Dear Asher,

We woke up with a bit of blue sky so after our oatmeal, I washed up all of your diapers since you are down to only prefolds. With on and off rain and temperatures hovering around 18 degrees, it has been a challenge to keep you in a dry diaper. Since Esperanza means hope, we hung out all 15 inserts and 12 covers and crossed our fingers.

The twin towns of Intibuca and La Esperanza are actually indistinguishable but 150 years ago, Intibuca was home to the indigenous Lenca people and La Esperanza was home to Spanish settlers. The two towns have since merged but elements of the Lenca culture still thrive throughout. Lencas are similar to other indigenous people around the world in their dress, their nature centered spiritual beliefs, their agriculture practices and of course, their beautiful art and handicrafts. It was a very cool day and we saw many Lenca women wearing beautiful handmade scarves which brightened up the gray skies.

Whenever we get to a new town, we try to orient ourselves to the central park so we always have a sure route home. In La Esperanza, central park was not difficult to find as the large white Catholic Cathedral could be seen from a distance. We poked our heads inside and saw the familiar colors of purple and pink to mark the season of Advent. Plastered to the side of a mountain near central park is another Catholic chapel, called La Gruta, which was built around a cave. Many Lenca are now Catholic and we wondered how much of their nature-based traditions influenced the idea of building a church in a cave. Old worn staircases were carved out of the stone and we climbed around to the top of the chapel which afforded us a panoramic view of La Esperanza-Intibuca. Asher, the wind pierced through our thin layers but you enjoyed the fresh air and the birds eye view.

After popping into another market to replenish our strawberries and a cafe for some almond carrot cake, we strolled home to beat the incoming rain. Luckily a few diapers dried before the rain and as you inhaled a bowl of leftover soup, we made plans for our next destination on La Ruta Lenca.