So early the next morning we took the 6:45am bus from Esteli to Leon, the former colonial capital of Nicaragua. This was an "expresso" bus straight to Leon, but be wary if you choose this path of travel - the road from Esteli to Leon is in ruins, full of potholes. For 2.5 hours we were jumbled, shaken, jolted and thrown from side to side as the driver tried (without much success) to avoid the thousands of pot holes.
Despite being well shaken and stirred, we arrived in Leon mid-morning. It was already scorching hot, and it was a long, sweaty 1km hike with our bags into the town center. Leon is much nicer than Esteli, with a strong colonial heritage. (Leon and Granada have been feuding for centuries to be the dominant city of Nicaragua. The dispute was finally settled by creating Managua halfway in between the two...) It boasts the largest church in central america as well as being home to some of the countries greatest writers and artists. That being said, there´s not a whole lot to do here, except for seeing the many churches and a few museums. There are many volcanoes in the surrounding areas, but the thought of hiking up one in the 100 degree heat just isn´t appealing. We´re considering studying spanish a bit more here, but may move on to Granada as well, to see what the other side of the feud is about.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
In Esteli - end of a long travel day.
Five buses from Yuscaran to Esteli: Danli, El Paraiso, Las Manos (border crossing), Ocotal, and finally Estelli. They were all slow, chicken buses as well, but the trip was easy enough. We went at a snail´s pace much of time, stopping every 50 feet or so to pick up or let off passengers, but we still got to Esteli by 2pm or so. (We left Yuscaran on a 6:30am bus.)
Unfortunately, Esteli didn´t live up to the charms toted in our guide book. The ex-Sandinista stronghold seems to be going through changes, and many of the places discussed in the book were no longer open. Hotels were very expensive, and you got little for your money. The town almost feels more like a suburb than a city, except for the nice central square (with a closed movie theater on it.) We found a cheap guest house for the night and decided to move on the next day, not enamored of the town, nor the people, who mostly ignored us.
Unfortunately, Esteli didn´t live up to the charms toted in our guide book. The ex-Sandinista stronghold seems to be going through changes, and many of the places discussed in the book were no longer open. Hotels were very expensive, and you got little for your money. The town almost feels more like a suburb than a city, except for the nice central square (with a closed movie theater on it.) We found a cheap guest house for the night and decided to move on the next day, not enamored of the town, nor the people, who mostly ignored us.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Where are we? Yuscaran?
After our Moskitia adventures, we decided to splurge a little and take a "luxury" bus to the capital of Tegucigalpa. This ended up being a huge mistake. The bus itself was quite nice, with bathroom, movies, etc., but they took our sandwiches away as we boarded (still not sure why), only to serve us horrible white-bread ham sandwiches on board. Two slices of wonder bread and a paper thin sliver of ham is plenty of food for a 7 hour bus ride! The real issue we had, though, was the ride of the bus. Neither of us get motion sickness easily. Not on boats, buses, cars, anything, and yet we both were incredibly nauseous for the entire 7 hour ride - a horrible feeling. (If any fellow Honduran travelors are reading this, the bus line was called Vintria Classe Oro.)
Once we were off the bus and recovered in Teguce, we cabbed it over to another bus station, where we got a chicken bus to Yuscaran. The chicken bus was SO much more comfortable and relaxing than the awful nausea luxury bus. Well, we actually had to pay full fare to Danli, much further on, and transfer in the middle of nowhere for the last 17km into Yuscaran. (There are direct buses, but no one bothered to tell us of them...)
Yuscaran is worth all the effort, though. It´s a beautifully-preserved colonial mining town, now famous for making the country´s primary rut-gut cane liquor called Guaro Yuscaran. I tried it, and trust an ex-bartender and stay away from the stuff, pure hangover in a bottle. The town is tiny - 2000 inhabitants, but with a lovely central square and perched on a hill overlooking an agricultural valley.
We stayed at Casa Colibri, a charming old house on the square with big, cushy bed, wonderfully strong hot water showers, and friendly, healthy dogs. The owners were away, but we were lucky enough to have a peace corps worker from Atlanta, Saira, take care of us while we were there. She was a great help and companion. It was a good place to rest up and relax a little, though the food options in town are few and far between.
Once we were off the bus and recovered in Teguce, we cabbed it over to another bus station, where we got a chicken bus to Yuscaran. The chicken bus was SO much more comfortable and relaxing than the awful nausea luxury bus. Well, we actually had to pay full fare to Danli, much further on, and transfer in the middle of nowhere for the last 17km into Yuscaran. (There are direct buses, but no one bothered to tell us of them...)
Yuscaran is worth all the effort, though. It´s a beautifully-preserved colonial mining town, now famous for making the country´s primary rut-gut cane liquor called Guaro Yuscaran. I tried it, and trust an ex-bartender and stay away from the stuff, pure hangover in a bottle. The town is tiny - 2000 inhabitants, but with a lovely central square and perched on a hill overlooking an agricultural valley.
We stayed at Casa Colibri, a charming old house on the square with big, cushy bed, wonderfully strong hot water showers, and friendly, healthy dogs. The owners were away, but we were lucky enough to have a peace corps worker from Atlanta, Saira, take care of us while we were there. She was a great help and companion. It was a good place to rest up and relax a little, though the food options in town are few and far between.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Back to the 21st Century...
Talor: It took three flights to get us back to La Ceiba... after waiting an hour, got into a 6-seater and felt lucky we were the only passengers. Turns out we were headed to Brus Laguna, another village, where we would pick up more... 4 more, in fact. So there were 7 people in a 6-seater, and it was no longer very comfortable. But at least we got an aerial tour, and it was really beautiful and so vast. Then we landed at Puerto Lempira, the largest of the towns with an airport with counters... ha, who woulda figured. This was all very strange to us because nobody explained that we would be switching planes. Anyway, about an hour later, boarded a larger Atlantic Airlines plane and an hour later, we landed in La Ceiba.
Disembarked and walked to the terminal, and WOW! The air-conditioning felt like heaven! Immediately ran to the coffee shop and got a frozen coffee... life was good again. It was good to be on familiar ground again... back in a world where we know how it works even if it`s not as pretty. We could go where we want and eat what and when we want without being completely dependent on others.
Decided to go back to the Banana Republic Guesthouse. Even though we weren´t crazy about it the first time around, at least we were familiar with it, and though it would not be considered luxurious by most, it would feel that way after 8 days in the Moskitia. Besides, we were too mentally and physically exhausted to even consider walking around looking for another hotel... we needed to take the guesswork out of everything for the time being.
Now we are chilling out for a couple days before hitting the road again, heading south towards Nicaragua. In the meantime, we`re enjoying modern conveniences such as a cold beer, light after dark, occasional air-conditioning and the internet...
Disembarked and walked to the terminal, and WOW! The air-conditioning felt like heaven! Immediately ran to the coffee shop and got a frozen coffee... life was good again. It was good to be on familiar ground again... back in a world where we know how it works even if it`s not as pretty. We could go where we want and eat what and when we want without being completely dependent on others.
Decided to go back to the Banana Republic Guesthouse. Even though we weren´t crazy about it the first time around, at least we were familiar with it, and though it would not be considered luxurious by most, it would feel that way after 8 days in the Moskitia. Besides, we were too mentally and physically exhausted to even consider walking around looking for another hotel... we needed to take the guesswork out of everything for the time being.
Now we are chilling out for a couple days before hitting the road again, heading south towards Nicaragua. In the meantime, we`re enjoying modern conveniences such as a cold beer, light after dark, occasional air-conditioning and the internet...
Sunday, April 20, 2008
So happy to be stuck in Rais Ta
Talor: So, once again, got up early to catch the pipante (boat) back to Rais Ta. Had just enough time for pancakes with beans and a swig of coffee before we had to run to the other hospedaje where the boat was leaving from. Rushed to get there by 6:45 for a 7:00 departure, but of course, it didn´t leave until an hour later. No matter, we got a ride back without breaking the bank. Three and a half hours later, we were dropped off on the beach at Rio Platano, and were told to walk about 10 minutes til we saw the pailas (pickup trucks). They would normally come out to the beach to pickup passengers going to other villages, but it being Sunday, we needed to go to them. We had no idea where we were going so we just walked along the beach hoping to see something that resembled a settlement.
We saw a group of people walking in our direction. They looked to be coming from church so we asked them about the pailas. They said there were none, we needed to go back to the beach and hire a pipante to take us to Rais Ta, or we could walk and get there in 3 hours. Ummm... walking 3 hours with our backpacks and frontpacks on the beach with the sun beating down on us was not an option so we followed them back to the beach. One of the women actually waited with us while someone else went to tell the guy with a pipante that we needed a ride. Waited about 45 minutes under the shade of a large tree and chatted a bit with the woman who was being very kind. Finally, the guy with the pipante came and wanted to charge us 600 lempiras to take us on a half-hour ride... ridiculous! Especially since we just paid 800 lps for a 3 1/2 hour ride. We talked him down to 300 lps and I grudgingly got in the pipante.
It seems like they really try to stick it to the tourists here. Their argument seems to be that everything, especially gas, is very expensive because it has to be brought in. This is all true, but not as much as they are saying. I think they have found tourism to be a good source of income for them and assume all tourists are rich and can pay alot of money. Rather than try to be reasonable and encourage and grow tourism, everyone seems to be out to make as much money as they can off of anyone who needs a ride, a room or a meal. Even the grocery stores way overcharge for everything. Our experience in Honduras up til then had been really good, and we didn´t have to constantly negotiate everything or pay a "tourist" price, so this was a surprise.
Anyway, all I could think was how nice it was going to be once we were back at the Ecolodge and under the care of Dona Elma. Finally got there, let out a big sigh of relief then showered for about an hour scrubbing ourselves down. Dona Elma fed us well... huge portions of fish, rice, beans, maduro (sweet plaintains) and cabbage salad with cheese and a yummy drink made from tamarind. All was well in the world again. Now all we had to deal with was getting a flight out of the Moskitia...
It being Sunday, we weren´t sure if we would be able to. Went in search of Estella, the person we needed to make the arrangements with, but she wasn´t there so we gave up and decided to try early Monday morning. Had dinner, then read by candlight before passing out.
Monday morning, got up early and went to see Estella again, and actually got to speak to her. She said there might be a flight later we can get on, but she would have to check. She would let us know by radioing the Ecolodge within the hour. We had hope. Went back and had coffee and waited and waited... had breakfast and waited and waited... 2 hours later, no word. Elma tried radioing them, but no answer. We gave up on a flight for the day and talked to Jorge about maybe taking a day trip to Plaplaya, another village about a half-hour boat trip away. Plaplaya is Garifuna rather than Miskito, and apparently, it is one that is truly Garifuna, unspoiled by tourism. Thought we would go and walk around and maybe have lunch... give Elma a break from cooking for us. Jorge said he would find out for us. Then we decided to walk over to see Estella and try to confirm a flight for Tuesday morning. It was close to noon and as we approached the airstrip, a plane came in... huh, what timing. And, it would be back at 2:30 and can take us to La Ceiba! So we cancelled our plans for Plaplaya, had lunch, packed up, paid our bill, and gave Elma a great big hug and said good-bye... but was it really good-bye?
Got to the airstrip and waited an hour before they told us there would be no more planes coming. The next flight out would be Tuesday morning 7:30. The guy who told us explained why, but I was too pissed to understand. We walked back absolutely fuming, and it was a little late to even do Plaplaya since there would only be about 2 daylight hours left, plus having to pay another night`s lodging and meals, we would have just enough for the flight the next day... crap!
Back at the Ecolodge, they welcomed us back. O well, at least we were stuck at the Ecolodge and not at Las Marias.
We saw a group of people walking in our direction. They looked to be coming from church so we asked them about the pailas. They said there were none, we needed to go back to the beach and hire a pipante to take us to Rais Ta, or we could walk and get there in 3 hours. Ummm... walking 3 hours with our backpacks and frontpacks on the beach with the sun beating down on us was not an option so we followed them back to the beach. One of the women actually waited with us while someone else went to tell the guy with a pipante that we needed a ride. Waited about 45 minutes under the shade of a large tree and chatted a bit with the woman who was being very kind. Finally, the guy with the pipante came and wanted to charge us 600 lempiras to take us on a half-hour ride... ridiculous! Especially since we just paid 800 lps for a 3 1/2 hour ride. We talked him down to 300 lps and I grudgingly got in the pipante.
It seems like they really try to stick it to the tourists here. Their argument seems to be that everything, especially gas, is very expensive because it has to be brought in. This is all true, but not as much as they are saying. I think they have found tourism to be a good source of income for them and assume all tourists are rich and can pay alot of money. Rather than try to be reasonable and encourage and grow tourism, everyone seems to be out to make as much money as they can off of anyone who needs a ride, a room or a meal. Even the grocery stores way overcharge for everything. Our experience in Honduras up til then had been really good, and we didn´t have to constantly negotiate everything or pay a "tourist" price, so this was a surprise.
Anyway, all I could think was how nice it was going to be once we were back at the Ecolodge and under the care of Dona Elma. Finally got there, let out a big sigh of relief then showered for about an hour scrubbing ourselves down. Dona Elma fed us well... huge portions of fish, rice, beans, maduro (sweet plaintains) and cabbage salad with cheese and a yummy drink made from tamarind. All was well in the world again. Now all we had to deal with was getting a flight out of the Moskitia...
It being Sunday, we weren´t sure if we would be able to. Went in search of Estella, the person we needed to make the arrangements with, but she wasn´t there so we gave up and decided to try early Monday morning. Had dinner, then read by candlight before passing out.
Monday morning, got up early and went to see Estella again, and actually got to speak to her. She said there might be a flight later we can get on, but she would have to check. She would let us know by radioing the Ecolodge within the hour. We had hope. Went back and had coffee and waited and waited... had breakfast and waited and waited... 2 hours later, no word. Elma tried radioing them, but no answer. We gave up on a flight for the day and talked to Jorge about maybe taking a day trip to Plaplaya, another village about a half-hour boat trip away. Plaplaya is Garifuna rather than Miskito, and apparently, it is one that is truly Garifuna, unspoiled by tourism. Thought we would go and walk around and maybe have lunch... give Elma a break from cooking for us. Jorge said he would find out for us. Then we decided to walk over to see Estella and try to confirm a flight for Tuesday morning. It was close to noon and as we approached the airstrip, a plane came in... huh, what timing. And, it would be back at 2:30 and can take us to La Ceiba! So we cancelled our plans for Plaplaya, had lunch, packed up, paid our bill, and gave Elma a great big hug and said good-bye... but was it really good-bye?
Got to the airstrip and waited an hour before they told us there would be no more planes coming. The next flight out would be Tuesday morning 7:30. The guy who told us explained why, but I was too pissed to understand. We walked back absolutely fuming, and it was a little late to even do Plaplaya since there would only be about 2 daylight hours left, plus having to pay another night`s lodging and meals, we would have just enough for the flight the next day... crap!
Back at the Ecolodge, they welcomed us back. O well, at least we were stuck at the Ecolodge and not at Las Marias.
Friday, April 18, 2008
How much would you pay for a death march? Cerro Mico Tour.
Talor: Woke up 4:30am to have coffee and breakfast before leaving at 6:00 on our 2-day tour. Dona Justa was kind enough to get up early, feed us and even packed a lunch for us to take! Julio (the head guide) showed up at 6:20 to take us to the boat. Walked for about 25 minutes through the village trying not to step on horse and cow manure which was everywhere. Had wondered why everyone walked around in galoshes... that explained it.
Met our lead guide, Ricardo, whose father owns the hotel we would be staying in that evening. The two other guides were primarily working on the pipante (boat), "pulling" us upriver with long wooden sticks and paddling us downriver. The pipante ride was really quite beautiful... nothing but dense woods, butterflies dancing... and, oh yeah, mosquitos buzzing. About an hour later, we arrived at the site of our first hike. Took about an hour and a half through an established trail, and there was even a look-out post with magnificent views in all directions. Emerged from our hike further up-river, right across from Hospedaje Don Bernardo's... how convenient.
Thought Dona Justa's was basic as far as the facilities go... at least there was a bathing area and toilet paper. At Don Bernardo's, the tub of water in the outhouse was both for bathing and flushing the toilet. We chose to bathe in the river... was far more refreshing and fun. The facilities weren`t all that, but the view was beautiful from the hotel, plus there were very cute puppies running around.
Anyway, took an hour`s rest then got back into the pipante to go a bit further upriver to see the petroglyphs. The setting was very pretty. The petroglyphs, which are a bit of a mystery because these curious images were carved into these stones a long long time ago, but they`re still not sure who, when or what it means. I found them to be unremarkable... one looked like a smiley face... guessing someone was having a good day?
Back to Don Bernardo`s cause we were done for the day at 1:00 in the afternoon. Ate the lunch Dona Justa packed us, which was rice and beans with sardines and a pancake. Sounds like a strange combination, but it was pretty tasty... well, anything`s tasty when you`re hungry. Afterwards, took a swim/bath in the river, rinsed out our musty clothes then just relaxed and did a whole lotta nothing, because there is absolutely nothing to do, until it was time to eat dinner. Ricardo was showing off a fancy fish "gun" that he made himself so we were hoping for some fresh fish for dinner. Instead, one of the ladies came up to ask us if we wanted to eat meat. A bit disappointed, but ok, whatever. Little did we know, it would be a few bits of deep fried beef with a mound of rice, beans and fried plantains. Everything was really dry, but we managed to choke it down by candlelight. Think it was good that we couldn´t see that well.
After dinner, read a bit by candlelight then went to sleep. Day 2 of the tour was going to start at 6:30am...
Once again, coffee and breakfast at 6:00 before leaving. Breakfast consisted of a mound of rice, spaghetti and fried plaintain chips... yes, three carbs/starches heaped on a plate. Ate as much as we could choke down then paid our bill. It was a lot more expensive than Dona Justa`s... 200 lempiras for the room and 70 lempiras for each meal... what a jip! Then we headed out for our hike to Cerro Mico, which started from the "backyard" of the hotel.
For the next five hours, we traipsed through thick jungle as Ricardo created a path with his machete. Thought it would be more of what we had done the day before, through an established path, but this was very very different. It was dank, dark and slippery. Ricardo seemed to have no problems with his galoshes, but we had to be careful with every step because there were rocks, twigs, branches, twines, just about everything you can imagine beneath a layer of leaves trying to trip us up. About an hour into it, I was already exhausted... mentally and physically. Then the "fun" really started... had to cross ponds with slippery rocks and our shoes were sopping wet. It wasn´t long before I could feel the blisters starting to form on my feet. Then we started our ascent up Cerro Mico climbing over felled trees, walking up muddy hills, etc. Erik discovered a snake that Ricardo hacked up with his machete because it was poisonous. He explained that he almost died from a bite 11 years ago and thanked Erik for spotting it. Then we got eaten alive by fire ants, and we were only half-way there. When we stopped to take a rest, I looked up and thought, "Wow! So this is the rainforest!" It was gorgeous, lush, dense and full of life. The problem was that during the entire hike, I didn´t dare look up because I had to be so careful with every single step we took, and even then, we constantly twisted our ankles, banged our legs against broken trees, tripped over vines. The descent was even worse. It started to rain and made everything slippier and muddier. Fell twice and just wanted to sit down and cry. Erik fared a whole lot better than me, but think he was almost as miserable because he was so worried about me. Plus we really didn´t get to see any animals unless you count puppies, chickens and pigs. Erik thought he saw a monkey`s ass but wasn´t sure. We heard howler monkeys, but didn´t see them. All I could think was how much I wanted it to be over...
When we finally emerged on the other side and saw the pipante, I was so relieved, I almost cried! All I could think was "NEVER AGAIN!" No more jungle, woods, forests... ever! Should this experience get blurry with time, and I ever speak of taking a hike again, someone please point me in the direction of the nearest city park!
Anyway, a half hour pipante ride and a 25 minute walk through the fields and we were back at Dona Justa`s thinking how luxurious that was compared to Don Bernardo`s! Absolutely everything is relative. Now we had to work out our ride back to Rais Ta. Jorge, one of our boat guides, was very pleased with the generous tips we gave them, said he would go and tell Olvideo that we needed to talk with him about our return trip. Got out of our very funky jungle smelling clothes and picked off all the ticks off our bodies. Then we bathed as best with could with a plastic tub of water and a metal bowl. Waited for Olvideo to show, but didn´t and we wondered if we would be able to leave the next morning.
About 6:00, dinner was ready so we went down to eat. Rice and fried fish heads and tails... wondered what happened to the bodies. Just as we were finishing up, Olvideo showed up with another man to talk to us. Said he could take us the next morning, but it would cost 2500 lempiras because he had no other passengers nor cargo to transport. When we explained that we didn´t have that much, he just laughed. He seemed very different than the really nice man who brought us here. We had heard there were a couple of people going to Brus Laguna the next morning, so we asked them if they knew anything about that. They said that there were two American tourists who had hired a private pipante through the Impresa Tour Co. Then Dona Justa and Mariano explained that they may take us, but it wasn´t good because it doesn´t support their community. We realized there were a lot of politics going on between villages and even within the villages.
When Olvideo left, Dona Justa and Mariano told us that we may be able to leave if we were willing to take a tuk-tuk (a boat with a louder, noiser, slower motor), which would be cheaper, possibly 800 lempiras. Of course we said yes. He went out into the dark to go talk to them to see if it would be possible. Returned a half-hour later and said yes and a man would be coming by to work the details out with us. There were two men, and one spoke English. Turns out they were the men with the Impresa Tour taking the Americans to Brus Laguna. Told us they could take us as far as Rio Platano then we would have to take a paila (pick-up truck) to Rais Ta. Whew! So we got our ride. We realized that although Justa and Mariano were not happy about Impresa, they helped us to get on that boat because it was important to them to support and help their clients. All they asked in return was to recommend them to anyone who is going to Las Marias.
With that worked out, we went to bed smiling dreaming of the luxury we would have once we got back to Rais Ta...
Met our lead guide, Ricardo, whose father owns the hotel we would be staying in that evening. The two other guides were primarily working on the pipante (boat), "pulling" us upriver with long wooden sticks and paddling us downriver. The pipante ride was really quite beautiful... nothing but dense woods, butterflies dancing... and, oh yeah, mosquitos buzzing. About an hour later, we arrived at the site of our first hike. Took about an hour and a half through an established trail, and there was even a look-out post with magnificent views in all directions. Emerged from our hike further up-river, right across from Hospedaje Don Bernardo's... how convenient.
Thought Dona Justa's was basic as far as the facilities go... at least there was a bathing area and toilet paper. At Don Bernardo's, the tub of water in the outhouse was both for bathing and flushing the toilet. We chose to bathe in the river... was far more refreshing and fun. The facilities weren`t all that, but the view was beautiful from the hotel, plus there were very cute puppies running around.
Anyway, took an hour`s rest then got back into the pipante to go a bit further upriver to see the petroglyphs. The setting was very pretty. The petroglyphs, which are a bit of a mystery because these curious images were carved into these stones a long long time ago, but they`re still not sure who, when or what it means. I found them to be unremarkable... one looked like a smiley face... guessing someone was having a good day?
Back to Don Bernardo`s cause we were done for the day at 1:00 in the afternoon. Ate the lunch Dona Justa packed us, which was rice and beans with sardines and a pancake. Sounds like a strange combination, but it was pretty tasty... well, anything`s tasty when you`re hungry. Afterwards, took a swim/bath in the river, rinsed out our musty clothes then just relaxed and did a whole lotta nothing, because there is absolutely nothing to do, until it was time to eat dinner. Ricardo was showing off a fancy fish "gun" that he made himself so we were hoping for some fresh fish for dinner. Instead, one of the ladies came up to ask us if we wanted to eat meat. A bit disappointed, but ok, whatever. Little did we know, it would be a few bits of deep fried beef with a mound of rice, beans and fried plantains. Everything was really dry, but we managed to choke it down by candlelight. Think it was good that we couldn´t see that well.
After dinner, read a bit by candlelight then went to sleep. Day 2 of the tour was going to start at 6:30am...
Once again, coffee and breakfast at 6:00 before leaving. Breakfast consisted of a mound of rice, spaghetti and fried plaintain chips... yes, three carbs/starches heaped on a plate. Ate as much as we could choke down then paid our bill. It was a lot more expensive than Dona Justa`s... 200 lempiras for the room and 70 lempiras for each meal... what a jip! Then we headed out for our hike to Cerro Mico, which started from the "backyard" of the hotel.
For the next five hours, we traipsed through thick jungle as Ricardo created a path with his machete. Thought it would be more of what we had done the day before, through an established path, but this was very very different. It was dank, dark and slippery. Ricardo seemed to have no problems with his galoshes, but we had to be careful with every step because there were rocks, twigs, branches, twines, just about everything you can imagine beneath a layer of leaves trying to trip us up. About an hour into it, I was already exhausted... mentally and physically. Then the "fun" really started... had to cross ponds with slippery rocks and our shoes were sopping wet. It wasn´t long before I could feel the blisters starting to form on my feet. Then we started our ascent up Cerro Mico climbing over felled trees, walking up muddy hills, etc. Erik discovered a snake that Ricardo hacked up with his machete because it was poisonous. He explained that he almost died from a bite 11 years ago and thanked Erik for spotting it. Then we got eaten alive by fire ants, and we were only half-way there. When we stopped to take a rest, I looked up and thought, "Wow! So this is the rainforest!" It was gorgeous, lush, dense and full of life. The problem was that during the entire hike, I didn´t dare look up because I had to be so careful with every single step we took, and even then, we constantly twisted our ankles, banged our legs against broken trees, tripped over vines. The descent was even worse. It started to rain and made everything slippier and muddier. Fell twice and just wanted to sit down and cry. Erik fared a whole lot better than me, but think he was almost as miserable because he was so worried about me. Plus we really didn´t get to see any animals unless you count puppies, chickens and pigs. Erik thought he saw a monkey`s ass but wasn´t sure. We heard howler monkeys, but didn´t see them. All I could think was how much I wanted it to be over...
When we finally emerged on the other side and saw the pipante, I was so relieved, I almost cried! All I could think was "NEVER AGAIN!" No more jungle, woods, forests... ever! Should this experience get blurry with time, and I ever speak of taking a hike again, someone please point me in the direction of the nearest city park!
Anyway, a half hour pipante ride and a 25 minute walk through the fields and we were back at Dona Justa`s thinking how luxurious that was compared to Don Bernardo`s! Absolutely everything is relative. Now we had to work out our ride back to Rais Ta. Jorge, one of our boat guides, was very pleased with the generous tips we gave them, said he would go and tell Olvideo that we needed to talk with him about our return trip. Got out of our very funky jungle smelling clothes and picked off all the ticks off our bodies. Then we bathed as best with could with a plastic tub of water and a metal bowl. Waited for Olvideo to show, but didn´t and we wondered if we would be able to leave the next morning.
About 6:00, dinner was ready so we went down to eat. Rice and fried fish heads and tails... wondered what happened to the bodies. Just as we were finishing up, Olvideo showed up with another man to talk to us. Said he could take us the next morning, but it would cost 2500 lempiras because he had no other passengers nor cargo to transport. When we explained that we didn´t have that much, he just laughed. He seemed very different than the really nice man who brought us here. We had heard there were a couple of people going to Brus Laguna the next morning, so we asked them if they knew anything about that. They said that there were two American tourists who had hired a private pipante through the Impresa Tour Co. Then Dona Justa and Mariano explained that they may take us, but it wasn´t good because it doesn´t support their community. We realized there were a lot of politics going on between villages and even within the villages.
When Olvideo left, Dona Justa and Mariano told us that we may be able to leave if we were willing to take a tuk-tuk (a boat with a louder, noiser, slower motor), which would be cheaper, possibly 800 lempiras. Of course we said yes. He went out into the dark to go talk to them to see if it would be possible. Returned a half-hour later and said yes and a man would be coming by to work the details out with us. There were two men, and one spoke English. Turns out they were the men with the Impresa Tour taking the Americans to Brus Laguna. Told us they could take us as far as Rio Platano then we would have to take a paila (pick-up truck) to Rais Ta. Whew! So we got our ride. We realized that although Justa and Mariano were not happy about Impresa, they helped us to get on that boat because it was important to them to support and help their clients. All they asked in return was to recommend them to anyone who is going to Las Marias.
With that worked out, we went to bed smiling dreaming of the luxury we would have once we got back to Rais Ta...
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Colectivo to Las Marias, Moskitia
The colectivo was about an hour late - 9am, but it finally showed up. Bonifacio was our captain, and the ship was a large (ish) dug-out canoe with an outboard motor. We managed to talk the price down from 700L each to 500L each ($27) for the 5 hour ride. There was another gringo with us, Steve, an Englishman who´d been pretty much all over the world and who was going up to spend 3 weeks fishing the Moskitio. The canoe had 3 small chairs for us, a bit like tiny Adirondak chairs, but with all comfort removed. We headed off through the tiny canals and picked up a man who´d been in hospital for 2 weeks, recovering from a bite from a "Fer de Lance" snake, which may be the same as a copperhead. He still couldn´t walk and was apparently very lucky to be alive. (See entry about our jungle hike, where Erik nearly stepped on the same snake.) After much effort getting him into the canoe, we then picked up a woman and her daughter who had been in the boat we´d taken from Palacios to Raista - despite being vaste, the Moskitia is a tiny place. Finally, after getting gas, we finally set off up river. The going was slow, and Steve and I had to get out and help push the boat a few times when we became stuck in sand bars. The chairs became increasingly uncomfortable, but the scenery became more and more interesting, with the jungle getting taller and denser with each passing hour. We saw loads of turtles, herons, egrets and the ever-present vultures, as well as loads of tiny, colorful birds. We spied a toucan flying overhead at one point as well. Talor spent much of the trip up playing with the young girl, who was very, very cute.
In the end, with all the extra stops for passengers, the trip took a bit over 6 hours. We were so happy that we´d taken time to buy wide-brimmed hats for the trip, as the sun was powerful! We arrived at Las Marias late in the afternoon, and walked with our bags a good distance to the Hospedaje Dona Justa, where we found very basic accomodation: small, foam beds with mosquito nets, large buckets of water for bathing, outhouse toilets and no electricity. Apparently this was the nicest of the "hospedajes" in Las Marias.
It was getting dark, so we bought a few supplies for our jungle trek from a tiny shack down the dirt path from our new home, and then met Julio, the "sacaguia" - head guide, to plan our trip further upriver and through the jungle for the next two days. We arranged everything, and would need one guide and two boatman to take us further upriver (they use poles to propel the canoes upriver..) and do a deep-jungle trek the following day. We paid a fair sum, 1400 Lempiras ($80) for the two days. Dinner was simple - spaghetti and beans, but we were so tired that we didn´t care much. Eating in the dark takes away your appetite a bit. After that we finished repacking by candle light the things that we would take with us early the next morning, and then went to bed at the the late hour of 8:30pm.
In the end, with all the extra stops for passengers, the trip took a bit over 6 hours. We were so happy that we´d taken time to buy wide-brimmed hats for the trip, as the sun was powerful! We arrived at Las Marias late in the afternoon, and walked with our bags a good distance to the Hospedaje Dona Justa, where we found very basic accomodation: small, foam beds with mosquito nets, large buckets of water for bathing, outhouse toilets and no electricity. Apparently this was the nicest of the "hospedajes" in Las Marias.
It was getting dark, so we bought a few supplies for our jungle trek from a tiny shack down the dirt path from our new home, and then met Julio, the "sacaguia" - head guide, to plan our trip further upriver and through the jungle for the next two days. We arranged everything, and would need one guide and two boatman to take us further upriver (they use poles to propel the canoes upriver..) and do a deep-jungle trek the following day. We paid a fair sum, 1400 Lempiras ($80) for the two days. Dinner was simple - spaghetti and beans, but we were so tired that we didn´t care much. Eating in the dark takes away your appetite a bit. After that we finished repacking by candle light the things that we would take with us early the next morning, and then went to bed at the the late hour of 8:30pm.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
All right in Raista
The next morning, we´d recovered sufficiently from the previous day´s travails, and we managed to find a place that would make us coffee (no one seemed too interested in Palacios in feeding us or helping us - it´s an odd place.) We had lamb visit us while we had coffee, wanting to eat the tablecloth. In the end it settled for the artificial plant and its cloth flowers in a pot beside our table. A man named Ovideo came and discussed passage on his small canoe boat to Raista, further into the Moskitio, and the jumping off point to Las Marias, up the Rio Platano, where they led guided trips through the dense jungle. We talked him down from 400 Lempiras to 300L for the two-hour ride, and left an hour later. The ride was comfortable, through winding canals lined with dense foilage and all sorts of birds. The canal opened into a very large lake/lagoon, where we soon stopped in the tiny village of Raista. Ovideo left us at the Eco-lodge Raista, run by a woman named Elma. It was a very nice place, with thatched-roof cabanas on stilts over a central garden area, and the lagoon just beyond. It was very rustic, with no electricity, and only shared cold-water bathrooms, but everything was immaculate, and it all seemed relatively luxurious after Palacios. Dona Elma made us a wonderful lunch of seasoned chicken, rice, beans and plaintains. There was a huge amount of food, but we finished it off with no problem after all the travels and bad food of the previous day.
We discussed with Elma and her family our possibilities for getting to Las Marias, far up the Rio Platano, deep in the Moskitia jungle. The normal, tourist way of doing this, was to engage a man with a motorized dug-out canoe to boat us up 5 hours to Las Marias, where he would stay and wait for us for 2 days while we did our jungle trek. The price tag for that was a bit high, though - 4000 Lempiras, about $220, which was way more than we wanted to spend. We heard of "colectivo" canoes which brought supplies and locals up and down the river, but Elma didn´t know if we would be lucky enough to get one. In the end, after 2 days of asking around, her daughter radioed to Las Marias, and found out that there would be a collectivo going up the following morning at 8am, so we were in luck, though we still didn´t know how we would get back down river...We were a bit sad to leave Elma´s, as her cooking, hospitality and comfortable cabanas were very, very nice.
We discussed with Elma and her family our possibilities for getting to Las Marias, far up the Rio Platano, deep in the Moskitia jungle. The normal, tourist way of doing this, was to engage a man with a motorized dug-out canoe to boat us up 5 hours to Las Marias, where he would stay and wait for us for 2 days while we did our jungle trek. The price tag for that was a bit high, though - 4000 Lempiras, about $220, which was way more than we wanted to spend. We heard of "colectivo" canoes which brought supplies and locals up and down the river, but Elma didn´t know if we would be lucky enough to get one. In the end, after 2 days of asking around, her daughter radioed to Las Marias, and found out that there would be a collectivo going up the following morning at 8am, so we were in luck, though we still didn´t know how we would get back down river...We were a bit sad to leave Elma´s, as her cooking, hospitality and comfortable cabanas were very, very nice.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Into Moskitia - the Paela from hell.
So we were up, packed and ready at 6:45am and headed over to where the paelas (pickups) were waiting. As they saw us arriving with our packs, they all came running, competing for our business. This worked in our favor, as the prices being shouted at us began at 500 Lempiras each ($27), but quickly dropped down to 400L, then $300L. They were physically grabbing us, and pulling our packs towards their truck. We went with the one offering the low 300L price, but then found out that they wouldn´t be leaving until 9am or so. (Everything we´d read and everyone we asked told us that they left at 7am, but perhaps there wasn´t enough business.) We wandered off to get some much-needed coffee, and came back at 9am, but they still weren´t ready to leave. One of the other drivers whispered to us that he´d take us for only 250L each, which we accepted. Our current driver wouldn´t give us our bags back though, and finally he agreed to the new price as well, so we stayed with him. Finally at nearly 10am, they loaded us into truck. We struck a deal for Talor to ride in the cab of the truck, while I was to ride on a narrow board in the back of the pickup, squished among the huge amount of cargo and other passengers. More people kept coming and boarding, and soon we had 7 people in the cab, and 8 in the back, as well as an entire bus load of baggage tied up. It was far from comfortable, and I found it hard to believe the small Toyota truck could actually move with such a payload. Actually, in the beginning it didn´t move, as the engine wouldn´t start! After a half-hour more wait, they finally got it running, and we left around 10:30am.
I was wedged in among the other passengers, not able to move my feet at all, and with my head stuck between the legs of a pink pinata tied to the top of the cargo. A half hour later we stopped for gas, Talor and I got out to stretch our legs. Big mistake, as they then gave Talor´s indoor seat to someone else that had just joined, so she squeezed into the back with all of us. We were both confused and angry, but it was actually a little more comfortable for Talor in the back than squished in the hot cab, at least at first. The ride lasted nearly 6 hours, with one stop for very bad food along the way. After about 4 hours of travel, we left the road and began driving along the beach. Each sand dune would throw us into the air, and I was sure that I was going to be impailed on the corner pole of the truck cage which was wedged into my arm pit, or that the whole truck would flip as we went from one dune to another. Having left so late, we were traveling in the heat of the afternoon as well, and we ended up having to stop at one point as Talor overheated and was hyperventilating. We´ll never, ever, do that ride again! (Later on in the Moskitia we heard other paela horror stories, including people that had been seriously injured on ride, with impacted vertebrae, etc...) I´m pretty sure such transport wouldn´t be legal in many other countries!
Finally, though, we got there at about 5pm. At that point they actually had the nerve to demand that we pay 600L, not the agreed upon 500L. After much arguing, and the driver threatening to take us back to Tocoa, we made it clear that we would only pay 500, and they gave in. At that point we got into a small boat that ferried us across the river to Palacios, in the Moskitia. That was by far the worst travel experience we´d ever been subjected to. I did hear from others, though, that they usually don´t run as full as ours was, so we chose poorly! Needless to say, we slept like the dead that night, even though our hotel was less than comfortable.
I was wedged in among the other passengers, not able to move my feet at all, and with my head stuck between the legs of a pink pinata tied to the top of the cargo. A half hour later we stopped for gas, Talor and I got out to stretch our legs. Big mistake, as they then gave Talor´s indoor seat to someone else that had just joined, so she squeezed into the back with all of us. We were both confused and angry, but it was actually a little more comfortable for Talor in the back than squished in the hot cab, at least at first. The ride lasted nearly 6 hours, with one stop for very bad food along the way. After about 4 hours of travel, we left the road and began driving along the beach. Each sand dune would throw us into the air, and I was sure that I was going to be impailed on the corner pole of the truck cage which was wedged into my arm pit, or that the whole truck would flip as we went from one dune to another. Having left so late, we were traveling in the heat of the afternoon as well, and we ended up having to stop at one point as Talor overheated and was hyperventilating. We´ll never, ever, do that ride again! (Later on in the Moskitia we heard other paela horror stories, including people that had been seriously injured on ride, with impacted vertebrae, etc...) I´m pretty sure such transport wouldn´t be legal in many other countries!
Finally, though, we got there at about 5pm. At that point they actually had the nerve to demand that we pay 600L, not the agreed upon 500L. After much arguing, and the driver threatening to take us back to Tocoa, we made it clear that we would only pay 500, and they gave in. At that point we got into a small boat that ferried us across the river to Palacios, in the Moskitia. That was by far the worst travel experience we´d ever been subjected to. I did hear from others, though, that they usually don´t run as full as ours was, so we chose poorly! Needless to say, we slept like the dead that night, even though our hotel was less than comfortable.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Tocoa, prepping for La Moskitia
We paid Daney to drive us into town with our packs, and as we neared the bus terminal, we passed a Tocoa-bound bus. Daney made a fast u-turn and waved down the bus, which stopped for us. We climbed aboard and were off. This was probably our most enjoyable chicken-bus ride ever, as it was only half full, and our Spanish was getting good enough that we could chat with some of the others on the bus. (It´s still terrible, but at least we can have basic conversations now...)
A little over two hours later, we arrived in Tocoa. It was Sunday afternoon, and nothing open, so the place seemed like a dusty ghost town. The only person we say came up to us and followed us on a bicycle for a while, but in the end, it turned out he only wanted to sell us drugs, which we politely declined. The only restaurant open at that time was a chinese restaurant in a fancy hotel, so we ate there, and it was actually pretty good. It was also air-conditioned, so we would have stayed and eaten anything there - it was baking hot outside. The hotel was a bit too pricey for us, so after the meal, we walked to where the pickups were supposed to leave in the morning and found a very cheap hotel which was clean enough. Unfortunately the power was out all over town until 5pm. We weren´t sure if that was everyday, or just an outage, but our room fan didn´t work, so we suffered for a few hours. (We guessed that the fancy hotel and chinese restaurant must have had its own generator.) In the evening, with the fan working, we were comfortable enough to be able to sleep, which was good, as we had to be up early to catch the 7am "paela" (pickup truck) to Batalla, in the Moskitia.
A little over two hours later, we arrived in Tocoa. It was Sunday afternoon, and nothing open, so the place seemed like a dusty ghost town. The only person we say came up to us and followed us on a bicycle for a while, but in the end, it turned out he only wanted to sell us drugs, which we politely declined. The only restaurant open at that time was a chinese restaurant in a fancy hotel, so we ate there, and it was actually pretty good. It was also air-conditioned, so we would have stayed and eaten anything there - it was baking hot outside. The hotel was a bit too pricey for us, so after the meal, we walked to where the pickups were supposed to leave in the morning and found a very cheap hotel which was clean enough. Unfortunately the power was out all over town until 5pm. We weren´t sure if that was everyday, or just an outage, but our room fan didn´t work, so we suffered for a few hours. (We guessed that the fancy hotel and chinese restaurant must have had its own generator.) In the evening, with the fan working, we were comfortable enough to be able to sleep, which was good, as we had to be up early to catch the 7am "paela" (pickup truck) to Batalla, in the Moskitia.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
The hostel at the end of the world - Trujillo
The bus trip to Trujillo was eventless, though there was much confusion in the end as to where the hostel was that we´d picked out - Casa Kiwi. The book said that you could ask the driver to drop you off there, but they said that it was further on, beyond Trujillo, which in the end it was. It´s actually in the middle of nowhere, halfway between Trujillo and Puerto Castilla, further east. We were lucky, though, and didn´t have to wait long for a local connecting bus to Puerto Castillo that did, indeed, drop us off at the hostel. Well, at the beginning of their VERY long dirt driveway, anyway.
Casa Kiwi is a curious place, completely isolated on a wind-swept plain which gives directly onto a nice sand beach and one of the calmest bays we´d ever seen. It really did feel like the hostel at the end of the world. The staff were helpful and friendly, especially Daney (sp?) and Scott, but they all seemed a bit trapped and unhappy. All of them were planning to move on within the next month, which tells you something, I guess. The first night the food was really good, as the guide book had said. That changed the next day, though, as Marcus, the cook, disappeared, and remained AWOL until the day we left. (Turns out he´d gone on a two-day bender in town without telling anyone.) The food was atrocious at that point, but as we were so isolated, we didn´t have much choice. While there we researched our trip into the Moskitia as much as we could. It´s quite expensive to get in, and once in, it´s very expensive to travel around, as the only means of transport within the Moskitia is via dug-out canoes, some motorized, some propelled by poles or paddles. From what we read, the only way to get in without flying was via pick-up trucks that left early in the morning from Tocoa, about halfway back to La Ceiba. We weren´t too eager to stay in the strange Casa Kiwi longer than we had to, so we packed up after just a few days and jumped the bus to Tocoa.
Casa Kiwi is a curious place, completely isolated on a wind-swept plain which gives directly onto a nice sand beach and one of the calmest bays we´d ever seen. It really did feel like the hostel at the end of the world. The staff were helpful and friendly, especially Daney (sp?) and Scott, but they all seemed a bit trapped and unhappy. All of them were planning to move on within the next month, which tells you something, I guess. The first night the food was really good, as the guide book had said. That changed the next day, though, as Marcus, the cook, disappeared, and remained AWOL until the day we left. (Turns out he´d gone on a two-day bender in town without telling anyone.) The food was atrocious at that point, but as we were so isolated, we didn´t have much choice. While there we researched our trip into the Moskitia as much as we could. It´s quite expensive to get in, and once in, it´s very expensive to travel around, as the only means of transport within the Moskitia is via dug-out canoes, some motorized, some propelled by poles or paddles. From what we read, the only way to get in without flying was via pick-up trucks that left early in the morning from Tocoa, about halfway back to La Ceiba. We weren´t too eager to stay in the strange Casa Kiwi longer than we had to, so we packed up after just a few days and jumped the bus to Tocoa.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Meet me in La Ceiba
After two morning dives, I raced to the 2pm ferry to meet Talor in La Ceiba. We´d agreed to meet up at 4pm at Cafe Giarre, which as luck would have it, was closed. At least the ice cream store next to it was open, and Talor was waiting for me there as I got out of the cab. It was nice to have a break and be on our own for a little while, but it was great to be back together as well.
We booked into the Banana Republic Guest House, with a large room with balcony overlooking a busy street. The house is a bit run down, and the shower didn´t work so well, but the room was very nice and only$13/night, so we were quite pleased. We also found and excellent local fast food place, Super Baleadas, just around the corner. Baleadas are Honduran street food, much like a californian style burrito, except on a much thicker flour tortilla (grilled as you watch), but folded over more like an enormous soft taco. They are really good, and really cheap. There is a place across the street selling ice cold 60 cent beers as well - a perfect set up. La Ceiba is nice, but we weren´t in love with it, no matter how good the baleadas were. It´s a fairly large city, and the jumping off point for the Bay Islands, but we didn´t find it too compelling.
During our stay in La Ceiba, we pondered our next step in the trip. We were torn between continuing southeast in the wilderness of La Moskitia (Honduras´s version of the Amazon, with virgin rain forest jungle, wildlife, etc.), or heading west to Tegulcigapa and down into Nicaragua from there. In the end, we decided to test our off-the-beaten-track travel skills and push down into La Moskitia. The first step for that was to head down to Trujillo (so we thought), and so we were off after just a few days in La Ceiba.
We booked into the Banana Republic Guest House, with a large room with balcony overlooking a busy street. The house is a bit run down, and the shower didn´t work so well, but the room was very nice and only$13/night, so we were quite pleased. We also found and excellent local fast food place, Super Baleadas, just around the corner. Baleadas are Honduran street food, much like a californian style burrito, except on a much thicker flour tortilla (grilled as you watch), but folded over more like an enormous soft taco. They are really good, and really cheap. There is a place across the street selling ice cold 60 cent beers as well - a perfect set up. La Ceiba is nice, but we weren´t in love with it, no matter how good the baleadas were. It´s a fairly large city, and the jumping off point for the Bay Islands, but we didn´t find it too compelling.
During our stay in La Ceiba, we pondered our next step in the trip. We were torn between continuing southeast in the wilderness of La Moskitia (Honduras´s version of the Amazon, with virgin rain forest jungle, wildlife, etc.), or heading west to Tegulcigapa and down into Nicaragua from there. In the end, we decided to test our off-the-beaten-track travel skills and push down into La Moskitia. The first step for that was to head down to Trujillo (so we thought), and so we were off after just a few days in La Ceiba.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Guerilla Utila
The ferry ride was crowded, but pleasant, for the most part. It was a beautiful day, the sea was calm, and it was only an hour´s ride to the Bay Island of Utila - known for cheap diving and whale sharks. I found plenty of the former, but none of the latter. The only down side to the ferry was a large group of Honduran tourists who apparently had never been on a boat before, and ran around taking thousands of photos, or sitting next to me, looking quite green with sea sickness.
On Utila, I was able to leave my pack at Capt. Morgan´s dive shop while I looked for affordable lodging. I found that at Alton´s Dive Centre - $3 dorm room (which I ended up having to myself), and $25 dives. Perfect! The staff there are very nice, and the clientelle fun to be around. I dove twice a day for 5 days (including the day I arrived and the day I left), and then we all would get dinner and/or drinks in the evening. A very pleasant stay, and the diving was excellent. Besides the amazing things we say under the water, we also were able to boat in a pod of pilot whales, and swim in an enormous pod of spinner dolphins - over 200 dolphins, the captain thought. Amazing. I considered staying a bit longer to do my rescue diver training, I needed to meet Talor after a few days in La Ceiba.
On Utila, I was able to leave my pack at Capt. Morgan´s dive shop while I looked for affordable lodging. I found that at Alton´s Dive Centre - $3 dorm room (which I ended up having to myself), and $25 dives. Perfect! The staff there are very nice, and the clientelle fun to be around. I dove twice a day for 5 days (including the day I arrived and the day I left), and then we all would get dinner and/or drinks in the evening. A very pleasant stay, and the diving was excellent. Besides the amazing things we say under the water, we also were able to boat in a pod of pilot whales, and swim in an enormous pod of spinner dolphins - over 200 dolphins, the captain thought. Amazing. I considered staying a bit longer to do my rescue diver training, I needed to meet Talor after a few days in La Ceiba.
To La Ceiba and on to Utila
I (Erik) decided that the Bay Islands were just too close, and some good diving too tempting, so I jumped on the 5am chicken bus for the two hour ride to La Ceiba, where I could catch a 9:30am ferry to Utila. Talor preferred the tranquil beach life, and so remained in Tela. We agreed to meet up at a cafe in La Ceiba a few days later.
The bus ride was actually quite nice. I was the only one on the bus to begin with, and the sun rising over the fog filled valleys and jungle vistas was beautiful. Slowly the bus filled up, and by the time we hit the outskirts of La Ceiba, I was standing, having given up my seat to an old woman on her way to work. From La Ceiba, it was a an 80 Lempira taxi ride to the ferry terminal. In the end, I was almost 2 hours early, but the ferry was full, so I was lucky to get on...
The bus ride was actually quite nice. I was the only one on the bus to begin with, and the sun rising over the fog filled valleys and jungle vistas was beautiful. Slowly the bus filled up, and by the time we hit the outskirts of La Ceiba, I was standing, having given up my seat to an old woman on her way to work. From La Ceiba, it was a an 80 Lempira taxi ride to the ferry terminal. In the end, I was almost 2 hours early, but the ferry was full, so I was lucky to get on...
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
One boat, four buses and one beautiful beach town - Tela, Honduras
From Livingston, we took a 7:30AM lancha (colectivo mini ferry) to Puerto Barrios for 30Q each, or $4. It´s a beautiful ride! We were the only tourists in the lancha, which was a nice change...
Then a 45 minute colectivo bus to the Honduran border - we were the only gringos in the mini van. . Immigration was easy and cost $3 US each to enter Honduras (no exit fee for Guate..) No one seemed to care that we were at the border (we were the only ones there,) and we had to actually seek out someone to issue our visa. We could have easily just walked across the border and gotten on a bus without speaking to anyone, but that seemed a bad idea...
The only bus we could find after the border was a chicken bus - which they hadn´t bothered to repaint from the American school yellow. It diverted into small dirt roads to seek passengers in each passing village, so the 90 minute ride was more like 2 hours. Get a directo, if you can instead...We did get to Puerto Cortes just fine, though, where we went and got iced coffees from Espresso Americano, which seems to be a Honduran version of Starbucks. We really needed to escape the Honduran heat, though, and the place was air conditioned!
After the coffee break, we got a directo, air-conditioned mini van to San Pedro Sula for 35 Limpiras ($2) each. Luxury!
Finally, from San Pedro Sula, we got another directo to Tela, for 65 Limpiras each ($3.75). The mini van dropped us at the Tela bus terminal, which was great. It was a large Pullman-style bus and a comfortable 90 minute ride. The bus left 5 minutes early, and we almost missed it after finding a quick lunch.
Once in Tela, we wandered with our packs looking at hotels for an hour or so, finally settling on Hotel Rio Mar, which is no frills, but the rooms are fairly large with private bath with cold shower. (No need for hot water here, it´s WAY too hot outside.) We were lucky, and ran into the owner, Senor Sherwood, at his neighboring, luxury hotel, and he offered us a discounted rate of only $14 for the more downscale, beach-front hotel, which ended up being the best deal in town.
Tela is a great, chill, town, with a mixed population of Latino and Garifuna populations. The beaches are lovely, the water nice to swim in, and some interesting day trips to be done to local Garifuna villages or the bio-reserves, etc. Looks like we´ll stay a few days. La Ceiba and the Bay Islands are only a few hours away, so Erik will likely take off for a few days diving at some point. Life here is slow and good!
Then a 45 minute colectivo bus to the Honduran border - we were the only gringos in the mini van. . Immigration was easy and cost $3 US each to enter Honduras (no exit fee for Guate..) No one seemed to care that we were at the border (we were the only ones there,) and we had to actually seek out someone to issue our visa. We could have easily just walked across the border and gotten on a bus without speaking to anyone, but that seemed a bad idea...
The only bus we could find after the border was a chicken bus - which they hadn´t bothered to repaint from the American school yellow. It diverted into small dirt roads to seek passengers in each passing village, so the 90 minute ride was more like 2 hours. Get a directo, if you can instead...We did get to Puerto Cortes just fine, though, where we went and got iced coffees from Espresso Americano, which seems to be a Honduran version of Starbucks. We really needed to escape the Honduran heat, though, and the place was air conditioned!
After the coffee break, we got a directo, air-conditioned mini van to San Pedro Sula for 35 Limpiras ($2) each. Luxury!
Finally, from San Pedro Sula, we got another directo to Tela, for 65 Limpiras each ($3.75). The mini van dropped us at the Tela bus terminal, which was great. It was a large Pullman-style bus and a comfortable 90 minute ride. The bus left 5 minutes early, and we almost missed it after finding a quick lunch.
Once in Tela, we wandered with our packs looking at hotels for an hour or so, finally settling on Hotel Rio Mar, which is no frills, but the rooms are fairly large with private bath with cold shower. (No need for hot water here, it´s WAY too hot outside.) We were lucky, and ran into the owner, Senor Sherwood, at his neighboring, luxury hotel, and he offered us a discounted rate of only $14 for the more downscale, beach-front hotel, which ended up being the best deal in town.
Tela is a great, chill, town, with a mixed population of Latino and Garifuna populations. The beaches are lovely, the water nice to swim in, and some interesting day trips to be done to local Garifuna villages or the bio-reserves, etc. Looks like we´ll stay a few days. La Ceiba and the Bay Islands are only a few hours away, so Erik will likely take off for a few days diving at some point. Life here is slow and good!
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