I love it when a plan comes together – even if I’m on plan “D” when it happens. Plan “A” was to go to La Ceiba on Monday morning and go straight to the medical center downtown for an ultrasound to try to discover the source of my mystery pains. Then I would proceed on over to Utila to install a timer to make sure the transmitter shuts off after broadcast hours end. When I got to the the medical center, I found out that I was not supposed to have eaten breakfast. Gee! That would have been nice to know beforehand and it didn’t matter that breakfast was a light one and that it was five hours in the past and my belly felt like an empty sack.
On to plan “B.” Since I needed to run some errands in La Ceiba, and it was too late to catch the morning ferry to Utila, I took care of the errands while I was there. After lunch I was just tired of that stuff, so I went on out to the docks and just hung out until the Utila Princess was ready to go. I figured that I could go to Utila, get my simple little task accomplished, and then return in the morning to La Ceiba for the ultrasound.
While I was waiting I observed what looked like an interesting example of Latin American foresight – or lack thereof. Notice the pictures below. This flatbed truck had about 150 bags of cement. Rather than pull up alongside the ship, they backed up to it. No problem for the first few rows of bags. But,with every row, these poor muchachos had to carry the bags farther and farther. At one point, they were bent over, gasping and spitting while their boss yelled at them to get a move on.
Eventually it was time to go to Utila and, thankfully, we had unusually smooth seas. I didn’t know that it was going to be such a short-lived condition. We were a little late getting to Utila, and by the time I got to the transmitter site, it was nearly dark and the sand flies and mosquitoes were in a feeding frenzy. Deep Woods Off was not a problem for them at all. I could barely see what I was doing and they were driving me insane. (Or should that be more insane?) Anyway, I had to give up for the night. That meant that I could not take the morning ferry back to La Ceiba. So much for plan “B.”
Plan “C” was to get this timer installed in the morning and then do a few other chores. Then take the afternoon ferry to the coast, spend the night at a hotel in La Ceiba, and get my lab work done in the morning, maybe even in time to get the morning ferry back to Roatan. But, the simple little timer installation had some surprises for me, and it took most of the day to get it all sorted out. It works great but it made me too late for the afternoon ferry.
I found out, when I got back into town, that it didn’t matter anyway because the ferry could not run that afternoon. A norther came in with high winds and forced the harbor in La Ceiba to close.
So I went to plan “D.” I went to supper and met a nice couple from San Pedro Sula there on a short vacation. He is originally from Oregon, but has lived in Honduras for several years now. Then I set my alarm for 5:30 so I could catch the morning ferry, if it was running. When I got to the ferry ticket office Wednesday morning, they were still waiting on word from the harbor captain in La Ceiba. We soon got the all clear, though, and boarded the ferry. This time it was the bigger of the two Utila ferries. During the voyage, I learned from the mate that the small one had actually broken a beam on a wave the day before and would be under repair for a few days. Wow! I’m glad I wasn’t on board for that!!
The seas were rather gentle (but still pretty high) and we made good time getting to La Ceiba. I got right in to the medical center and did not have to wait long for my ultrasound. The results were the best I could have hoped for. The liver, gall bladder, spleen, and pancreas were all fine. The tests confirmed what I’d already known; I am still the proud owner of a hiatal hernia. I guess it’s just getting worse.
Coming back on the Galaxy was a fairly nice trip. I shot a few pictures in the La Ceiba harbor, which was looking kind of somber in the drizzle and fog.
When we got back to Roatan, there were two cruise ships docked right across from our dock, so I took the best pictures I could in the fading light. I had to boost the camera’s iso all the way to 1600, so the pictures are pretty grainy, but I’m just glad I had the Nikon with me so I could get them.
This morning I went to see the doctor and he made some changes to my medication. We’ll see how that goes and take it from there. God is always good, even when He makes us be flexible. 
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