My First Fútbol Game

Yesterday I went with Mario, Dan, Anne, and Carrie to the regional soccer game in San Francisco de la Paz (where Mario is from). Mario's younger brother Carlos was playing on one of the teams and he invited us to come along and root for their team. It was my first time going to San Francisco and it's a quant little town. I loved the vibe I got immediately!

Before heading to the stadium to watch the game we went to mass in this beautiful church...

There are a lot of cowboys in Olancho! Carrie, Anne, and I thought it was hysterical that the men put their hats on the side ledges in church before mass starts....

Then they just swing back by to pick them up on their way out.

After mass Mario introduced us to more of his family members and then we were on our way to the stadium. As soon as we got out of the truck I spotted these little beauties...

And this big ol' hog ::oink oink::...

I love the random animals cruising around Olancho. I never get sick of seeing cows, chickens, and pigs!

When they said we were going to a stadium I pictured seats circling an arena. But this is what we walked into..

So classic Honduras! I was cracking up!

Here's the crew for the day (minus me)...

Mario, Carrie, Dan, Mario's youngest brother, and Anne

It was a beautiful day but very hot, so I was really glad we got some seats in the bleachers and didn't have to stand out in the sun. My gringa skin wouldn't have been able to handle it for long.

Here's half of the field...

There was a large turnout to watch the game...

It got pretty intense and ended up going into overtime, and then finally to penalty kicks...

Some of the spectators...

Sadly Carlos's team lost, but there was a large group of crazy men cheering for the opposite team and whenever something good happened they would scream, bang the tin roof, and then dump water and soda all over everyone...

Who knew a Honduran soccer game could get so crazy!

Looking forward to the next one...

"What matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course"
 -Unknown