just finished dinner with the Casey and Mica (the peace corps folks) + their host family. A really good pupusa meal + soda’s for 6/7 of us? $8. incredible. then we hung out at the host family’s house and played guitar, etc. it was a lot of fun. they also talked me out of driving up to the hills tomorrow morning. apparently a number of cars have fallen off the cliff….because their brakes fail. i just had mine changed….but figure i’ll see plenty of other cool mountain views in the weeks to come. plus, i need to pickup patrik at the airport on thursday.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
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after suchitoto, i drove up to la palma — which the salvadorian woman (there was only one) at border said is a really nice town. she’s right, although it is a bit quiet. it’s an artists town, with a bunch of local art and crafts….although the majority of the shops sell the same stuff. it is quaint and nice, though…and it is nice being surrounded by art. for instance, even the telephone poles are painted (see pic). wandering around, i came across a peace corps volunteer (casey) who has set up a rec club for kids in the area. we played soccer and frisbee for a while, until it began to rain. then we went to his house (along with one of the kids, bryan, and his wife, mica? mikah?) and hung out for a bit. later tonight, we’reas going to grab pupusas.
the place i’m at now, hotel la palma, is good and the people are very friendly. although, one thing which is a bit scary here (as well as much of central america), is the water heater in the showers. (see pic)
- painted post (la palma)
- ‘hot’ shower
151510
so today, i drove from san vicente to suchitoto (an old/colonial tourist city). it’s nice, but i didnt have the best time there. first of all, they have 2 atms and both are broken. how can you have a tourist town without an atm? this seems to be a recurring issue in central america (lack of access to atm’s). then, i had lunch a place that lonely planet recommended ‘la fonda del mirador’. the food was average…but the service was awful. the lake view was nice however — it’s on the crest of a hill, with a view to the lake
- suchitoto
all around.
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so, today i crossed into el salvador…and unfortunately had to give up my immigration papers….meaning i’ll have to repeat the whole process again in a few days. the problem with honduras auto immigration is that it’s in a state where some people follow the books and others don’t. in the us, i imagine it’s easy….because you basically have to follow the law, so there’s only 1 way. in guatemala, it’s pretty laid back, so that makes sense too. but here, some people will say something and others will say another thing. some people are laid back, some follow the law. and you have to adapt to both. plus, it’s a beaurocratic nightmare and is way overpriced.
el salvador, on the other hand, is cheap (i.e.-free) and is also law abiding. but everyone in immigration seems to follow the law, so it’s much easier and more fun.
right now i’m in san vicente….because i accidentally missed the turn off for alegria. how can a foreign country use the US Dollar as it’s currency? I’m surprised that El Salvador would put it’s entire economic future in the hands of another country….and i’m equally surprised the US would let another country adopt it’s currency like that. nonentheless, it’s nice to be able to think in dollars again…without having to convert. tonight, i had a chicken dinner with a fresh watermelon drink for $4.
- volcan road
- temple?
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note: gps is slightly off.
so, today, for about $30, i got my exhaust pipe patched up again ($8) and my oil/filter changed up ($25). The man who fixed my exhaust pipe (ojenio?), was really nice, and used to do this stuff for the honduras army (thus the uniform). his arc welding setup was pretty haphazard. you can see the machine in the background (middle left, behind the steel box). some of the awkwardly placed steel pipes actually serve as conductors. meaning that most thing in his shop could be part of the circuit…so when he accidentally dropped the torch on the table, it sparked.
- welding
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today, i drove from siguatepeque to tegucigalpa (the capital). tegucigalpa is incredibly difficult to drive though. it’s not the driving itself (i’m used to the ‘lawless’ nature of it by now), but the navigation. without a gps or guide, it’s very hard….and i spent about 1-2 hrs driving around before finding a good hotel (a detailed map might have help). i’m also pretty sure i went into a few neighborhoods i should not have. but i also drove by some nice churches and the soccer stadium (twice).
tegucigalpa is quite large. and the people here are not as nice as they were in other part. and, unfortunately, almost everything is closed on sunday’s. also. it’s not adviseable to walk around most of the neighborhoods at night. it’s one of those places which could probably be a lot of fun if you knew somebody that lived here….but otherwise, is kind of a pain. tomorrow i’m going to try to get my car tuned up (i haven’t changed the oil in over 5k miles, plus the steering needs to be greased and my exhaust pipe might need to be patched up again….but hopefully i can do it all for under $20 US).
- tegucigalpa
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well, looks like peter’s out….and yush’s bet will be dropping out of contention pretty soon too. although, the sentra is starting to hurt a bit.
here are some pics from the countryside here.
- honduras countryside
- honduras countryside
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i am writing this entry in siguatepeque — a high altitude city, so the climate is cooler…although still not as nice as san cristobal de las casas, mexico. the honduras vs. us world cup qualifier match is going to start soon, and many many people are wearing honduras shirts, waving flags, etc. i wonder what it’s going to be like when they lose.
before embarking on this trip, i knew little about central america, and thought of all countries as more or less the same…just at different stages of development (i.e.–costa rica is relatively wealthy and safe….and guatemala will be like costa rica in a few years).
and, for the most part, the countries are very similar. they share similar environments/climates, diets (same basic ingredients, although cuisine does change slightly), language (spanish, except for different native dialects and accents) and ethnic background (usually spanish, mixed with some native ancestry).
however, it’s also interesting how different each country can be, especially across an arbitrary border…which is relatively easy to cross. words and slang will change (tire repair stores are called llantera’s in mexico/honduras but pinchazo’s in guatemala). fashion will change (in guatemala, and a little bit of belize, corona’s — or gold framed teeth — are very popular). accents will change (in guatemala v = b….so you say bibera instead of vivera…which means greenhouse).
perhaps one of the most interesting differences is in the kindness of people. it seems that every country accuses their southern neighbors of being ruder and more dangerous than themselves. Americans say Mexico is dirty (…well, that one’s kinda true). Mexicans accuse guatemala of being unsafe, and guatemalans say that honduras is similar…but rougher. however, almost the opposite seems to be true. Thus far, the people of honduras are really nice, outgoing and helpful. this is especially true of the women here, who are by far the warmest women i’ve met on the trip thus far.
- siguatepeque
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note: gps is slightly off
here at the pulhapanzak waterfalls. it’s pretty awesome…but unfortunately, my foot is still a bit cut up — it’s probably a good thing i didnt go into the beautiful pool at the base of the waterfall…because just above were hundreds of kids playing in the water, and the smell of animal waste. nonetheless, it’s a great spot to relax, and the water is, as one of the workers there said ‘a delicious temperature’.
- pulhapanzak waterfalls
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two milestones today:
1) the car reached 151,000 miles
2) i entered honduras (below)
Honduras auto immigration sucks. every country has written laws and practiced laws…so when you enter any border, you really have no clue what to expect. instead, you basically do what the person tells you to do…and try to speak to a few different people so that you can compare stories. in all countries, so far, immigration has been easy (too easy?): it usually takes about 10min, and costs $10-30. in honduras, though, it’s completely idiotic.
1) you arrive at the honduras border, and a guard points you which buiding to drive to. you park there.
2) a man looks over your vehicle really quickly. he stamps your passport (with a vehicle stamp).
3) you walk to another building and get the immigration stamp for yourself. here you pay $3 US….or in my case…all the cash i had easily accessible…42 Lempira + $1 (which is about $3 US….actually, a bit more). i still don’t understand why they don’t have atm’s at any of the borders. it seems like such a great business opportunity for the banks..
4)you go back to the car immigration, get a custodian, who sits in your car….and you drive together 40 miles to the first city (puerto cortes).
5) the custodian directs you to an ugly building with no signs. you enter, and they look at your passport some more.
6) you walk next door, and sit in an office for 45min, while they xerox your license plate (you have to remove it from the car), car registration & title, passport, etc. they even use a typewriter. you get another stamp, plus a form.
7) you pay them $30….and the custodian about $25. 8) you assume that everything’s legit…and that the $60 was well spent. you also hope that you don’t have to repeat this if you only leave the country for a few days and then return.
so that’s more or less how honduras welcomes you. you pay a bunch of money, drive a total stranger for 1hr (custodians are obligatory, apparently), sit in an unmarked building for another hour or two, and then finally get to leave. the best part, was the lady who processed the stuff in the building. she was really nice. at first, a bit annoyed, because we got there about 3:30…and everything closes at 4pm (plus, it was friday). however, she took care of everything and was a really nice woman. she’s also one of the first strangers i’ve met who seems to have her life in order. she has 2 kids, both went to college and both have good jobs. this seems so different from all the ‘tragic’ stories people say about how it’s hard to live, they have 10 siblings, etc. it was nice to see someone who seems to have stuff figured out.
from there, i went to playa coca cola. yes, that coke; and, yes, everyone calls it that. i think they have a bottling plant here….but as you can see from the sign, they’ve (legally?) branded the beach as such. the hotel i’m at now, prince wilson is quite nice. for $25 it has internet, pool, clean room, parking, and good service. i’m afraid, though, honduras is more expensive than guatemala.
- honduras guatemala frontera
- playa coca cola
- playa coke sign