Honduras Trip (Jan 9th - Feb 21 2009)
As most know I headed back to Honduras again at the beginning of January 2009 and below are some pictures and details from the trip. As for the majority of the trip, I spent most of my time in San Juan Pueblo with limited internet connection so updates to this page weren't daily but I did update often.
Margarita rented the new(er) house we're currently in and it's quite an improvement over the old one we had last year. It has a yard, kitchen and a real bathroom which are all improvements over the old casa. The large front porch is pretty cool for hanging out and watching the local action as well. Check it out below.
Map Of Honduras
Other adventures I've been on can be found HERE
Yesterday we got up at 5am for the trip to the airport in SPS. We just made it to catch the 6am direct bus to SPS which will take me to SPS and drop Margarita in San Juan Pueblo. The trip went pretty well but after dropping Margarita, as we were running I bet over 60mph a horse ran out in front of the bus and if it hadn't turned at the last minute, that would have been ugly. The driver slammed on his brakes and swerved almost off the road and just missed it, throwing everyone forward and giving us a bit of a wake up early in the morning! Then a while after that, the rear brakes locked while he was stopped and it took him about 15 minutes to get them working again. Traveling in Honduras can be interesting!
The bus did get me to SPS a little after 9am and after a 150L taxi ride I was at the airport really early. Next time I'll grab a 7am bus so I don't have to set around as long. The flight went well though with no problems and landed early at around 7:50pm in Columbus.
Mom & dad picked me up and last night at about 9:30 I got back to Mansfield and the cold. When I went to start my car, the relatively new battery was shot so that wasn't what I needed first thing. We turned on the heat and water and I unpacked a little then my buddy Myron came over and picked me up so we could head out for a drink and catch up.
Today I'm catching up on some internet work as well as trying to get the car going so back to life in Ohio!
First off, a little update on the cost of that dentists visit yesterday. It turns out the toothpaste was 210 Limpiras so the actual cost to have her filling replaced was 250L or $12.50. That's pretty incredible I have to say!
Last night we thawed out and cooked up a couple lobster tails I had bought a while back. They came out ok but are much better when cooked the same day they're caught. Hopefully someday I'll find a connection for fresher seafood.
Today we're in LaCeiba and staying the night at Hotel Paris. We plan to head over to Expats a little later for dinner and drinks then to bed early since I have to catch a 6am bus for San Pedro Sula!
Lobster dinner my last night in San Juan Pueblo!
Yesterday I went to LaCeiba to buy a couple things for the house. I figured out a new trick which is to flag down a “direct” bus that technically isn't supposed to make stops between major cities but they always do since the bus driver gets to pocket whatever he charges me for the trip. It costs about twice as much as the yellow school buses but since those are really slow and stop often, it's worth the extra $1.25! So I get on one of those for the trip to Ceiba and this guy is really hauling. I figure I'm going to get there in record time at the pace he's setting! Then it happened... He gets pulled over by the police and after about 10 minutes arguing with them and another guy, the cops arrest him and haul him away! It turns out he apparently sideswiped the other guys car sometime before he picked me up. I guess that explains the rapid pace! So now we're all setting in a hot bus with no driver and no clue when it will move again. So I decide instead of setting baking all morning on the side of the road, I'll get off the “fast” bus and catch a yellow bus that happens to be passing. It turns out to be one of the slowest buses I've ever ridden on and all the time I made was pretty much shot thanks to the new bus driver who I don't believe ever shifted out of second gear. I did finally get to Ceiba though where I went to purchase a table and a couple other items for the house. But that didn't happen either. It turns out that MasterCard thought that even though I use their card here several times a year and frequently in Honduras, all of a sudden they think it must be stolen so they lock it up. By the time I figured out what happened, it was too late for my buddy Rick to deliver the goods back to San Juan Pueblo so I didn't buy anything and that makes the whole trip pretty much a waste of time. As soon as the bus driver got arrested, I should have known how the day was going to go!
Anyway, later in the day I did go to a store in San Juan Pueblo where we picked up a new kitchen table and chairs as well as some new plastic ones for setting on the porch. It set me back quite a bit more than the one in Ceiba would have but it's a much nicer set so what the hell. I also paid $15 for a new really big hammock from a person down the street that needed some cash and that was a great deal considering they sell for around $50 so the afternoon turned out better than the morning!
Today we went to a dentist so Margarita could get her filling replaced. They said I could watch so I did. Although I don't know that much about dentistry and don't particularly like going to them, it was interesting and the total repair on the back of her front tooth took about ˝ hour. The doctor seemed to do a great job and had fairly new equipment from the looks of it. The really amazing thing was the price. With a tube of some kind of medicated toothpaste, the total bill was 460 Limpiras which comes to about $23!
I've come up with a plan for getting out of town and to the airport in San Pedro Sula so we'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon for LaCeiba where we'll spend the night. Then I'll catch a direct bus to San Pedro Sula early Saturday which should get me there in plenty of time.
Today I rebooked my return flight on Continental so will be back in Mansfield Saturday night (the 21st). Since the flight leaves Saturday at around 1pm from San Pedro Sula, I'll probably head there Friday afternoon and stay the night so I'm sure to catch it!
Today Margaritas brothers girlfriend moved out to a place up the street. I knew for a day or two she was going but the surprise was the fact the kitchen table, stereo, and quite a few other items here were hers so they also are now gone. That means I'm headed to LaCeiba tomorrow for a shopping trip. Other than that news, not much else is going on again today but I did take some pictures over the last couple days and they're below.
A lazy Saturday morning on the porch eating Watermelon!
A really big spider I tossed out of the house today!
Margarita lost a filling a couple days ago so we have to head to the dentist here and San Juan soon so she can get that fixed. I'm curious how the prices will differ from the States to here in San Juan so will post results once that visit is done.
I also made some Italian chicken today for lunch. It wasn't quite as good as what I make back home since I could only find powdered Oregano and only Parmesan cheese when I usually use Romano.
Making breaded chicken for lunch!
I'm in Ceiba tonight where I went to see the Daytona 500. The funny thing is in over 200 channels, my buddies bar can't get it! So we're going out on the town instead. Tough break but I'll adapt I guess.
Not much new out here in the little town of San Juan Pueblo again today. I'm planning on returning to the States and the cold sometime next week (probably Friday) but that depends on what flights are available.
I'm also considering heading to Ceiba on Sunday and spending the night so I can see the Daytona 500 at Expatriates. I'm not liking the fact there's no “US” channels on the TV out here!
Sunday turned out to be a crappy day with rain the whole time so we basically hung out in the room and watched TV all day since there's not much to do on the Key on a Sunday with everything closed.
Yesterday (Monday) morning we flew out of Guanaja on time and landed in La Ceiba no problems. After an expensive cab ride to the La Ceiba bus terminal we caught a direct bus back to San Juan Pueblo with my box of stuff and lots of laundry to do. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and cleaning up the house a little so not much exciting to report.
Today the weather is great and I actually planted some banana trees and also planted some watermelon seeds I had collected so we'll see if next time I'm down I have some homegrown fruits waiting. That's if the chickens and other various animals don't get them first!
It was a bit bumpy on the flight so this self portrait is a bit blurry!
Yesterday we spent a couple hours in the Pirates Den bar with Jim, Cathy, and other people I have met from past trips. After that, we tagged along with Jim & Cathy back to their house in Sandy Bay where I finally got the infamous box I've been meaning to retrieve for over a year now. It's been so long the lock was actually corroded and it took quite a bit of working with it to get it opened. Since it's been so long since I packed the thing I pretty much forgot what was in it too. I was hoping I had packed a couple more new bottles for my bar but no such luck. Only tools and my dive gear were inside but all seem to be in ok condition.
Anyway, after hanging out at Jim & Cathys house for a bit we all jumped back in the boat and headed for the Manati Bar & Restaurant for some beers and lunch. They only had a limited selection of food since the weather was bad and the Guanaja supply boat was late getting in but we did have some great German style stuffed chicken with potatoes and salad. After spending several hours there Margarita had her fill of all the gringos though so I called a water taxi and we headed back to the Key and Hotel Miller for the evening. I didn't have my camera with me for the trip so unfortunately no pictures of that adventure.
Today the weather is cloudy and I don't really have a plan but may try and grab a boat for the North side or maybe Grahams Key for lunch. Details will follow if we go on another excursion.
Using the free wireless internet at Hotel Miller, Guanaja.
Yesterday morning we grabbed a bus out of San Juan Pueblo for the Airport in La Ceiba. It was the slowest bus ride I've ever taken by far. The bus driver actually got off at one point and went into a restaurant and had breakfast while we all sat on the running bus! Since I was setting up front believe me the thought crossed my mind to jump into the drivers seat and take off for Ceiba! Then I thought about the Seinfeld episode where Kramer ended up behind the wheel of a bus and ended up making all the stops. That would have been pretty funny if I were to have done the same. Then again spending time in a Honduran jail for grand theft auto didn't sound pleasing so I used some restraint.
Once we finally made it to the airport for the trip to Guanaja, the weather started looking bad and we weren't sure the flight would go. While waiting for the flight, we actually ran into our friend Tito who had been working in Ceiba for the last month and was headed back to the island. Talk about a small world. Ceiba is a town of 175,000 people and it isn't the first time I've ran into people I know!
The flight actually did get going about 15 minutes late which is nothing unusual for Honduras. It was pretty bumpy though at times since we were flying through quite a few clouds along the way. Once on the ground in Guanaja, we met up with my friends Mick and Sandy Moore who ran us over to the Key (main town on Guanaja) to check into our room at Hotel Miller.
After checking in and grabbing some lunch, we headed over to the North side of the island to check out the house Mick has been building since 2002. It's almost finished now and was pretty cool with a hell of a view! Pictures of it and the property as well as the ride there can be seen below.
Micks house on the north side of Guanaja.
Mick & I (with Margarita too) taking a hike back into the tropical forest behind his house.
Leaving Micks house and heading back to the Key.
A couple stilt houses on the South side of Guanaja.
We don't have much planned for today but will be heading over to the Manati Bar in Sandy Bay tomorrow (Saturday) since they have a get together every Saturday with live music and great German food. I'm also considering staying Sat and Sun night at Grahams Key but haven't decided for sure on that one.
Monday afternoon I cancelled my return flight home (it was for today the 4th) and bought tickets to head back out to Guanaja flying out Thursday (5th). Although I didn't purchase return tickets yet I think we'll be leaving Guanaja Monday or Tuesday. While out on the island, I plan to stay in Hotel Miller on the Key so will keep people posted if that changes. They have internet and cell service out there so will be keeping the page updated as well.
Last night and this morning we've been getting some serious tropical rains. It came down so hard on the metal roof of the house that you couldn't hear the TV unless you turned it up to almost max volume. Of course now the water isn't working again. I can't get my head around how the water can quit working when it rains hard. That makes no sense!
One more thing I thought some back in the ‘States would find amusing... Many things here don't “make sense” but this one is the most current issue that's bugging me. I like butter for cooking and about anything else you can use it for. Well apparently sometime in the past here someone told the Honduran people butter was bad or something because you can't find it in any stores. They do carry about 20 brands of margarine though and it all tastes like crap. I used to be able to buy Mantequilla Amarillo (closer tasting to butter) in the gringo section in the Ceiba mall supermarket but they must have quit carrying it since it's not there now. With a country full of cows I can't figure out where the hell the butter is going?! If you get milk from a cow, don't you also have to get butter when you process it? Where the hell did it go to? If I ever come up with an answer to this puzzling question I'll definitely post it!
Making breakfast. I don't cook much but did throw something together today.
(We gotta get a coffee pot soon!)
Not much new here although I'm currently in La Ceiba where I spent the night last night. We went to my buddies bar (pic below) where we watched a great SuperBowl game and had some really good food there as well. The only complaint I had with the game is that the satellite companies killed the English language channels yesterday so I had to watch the whole thing in Spanish!
An additional note... instead of my personal favorite Hotel Paris we stayed at Hotel Catracho because it was a short walk to Expats Bar and it was an interesting experience to say the least. It was only $20 a night but you definitely get what you pay for here. No air, the room was dirty, the bed sucked, and my valuables probably would have been just as safe if I left them with a street person to watch as leaving them in the room!
Today I put Margarita on a bus back to San Juan Pueblo and I'll be headed back there as well as soon as I buy my ticket to Guanaja and get a couple other errands finished.
Rick and Jeromes Expatriates Bar in La Ceiba.
Where I drink my coffee and enjoy the front porch view.
A couple shots of the neighborhood from the front porch.
The casa in San Juan Pueblo. It's also located next to a little store that's open all hours and that's pretty handy!
Ever heard of the expression “everything but the kitchen sink”? It actually fits!
I needed a bathroom sink and found this one in Ceiba for about $25.
Stuffed it in the backpack and took it on the bus back to the casa.
When in Honduras you sometimes have to come up with creative ways to do things.
Since I don't have a drill, I used concrete nails and wire to mount the sink to the bathroom wall!
The sinks mounted and plumbing connected. No leaks either!
The finished project. Now I can shave using a sink instead of a cup of water!
