Things I truly love in Honduras

For some reason it is easier to write about things that bother or annoy me, than things I love. I wonder if it’s just me, or a general thing. And if it works this way with writing, wouldn’t it be the same in relationships, just to name something? I mean, after a while you don’t see that that cute hunk anymore, but a bulk in bed who doesn’t throw his dirty socks in the hamper, right? I feel my relationship with Honduras has sunk to that level and I need to remind me every once in a while why I fell in love with Honduras in the first place.

So here’s to things I absolutely love, adore and worship in Honduras.

Avocados. Oooohhh, do I love avocados!!!! I think it’s the most perfect fruit (or vegetable, or whatever you want to call it) that nature has to offer. And especially the avocados in Honduras! Nothing to do with the rock-hard and very expensive spray-painted crap you buy back home in the supermarket and that take days in ripening. No, the best are the avocados that fall out of the tree in your back yard and that are so tasty and creamy… Guacamole is terrific, avocado in soup is also great, but I think the very best is just to cut one in half, sprinkle some salt and lime juice on both halves and spoon it out. Also great for facemask or hair packs! Can’t wait till avocado season in this part of the country (July) when they’re so nice and ripe and cheap, you can eat yourself sick of them.

In April, just when you think the weather can’t get any hotter, dryer and more oppressing, it’s watermelon season. Yeah! There’re pick-up trucks on each street corner loaded with watermelons for as cheap as 1 Euro. Keep it in the fridge for a few hours and then just cut off a big chunk when you’re all sweaty and thirsty…It never ceases to amaze me how all that water actually got into the melon… For those who are interested in watermelon with piquete; make a hole in your watermelon, pour vodka in it (or tequila or rum or whatever liquor in whatever quantity), put it in the fridge for a few hours, and there you go. Not very suitable for young children.

Number three on my list: Baleadas!!!! Those who live(d) in Honduras know what I’m talking about and probably wholeheartedly agree. For those who have never had the pleasure of eating one, you don’t know what you’re missing… A baleada (“shot one”) is a folded flour tortilla filled with refried beans, cheese and cream. Very typical Honduran food in the sense that it’s mostly starch and fat, but oh, how delicious! There’re many variations (baleadas with scrambles eggs, chicken, chilli etc.), but the plain old baleada sencilla is for me the best of the best. You can even find baleada on Wikipedia! (Where you can learn that the name “baleada” either comes from a  woman who used to sell baleadas who was shot in her leg, or from the fact that the beans (if not refried) tend to “shoot” out of the tortilla on one end while talking a bite out of the other end. Whatever the case, the baleada is one of Honduras’ greatest inventions.)

Gotta go, it’s baleada-time.

To be continued.