Man, Mari and I have been outta internet reach for quite a while and I dont quite know how to fill in all the details between then and now.
Mari and I are now in Esteli - Nicaragua. We crossed the border today from Honduras. We spent the night in Danli last night, a little town just near the southern border at a place called La Esperanza. We awoke, had breakfast and left Danli around ten am on a local bus headed to El Paraiso (15 Lemipira each), in El Paraiso we caught another local bus to Los Manos (13 Lempiras) where we crossed the border on foot, walking between a backup up of buses and trucks a half mile long. We had been told the border crossing would cost $7 USD, but actually turned out to be $12 USD each, plus another guy walked up and sold us a local $1 USD local fee ticket as well. A little more costly than we had anticipated, but still quite do-able.
At the border we cashed in our Lempiras for Cordobas (which I believe exchange at 22 for $1 USD)and hopped on the third local bus of the day headed to Ocotal (11 Cordoba each), where we finally hopped on our fourth and final bus of the day headed to Esteli for 25 Cordoba each. Arriving here in Esteli at around 2 pm, we looked at places to stay and chose a place called Hospedaje Sacuanjoche for 100 C each ($4.5 USD). Although not as nice as Hotel Nicarao, which was double the price, it is still quite clean and nice and a good place to hang out for the night before moving on.
Because we have been moving quite fast for the last couple weeks, we had planned on staying here in Esteli a couple nights, but now that we are here and realize that the cinema is no longer woking, and the local Italian restaurant doesnt exist anymore, the dazzle of the city faded a bit. We were looking forward to some good times of relaxation after several days of butt numbing bus rides, chilling out eating good food and watching some Hollywood hits at the cinema, but with our dreams crushed we have decided to leave first thing in the morning. At 6:45 am there is an express shuttle to Leon we are planning to take. Leon is right off the coast, and I am sure we are headed to better, brigher, warmer weather.
The beer here is called Toña. Another C grade. I cant say that any beer along my travels in both South and Central America has blown my mind, all I can say is that they are all light, easy to drink Lagers that are delicious in the right time and place. Dont get me wrong, I have a personal heirarchy of beers, and given an unlimited number of choices I may never drink this beer. But, I will never talk bad about beer. I do wish I could have a Mannys though. A little travel keg would really do the trick. I wish Mannys made a water purifier that output Mannys beer. That would be amazing, anyway, I digress.
Right off the bat I can tell Nicaragua is a bit different than Honduras. Honduras was mountainous, with mountains in the foreground, the center, and the distance. Mountain upon mountain, and clouds, and green forests and beautiful landscapes. Already, the mountains have disappeared and we are surrounded by little hills. And, in Honduras, there are armored guards with shotguns, military police with machine guns, and local cops with machine guns patrolling everywhere. Here, so far, I have only seen armed guards at the banks. I dont know if the lack of machine guns should make me feel safer or more in danger? Guess we will see.
Working backwards:
Before leaving Honduras, Mari and I spent two nights at Lake Yojoa, at a place called D and D Brewery. Check this out from the book: ¨Oregonian brewmaster Robert Dale set up this highly original and attractive place to stay with lush gardens and an on site brewery that produces some of Honduras best beers. The good outdoor restaurant has homemade coffee and sodas. Oh, and you dont have to close your mouth when you shower - the running water is purified here, a legacy of the brewing process.¨ Sounds pretty cool right? Well, all in all it was not so cool. It proceeded to rain like crazy at the lake the entire time we were there. Not just Seattle drizzle, but like an all out war - sky versus ground. That wouldnt have been so bad if we could have just stayed indoors and drank beer and relaxed a bit, but unfortunately Mari and I both had food poisoning from the town before. So we laid there for two days, eating soup and smoothies, unable to partake in the quality ale. Fortunately the weather was horrible so we didnt miss out on a spectacular time, but it would have been nice to rejoice in some hometown revelry of brewpub ales.
I personally laid half comatose, nodding in and out to the thunderous sound of rain striking against the tin roof above my head, echoing through the room. If you didnt get the point, it was a white noise of sound above all else, loud. Normally, I am a light sleeper and noise like this would have left me wanting of sleep. But due to my sickness, the ceaseless rhythem helped lure me away from the reality of my feverish body. The sound left nothing to the imagination of how wet we would have been without a roof over our heads, and makes me ponder back to the 1500´s when the spanish crown was conquering this jungle land. Spanish soldiers in full military regalia marching through these lands, enduring storm after storm in this mountainous terrain. Unbearable! After two days in that spot, and learning that the rain - although unusually heavy - was quite normal, we decided to hightail it out of the mountains and back to a more temperate climate. Having seen nothing more than Lake Yojoa along the side of the road, we left.
Before the lake we stayed in Gracias for two nights. Gracias is a small, quiet, hot mountain town. I like these little places out of the way, but Mari got bored quickly. We only stayed there the second night because that was the day her food poisoning hit. We stayed there at a place called Finca Bavaria, a coffee plantation run by an exceptionally honest and friendly old Hondureño named Hernandez. He was a very pleasant and understanding and easy going man.
Its interesting to log into Facebook and see photos of Mari and I from people we have met along the way. Hope some of you have the possibility to see those photos, cause yet again I have nothing to show on this post.
Ciao
T
I just made a google map of our trip through Honduras, hopefully it works.
View Honduras in a larger map
Showing posts with label honduras. Show all posts
Showing posts with label honduras. Show all posts
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
09 de Enero 2011
I was chatting with my mom last night and she was telling me she loves the blog, but misses the pictures that should accompany the posts. I highly agree, but for example right now, I am posting from Mari's I-touch. Although there are computers at some of the places we stay, it's more typical that the hostels and hotels have Wi-fi and not communal computers for guest use. Thus, it's impossible for me to add photos with the post.
Even when I have a computer, it's still difficult cause my camera takes wall size photos, much much much too large for the blog. Thus it's a thirty minute endeavor to pick and sort photos, upload them, resize them, then link them to the blog. If it were easier, I would add way more. So please excuse the photo absences when they occur.
This morning Mari and I visited the Copan ruins. I am glad we went. Sometimes I get the feeling from others that all ruins look alike, and that that after you've seen a few they are not all worth the visit. But today I found the Copan ruins just interesting as the rest. I have found that the five we have visited (Monte Alban, Pelenque, Chichen Itza, Tikal, Copan) have all differed and have been interesting in their own unique way. The Copan ruins are renown for having the best sculpture of all the ancient cities - and I can see why. The stellas are impressive free standing sculptures that show great skill. The temples are not huge, but in it's hey day it is suggested the city had as many as 20,000 inhabitants. One thing I thought was great about today's ruins is that at some points along the way they have artist interpretations of what the city may have looked like in it prime. And it looked mighty. Much different than the crumbling mess of modern times.
Anyway, after the tour Mari and I returned to the Hotel Marjenny, packed our things, grabbed a quick lunch of fresh bananas and chicken empanadas, and then caught a bus outta town. We took a local shuttle from Copan to La Entrada, then transferred to a bus headed south to Santa Rosa de Copan. The trip took us about three hours and we traveled with the locals, which usually means packing 40 people into a 20 passenger shuttle van. It's an interesting thing taking the local buses in Central America. Remembering back to the bus trip we took from Antigua to San Pedro (actually a bus to Panajachel, then a boat to San Pedro) but anyways, that bus ride was something. At one point someone took note that we had twelve people in 3 two person seats. If there's an edge, Enoch space for a quarter cheek, or even a half cheek, someone will squish you over and sit, sometimes even when there are free seats near the back. Space requirements are thrown out the window for a mother of two who squeezes in with her baby and small child. It's hilarious and interesting at the same time.
Tomorrow I believe we will head a little south (47 Km) to a little town named Gracias. It sounds interesting as a small mountain town.
It's Sunday evening here in Santa Rosa, and most stores are closed. We are going to make soup for dinner, but ran out for a quick snack of pastelito de harina, pastelitos de maize, and one chalupa. They were all absolutely delicious and cost less than $3. The prepared street food here in Honduras is the cheapest we have found along our journey. Fantastically delicious and cost effective.
T
Even when I have a computer, it's still difficult cause my camera takes wall size photos, much much much too large for the blog. Thus it's a thirty minute endeavor to pick and sort photos, upload them, resize them, then link them to the blog. If it were easier, I would add way more. So please excuse the photo absences when they occur.
This morning Mari and I visited the Copan ruins. I am glad we went. Sometimes I get the feeling from others that all ruins look alike, and that that after you've seen a few they are not all worth the visit. But today I found the Copan ruins just interesting as the rest. I have found that the five we have visited (Monte Alban, Pelenque, Chichen Itza, Tikal, Copan) have all differed and have been interesting in their own unique way. The Copan ruins are renown for having the best sculpture of all the ancient cities - and I can see why. The stellas are impressive free standing sculptures that show great skill. The temples are not huge, but in it's hey day it is suggested the city had as many as 20,000 inhabitants. One thing I thought was great about today's ruins is that at some points along the way they have artist interpretations of what the city may have looked like in it prime. And it looked mighty. Much different than the crumbling mess of modern times.
Anyway, after the tour Mari and I returned to the Hotel Marjenny, packed our things, grabbed a quick lunch of fresh bananas and chicken empanadas, and then caught a bus outta town. We took a local shuttle from Copan to La Entrada, then transferred to a bus headed south to Santa Rosa de Copan. The trip took us about three hours and we traveled with the locals, which usually means packing 40 people into a 20 passenger shuttle van. It's an interesting thing taking the local buses in Central America. Remembering back to the bus trip we took from Antigua to San Pedro (actually a bus to Panajachel, then a boat to San Pedro) but anyways, that bus ride was something. At one point someone took note that we had twelve people in 3 two person seats. If there's an edge, Enoch space for a quarter cheek, or even a half cheek, someone will squish you over and sit, sometimes even when there are free seats near the back. Space requirements are thrown out the window for a mother of two who squeezes in with her baby and small child. It's hilarious and interesting at the same time.
Tomorrow I believe we will head a little south (47 Km) to a little town named Gracias. It sounds interesting as a small mountain town.
It's Sunday evening here in Santa Rosa, and most stores are closed. We are going to make soup for dinner, but ran out for a quick snack of pastelito de harina, pastelitos de maize, and one chalupa. They were all absolutely delicious and cost less than $3. The prepared street food here in Honduras is the cheapest we have found along our journey. Fantastically delicious and cost effective.
T
Friday, January 7, 2011
07 de Enero 2011
Mari and I are now in Honduras. After much deliberation and arguing while reading our guidebook and scanning our bedspread size map of central america, we finally came to the conclusion to head east out of Guatemala and into Honduras. We had many wonderful options as to the direction and type of activities we wanted to persue, so it was a difficult 2 day decision making process.
Thus......we are now in the city of Copan, 1 Km away from the Copan ruins. We took the bus out of Antigua at 1 pm on what we thought would be a five and a half hour shuttle ride, which quickly escalated into a seven hour plus shuttle ride. Rule number one about central america, never trust an estimated word of mouth time schedule from the people selling you tickets. Always try and find a traveler who has actually made the trip.
Rule number two, never trust the prices given to you in the travel agencies sprinkled around town. We have come to find that there is usually one principle agency, and many more secondary agencies. These secondary agencies inflate costs to make a profit. After checking prices today for our voyage, prices fluctuated from $8 USD to $20 USD. Outrageous. Its difficult to take some of these places seriously when you look straight in their eyes and know they are ripping you off. Anyway, we paid 68 Quetzales ($8 each) for our long voyage. If you find yourself in this area, I recommend using Plus Travel Agency.
http://www.plustravelguate.com/
They have low, affordable prices - and they are not trying to rip you off. Their ad says it straight up - Dont Pay More. And I have to agree. There are several locations in both Antigua and Copan, and most likely other cities as well.
Okay, now onto the actual ride. Our driver was sorta insane. There were 12 of us inside, where 4 of those were a father, mother and two young children - while the rest of us were normal traveling personas. The driver kept passing cars on curves, hills, and any other location deemed impossible as a passing lane. But to his credit, it was happening all around us. When a car trying to pass finds itself face to face with an oncoming vehicle, plenty of frantic horn honking gets them back into the lane in the knick of time. Plus, around 6 pm the sun sets. This makes for an unusually frieghtening time. Curvy roads without street lamps in the dense mountains and high speeds. Its jaw numbing. Mari and I have sworn to never travel after dark again.
When arriving to a location I used to say LLegamos (we have arrived), but lately due to all our death defying traveling I have taken to saying Vivimos (we´re alive).
Okay, now its time to refer back home. What is going on in Seattle? Mari and I have both received news reporting pregnancies back home during our absence. Anyways.... congratulations to Michael and Olivia for their future offspring, and we would like to extend this same congratulations to Louisa and Jed as well. We cant wait to see these beautiful mixtures in baby form in the near future.
As for Copan, the guidebook really lead us astray. We checked out the suggested hostel here - Hostal en la Manzana Verde - and were highly disappointed. Althought the structure was nice, with a beautiful kitchen, the woman working the shift was rude and shifty. Anyways, we found a wonderful place called Hotel Mar Jenny, or perhaps Marjenny. I have seen it both ways. Private rooms, internet, hot shower - the works. And for cheap. We paid 190 Honduran Lempiras for our room. There are roughly 19 Lempiras in 1 USD, so its about $10 bucks. Not too bad.
Its now 10 PM. Mari started to get a headache during the trip so she is in the room trying to sleep. I just walked down to the town center and bought some local beer named Salva Vida. Hmmmm, just googled it, and although it got a C grade on the beer advocate, it tastes mighty fine to me.
Although its sad to cut the Guatemalan tour short, its nice to be in the 5th country of this trip so far. I hope Honduras is as wonderful as all the other places we have visited.
T
Thus......we are now in the city of Copan, 1 Km away from the Copan ruins. We took the bus out of Antigua at 1 pm on what we thought would be a five and a half hour shuttle ride, which quickly escalated into a seven hour plus shuttle ride. Rule number one about central america, never trust an estimated word of mouth time schedule from the people selling you tickets. Always try and find a traveler who has actually made the trip.
Rule number two, never trust the prices given to you in the travel agencies sprinkled around town. We have come to find that there is usually one principle agency, and many more secondary agencies. These secondary agencies inflate costs to make a profit. After checking prices today for our voyage, prices fluctuated from $8 USD to $20 USD. Outrageous. Its difficult to take some of these places seriously when you look straight in their eyes and know they are ripping you off. Anyway, we paid 68 Quetzales ($8 each) for our long voyage. If you find yourself in this area, I recommend using Plus Travel Agency.
http://www.plustravelguate.com/
They have low, affordable prices - and they are not trying to rip you off. Their ad says it straight up - Dont Pay More. And I have to agree. There are several locations in both Antigua and Copan, and most likely other cities as well.
Okay, now onto the actual ride. Our driver was sorta insane. There were 12 of us inside, where 4 of those were a father, mother and two young children - while the rest of us were normal traveling personas. The driver kept passing cars on curves, hills, and any other location deemed impossible as a passing lane. But to his credit, it was happening all around us. When a car trying to pass finds itself face to face with an oncoming vehicle, plenty of frantic horn honking gets them back into the lane in the knick of time. Plus, around 6 pm the sun sets. This makes for an unusually frieghtening time. Curvy roads without street lamps in the dense mountains and high speeds. Its jaw numbing. Mari and I have sworn to never travel after dark again.
When arriving to a location I used to say LLegamos (we have arrived), but lately due to all our death defying traveling I have taken to saying Vivimos (we´re alive).
Okay, now its time to refer back home. What is going on in Seattle? Mari and I have both received news reporting pregnancies back home during our absence. Anyways.... congratulations to Michael and Olivia for their future offspring, and we would like to extend this same congratulations to Louisa and Jed as well. We cant wait to see these beautiful mixtures in baby form in the near future.
As for Copan, the guidebook really lead us astray. We checked out the suggested hostel here - Hostal en la Manzana Verde - and were highly disappointed. Althought the structure was nice, with a beautiful kitchen, the woman working the shift was rude and shifty. Anyways, we found a wonderful place called Hotel Mar Jenny, or perhaps Marjenny. I have seen it both ways. Private rooms, internet, hot shower - the works. And for cheap. We paid 190 Honduran Lempiras for our room. There are roughly 19 Lempiras in 1 USD, so its about $10 bucks. Not too bad.
Its now 10 PM. Mari started to get a headache during the trip so she is in the room trying to sleep. I just walked down to the town center and bought some local beer named Salva Vida. Hmmmm, just googled it, and although it got a C grade on the beer advocate, it tastes mighty fine to me.
Although its sad to cut the Guatemalan tour short, its nice to be in the 5th country of this trip so far. I hope Honduras is as wonderful as all the other places we have visited.
T
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