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Honduras
Dates Traveled: March-April 2000
Ruins of Copan
The following day I bid El Salvador adieu. Didn’t spend much time there, so probably didn’t do it justice at all, but I was more interested in moving on to Honduras. First place I popped into in Honduras was the town of Copan Ruinas, near the ruins known as…Copan (how do people come up with these names?!? Genius!) Copan Ruinas was a small town but had a great feel. The following day I walked the 10-15 minutes out to the ruins and wandered around there for a few hours. Not nearly as impressive as other ruins I’d seen previously, though Copan is known more for it’s stellae - carved stone tablets, than the buildings themselves. It was in a nice setting, but didn’t hold my interest as long as other’s had. While leaving the grounds I ran into a Swedish guy I’d met in Guatemala and again briefly in El Salvador. Met a Swiss guy at the same time, so we agreed to meet up that night for drinks, and subsequently ended up traveling together for several days to/in the north of Honduras.
Tela
The following morning we left early for the bus to Tela, via San Pedro Sula. Tela sits on the Caribbean, and has more of that type of feel than one of a Central American town - as all the Caribbean towns have to date. Much more of an ‘island’ attitude. A bit easier to get along in these cities as well, as English is a bit more prevalent. In all Tela was dirty, but a nice place to hang out for a few days. One day we went to Lancetilla - a botanical garden outside of town. Most of the trees were planted around 1926 by the United Fruit Company to experiment with various tropical plants in Cental America. We had a 2 1/2 hour tour through the grounds, which was quite nice, followed by the 3 mile walk back to town. North coast of Honduras is really nice as it is green, lush, and covered by various plantations.
Roatan
The following day the three of us went our separate ways, with me grabbing a bus to La Ceiba and immediately getting the boat out to the bay island of Roatan. From the port I caught a ride to West End, which is the most popular place to stay on the island. Met up with others for dinner and a walk along the beach under a full moon, so that was a nice introduction to the island. The following day I had to go back to the port - Coxen Hole, to change money. While there I happened to run into an American couple that had just arrived by a cruise ship holding 1500-2000 passengers. Seems they had left Florida, sailed to the Cayman Islands, Roatan, and were sailing next for Belize and Cozumel before returning to Florida - all in one week! Certainly a quick trip, and not one I’d be able to handle. They only had part of a day in Roatan, as the boat was due to leave again around 6 that night. Oh well - to each his own.
Returned to West End and simply spent the rest of the day wandering the beach and catching some sun. Following day was more of the same, as I walked farther along the water to the good beach - West Bay. Ran into the Swiss guy, Andy, again, as well as a French traveler I’d met before and a Norwegian woman, so hung out with them for the next few days - sunning, swimming, and snorkeling. Beach was quite nice, and the water, palm trees, and sunset were as you’d expect for a Caribbean beach - postcard perfect. Only downside were the sandflies, which would leave small bites all over your body, but at least they didn’t itch too bad. Next day was more relaxing in hammocks and hanging out on the Caribbean beach…..hope you’re starting to see and appreciate the stress and pains I go through for each of these little updates! Anyway, while walking back to town we noticed heavy black smoke and flames from town. Andy and Stefan were staying in a place before the fire and so returned to their place to shower before we were to meet for dinner. I was continuing along the road to do the same until I encountered the cause of the smoke. One of the nicer homes was engulfed in flames, and people were scrambling about trying to get items out of two adjacent homes before they caught fire as well. I jumped in and helped move furniture and personal belongings out to the street. One woman came to the door with an entire toilet she had ripped from the floor. Call me crazy, but that probably wouldn’t be the first thing I’d attempt to save if my house were possibly going up in flames, but I took it without question…..maybe it had some sentimental value to her - who am I to argue. We next initiated the bucket brigade from the sea to the house on fire and the surrounding houses. Anything that would hold the least amount of water was used - pots from stoves, buckets, garbage cans, coolers, etc. It was pretty chaotic, with people screaming, and you could see the fear on some firelit faces as large portions of the house would collapse. Definitely a trip back to the dark ages of firefighting. The firetruck eventually arrived about 30-45 minutes later, but spent several minutes trying to turn down the narrow street and avoid the low wires. It finally worked into position and dowsed the houses. It ran out of water and the bucket brigade had to be resumed before a second truck could arrive on the scene. Amazingly enough, the two adjacent houses were saved, but the original house was completely lost. Definitely sad to watch something happen that could have been limited in damage in another place.
Trujillo
I left on the 7 A.M. ferry back to La Ceiba the following day, while the others opted to stay on Roatan. In all the island was quite nice - very relaxing. I stayed in La Ceiba for a night and then caught a bus east to Trujillo - another town on the Caribbean. The drive from La Ceiba to Trujillo was one of the nicest I’ve taken in Central America. There were several plantations of various fruits along the way. However, this section also made it readily apparent how much damage was done by hurricane Mitch to the bridges in Honduras, as most of the bridges were either gone completely or were still temporary spans. Believe I heard that 80% of the bridges in the country were damaged, and from this stretch it seemed to be an accurate number. Spent the following day wandering around the town and along the sea, again taking some time to relax and soak up some sun. My big reason to be in Trujillo was that it is supposed to be a gateway into the isolated Mosquitia region to the east. Checked into organized trips, but the cost was more than I wanted to spend, and it required additional people, so I decided to try it on my own.
Mosquitia Coast
Following morning I caught an old Russian prop plane (was good to see the Russian alphabet again) to the village of Palacios. Runway was a narrow grass and gravel stretch between shacks in which the locals lived, which made for a bumpy landing. Was able to arrange transport in a cayuco, which is a small wooden craft about 25′ in length and could seat 2-3 people across, powered by a small motor. This particular one was loaded down with supplies going out to the village of Cocobila, the largest settlement on Laguna Ibans, and didn’t seem especially seaworthy. Trip through the river was smooth, but once we hit the lagoon it was a different story, as the small boat was tossed around like a cork on the water by the waves. It was a three hour trip, and the tune to Gilligans Island ran through my mind more than once, recalling a similar 3 hour tour that didn’t end well. Finally arrived in the small garifuna village of Raista. The area was pretty spectacular, with the Caribbean on one side of the narrow strip of land and the lagoon on the other. In the afternoon I was watching a woman standing in the lagoon washing her clothes and beating them against a log. Turning my head slightly I saw another woman attaching some brush to a long stick for use as broom. A further swivel of the head revealed a man cutting up and getting the meat from a turtle, mangos falling from a tree, and chickens, cows, and horses that could wander where they liked. Really was an amazing place. Place I stayed didn’t have electricity, so it was a night of candlelight.
Next part of the journey was to be in a pipante - a dugout that was about the same length as the cayuco but much narrower, seating only one across. I was the only passenger, while there was one man at the stern manning the outboard and steering and an additional man in the bow spotting shallow sections in the river and poling us through those. Total journey up to the village of Las Marias took 6 1/2 hours, but it was spectacular. Began in canals no wider than 15-20′, with lush rain forest vegetation that formed an arch over the waterway. This opened to the river Rio Platano, which was probably 100′ wide and again bounded by numerous types of greenery. River got extremely shallow in places. In others I felt like the homecoming king in a one-float parade, as children on the banks of the river in front of ramshackle homes would yell and wave. Really was a magical trip. Arrived in Las Marias and got my room in a shack set on stilts. All buildings in this area have sagging porches and roofs, with numerous meals on the hoof wandering freely and simply waiting for their number to come up - pigs, chickens, cows, etc. Following day I jumped back in a pipante, but this one would be powered simply by two guys with long poles - no motors, for the 7 1/2 hour round-trip journey to visit some stone carvings. There were several places where they had me exit the boat and walk overland while they brought the boat upriver. It was another nice day on the river. That night I sat on the balcony - amazed at the number of fireflies, lightning bugs, or whatever you want to call them. There were hundreds of them, and it was pretty entertaining.
Following day I was back in the motorized pipante for the trip downriver to the lagoon and the village of Cocobila. During this trip I was amazed at the pristine, isolated Caribbean beaches that few foreigners ever see. Much better than some top tourist attractions. Following morning I caught the 5 A.M. cayuco ‘taxi’ back to Palacios and hopped a flight back to Trujillo. Trip into the Mosquitia region was really amazing. Only bad part was the cost. I have been traveling with others almost exclusively throughout Honduras and Nicaragua….except for that portion. The pipante up/down river to Las Marias runs around $125 U.S. Normally this is split between many passengers, but I was the only one at the time, so had to eat the entire cost. Still something that was well-worth the price, as not many people actually opt to go into the area.
Tegucigalpa
From Trujillo I caught a 5:30 A.M. bus for the 9 1/2 hour trip to the capital - Tegucigalpa. Spent a few days there, but primarily to check e-mail, exchange books, get money, do laundry, and check out the sights a bit.
Honduras Is…
I suppose what will stick in my mind regarding Honduras was the time spent on the island of Roatan, simply relaxing and enjoying island life. I also enjoyed the journey into the Mosquitia region, as it displayed a much more simple way of life, one which I appreciated.
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