In August of 2010 I decided to leave Copán. Now three years have passed and I’m still here. To stay. Well, maybe…
When I arrived in
Honduras
in March of 1997, I had no intention to stay very long. But a two month visit turned
in to six months, then a year and before I knew it, Copán had become my home
and I no longer had a return ticket. Copán is a fun place to live and I loved
my work as director of the cultural NGO I had founded. But whether it was a
midlife crisis, frustration with the downfall of the country or just being
burned out, halfway through the year 2010, I’d had it.
So bottom-line, I
wrapped up my organization, got rid of a bunch of stuff, gave up my house and
moved –temporarily- into my previous office for the few months I planned to
hang around in Copán. I started working independently and fulltime as an artist
and designer and I must say it was a delight not to have a whole organization
and number of employees to worry about, but instead doing what I like most:
painting, writing, hiking and lots of yoga… I had no specific plan of what I
wanted to do, but was thinking of going to Spain. It seemed a good place to
go: not as Wild West as Honduras
but not as over organized and chilly as my home country Holland. But then Spain’s economy went patas arriba and it didn’t look like
such a good idea anymore… Not that Honduras is doing that great, or my
own economic situation for that matter, but at least I have a reasonably comfortable
and enjoyable life here. To give that up to go elsewhere without the back-up of
a savings account??? Nah…
But… Tourism is
at an all-time low, Honduras
is far from being the favourite destination at the moment and the economic
crisis affects everyone. And since art is not considered a primary necessity
(although I don’t know why, for me it is!), it hurts my purse deeply. But worse
than that, in the last few months there were moments I hadn’t much to do. Me
and not having anything to do is a lethal combination, so there were only two
options and one of them is not an option, so I picked the other one: keeping
myself busy! So that’s why I decided to open, against all odds, a business. I
didn’t have any money to invest, but I figured that with just my time and a
bunch of left over paint I’d come a long way. After all, the good thing of
having nothing is that there’s nothing to lose…. That was about a month ago,
and I did it: Luminosa Café Gallery is now open for business!!!
This last month I
had great fun turning the ugly patio and run-down living room into a colourful
place where I exhibit my art and products. The courtyard is open as a small
café where I sell my own favourite tapas and mixes of herbal tea. And coffee,
wine and beer, of course. At night I can transform the place into a yoga studio
and I even decided to take people along on my daily hikes. Not that I’m that
fond of chattering my way through the mountains at dawn, but I found a perfect
solution: I’m selling “silent yoga hikes”. For a fee I’m happy to take you
along, but sssshhhhhh……. J
So, here I am,
still in Copán! There’s still a lot to do, which only makes me very happy. I
don’t see myself leave anytime soon.
And who knows, I
even might make a bit of money…
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| Before... |
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| ....And after....(Although not yet finished) |
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