01 August 2011

Honduras: sunken treasure and smooth roads

Current Location: Managua, Nicaragua
Days spent crossing Honduras: 9
Cost to smuggle a person to the USA: 100,000Lps, or 5000USD
Size of biggest beetle seen: 3 inches
hours lost in Tegucigalpa: 4
months on the road: 7
hours of daylight today: 13

Honduras went by in a blur, but it was a good ride.  One afternoon, about an hour before sundown (dark by 6:30pm) a man greeted me from his porch.  He said the rain was coming.  I smiled and asked him when.  He said, get over here, it's coming right now.  I shuffled the bike under his porch and the skies opened.  I thought I had 20 minutes at least, but no.  He offered me the porch for the night and we sat down for a chat, eavesdropped by his cute 5 year old named Kimberly.  Jorge is a diver for a fish farm at the nearby lake.  He SCUBAs down to mend the nets.  In his spare time, he has explored some other parts of the lake.  He knows of a flooded stone city near the edge about 40 meters depth.  Every time he tries to enter the city, his flashlight flickers off.  This has happened 3 times.  Twice, he has found the same brass box, locked shut by hammered latches.  Too heavy for 2 divers to budge, he tied a rope to the box and tried to haul it up with a 40 horse lancha but with no success.  He has since given up with no idea how to get that box out of the depths.  Ohhhh just think of the possibilities.

The Rio Coco adventure I had planned fell through, so I refocused my efforts on blazing through the miles and have really enjoyed putting 2 solid weeks of riding behind me.

welcome to honduras!

that is  big beetle!

as usual, pictures are chronologically out of order

little Tegucigalpa

Delicious watermelon, 3 Lempiras a slice

Tatanka sets eyes on the Caribbean...

Yes, they sell dead animals.

baby parts continue to line the road.  i guess my sister wasn't the only one to dismember her dolls.

first time i have seen diesel ford rangers and chevy blazers.

yesss!  airbrushed semi trucks!

happy face school.

the roads had ample shoulders all throughout.  great riding.

near Peña Blanca, the light came down through the clouds.


cloud forest ahead

6 cylinder diesel Toyota Land Cruiser pickup.

Coca Cola supplied EVERYONE in town with their own sign.

pineapples!

willys rotting away in honduran highlands

put your trash here.  don´t be a pig.

look at that shoulder!

you'd think they'd aim higher than president...


with tape and cardboard, the kids play finger soccer.  no american style paper football here...


banana trees are ever present

the novelty of a wendy's lured me in for a frosty and fries: 69 lempiras.  about $3.75


the price of gasoline and diesel fuel in honduras in Lps per gallon

it has been buggy.  here, ants filled a pannier cranny one morning

road side honey in old liqour bottles.

large comet comes to destroy earth.  buy the book!

another beautiful morning.  afternoons bring rain.

happy to be going downhill fast again.

pine forests!  so nice!

farmland and highlands!

some pants were glued to the mountainside, along with some shoes

more pleasant scenery

oh yeah, the continental divide, again.

Gloria and her farmhand hosted me for an evening near Tegucigalpa.

sometimes, it is hard to keep your toothbrush clean.  noting Gloria´s on her outside table, I put mine away promptly

here is her kitchen

rolling into Tegucigalpa

Tegucigalpa is a network of hills and valleys crammed full of block huts.

always, there is a cool workshop hiding somewhere.  This guy had about 6 Suzukis

i hear they have good sausage


with all the storms, the prevailing sun puts on a good show.

I couchsurfed at Wally's in Tegus.  He was a great host and has an awesome garden.

back in the tent, on the road.  have a good name for my tent?

handcuffing zone?

the mornings during rainy season are awesome.  cool and clear.

Pulperias sell snacks and other basic items.  Cookies cost 1 Lempira, or about 5 cents.

Varied transport.  How they wear rubber boots and jeans in this tropical sun i don't understand.

wrecked Toyota HJ-45

succesful reforestation AND grazing land
A quote for travelers from Biff: We need not go back to someone else's version of what our lives should be.

Next up, Nicaragua!  Costa Rica here I come...

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