We made some amazing bus connections! At the bus stop on the highway at Zambrano, we ran into a man we had talked with before. He was raised in Bluefieds, Nicaragua and fought for the Contras. (Nice balance after meeting nothing but Sandanista supporters before this. Of course, he's persona non grata in Nicaragua now.) He said the directo bus to La Esperanza would be the next one and sure enough there it was. When we got there, we were immediately swept into a microbus and, within a few minutes, were on our way to Gracias, a town named such because the folks who arrived there were so glad to get to flat ground after crossing a couple of mountain ranges.Let me say right now that Honduras is the most beautiful place I've visited or close to it. Gorgeous, lush countryside, steep mountains, amazing cloud formations that are constantly shifting, villages nestled in every valley, and friendly folks.
It does not deserve the rap it's getting with the Peace Corps pulling its folks out. Though it appears the government is run by the drug cartels (or so we've been told), they aren't especially interested in tourists, so we've had no hassles whatsoever.
Town bubbling with fairs, folks selling shoes, shotchkes, plastics, ropas - clothing, clothing and more clothing, food, music.....
Home of highest mountain in Honduras....
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| signed mentioned Oregon |
Hot springs the townspeople hang out at 15 minutes out of town; 1 hr. walk.
In our brief time we found a lovely room at Guanacaste, high up on the hill with lovely views of the city,
Took the Indian-made open little red taxi to the hot springs, Balnerio Aguas Termales,
Walked back into town under the stars;
Woke up at dawn and took another taxi 1/2 hr up a dirt and rocky road to the base of the mountain
Hiked for 2 hrs. with a little old man who lives and builds trails and maintains Parque Nacional Celaque. Joanie ran on the way back and he ran behind her!
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| little old man's house |
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| his cat |
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| friends living together on the mountain |
Taxi was late to meet us at entrance to park
So we prevailed on two motorcyclists to drive us as far as a church near to town
But the taxi driver appeared and we transferred into his little open vehicle
And said adios to the motorcycle guys
Made it back to Guanacaste
Took showers, finished packing
And made it to the next bus station to board the bus to Entrada, then the shuttle to Copan Ruinas.
One of the fastest busdrivers
With his three young cronies
Curving up and down mountain roads
Watching the three amigos moving people's stuff - meeting people on the road to give a package, getting their food at another quick stop, people getting on, getting off,
Leaning out the front door in the wind,
Winding, winding
Through exquiste mountain passes
Driver throwing money out the window to townspeople fixing potholes in the road
Traveling, traveling
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