Going Underground

There were two occasions to celebrate this last week, (or maybe celebrate is not exactly the right word): Emilee’s departure and Allen’s birthday. Emilee is a volunteer who has been with NPH for 18 months (Current International Volunteers | Former Volunteers – NPH USA), the first 6 months in Bolivia and the last year in Honduras. She is a therapist working primarily with the handicapped children on the ranch. She is full of life and will be greatly missed so her despedida (farewell party) is somewhat bitter-sweet.

Allen with the Birthday Hat

 Emilee actually had two despedidas. The first one was on the ranch and very low-key with mostly the volunteers plus a few others with which she worked closely getting together at San Vicente after evening Hogar and sharing conversation and a few snacks. The second one was in Tegucigalpa at a night club called The Underground on Saturday evening. The second party was very lively with much music, dancing, and drinking and lasting until the wee hours of the morning.

Allen Heading Underground (Underground Train Night Club)

Allen & Marcel Underground

Allen’s birthday was the same day as Emilee’s second party so she included him as co-celebrant. Since it was our weekend off, Allen and I took the employee bus into town Friday evening and stayed at the Hotel Honduras Maya. This is our favorite place to stay in Tegucigalpa. Not only does it have a big swimming pool, hot tub, sauna, steam room, and massage (for an extra cost), but it also gives a significant discount for NPH staff and volunteers. In addition, the room includes a great breakfast buffet.  I won’t bother to give the number for Allen’s birthday as he says he doesn’t want to add any more years, but he looks and acts as young as ever with a ton of energy. Plus, his dancing improves with the years as he is now more likely to kick up his heels on the dance floor than in his younger days.

We spent most of Saturday enjoying the amenities at our hotel, relaxing and trying to recover from the latest cold going around the ranch. We went to mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe which is within walking distance of the hotel and afterwards took an Uber to the Four Seasons restaurant where we had dinner and while waiting for the party to start around 9 pm as the Clarion was also the site of the party which was held at the Underground Bar within the hotel.

Allen and I Chillin at the Pool

Although Allen does not frequently hit the bars as we are early risers and like to be in bed between 9 and 10PM normally, we had been to the Underground before with the other volunteers and were familiar with the location and layout. It had been recently renovated from the relatively small irregular room into a much larger space with designated areas for the DJ with associated equipment, a long bar, and sitting areas around a big dance area. Emilee had reserved a sitting area, but our group quickly got too large for it and we all ended up on the dance floor most of the night. It seems to be the culture in Honduras to get up and dance whether or not you have a dance partner. We embraced that culture and danced nonstop for hours. Allen and I were probably the first ones to leave at about 1AM, but I think the bars close at 2 so I don’t think we missed much!

Allen Dancing With the Girls