A little taste of Europe in the middle of the Rainforest

This weekend I had the chance to go up into the mountains with a few friends to a lovely bed and breakfast. It was in la Tigra rainforest and on a mountain. We stayed in a cute little cabin looking over the mountains. We could hardly see the mountains though because the clouds were all over the place yesterday. It was pretty rainy and I was cold (actually really cold) for the first time since being in Honduras. I was huddled up in sweatpants and a blanket.
We took the bus to the city of San Juancito. I decided the bus is such a good deal. 21 lemps, a little over a dollar to travel about an hour away. Anyways, after some coffee and a nice little bus ride, we got to San Juancito. There we were met by Jorge (who's name is probably actually George, because he is a a blond man who moved here from Germany). We piled into Jorge's truck and he took us up the mountain. It was probably the bumpiest truck ride I have ever been on, and I've been on some pretty bumpy rides before. But it was wonderful. =)
He took us to his house/garden/cabin where we would be staying and opened a lovely little gate right into what looks like the middle of a little tropical rainforest paradise. He had cobblestone steps all the way through the little area and beautiful flowers of different types. He and his wife moved here 13 years ago from Germany (he speaks great English). He took us on a little guided tour of his gardens etc. We saw raspberries, Ciruelas (a sort of cherry like fruit, it's Japanese and they were delicious)pinapples, and various other plants. I had never seen a pineapple actually growing in the ground so it was really cool! He studied Horticulture in Germany, so he does a lot of awesome stuff with plants. He makes delicious jams and jellies which he sells there and his wife does veterinary work.
We "hiked" on some strange little roads, steps, and trails all around the little "town" which used to be a mining town. There were some interesting old buildings and lots of cool plants and flowers. We got pretty wet and cold, but it was a lot of fun. We ate lunch at a little cafeteria where they served us rice, chicken, tortillas, salad, and platanos. Surprisingly, I did not fall at all on our muddy little hike.
He made us a delicious dinner of pasta with a vegetable sauce (it had eggplant, zucchini, onions, peppers, and tomatoes), this awesome homemade bread that was super thick and grainy. I think it may have had nuts and carrots in it. mmm. We had some lemongrass tea and cookies for dessert. He also taught us a new game that he owned called "Dobble" it was a super fun card game from France.
After dinner we stayed up for a while just chatting and finally drifted off to sleep. In the morning, we were served a breakfast of more delicious homemade bread, cheese, jam and coffee. It felt very European. And I will say, honestly, I just felt relieved not to be served a meal that was made of beans, tortillas, and eggs. =)
It was also awesome because they had pure water there, you could drink from the tap! Also, we were supposed to flush toilet paper! Awesome!
This morning after getting a few plants and some jams to take home with us, we hopped back into Jorge's truck. Jorge dropped us off at the bus stop and kissed us goodbye. I've added him to the list of all of about 3 people who are allowed to call me Jenny. I corrected him once and then gave up. The bus was a bit more crowded on the way home and I got to hold a 3 year old.

Ok now I'm just being random, so I think this post is officially over. Until next time!