Franck 1

Table of Contents

Post-Departure.......................................................................................................................4

The Departure .......................................................................................................................5

The Surroundings...................................................................................................................5

The Storm...............................................................................................................................6

Waiting...................................................................................................................................6

The Real Reason....................................................................................................................6

The Big Day...........................................................................................................................7

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Enclosed
 Outline

I. Introduction

II. Leaving our House

A. Packing our things

B. Heading off

III. Going to Amapala

A. The conditions

IV. Waiting for the Other Car

A. Rain and Thunder

B. Supper

V. Devotions

VI. Getting Ready for Bed

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Kathryn Franck

Mrs.Panks

English

25 January 2011

Enclosed

Amapala is the rustic beach town that was once a bustling port and the only one to

connect Honduras to the remainder of the world. The smell of fish and salt water lingers

everywhere within miles of the coast. Amapala is now a dormant volcano and so is the town that

encircles its base. Chickens, mangy dogs, and half naked children run around in the streets.

Post-Departure

We were finally going. We had waited all month for this. The plan was that we would go

to our house right after school and then Mr. Paysen, our pastor and youth group leader would

pick us up and we would go to their his house. That was the plan, but it worked out more like

this. At three o’clock we got home and the Paysens were coming at three fifteen, by three ten my

brothers hadn’t even packed yet so they quickly put everything together (or so they thought). A

red Nissan truck pulled up at the gate at three twentyish. “They’re here!” I yelled up the stairs.

My sister came down and we started to go through the final checklist, “towel, check, bathing

suit, check, toothbrush, check…” We ran to the fridge to get the food. “Come on boys, they’re

waiting!” I hollered. My brothers, Jonathan and Jordan, galloped down the stairs, grabbed a pair

of keys, and darted out the front door. After we locked up the house we ran to the iron gate, that

protected us. That was part of living in Honduras. As we fumbled with the lock, the Paysens
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chauffer was patiently waiting. He calmly took our stuff, flung it in the back of the truck then

we all piled in. We were off to the Paysens house by three thirty.

The Departure

Everyone was a little bit behind schedule. Jennifer Paysen, my sister, Kaelynne’s, best

friend and Jonathan’s girlfriend, was still packing the last of her things. When the rest of the

youth from our church arrived we got into the three designated cars. It would definitely be a cozy

ride. We started the two-hour ride at about four o’clock. The lush green foliage along the side of

the road was breathtaking. The winding roads down the mountain thrust us around the car. The

tall trees were draped and intertwined with thick long vines and Spanish moss. The palm trees

varied in size and type. The farther from the city we drove the more the buildings looked like

shacks rather thenthan homes. The houses (if you can call them that) were just cement block

buildings, sometimes mud bricks or even sticks with stones gently laid between them and plastic

bags fashioned to look like a tent.

The Surroundings

Amapala is south of the capital where we lived and enclosed on three sides by three

countries. Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras all share the beautiful coastline. We were going

to hike Amapala, but we were staying in Coyolito where the Paysens have a beach house. The

beach house was a simple cement blockhouse with an open front. The bathrooms were in a

separate area, the toilets had bugs floating in them and earwigs squirmed on the floor. The

showers were in a cement block building with no shower curtains. Also there was also no

electricity in the house and even if there had been it wouldn’t have mattered, since the power was

out.

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The Storm

As we coasted to a stop down the driveway, it was about eight o’clock and it was pouring

outside. Thunder and lightning flashed very close to where we were staying. The rain pounded

on the tin roof making it very hard to hear everyone. As soon as we opened the car door a rush of

humid air hit us like bricks. That is the one thing I hate about Coyolito, the air attacks you as

soon as you set foot out of the air-conditioned vehicle. We piled out of the car, aching to stretch

our legs. The air made us all sticky and hot. “ Don’t“Don’t touch me it is too hot,” was said

many times over those two days. The other truck was already there so we started to pitch the

tents. The smell of the ocean became stronger as we got closer to the water. The beach looked so

serene with the waves gently lapping against the sand. The night sky was filled with stars all

twinkling like diamonds. The palm trees waved in the wind and you could still see the outline of

the volcano in the background. It was the perfect night.

Waiting

The other car didn’t arrive until much later, delaying our supper, but that gave the rest of

us time to explore. We played on the beach for a while. Everyone acted so natural like they were

completely comfortable being there. Many different activities were going on down at the beach.

Some of us were singing and dancing, others were chasing people down the beach, and still

others were spinning around until they dropped. After we all settled down we waded into the

warm pacific waters.

The Real Reason

We heard the other car backing down the driveway and ran up to meet the long awaited

passengers. We quickly un-packed the car and got the things for supper ready. Someone was

going to make fish for us, but having no power we had to make do. We had a delicious meal of
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sandwiches, apples, pastries and granola bars. I think I ate more granola bars in those two days

then I have in my whole life. That was practically everyone’s main staple over that trip. We

continued to explore, now more enthused because everyone was together. Later at 9:30 we had a

devotiondevotions, lead by Jonathan, about God’s majesty and how great He is. The mountains

and everything he has created portray His glory, which was very obvious to us. Jonathan had his

guitar so we sang a couple songs, one of them being “Indescribable”. The song went perfect with

all our surroundings.

The Big Day

For the last couple hours of the night we just did what everwhatever we felt like. The rain

had stopped, but the ground was still quite wet. We all began to wind down around eleven

o’clock. We needed our sleep so the girls and guys split up and we went to our tents. Amidst all

the talking and laughing from both tents we could hear Jonathan and Jordan complaining that

they had left their toothbrushes at home which was not surprising since that happens pretty much

every trip we ever take. Finally, everyone eventually dozed off knowing we had a huge day

ahead of us.

References

Allen, Thomas B. Vanishing Wildlife of North America. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic

Society, 1974.