JJ's Travelogue

Got a Honduran chip for the mobile today. Feel free to call!
+504 959 549 09

UPDATE: I can receive texts on this number (unlike the Guatemalan number), so feel free to text me..

I could have said, “Caribbean coast of Honduras”, but that would have given you the idea that it’s sunny skies, warm, and blue-green waters. Which it’s not. It’s more like the North coast of England, actually. Why, oh why, did I decide to come in the rainy season?!

How’s this for a travel day:
6:00 am lancha (small boat) for 45 minutes from Livingston to Puerto Barrios. Pleasant trip hugging the coastline. Then into a seriously overpriced taxi for a ride that turned out I could have walked in 10 minutes! [This trip is full of lessons learned.. like, even though the cabbies have more information than I do of what the distances are and therefore what the fare should be, I have time on my side - in the future, I will simply decline every offer until they either a) lower their price sufficiently, or b) I find out the necessary information from locals in the vicinity.. like, can I just walk there?!]
Into a minibus bound for the border. Walked across the border, got exit/entry stamps, caught a chicken bus (they say old school buses don’t die, they just go to Central America) bound for Puerto Cortes. Hugged the Northeast coast of Honduras on this ride, which was accompanied by American 80’s rock blasting at full volume. Even with my earplugs in, Bryan Adams doesn’t sound good.
Had a quick wander around and a bite to eat, then caught a local (non-direct) bus to San Pedro Sula, the second largest city in Honduras.
Here they actually had a real bus station (as opposed to being dropped on the street and wandering around to find the next bus) replete with shops, including Dunkin’ Donuts! Which I hadn’t experienced since the Atlanta airport at 5am, when I began this whole journey. I’ve kept both receipts, it’s amazing the difference in cost.
There are two bus companies that operate first-class long-distance service, and they’re legendary. A/C, meals served by wait staff (!), movies, reclining seats, the works. I took a similar one from Bulgaria to Istanbul a few years back that was pleasant. Alas, it was too much for me (and I was only going a few hours), so I went second class to La Ceiba. Which was absolutely fine by me, until… they forgot to drop me off in La Ceiba!
It’s not like it’s a small town or anything – it’s the third largest city, and it’s supposed to have a bus station that I would have gotten off at. I’m not sure what happened, but by the time the conductor and I looked questioningly at each other, we were a good 10km beyond the city, headed to god knows where. Did I mention that it was dark and raining, as well? We had just passed a police checkpoint, so they dropped me off and I waited out of the rain with the cops who were very nice in helping to flag down a taxi. They also told me how much it should cost, most helpful..
Then things got really weird. The guidebook I’ve been relying on for facts like hotels (Footprint, which is usually pretty accurate) had hotels listed that have not only disappeared, but in one case the street it was supposedly on doesn’t even exist! It was quite a sight. Me, hiking all over town in this torrential downpour at night (glad to have a light pack), trying to find just one decent hotel. It was a laugh or cry situation, and I was laughing.

All in all, what should have been a six-hour trip (according to one travel agent) became 13 hours of 1 boat, 2 taxis, 4 buses, and a lot of walking in the rain. But I’m happy to report that my spirits were high the entire day, it was a great adventure. I’m learning to have fun (rather than get annoyed) with the crazy people who shout in your face whatever they’re trying to sell. I just shout back.
And now I am armed with that much more knowledge of how things work down here.

There is something odd about this town. It’s as if a light hurricane struck it, which I suppose is not too far off the mark. There was a lot of flooding in in Northern Guatemala and Honduras about two months ago, and evidence abounds. A lot of the bridges we went over were obviously temporary, you could see the real one hanging in pieces next to us. Here in town the strip along the waterfront, which should be full of nice places, are all battered and torn up. But it doesn’t explain the missing businesses… a lot of the restaurants from the book are also missing. Strange.

One thing that really gets on my tits is honking. You know how in New York, all the African cabbies will honk to ask if you need a lift? Although you were doing nothing whatsoever to give them any indication that you needed a lift, you were simply walking down the street in peace. Well, here it’s worse. I swear every third car is a taxi, and all day long they drive about hunting for fares. I took a walk this morning out on the edge of town, and occassionally a cab would pass me incessantly honking until I told him to fuck off. Hello, you’re the only car for a mile around! Don’t you think if I wanted you, I would flag you down? Do you really think I don’t see you unless you honk??
As a result, the streets are full of cabs honking at people who naturally ignore them. Man, I really need to take up meditation or something to not let this kind of stuff get under my skin.
I´ve always felt that cars should come with a horn regulator, such that you’re given a certain amount of honks to use in a given day/week/month and once you’ve used up that quota, the horn won’t work again until the next day/week/month. It’s really a no-brainer.
Guatemala was pretty restrained in their use of horns, which I think is probably unusual for Latin America.

From the limited amount I’ve seen thus far, it feels like Honduras is a bit more organized with better infrastructure than Guatemala. The first stop lights I’ve seen since Guat City. The prices are about 50% higher too, which surprised me – other travelers reported the opposite. Perhaps things will be different in the south.
The people are lighter skinned (being Latinos), rather than indigenous Mayans. Since Spanish is their native tongue (for the Mayans, it’s their second language), they talk really fast and slur a lot. Even when I ask them to slow down, theysimplyinsert                      bigpausesbetween theirotherwisereallyfastspeech               soIcan’tunderstandadamnthingthat’sbeingsaid!

Something for you foodies: back in Livingston, I had the traditional Garifuna seafood soup made with coconut milk, plantains, shellfish, and (drum roll…) a whole fish plopped on top! It was delicious, but I was reminded of when Rissie and I drove across Bulgaria. Every restaurant served whole fish, and since she had recently rescinded vegetarianism (and for understandably aesthetic reasons), was grossed out by the head of the fish staring up at her from the plate. So we developed a routine whereby she would avert her eyes while I dissected the fish and hid the head in the nearest planter before she could eat.

People ordinarily come to this town as a jumping-off point for the Bay Islands, which are the main attraction in Honduras. It’s the cheapest place in the world to get PADI-certified in scuba diving. I was interested in perhaps doing that, or snorkeling at the very least, but this weather is really not looking good. It’s actually sunny at the moment, but I don’t trust that it will last. Anyway, the seas are still choppy and cloudy, which is no good for diving. Hmm. I guess I’ll go to the islands anyway just to see them, but might not end up diving.

A great article I just came across:

“Obama’s Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy”

I’m having a grumpy few days. Perhaps it’s the crap weather. Or that I’m feeling under the weather. Not really sure what to do about it. But allow me to kvetch for just a moment..

I’m having a love/hate relationship with other white people. Sometimes, I meet fantastic new people that open my eyes to new things and inspire me to go places I hadn’t thought of. Like an American couple I met at El Retiro who live in the Virgin Islands when they’re not traveling. They’re not rich, but they’ve figured out how to make it work to be happy and vagabond a large part of the year. [Aside: he predicted that I would end this trip by living in Buenos Aires for a while before eventually moving to Barcelona. Which is exactly what's been in the back of my head anyway!]

Most of the time, however, I end up feeling like I’m back in 7th grade, getting picked last for basketball. Most people travel with at least one other person, and I’ve found that those same people are not often willing to talk to people they don’t know – which is pretty frustrating when I try to reach out for conversation. This is particularly true of Israelis and of people in their early 20’s who have so many insecurities they won’t even return a simple “hello”. Moreover, due to the eternal battle between sexes, if I try to initiate a conversation with a solo female traveler, she automatically thinks I’m hitting on her. No, I’m simply looking for conversation between two human beings who are in a similar situation. It seems I can’t win.

For these reasons as well as the inflated costs that come with traveling on the tourist trail, I would like to begin getting off that trail. I’ve already begun trying to eat where the locals do rather than where the tourists do, and that’s been nice – better food overall, and much cheaper. Now I’d like to begin staying off the beaten path. The problem being that I have made good friends at hostels, which I would like to continue to do, but I’m not sure the hassle is worth it.
Last week I traveled for a few days (by happenstance, since we were all going the same way) with a couple of British guys whose main purpose of traveling it seemed was to pick up chicks. Spare me.

Thinking of skipping El Salvador. Although I wanted to see as many countries as possible, from what I’ve heard and read, there’s not much there unless you surf, which I don’t.

It must be Thanksgiving soon in the States. It’s a great holiday that I’m sad to be missing. I also don’t know where I’ll be for Christmas. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them.