Two Beers and a Pretzel

Perhaps the areas around the TICA bus stations are not the best neighborhoods…  After Roatan and Copan, these two capital cities make me want to go to East LA, or the South side of Chicago.

To catch everybody up…  I ended up skipping Tanya’s, as that looked like waaay too much food, and Jesse invited me to his buddy’s place for dinner.  With a change to party with the local crew of gringos, I went for it. Denny runs an internet company in Copan, and was a generous host, allowing me to Skype with my family for the better part of an hour.  After dinner we went to the Red Frog bar and met the owner, Dan and another traveller, Tom (who is a guide in Yosemite).

Dan got us good and drunk.  His signature mixed drink is the “Dirty Dan”.  Tastes like koolaid, must be 151 from the way I felt on Friday.  Then a drink called the “Uterus”…  Tom owes me a picture - you won’t believe what it looks like.

So I was sick all day Friday.  Caught the Saturday bus to San Pedro, and then to Tegus.  Today I took a bus to Managua.

I may elaborate later, but let’s just say these are not the best places I’ve ever been on vacation…

Guys at the bus stop follow you to a hotel, follow you to an ATM, and then as you to pay for the “security” they provided, as well as try to fleece you for 2x the price on the room (I assume they got a commission).

Anyway, 6am bus to Costa Rica tomorrow, and no new pics from the bus rides, so I’ll post again when I get to San Jose…

Wow, what a day…  I relaxed all day yesterday, as the horseback riding tour didn‘t work out.  I ended up booking a hiking tour for today.  My guide, Jesse, was from West Virginia.  We hiked in the hills of copan for about 6 hours total.

I ate termites!!!  They taste like citrus and pepper.

We then found a Mayan site associated with fertility where women from important families went to give birth.  We both sat in the “chair” and it was very comfortable.  I just couldn’t imagine taking a 9 month pregnant wife up there…  “Hey honey, come on, it’s just a 2 mile uphill hike to give birth on a rock shaped like a giant frog!  The Joneses did it!”   Jesse did a birthing demo:

From there, we hiked up to a waterfall with three different falls, a pool to jump into, and a part that goes thru a cave.

Finally, we ate lunch at an indigenous village.  The little kids from 3-12 years old sold me some “corn dolls”, and we ate freshly made corn tortillas, (yum) fried bananas, and chicken with rice, as well as the non-native Coca Cola.  What we didn’t finish was devoured by the kids.

I asked Jessie how the little girls could be so cute up until their late teens but seriously downhill from there quickly.  He said most girls start having babies at 14-15, and usually have 8 kids in their life.  They don’t have traditional families (even though they are mostly Catholic), and the boys/men have no obligation to support a specific woman.  In fact, even though a boy may father many children by many different girls, he will still live with his mother until he decides to get married - because men do not clean, cook, or do laundry.  What the men do is tend the crops and grow food for the whole village.

Well, I’m off to Twisted Tanya’s Thanksgiving Celebration…  Yes, there’s turkey and stuffing in Honduras!!!

Tomorrow I’m catching a bus to San Pedro, then an early bus on Saturday to Tegucigalpa and on to Managua, Nicaragua.  Then another Early bus toSan Jose, Costa Rica.  The flight was about $500-750 for a one way ticket.  The bus trip is about $100 one way on luxury coaches and continues on to Panama City whenever I want to go there.  I can chill for a few days reading on a bus to save $400.  Plus, I’ll spend the night in Nicaragua, so that will count as another country visited.

The only bummer is that the “windy” season is coming up, so I may not get to take a sailboat to Cartegena…  I may re-route from Panama City to Rio, and see Uncle Jimmy for Christmas in Brazil.  Then make my way thru Argentina, Chile, Peru, and bac

Last night I ended up at Twisted Tanya’s, having the backpacker special dinner - which was waaaaay too much food for one person.  Tanya is a UK citizen who spent many years backpacking and eventually opened a bar, coffee shop, and tour company  in Copan.  She’s a blast to hang out with.

When I got home, I realized a few things…  America’s Top Model is even worse in Espanol, and Jean Claude VanDam movies are slightly better.  This was the first clear night, and I can really tell that the stars are not where I’m used to seeing them.  Constellations at 45 degrees in Ohio appear very high in the sky here.  Tarus is nearly straight up, and I cannot see the big dipper.  The town was kinda loud last night.  Some really freaky animal screams and firecrackers.  I tried to go to the top floor and photograph the stars, but it got cloudy.

Tuesday, Nov 25

I woke up a little late today - sore from trekking 10 miles.

The Central Park in Copan

Went back to Tonya’s and booked a zip line tour thru the jungle for $35.  Took a 3 wheel cab about 2.5 Kilometers for $1

The zip line was a blast - especially the single 1K run over the valley.  You could see the town and the Mayan ruins while flying thru the trees.

One of the runs was 1 kilometer…

Then I went to the Macaw Mountain (www.macawmountain.com) refuge for rescued birds.  Very cool.  It was like going to a conservatory and aviary back in Ohio, except everything was out in nature.  Lots of Macaws (green, blue/yellow, and of course, scarlet), as well as toucans and parakeets.  A few hawks and owls thrown in for good measure.

This place also grows and roasts their own fresh coffee.  I’d never had a hot brew that was just  picked half an hour ago.   This beats Starbucks, McD’s, and Ducan Donuts hands down.

I left Roatan on Saturday - just after copleting the written PADI exam.  I didn’t get to say adios to my buds Lee and Dermot (who sounds just like Michael Caine in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) since they were diving and I had to catch the 2:00 ferry.  It was freaking seeing a shipwreck at the ferry port.

I split a cab with a nice British girl, Vicky.  We chatted on the ferry, both ended up staying at the Grand Hotel Cieba, and found a honduran-italian cafe for dinner.  On Sunday we caught a bus to San Pedro (3 hrs) and I jumped (almost literally) another bus to Copan (4 hrs).  The regular buses are a riot.  They pack people on.  At every stop new vendors crowd on to sell trinkets and food, then quickly get off before the bus leaves again.

Anyway…  I found a nice place with hot water and clean rooms in Copan - Posada se Bellise.  Copan is a very pretty town.  Probably the main area is 1km square at best  and very hilly.  Rickshaws with aggressive cabbies are everywhere.

Monday…  Happy Birthday to ME!

I explored the Mayan Ruins today.  It was $15 to see the ruins and $7 for the attached museum.  Many of the significant sculptures at the ruins are replicas with the real ones safely in the museum.  There were about 10 tourists there - I barely saw anyone.  It was like stumbling on the riuns by yourself.  Very cool.  They even had 10 scarlet Macaws flying around the entrance (enticed with free food).  I imagine Tikal and Chichen Itza are much more crowded.  The thing that makes Copan different from those others is the artistry.  Everything has petroglyphs and hieroglyphs.  Many were plastered, and some still have the original paint.  This site is also famous for the hieroglyph stairs.  64 steps on a pyramid covered with carvings and stories detailing the history of the ancient city.  It’s supposedly the longest of it’s kind at any Mayan site.

I cruised thru the PADI book work.  The first pool dive was cake.  I was sick (Montezuma) for the confined dive, so they took me to the 1st open water with everyone else the next day.  Getting in with 3 ft waves was OK, but as soon as I started breathing underwater without touching bottom, I half lost the mouthpiece and inhaled some water.  That dive ended.  I thought it was a chance error.  It turns out that I just freak out when breathing underwater even though I grew up swimming in lake Huron every summer and have no trouble in pools.

Later today, I tried the confined dive, and freaked at 5 ft under… started remembering a near drowning incident I had as a kid.  Game over.

So, I’ve learned that there are things I’m subconsciously afraid of that I had to fins out by doing / because I thought I would be OK prior to trying… and SCUBA is one of those things.  Bummer, I’m probably going to have to stick to snorkeling and skin diving.  I will get credit for the coursework and the pool dive, so I may try again later in Australia.

It’s a really strange feeling realizing that you have an irrational fear of an activity that you can watch other people perform.  The really odd part is not realising the fear, but feeling helpless to change it consiously.

The other odd thing nagging me is the lack of photographic time, since that’s an activity I know I enjoy.  I’ll have most of the morning to make up lost time before my PADI test at 2 PM.

So…  I’ll finish the last test tomorrow afternoon, then off to the mainland and try to catch a bus to the Copan Ruins by Sunday.  Then I’ll get into photography again.

I’m going to go watch my buddy Lee attempt the Burrito Buster at a place called Cannibal’s.  It’s 3 burritos, each bigger than the last.  If you eat them all, it’s free.  No one ever gets it free.

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Edited postscript:

Monster props to the team at Coconut Tree Divers.  Special thanks to Marco, Rags, Kirk and Will.  I shall return - in the dry season!!!

Seriously, if anyone is looking to get dive certified, these guys are top notch.  Vigilant air quality inspections, great instructors who will take you out to party even if you drop out, the best captains, the most divemaster’s in training (gotta love a training facility), fun and laid back atmosphere, and a killer location.  They have a true passion for diving, and it shows.

The Dive Shop