Travels off the beaten path

Archive for

Honduras-part 5– My first attempts at the streets of San Pedro Sula, Honduras (Cont’d)

Honduras-part 5– My first attempts at the streets of San Pedro Sula, Honduras (Cont’d)

At our agreed upon time, Santos picked me up in Parque Central. He seemed a little stunned that I had disobeyed him by going into the market area that he had told me to stay out of.   

I told him I wanted to go to more markets the next day and asked if he would  take me.  He pondered it for a moment and said (in Spanish), “ok, I will be your driver tomorrow even though I am scheduled to be off”.  He asked me if I liked produce markets.  I told him, I did.  He said “ok, then before I take you back to the hotel now, we’ll cruise a produce market to see if you like it enough to see more of them tomorrow”.   I believe he thought I might be bluffing. 

The produce street market was starting to close down, but he parked his taxi on the street and we walked a few feet. 

There was pick-up truck loaded with some fruit. 

There was a man in the market who introduced himself as Francisco.  Francisco was sitting on the tail gate of his pick-up, surrounded by 5 or 6 friends.  He was friendly and asked me the standard questions…..Where are you from?  Why are you here in the produce market (and Honduras)?  Where did you learn Spanish?  etc, etc, etc.  Francisco seemed a little amused to see a gringo in a Honduran street market in San Pedro Sula.  His friends just stared at me.  I stared back.

Within a couple of minutes a sultry looking woman suddenly appeared at the truck, looked at me, and said something to Francisco.  Francisco laughs and tells her that I wouldn’t understand.  In Spanish, I asked her what she said, and she replied “soltera”, meaning single woman.  Then she flashed a big toothy smile at me.   They all started laughing.  Santos looked embarrassed.  I told them I understood completely and then they laughed even more.  I showed them my wedding ring and they laughed harder.  Santos was getting nervous and said it was time to go.  When we left, they were still laughing.   Ha, Ha, ha. 

By this time, Santos was convinced I was truly up for the street markets.  I told him that in the morning I wanted to hit every major street market in San Pedro Sula.  He said it would take 3 hours and to be ready to go at 8 a.m.  I headed back to the hotel for dinner.

Next-a great dinner at Ni Fu, Ni Fa

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

Read about all of my travels click here

---

Honduras, the streets of San Pedro Sula-Part 4

Honduras-My first attempt at the streets of San Pedro Sula Honduras. Part 4

It was late in the afternoon when I had decided it was time to tackle the street markets that I had heard so much about in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.  The front desk of the Hilton Princess San Pedro Sula told me to be careful out there alone.  I asked if they could supply a driver to take me.  They suggested a hotel taxi.  Santos was my driver and agreed to drop me off in the street markets.  He spoke no English. 

When we got to the markets, there was plenty of activity. However, Santos asked me to stay on the fringes of the street markets and not venture alone into the center of the markets. He did not think it would be safe.   He agreed to pick me up at Parque Central in two hours.

 I spent about 15 minutes walking the fringe markets, very boring, plenty of booths, but not a lot of activity.  You can see for yourself…..but just wait!

 Finally, I made the decision that if I was going to have any true experiences, I would have to disregard the advice of Santos and go into the center of the markets to see what was really going on.

I made sure I had everything safely tucked away i.e. camera, money, etc.  I crossed Avenida Tercera which seems to separate the tranquil markets from the active markets.  Soon, I  was in the thick of the action. 

It was one crazzzzy market.  I was very careful.  No doubt about it……I was the ONLY tourist there!

I was first waved over by a man who introduced himself as “Wilson”.  Wilson had his arms around 2 girls and wanted to practice his virtually non-existent English on me.  He had a few body piercings and was a friendly sort.  He wanted to know what I was doing in Honduras and why I was in the markets.  We talked for a few minutes while his girlfriends stared at me.  After 5 minutes, I shook hands, said goodbye, and went on my way. 

Next, I was stopped by two (2) currency street traders named Angel and Carlos.  They were (2) two really hyperactive guys whose eyes were always darting around.  Angel had once lived in the U.S.  I asked them to tell me about a day in life of a currency trader on the streets of San Pedro Sula.  They said they made a few cents on every trade, trading both sides of the currency i.e. dollars to lempiras and lempiras to dollars.  I asked them if anyone had ever given them counterfeit money.  They emphatically said “no”.  I had a feeling if anyone ever had, it was probably the one and only time they ever did.  

I didn’t really like the feeling of standing on the streets of San Pedro Sula, Honduras with people who had large stacks of money in their hands, so I made an excuse to leave. They asked me to come back the next day and talk with them some more. 

Next stop was a store that sold new and used clothing.  The manager, Jose , was standing out front.  He was missing most of his front teeth, and spoke about 10 words in English.  I asked him where the used clothing came from.  He said the U.S., but couldn’t remember any other details.  He said he had been in jail in Texas and that was his only experience living in the U.S.  About that time, a fight broke out in the booth next to his store.  It started out about 20 feet from me and quickly headed my way.  Jose said a guy was trying to steal some stuff from the booth.  The booth owner grabbed the suspected thief by the shirt and gave him one good drop kick.  Fight over.  I quickly left the area.

Next-Stay tuned.  It gets more interesting

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

To see more of my travels click here

---

Honduras, Hilton Princess, San Pedro Sula Part 3

Honduras, Part 3-A stay at the Hilton Princess, San Pedro Sula

I have always liked the Hilton Princess San Pedro Sula hotel since I first saw hit.  Seems like an oasis in the middle of a lot of the hustle-bustle of San Pedro Sula.  Here’s a pic:

As I mentioned in my first blog, I had met the General Manager,          Mr. Javier Ortega, on a previous trip to Honduras.  I had eaten breakfast at the hotel and he was gracias enough to give me a tour of the city.  I felt the least I could do was stay at his hotel the next time I came to San Pedro Sula.  I always try to pay back the hospitality when I can. 

I was going to be traveling by bus the next day,  going 3 hours to the west to Copan Ruinas, and needed a good night’s rest. I booked a room on the concierge floor, which included complimentary beverages, snacks, a delicious breakfast, computer usage, etc.  The people that work on the concierge floor are very friendly and accommodating.  Here is a look at the special dining room on the floor:

The hotel front desk was very willing to help me with money exchange, directions, lining up a driver the first afternoon, and in general, just making sure I felt secure. 

I think the best way I can show the hotel is through a series of photos.  So, here goes.

All in all, I was very pleased with the Hilton Princess.  All very polite and nice people that work there.  I highly recommend it if you are going to be in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

Ok, enough of the hotel pics.  Time to start seeing the city of San Pedro Sula.  I had been warned before about walking the streets alone.  Stay tuned…………….

Next-the streets of San Pedro Sula

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

Read about all of my travels click here

---

Honduras, A visit to a plantation near Progresso-Part 2

Part 2-cont’d

Honduras-visiting an orange plantation in Progresso–

I have a couple of friends that are from Honduras.  Their parents still live in the town of Progresso which is located very near San Pedro Sula.  When I told them I was planning a return trip to Honduras, they insisted their family pick me up at the airport.  I didn’t want to impose, but when they said they thought it would be safer than me just grabbing a taxi at the airport, I took them up on it.  So, their dads, Mario and Ernesto were there  when my flight arrived.  They spoke very little English, so everything was in Spanish.  It was extremely hot when I arrived in San Pedro Sula.

Mario and Ernesto and their families live in Progresso.  They took me to visit their homes for some refreshments.  I was no longer a typical tourist.   I was quickly absorbed into the real Honduras lifestyle. 

After resting up and being shown around town, Mario wanted to take me up into the hills to see his citrus plantation where he had 1500 orange trees.  Of course, I welcomed that opportunity.  We drove up into the hills until we ran out of pavement.  We then proceeded down some pretty iffy dirt roads.  Mario told me I was the only person from the U.S. to ever step foot on his plantation.  That made me feel very special. 

We were in a very remote area.  When we got out of the truck, Mario pulled out a heavy duty pistol, tucked into his pants and said, “you never know who/what you will run into in the hills, so we need protection”.  Okay by me!!  My only question was……how many bullets do we have?

We walked through the plantation for a while.  Mario pointed out various things of interest.

The area was very rugged as you can see by the following photos:

Mario talked with me about his orange trees.  His caretaker showed up and we chatted with him for awhile. 

Soon, it was time to leave.  Mario was taking me to my hotel in San Pedro Sula.  Quite honestly, I was looking forward to the air conditioned room.  To be continued…..

Next-an overview of the San Pedro Sula Hilton Princess

Read about all of my travels click here

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

---