Hot Girl Summer + Allen in Tegucigalpa

 Our work schedule is Monday – Friday plus every other Saturday. I am not sure what the Saturday work entails, but I think it just means hanging out with the kids.  This weekend was our “salida” weekend which means that we had both Saturday and Sunday off. Our whole group of new volunteers chose to explore Tegucigalpa (aka Tegus) and stay at a recommended hostel there. Iris, one of the new volunteers, created a WhatsApp Group called “Hot Girl Summer + Allen”. The name requires a little explanation: of the eight people in our new volunteer group, Allen is the only male, and the girls other than me are young unmarried ladies. Most are fresh out of college in their early 20s and almost all are from the US. Hot could be referring to the weather, but the girls are also quite attractive and, as we found out this weekend, enjoy dressing up and going to clubs.

    New volunteers are the front 8; the 2 at the end are experienced volunteers showing us the ropes.

We went into Tegus Friday morning for a tour of an NPH outreach community service called Pasos Pequinitos (Tiny Steps) which is located in a facility next to a beautiful park on a hill overlooking the city. Tegus itself is very hilly as well as high in elevation. We were able to enjoy a walk in the park with scenic viewpoints for good photos before touring Pasos Pequinitos - a daycare/montesori school for kids of single working moms who otherwise would not be able to afford it. Afterwards, we went to a food truck court for lunch and then were free to explore the city. We all checked in at the Palmira Hostel before heading to a mall for shopping.

View of Tegus from the Park Overlook

At the top of Al’s shopping list was new showerheads. I guess he was tired of having the shower spray everywhere but downward 😊 There were quite a few other items on the list to make our room more comfortable including a large coffee pot for the kitchen – the current one is a 2-cupper. In addition to our group of 8, one of the seasoned volunteers (Emilie) joined us to show us the ropes and guide us in safety measures in the city. Tegus can be very dangerous, and we were warned not to take public transportation or even a taxi and not to walk alone or in the dark as there are many unsafe areas where obvious foreigners like us might be easy prey. Uber was the safe option and was very inexpensive, from $2 - $4 per ride. Malls are also a safe place to go and popular with our group on this trip. Al and I ended up going to 5 different malls over the course of the weekend and Al said that one of the malls reminded him of Bellevue Square!

It was Emilie’s birthday so we all helped her celebrate in the evening by going to clubs. Friday night we went to the “Underground” at the Clarion Hotel where there was music (bachata), dancing, and drinks including periodic shots of tequila or other liquor. Al and I lasted until almost midnight, then retired to the Clarion bar for a nightcap and dessert (lava cake and ice cream) before returning to the hostel. The “girls” stayed until the club closed at 2AM, then some went on to an after party and returned home even later. Needless to say, we were the first ones up on Saturday.

The Saturday schedule was similar with shopping and exploring the city during the day. Julie went with Al & I to mass on Saturday evening before the group went to II Padrino’s for “the best pizza” in the city. The restaurant is atop one of the many hills of Tegus and has a beautiful night view of glittering lights down below.  The pizza was also good and we were amazed that we could have such a wonderful meal for about $10 each!  Afterwards we went to another evening hot spot called “The Pub” for more music, dancing, and drinking.  This club was much more crowded than the Underground plus we were tired from the previous night so Al and I did not stay out as late. We were by far the most mature club-goers there!


View from II Padrinos

Sunday we did more shopping and then happily came back to the ranch which now seems wonderfully restful and quiet! Plus our room now has a new shower head, bed lamps, and floor mats; and a big coffee pot for the kitchen!

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