The road less traveled....for a reason

Leaving Antigua was tough but I know it is a place I will definitely return to.   So after pushing off my departure day after day, I finally picked a date and bought a bus ticket to get things moving towards La Ceiba, Honduras, the jumping off point to Utila and Roatan.  These are two islands off the coast of Honduras known around the world for their fantastic diving.  Having a look at a map on how to get there, I decided, since I was so close to El Salvador, it would be very easy to cut through the northeast corner of the country and get the El Salvadorian stamp in my passport to add to the collection.  It would only add about half a day to my trip.

Luckily for all of you, I have blazed this path many folks do not take so it should make things easier for ya'll if you choose to follow.  However, I would not recommend following me down this path.   Read on.

Since most people want to go to the west side of El Salvador for the beaches, the ticket agent at the bus station couldn't understand my reason for taking an extended route to get to Honduras.  After a severely long conversation, the conclusion was that the only city I could get to that wasn't on the west coast was the capital, San Salvador.  They told me it was only 1.5 hours past the border which didn't seem too bad. I was picked up at 9 am in Antigua and expected to be in San Salvador in the early afternoon since they said it only takes about 5 hours total to get there.

Arriving in San Salvador around 9 pm that night seemed a bit off schedule especially after the 3 hours of travel time through El Salvador.  For those keeping score that is easily double the above quoted time. On top of that, El Salvador is too cheap or lazy to give any type of entry marking into your passport. I would have to hope and get one on the way out.

I guess in San Salvador space is of the essence as in any large city however here it seems the bus drivers are trained to park as close to the wall of a building as possible when letting passengers off.  So picture a bus parked next to a wall with just enough space to clear their mirror and allow room for one person to squeeze through.  Now dump all the people out of the bus while unloading their luggage from the same side.  Have them find their bags and then try to get out of the way of the others.  I just stood on the opposite side of the bus where there was plenty of room and watched until there was just one old man with a cane left.

After the bus debacle, I was somewhat worried about accommodations in San Salvador since I hadn't looked for anything in advance since I thought I would be getting there in the afternoon and now I was dropped off in a dark street in the middle of the crime stricken capital city being forewarned by Guatemalans to be careful of the banditos in El Salvador.  Luckily there was a hotel right next to the bus station.  It seemed like a pretty decent place and then they showed me the roof top single man's traveller's suite they must have been saving for a guy such as myself.  It was an obvious after-after-after thought to the design of the structure that allowed them to stuff as many people as possible into any nook of the building and more money into their pockets.  Following the inn keeper (not sure if that word is used any more except in the Bible but I wanted to try it out) up a couple flights of stairs, then a labyrinth of steeper stairs/ladders, we ended up on the roof top looking at what appeared to be a door from an abandoned prison with the number 41 painted on it.  Inside, however, was clean with a private shower/toilet and the inn keeper was sure to point out the 10” tv to me, which is why I was charged the exorbitant fee of $12 for the night.  I included a few pictures below to help build the picture in your mind.

Prison block walls with the shower/toilet combo

You may have noticed the shower (open pipe from the ceiling) includes a toilet or visa versa (I have the single shower valve turned on to try and capture the spectacle of gravity acting on water in a still photo for the you, the audience).

Also, since the one and only source of light is outside the shower, when you close the thick vinyl curtain, the shower doubles as a dark room to develop that black and white film you've been holding onto since 1987.  For the particularly astute, you may have asked yourself, “Well the shower seems fine and all but where is the sink?” Good question.  They have solved this issue by placing it outside so it can double as a washeteria shown here:

Outdoor sink with a view

Once settled I went back to the bus station to buy my ticket for the following day to La Ceiba.  Then I found out a funny thing.  There are no busses from San Salvador to La Ceiba.  I first had to go down south through the rest of El Salvador then cut up northeast, to cross into Honduras and spend the night in the town of Tegucigulpa (Yes, it takes some time to learn how to say this much less know where it is).  Then from there I could get to La Ceiba. Fantastic.  I get to see more of El Salvador than I bargained for.

The bus wasn't leaving until noon the next day so I had a few hours to walk around San Salvador in the morning.  I am assuming they don't get too many tourists walking around there since I was stared at like a woman at a Free Mason's convention the entire time.  I did manage to visit the National Palace, the largest church in the city, and the markets. I should have known the markets were a bad idea. No tourists means when one arrives he is swarmed by hawkers trying to sell anything and everything to fresh blood. I haven't had that many women run toward me at one time since....well I've never had that many women run toward me ever.

Back on the bus for another 8 hour work day of sitting.  This bus however came with a built-in shiatsu in the form of a kid repeatedly kicking the back of my seat.  The first kick felt nice but the following 3,146 were annoying.  I counted all the small bruises on my back.

Upon exiting El Salvador to Honduras, I did not get a stamp in my passport either or any mark that would indicate I was there which was the sole purpose of this side trip.  I asked one of the bus attendants and he said “Yes, no stamp” with a smile as if I should be delighted on how easy it is to get in and out of El Salvador.  I slumped back in my chair to the intermittent kicking of my shiatsu.  The only thing I got from El Salvador was this crappy picture at the immigration office of these gentlemen who appear to be eagerly awaiting to open the door and welcome you to their country but in return they just want to offer you a great deal on exchanging some money.  Not sure why it takes thirty of them to do this.

Fight through a mob of money exchangers to get back to the bus (in background) at the border crossing

After the border crossing made it to Teguciculpa and was again dropped off that night on a dark street corner in a large city with no idea where to stay and being forewarned by the El Salvadorians to be careful of the banditos in Honduras.  I did want to stay somewhere cheap and close to a bus station where I could get a bus to La Ceiba.  After trying to convey this to a couple of guys on the street in broken Spanish, one lead me to his taxi, I assumed, since it had a few large numbers in the rear window but looked more like something suitable for destruction derby, after the destruction.  After arriving at a hotel and haggling over the exchange rate as I had no Honduran Limpiera, I was shown to my $16 room with a much nicer private bath with separate toilet and sink along with a large flat screen tv.  Didn't realize $4 could make that much difference.

The one comforting factor when getting off the bus at night in these large cities is that they always have a friendly security guard with a rusty shotgun hung over his shoulder by a sling made of a few shoe strings tied together and a few shells tucked in his belt.  Doubt the shotguns actually work or the guards know how to use them but they are spotted around most of the cities frequently at any shops that make a lot of money such as lumber yards, jewelry shops, or ice cream parlors.

Woke up at 6:00 am the next morning to get the 7:00 am bus heading to La Ceiba. It was a pretty uneventful ride aside from being surprised that you could get carne guisada at a gas station.

We arrived in La Ceiba in the early afternoon with plenty of time for me to catch the 4:00 pm ferry to Utila, my sought after destination.  The ferry is named the Utila Princess which is very regal and appropriate name for a boat.  It's a large enclosed catamaran to protect passengers from spray in rough seas.  However, the rough seas and lack of ventilation also cause passengers to get sea sick which is why I think it was named actually for a princess after a night of binge drinking.  The boat attendant stands at the ready with paper towels and plastic bags for the many victims that were claimed by the drunken princess on our hour ride to Utila.

Finally on Utila, it doesn't take long to know your way around the 2 main streets that intersect at a “T” at the harbor.  It is a little place that caters specifically to divers and backpackers and looks like a lot of fun. I hope to return soon.

Hope everyone is doing well and will post again when I am back on the trail.

City in the clouds

It's been a while since I've posted anything as I have been pretty busy traveling so I'll try to catch ya'll up. I've written two long blogs, this being the first, that get me from Belize to Guatemala, through El Salvador, and finally to Utila and Roatan in Honduras. I actually just got to Roatan last night after spending a day in Utila as I need to head back to Texas for some time to attend to some family matters. I am not sure when or where I will return to pick up my travels, so you have plenty of time to read the long posts and check out all the pictures. I've added all the photos for Guatemala as well as Belize with captions if you haven't viewed them yet.

Last I wrote I was tired of hanging out in Placencia, Belize and so took the ferry-bus-ferry-ferry combo to get out of the country and up the Rio Dulce into Guatemala. Heading up the Rio Dulce starting from Livingston at its mouth is a majestic trip. You pass through tall cliffs covered in a jungle filled with howler monkeys and some of the most poisonous snakes in the world. You pass tiny huts hidden under the canopy of trees at the water's edge where locals use dug out canoes to catch their daily sustenance. Then the river opens up and is speckled with marinas where yachtsmen bring their boats to safely make it through the hurricane season. Some end up dropping anchor for good seeing that they have reached their paradise.

The focal point of the river is the bridge that spans the river at the town of Fronteras. It is the longest bridge in Central America and is a major artery supplying goods across the country. I stayed at a hostel at the base of the bridge opposite the hustling town of Fronteras. It was a welcomed change from Belize in that things were much cheaper and cleaner for the price and the people seemed warmer.

I stayed for a few days to check out the sites, meet up with some other boaters I knew on the river, get a super tight $2 haircut, and figure out where I was going next. I had a few places in mind but after talking to a few other travelers at the hostel I decided to head west through Guatemala City to Antigua.

I've never been so impressed upon entering a town. Antigua is just a short trip from Guatemala City and it sits high in the mountains at the base of a few volcanos which are usually covered in a light mist. It is an old colonial city built in the 16^th century with cobblestone streets lined with one story buildings that are all seamlessly connected broken by the occasional church ruin. The only thing that differentiates the houses is the distinct vertical line where the colors of paint change, sometimes old and tattered while others are freshly painted in a deep hue. The local Mayans still stroll around in their traditional garb and work in the bountiful markets, while tourists and Guatemalans fill in the gaps. On top of that there is a vibrant art scene, trendy, low key bars, international cuisine, and a delightful central park that is great for people watching any time of the day. The photos easily do more justice to the city than any more words I can write.  So make sure to have a look at those.

The only unnerving thing about Antigua are the firecrackers that constantly echo throughout the town. It's always a series of about 100 – 200 black cats and just when you think it is over, one loud boom at the end to cap it off. When I first arrived on Saturday, I thought it was for some sort of celebration. Then hearing them on Sunday before sunrise I thought maybe it was a weekend long celebration. Then hearing them on Monday I finally asked someone what was the occasion and they looked at me a little confused and replied, “The firecrackers could be for anything. A birthday, a wedding, graduation, finishing a long book.” Basically any reason would suffice.

After spending a few days in Antigua, I took a short bus trip to Lake Atitlan which is described by Aldous Huxley as "really too much of a good thing."  Before our bus departed to get us through the mountains to the lake, our bus driver said a little prayer and touched his cross hanging from the rear-view mirror next to a small Mickey Mouse doll and an air freshener in the shape of a marijuana leaf. I wondered if I should feel better about the trip since we would now have this invisible bubble of protection around us or worried that the road was so bad, the driver felt a prayer was necessary for us to make it through safely. It didn't take long to find out that these bus drivers were miracle workers. They could turn a 1.5 lane road into a 3 lane highway for passing around blind corners. When a road was washed out with water still running over it down the cliff, they could somehow drive on water where no road appeared to be. They could dodge boulders and rock slides with ease as if somehow they could see the future. And this was the tourist mini-van bus. The locals take the “Chicken Bus” which is a brightly painted school bus packed to capacity with people, goods, and the occasional chicken. These guys run the buses around the corners almost on two wheels passing us like we were sitting still. I think they must double up on their prayers before they depart.

But once on Lake Antitlan it was all that I expected. An ethereal lake formed in the caldera of an ancient volcano that had long erupted and now smaller volcanos surrounded the edge of the lake with tiny towns scattered along the water's edge. The hostel I wanted to stay in was in the village of Santa Cruz which was only accessible by boat. It was a great place a few steps from the boat dock and served family style dinners each night which was a refreshing change of pace.

After a couple days of hiking, scuba diving, visiting the towns, taking Spanish lessons, reading lake side in the hammock while it rained in the afternoons, I thought I had escaped the excitement of the firecrackers that plagued Antigua however the last morning I was there, while doing my toiletries, I heard an enormous bang on the roof which I thought was going to bring the building down. My first thought was that someone had thrown just the finale firecracker on top of me. After I stopped choking on my toothpaste I went outside to find the culprit. It turned out to be mother nature once more and this trap took years of planning and foresight. She had planted and raised a fine, tall avocado tree just next to the showers. And on this avocado tree hung the largest avocados I have ever seen. The one laying at my feet must have weighed close to a solid pound and fallen 15 ft before it hit the tin roof I was standing under, bounced off and then land on the ground giving the exact result she had patiently been waiting for. I looked up and smiled at the proud tree and went back in to finish up.

I made my way back to Antigua through the mountains not sure how many more days I would stay there but fully enjoying the days that I did.

On the road again

Picking up in San Pedro, once off the boat I was back to my roots as a backpacker and as a backpacker began seeking budget accommodations. I was directed to a place a couple blocks away that was clean, cheap, had a pool, and thanks to advances in technology, shockingly (pun on the way) had warm water showers.  This was a step forward for budget accommodations since my last trip.  Little water heaters installed just prior to the shower head were cheap enough for these places to install to provide one more comfort for the weary traveller.  However installing the correct circuit breakers to deal with these cheap devices was not in the budget.  The problem being if there is any short in the water heater, which I would give a 50/50 chance on, the dirty human beneath it turns into the next test subject for shock therapy in cell block D of the San Pedro Psych Ward.   I stuck with cold showers.

Things did turn around as I noticed that this hotel seemed to only be inhabited by foreign women who liked to lay around the pool and as Lobster Fest was well under way, the main party for the evening was at our hotel as well.  I did get a job with the hotel that evening of picking up people from their hotels in a golf cart to bring them to the party however I didn't read the fine print in the contract that doesn't allow the "designated driver" to do body shots with the passengers.  I was let go but was still allowed to join the party, try my luck at chicken drop bingo, and have some of the much talked about lobster pizza.

 My brief tenure as chauffeur 

Chicken Drop (Sh@t) Bingo:  Fairly self-explanatory

The next day was my cousin's birthday and she, her husband, and nine month old had just arrived in Placencia, which is in the southern part of the country.  Instead of taking a 90 minute ferry and then a 5 hour bus ride to get there, I spent the extra $80 to take a few puddle jumpers to get down there in less than an hour.

For my pilot friends, Tropic Air uses a Cessna Caravan which is a single engine turbo prop that fits 15 people including pilot and co-pilot.  When we took off from San Pedro I noticed that we used a lot of runway to get the thing off the ground and it climbed like a turkey fattened up for Thanksgiving.  But we  were on our way to Belize City Municipal and the view of the islands was great.  Coming into Muni, I noticed the runway seemed pretty short but at least it was surrounded by shallow water in the event of an emergency;)  After unloading a few people and taking on a few more, we taxied downwind and the pilot turned her around using every inch of ground available.  I think the nose wheel actually got a little wet.  Then he gunned it down the runway and by "gunned it" I mean "we started a slow roll to the other end of the runway."  When we passed the airport terminal, which was close to the end of the runway, I was hoping we would have more speed than we did.  I could see the pilot starting to pull up which immediately signaled the stall horn.  So instead of gaining altitude for take off, basically the runway just ends, the plane stays level, and you are left flying a few feet over the water.  Luckily there is no 50 ft obstacle to clear which left us free to gain speed and altitude and make our way to Dangriga and then Placencia which both have longer runways.  I looked up the specs for the Caravan and the runway at Muni.  The Caravan needs 1,500 ft for take off and the Muni runway is around 1,600 ft.  Just enough.

Looking south down the peninsula of Placencia

After getting safely on the ground in Placencia, I found my cousin and her family which wasn't hard to do since Placencia was just kicking off its Lobster Fest and everyone was at one spot on the beach.  Placencia's Lobster Fest is boasted as the biggest in the country and the best party of the year.  From what I gauged over the weekend of activities was this:

- All the restaurant owners close their comfortable spacious restaurants to cook in a short row of tents which offer no seating for customers, minimum shade, minimum selection, and expensive lobster plates. ~ negative

- All the hawkers who endlessly try to sell you their "handmade" wood carvings of a 5 ft long mutated crocodile that they say will easily fit into my backpack convene under one tent keeping the streets hassle free to stroll through. ~ positive

- The 20 ft x 20 ft stack of half blown speakers that relentlessly pound out local hip hop artist's music which is actually re-re-mixed American hip hop songs with the words slightly changed that can be heard anywhere within a 1 mile radius. ~ negative

- For being boasted as one of the biggest parties of the year, it basically just gave the locals and tourists one single place to gather and drink beer instead of being spread throughout the town ~ positive/negative

Aside from that, Placencia is a very laid back place that claims the world's narrowest main street at 4 ft wide according to the Guinness Book of World Records.  The following week was spent relaxing and hanging with  my family which really meant doing everything according to a 9 month old's time line.

Belizien high chair

• 5 am:  wake up
• 8 am:  take nap
• 11 am:  eat lunch
• 2 pm:  take nap
• 5 pm: eat dinner
• 7 pm: go to bed
• wake up twice during the night
• repeat

We got the occasional walk along the beach or golf cart ride in there as well and it was great to see them.  After they left, I have just been in Placencia for a few days hanging out with the locals and waiting for any boats heading to Guatemala.  There have been a few but either they have enough crew or are heading north.  I have been at least eating well thanks to local cook, Brenda, who has a tent and barbecue pit down by the harbor and she always serves up a heaping of great local food along with a side of sexual innuendoes that usually leaves you feeling slightly uncomfortable.  It's either that or the food.

Brenda's Magic Cookin'

Enticing as that sounds, things are a bit too slow and I am tired of waiting, so I am taking off to catch a few ferries and a bus to get to Livingston, Guatemala where I can start heading up the Rio Dulce.  So the next time you hear from me, I should be somewhere in Guatemala.

Should have all the pictures uploaded for the Belize link by tomorrow.

Cheers,
Jay