"Where's Shelly?"

Up about 6:30, breakfast was at 8:00 (amazing!). Carlos had two other people doing a day trip today as well, so he was in Copan picking them up this morning, then will stop by guest house and pick us up on the way. The guest house is about a 15-20 minute drive from the ranch (and his mothers place).

He arrived shortly after 9:00 with a couple from California.

We got a lesson on chocolate (which they also grow here) at the guest house, then up to the ranch for about 3 hours of riding. Dad and I got the same horses as yesterday. Princessa (my horse) was quite a bit more relaxed than yesterday. Once again, over streams, forests, through fields, to the cow milking area, where they milk their own cows, by hand, for milk and cream. No machines used for milking here. We were then heading up to a spot where they plant seedling coffee plants before they get replanted on the estate. We get up to this area, along a dusty road, Carlos turns around and blurts out, quite startled, "Where's Shelly???" Shelly's horse is with us, but Shelly is not on it! Carlos bolts back down the road, and her boyfriend is quite perturbed as well and follow him, leaving dad and me sitting on our horses, holding onto the reins of Shelly's horse. They're gone quite a while, so dad and I started making our way back along the road, me towing Shelly's horse behind me. We round a bend and there they are, with Shelly. She looks a bit shaken, but she says she's alright. She had lost her balance while going over a small ravine and fell off her horse. She says she's ok, but hurt her finger a bit, but she says she's good to go. She was alsy very dirty. It's very odd that she didn't yell or scream when she fell or cry out to get our attention. She did indicated that she did try and whistle to get her horse's attention, but to no avail, and we didn't hear the whistling. When we turned around and didn't see Shelly, I thought someone really bad had happened, like she fell off her horse and broke her neck or had a smashed head or something.

So, we continued on with the horse tour and then back to his mother's house for lunch around 1:00pm. Carlos also told us that the sick horse from yesterday did die overnight.

After lunch (which was amazing!) and a rest, he took us through their small production facility. Unfortunately it wasn't running at the moment. Carlos is preparing coffee the same way his grandfather did, using much of the same equipment that his grandfather used back in the day. Quite interesting. All the coffee they produce is shade grown as well.

We headed to the hot springs around 3:30. Lots and lots of tourists there today, including a GAP tour with a guy from Lethbridge (works at the U. of L.) that does a lot of work with Dialog achitecture company in Calgary, where Darren works. At the hot springs we found out that Shelly had a big gash in her head from her fall from the horse as well. She says it was from her plastic hair clip, but a plastic hair clip would have broken and wouldn't have been able to dig into her skull like that. I believe she actually hit a rock and maybe even passed out for a very short period of time.

After the hot springs, Carlos took us to the guest house and took Joe and Shelly back to Copan.

Since we arrived in Copan, we've been hearing distant thunder and seeing sheet lightning in the later afternoons and evenings, and cloud buildup. Every day it's been getting more and more, slowly building up. Rainy season is coming!! Carlos says the rainy season has probably already hit the Pacific coast.

Tonight as we were waiting for supper (served at 7:00), the thunder is constant in the distance and lots and lots of lightning lighting up the sky and very windy. Then the power went out.

Adelia (the lady who cooks at the guest house) cooked supper by candlelight and I asked her, "Lluvia?" (Rain?) and she replid "Si!". She thinks it'll rain tonight.

After supper, lots of lightning, very dark without power, and dad and me are the only ones at the guest house. As the evening goes on, the wind starts to die, the thunder slowly dissappates and the lightning becomes less and less. After a few hours of no power, the electricity did come back on. No storms or rain tonight.