freezing in Wisco, but the weather has been gorgeous lately. Last weekend my darling sister came to town, and after one night in SPS we whisked her away to nearby Tela. Tela is only about an hour or so away from SPS, but for whatever reason we hadn't yet visited this tropical paradise. To be sure, it's not quite as lovely as Roatan but it does have a decent beach as well as cheap and comfortable hotels and most importantly, it is considerably more lovely than SPS.


Hotel view.

On the recommendation of friends, we stayed at the "MayaVista" which was a strange treehouse-like hotel that had a great view of the ocean and town below. The first day we spent at the beach where Dan was able to join a pick-up soccer game and Erin and I soaked up some sun.

The next day we woke early to venture out to "Punta Sal", a point of land just past Tela that is home to a large national park and several Garifunian (Indigenous Honduran) communities. We took a choppy boat ride out to the point, accompanied by some fishermen and our "guide", Juan Carlos. They dropped us off at the entrance to the national park (and to be clear, by "entrance" I mean medium-sized wooden sign stuck in the sand) and we followed JuanCa into the jungle. The tour literature promised monkey-spotting, so we were on the lookout for furry creatures but alas, saw none. We did however see lots of evidence of them as well as lots of funky insects and plants. Also, the hike led to a lovely lagoon where we found many crabs of different persuasions on a glittering beach.

You are here.

Juan Carlos (or as he like to say, "JuanCa... like the in the choclate factory") shows more lifesaving plants with his trusty stick.

We hiked back to meet the boat, where they then took us to a snorkeling area. Jumping out of the boat into the ocean was a little scary, but it was well worth it. The water was teeming with life and we were able to see lots of different coral, sea fans and plenty of colorful fish. We snorkeled up to another beach, which was home to a Garifuna family who for a small price made us a delicious lunch of fresh fried fish, red beans and rice and tajadas (fried banana chips). There were a few other folks on the beach, including a family who's kids attend our school, and they were playing some nice island tunes from their boat which made it all the more easy to relax on the pristine beach.

Beach.

Beach Babes.

The boat took us back into town in the afternoon and we found our way to the bus station. The "Tela Express" served as our chariot back to SPS and we were back with plenty of time to prepare for the school week ahead. It was a lovely weekend and a great chance to enjoy time with Erin. On Monday she was able to visit our school and meet the fabulous first graders (although I think their intensity scared her a little) and then on Tuesday she headed off to Roatan for the remainder of the week.

We're looking forward to our next trip to Tela- next weekend, maybe?

Click here to see all of our Tela photos!