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| The twin engine plane at the Puerto Lempira Airport. |
I sat inside the twin engine air-plane with not more than 15 people in it. The size of the air-plane itself had spooked me and I immediately reached for the seat belt although no one demonstrated its use or asked me to buckle up. It was a struggle since the seatbelt was worn down with marks of scratches from the panic and joy that many might have experienced before me sitting in that very seat. Within the few minutes we were in the air; strangely though as I wonder how those small fan engines will ever get such a plane in air. With air pockets and turbulence, the air was bouncing the plane around and my heart along with it, coming to my mouth often. Luckily we had a clear sky at take-off but not for long; as tropical countries go, the clouds seemed to stretch to eternity and the plane dived and rise to avoid them, further adding to the already shaking experience. But as all things that end, this rolling around in high air finally culminated as the air-plane literally grinded to halt on a sand and mud airstrip. If I called my journey to Puerto Lempira eventful, I had spoken too soon.
There were no plans for travel to work but a meeting in the week brought out some startling questions which could only be answered by going to the La Mosquitia, a rain-forest area in the east of a country called Honduras in Central America. Within a couple of days the arrangements were made and on Monday morning the following week I was standing at the airport ready to take my flight to Puerto Lempira, the capital city of the state called 'Gracias a Dios'. Seeing the small twin engine air-plane with fragile looking wings I immediately wanted to take the road, no matter how many hours it might take to reach the place. Unluckily, air was the only way to reach this remote place on earth besides the sea, which seemed more unappetizing than air thanks to my experience just a couple of weeks back. I had then gone on a small boat to an isolated beach in Punta Sal despite rains and winds marring the whole trip. The return journey was on the same small boat along with rains and wind too but this time the sea was not in a giving mood. My friends and I, all were holding on to whatever little we could get but still knew it was futile as the waves picked us up and threw us around. Even the ardent atheist would be made to believe; I had a new found respect for the sea and could agree with people who worshipped it!
Back at Puerto Lempira, as the plane landed and I got out, and witnessed what I had only seen in movies till then. Although there were no air towers, no check in bags, no immigration, no airport security but all of this was made up for by the few army men standing to do this all. The sand and mud airstrip was actually the most advanced part of the airstrip. Within moments I was in the back of a pick-up truck hopping along towards the hotel as I had a full air view of the city, just as everyone else had of mine! All during my stay here I have been a head-turner, literally! If I accidentally did look into someone's eyes I would see him/her staring at me blankly. To some I would be the first and the only person they would ever see wearing a turban in real life.
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| The unpaved roads in Puerto Lempira town. |
The roads were all unpaved, but I can only wonder how they could every get tar to such a place to make a road in the first place, forget the gigantic road-roller. The town however had a laid back slow life so characteristic of such an inaccessible place and I liked it immediately. Work too happened at the same pace; I finished lunch within 15 minutes and was forced to sit and wait for others to arrive after an hour. As I sat along the street I watched people moving around at their slow leisurely pace and ogling at me blankly as I caught their eyes once in a while. Meanwhile, at work it was all Spanish and my little over 2 months of training was helpful in using the same verb 'make' for everything from deciding, talking, exploring, and studying to listening, thinking and other –ings. How people could understand and relate with me is a puzzle I am still trying to solve. The safety net of a fellow English speaker, at least beyond hours if not at work, was also not there and so I was immersed completely in the cosmos of listening-translating-understanding-thinking of a reply-translating-talking exercise for every single word I spoke or heard. It was no surprise that people thought I was a shy character as I totally shut off going through this intensive exercise once work was over.
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| The single engine plane at Wampusirpi Airstrip. |
In two days I was again at the airstrip to take a flight to Wampusirpi, another municipality town in the state. If the air-plane to Puerto Lempira defied logic, this one was a gem: run-down, ram-shackled with strings and ropes being used to keep things in place. The five of us sat down and I my hand reached for the elusive seat-belt which was never to be found. I guess people must have panicked a little too much in this plane and someone must have taken it as a souvenir for the adventurous trip that he/she must have had. But then why do you need security as caution was needed more on the outside; the air-plane started rolling out from the hanger to the airstrip and the traffic stopped while a man riding a cycle made a desperate sprint to the other side in front of the plane. As the plane started running on the airstrip, the air blowing in from the open windows conditioned the air within and prevented people from sweating out of fear.
Prabhjot
