Wobbly wheels

I apologize for the lack of blog updates as of late...I've been basically without internet for the past few weeks....

In the mean time, life has not stopped in Honduras!

A few weeks ago Erin and I were riding the bus to Santa Lucia (the town where she works) and we stopped in another little town to go to the market.  When we got off the bus, we realized that the tire was falling off the wheel.  The Honduran bus driver quickly got under the bus to inspect the situation and make necessary repairs:

OSHA approved work procedure-under bus, engine running

 The tire must have been fixed properly, because a week or so later we took this same bus to and from Tegucigalpa. 

However, little did I know that this would be the first (and most minor) tire incident that I would experience in about 2 weeks time here. Last Thursday evening I met Erin and the University of Wyoming medical brigade at their site in Agua Salada.  The road to Agua Salada is by far the worst that I have been on so far in Honduras.  The road is probably only 4 miles longs, but took about 45 minutes to get there. It is a wonder that people even live out--it was more like a goat trail than a road.  On Friday afternoon it was time to pack up the brigade and head out.  Me and several other brigade members hopped in back of the first truck out--riding in back of trucks is completely normal in Honduras, and far more comfortable than riding inside of trucks given the heat and road conditions.  About a quarter way through the trip home we were on our way up a big rocky hill, and suddenly we were not going anymore...one of the girls from the brigade yells "oh my god, the wheel just feel off!" I thought she meant the tire, as I have heard of this happening in Honduras, and nearly experienced it myself only a week or so earlier.  After further exploration, I found that she was indeed correct....the wheel was COMPLETELY off the truck....all of the things were snapped off, and the truck was resting on three wheels.  One Honduran stuck a stick in a hole, hoping to remedy the situation (i'm not sure how), but it had no affect.  Needless to say, we had to walk the rest of the way to our destination in the hottest part of the day...About 3 or 4 hours later, while the gringos were playing the hondurans in a soccer match, we saw the truck pull into the tire repair shop...I think it has really been fixed!

 I will post a picture of this when I get one.