Puerto Lempira (PLP)
Puerto Lempira (PLP) is the capital of the Gracias Adios department (state). It may not look like it but it has nearly 8000 people. Nearly all the locals live in small wooden houses with thatch or tin roofs. PLP has commercial electricity so it is somewhat reliable by Honduran standards.
Most of what you can buy, especially produce, is in small indoor or outside shops on a few of the main streets. There are a couple of larger stores that mostly have hardware or groceries. How much they have to sell mostly depends on what “the boat” has recently brought in. There are a few places to stay but nothing in the 5 star category.
Here we are, arriving at the PLP airport. The military guys in the center of the picture do customs work and they also check the passports of all passengers getting on and off flights
Our PLP teams sleep and eat at the Catholic church’s dormitory and dining hall. There are also a few places to eat if you choose to “dine out”. Nothing too fancy but a couple good ones are along the water’s edge of the Carataska Lagoon.
The PLP Admin sets up their small work area in the men’s side of the dormitory. Mostly it is the ham radio station setup used to stay in communications with the other village IHS clinic teams. Most of the other PLP teams (surgery, eye clinic, etc) that may be there usually go to the PLP hospital to work, which is nearly a mile away near the far end of the local runway. They often use a pickup for transportation to and from the hospital or other places where they need to go.
The airport consists of a dirt runway and a few buildings to handle passengers. Because it has a dirt runway it limits the types of planes that can land there so it mostly has just a few flights that go to other Honduras airports.
Unpacking supplies is the next big task, and once the team is settled it’s time for a good meal in the dining room.
The PLP Teams
In addition to admin support, there is usually a Surgery Team and an Eye Team supporting the PLP mission. The hospital for the surgery team is more than a mile away over rough village roads, so any transportation is much appreciated.
At the end of the day, the smiles and personal connections make it all worth while.
