My Boy Scout adventures

The Boy Scout movement in Honduras during the 80’s was a good experience for me. The moral values combined with the hands-on learning activities were a milestone in my education.

The motto of “be prepared” is ingrained so much that to this day I still carry a pocket knife, a pen, a lighter (ok, used to be matches). I dispensed the comb because, well, a comb won’t do anything to my hair; it was a waste of space.

Nowadays, I must leave my trusted Victorinox at home when I travel. But I take comfort thinking that I do it to “be prepared” for easy pass-through airport security. J

My first camping experience was in the mountains near Siguatepeque (central area of

Honduras). We arrived mid-morning, set camp within an hour and enjoyed the afternoon with horse-playing typical of an alfa-male group.

Along with the sunset, came the first rain drops. An hour later, the hard rain flooded the camp and we had to flee to higher ground while the noisy thunders scared a few of the younger members. We found an abandoned shed, apparently it had belonged to a saw mill, but the shed had no roof.

We spent the night sitting with our backs against a fallen tree trunk and covered our heads with the tent’s nylon.

It was an adventure.

It was the only time we had to set up camp twice during the same trip.

Honestly, I can’t remember another time when I had so much fun!

So here’s to the Boy Scout movement!

Trivia: I took the following text from the fact page of Boy Scouts of America. I read the story in the official manual years ago. The story is a fascinating example of faith, or destiny or whatever you want to call life-changing events. The link is here:

In 1909, Chicago publisher William D. Boyce lost his way in a dense London fog. A boy came to his aid and, after guiding the man, refused a tip, explaining that as a Scout he would not take a tip for doing a Good Turn. This gesture by an unknown Scout inspired a meeting with Robert Baden-Powell, the British founder of the Boy Scouts. As a result, William Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America on February 8, 1910.

Here is the link to the Scouts in Honduras.