Honduras, for real (2/25/11)

Las Manos

Las Manos border

I say for real because the first time in was only for one day and the border was the worst experience of this trip (knock on wood it will remain the worst). One hour gets me from Somoto to the smallish border of Las Manos. It takes maybe 20 minutes to get processed through Nicaragua and $3 for the exit fee. Not bad.

Over to Honduras, about 50 feet. One kid is awfully persistent so I let him point me around, though it's pretty much all right in front of me. Stamp my passport and pay $3 to enter the country. Over to the aduana to process my vehicle. This is where it can get tricky, and the woman disappears for about an hour. When she comes out I'm told I need to pay $35 to bring in the vehicle, but I need to pay that at the nearby bank. This is a legitimate fee for Honduras, albeit a bit high. Just then, the bank closes for lunch. Most everything comes to a halt. Not a big deal, really. After 4 months in Central America I'm kinda used to the pace. I meet a trucker who's been waiting for over a day named Salvador from El Salvador who lived in the US for many years, and we spent the hour chatting about his country and the best food; we both agree it's Mexico. Lunch ends, the place comes alive and 30 minutes later I'm on the road. This Honduran border cost me $40 ($2 for the kid) versus $125 at El Amatillo. $85 of bullshit. Some day I'll get over it.

Valle de Angeles

Las Manos to Valle de Angeles

Another difference between this border crossing and the one on the Pacific is I don't run into any of those local police roadblocks looking for easy pickings: "do you have triangulos?" Instead, there are 3 military checkpoints between Las Manos into Tegucigalpa ,all of which I get waved through. Now that's more like it! 

on the way up to Teguc.

To get to Tegucigalpa you drive through lots of pine forest and finally up a very steep, long hill with incredible views all around. Then down the other side where the city starts to get real. Fortunately, Honduras seems to believe in road signs and I'm easily able to make my way to the northeast back up into the hills towards a weekend retreat called Valle de Angeles. This is pretty country up here, mostly for hiking and mountain biking and the town has lots of touristy shops. A good place to catch my breath as I try to figure out how to get over to the Bay Islands.