Travels off the beaten path

Copan Ruinas, Honduras-my home stay

My family stay in Copan Ruinas, Honduras

After the fiasco at the border, I was ready to relax in Honduras and start my studies.  But first, let me tell you a little about the family with whom I would live for the week.  I had checked in with them the day before.

I had been in Copan Ruinas 2 years earlier and enjoyed my homestay with a Honduran family.  I asked the school “ Ixbalanque” to assign me to the same family.  The family was headed by a very nice woman by the name of “Ruth”.  She was a widow and somewhere in her 60’s.  The maid that lived in the house was named Trinni and she was the same maid from my previous stay.

I had been met at the bus station by Kathy, one of the owners of Ixbalanque. I told her I could find my own way to the house, but she insisted in putting me in a golf cart taxi which, because of the narrow streets,  is the method of transportation in Copan Ruinas.

 When I knocked on the door, Trinni took a look at me and then recognized me and gave me a big hug.  She  went to tell Ruth I had returned.  Ruth gave me a hug and we sat down and chatted for a few minutes before dinner.

My room was very similar to the one I had before:  a single bed, private bath and the room opened out to the courtyard.  Just fine for me.  Here are some photos to give you an idea of my accomodations:

During dinner we had a chance to get reacquainted and get caught up on each other’s life.  It is hard to explain how you can be caught up in a very busy life in the United States and then just a day later be living in a small Honduran town in the Copan valley.  Life was good.

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

To read about my other travels click here

Next-starting classes in the Ixbalanque Spanish School in Copan Ruinas

Guatemala to Honduras border crossing-Problems (con’td)

Problems crossing the border from Guatemala to Honduras (cont’d from part 17)

The guard refused to budge on the issue.  My companions were very nervous because they had depended on me to keep them out of trouble.   At least they had their original passports!

Finally, the guard said she would allow them to pass, but not me.  I kept telling her the bus driver had assured me there would be no problem when I had left Copán Ruínas that morning.  She wanted to know the driver’s name.  Geez, I didn’t know his name!!  She just could not believe that I left Honduras with only a photocopy of my passport and that I had not stopped to clear Guatemalan immigration upon entering. 

I knew I was a long way from a U.S. Embassy at this small checkpoint.  Also, complicating things was that my family back home had no idea I was even in Guatemala. 

I remember standing in the immigration office looking at the trees on the hill through the window and wondering if I would end up sleeping on the leaves until I could figure a way out of this jam.  I also thought about making a dash for the border, but without knowing the consequences, I decided that was a foolish idea. 

During all this time the guard kept asking me the same questions:  what driver had told me it was ok to cross into Guatemala without an original passport?  The answer from me was always the same:  How do I know what his name was?  We were just going around in circles.

Finally, I decided to swallow my pride…….and beg for forgiveness!!    I explained I was just a student that didn’t know any better.  I showed her my business card and told her I was a legitimate businessman.  I may have even showed her my AAA card……..I’m not really too sure.  I promised her I would never do this again.  She finally just looked at me and said something like “get out of here”. 

We walked quickly across the border which was about 50 yards away, no one saying anything to anyone else, never looking back.  We all ducked under the road barrier at the same time.

Have to say, when I stepped across the border, I breathed one big sigh of relief.  There was a mini bus waiting and the driver shouted for us to get on, he was leaving.  I was not going to miss that bus and risk staying around.

We jumped on the mini bus and headed back to Copan.

Next-I will start giving you a perspective on the town of Copan Ruinas, Honduras.

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

To read about my other travels click here

Jocotan Guatemala, crossing back into Honduras-problems begin

Honduras-problems crossing back from Jocotan, Guatemala into Honduras(Part 17)

 Do you remember in Post #13 where I said I should have known better than to cross the border with only a copy of my passport?  Yep, it was time to pay the price for that.

When we arrived back at the Honduran border after a day in Jocotán, there was a man waiting outside the bus to make sure we checked in with the immigration office.  This was a big change because when we had crossed into Guatemala that morning there was no one at the border making sure we stopped and checked in.

The man at the border made sure that we checked in with the Guatemala immigration office where the guard was stunned that we had originally entered the country without registering.  After a long discussion, he told us we would have to pay a fine of $10 per person.  Grudgingly we paid the fine.  We were not negotiating from a position of strength.

We thought we had satisfied everything and were ready to leave when we were told we would also have to check with Honduran authorities.  That is where it really got difficult.  The guard was not going to allow us to re-enter Honduras because  I only had a photocopy of my passport which was not sufficient to allow me entry. 

 When I tried to tell the guard that all my stuff was in Copán Ruinas, Honduras and I was enrolled in a school there, she wanted to know what proof I had that I had EVER been in Honduras!  Naturally without my original passport with the Honduran arrival stamps in it, I had no proof that I had ever entered the country legally.  I was in a real mess!

To be continued

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

To read about my other travels click here

Jocotán Guatemala, strolling the streets

Strolling the streets of Jocotán, Guatemala

 After we spent some time walking through the markets, we strolled through the rest of the small town.  When in Jocotán, Guatemala, you really feel like you are away from the rest of the world. 

We found the people to be very friendly there and we enjoyed exploring a different world for a few hours.

To give you a feel for what you can expect when you go to Jocotán, here are some more photos:

At the end of the day, it was time to return to the border so that we could cross back into Honduras.

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

To read about the rest of my travels click here

Jocotán Guatemala, visiting the meat market

Honduras-Visiting the meat market of Jocotán, Guatemala

 Going through the meat market is always interesting.  Lots of good photo opps exist.  It is always interesting to me to see how the rest of the world prepares their food.  In my experience in the markets of Latin America, the people are always very proud to show me how they prepare and display their goods for sale.  Take a look at these photos:

 After we tired of the market, we spent a little while just walking around the town.  Not much else to see, but in the next post I will post a few photos to give you an idea of how the town looks.

Next-a quick stroll through Jocotán, Guatemala

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

To read about my other travels click here

Jocotaán Guatemala, the public markets

Honduras-Visiting the market of Jocotan, Guatemala (part 14)

The attraction of Jocotan is their street market .  The bus dropped us within a block of the market.

 We did not see any other tourists in the market.  We spent 3-4 hours looking at everything.  It was very interesting.  Lots of different stuff.  

 Kathy bought a few hand made items.  We had some snacks, and walked around a lot.  It was very hot there.  

Found the people in the market to be very friendly.  Here is a lady with a couple of pigs that she wanted to show us. 

 We even visited the meat market which was interesting.  You need a strong stomach to visit the meat market in Jocotan,Guatemala.  I will save that for the next post.

Next-the meat market of Jocotan, Guatemala

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

To read about my other travels click here

Honduras, crossing into Guatemala(part 13)

Part 13-Crossing the border into Guatemala

The next a.m. I met up with the two other students, Sharon and Kathy, in the central park in Copan for what seemed would be a pretty simple trip to Jocotan, Guatemala. I had done a little research and found out there were some mini buses in town that carried passengers every hour to the border 8 miles away. The cost was about $1.

When we arrived at the corner from where the mini-buses departed, I realized I had left my original passport in the house where I was staying, but I had a copy of it with me. The van driver told me not to worry because as long as I had a copy, I would be ok. MISTAKE #1.   At this point, I should have listened to my “inner travel voice” and returned to get the original.

 The driver was yelling “frontera, frontera” (translation, “the border”). He crammed 18 of us into a 10 passenger van. We took off for Guatemala, driving fast, and dodging cows in the highway.

 When we arrived at the border, it was a very relaxed setting. We simply walked across. There was a small immigration office, but no one seemed to be checking much.

As seen in the photo above, on the Guatemala side of the border there was another bus waiting to take the new arrivals the last 40 minutes to Jocotan. The bus driver encouraged us to get on and not to worry about anything. MISTAKE #2.

 It was an interesting ride to Jocotan. The people on the bus were very friendly to us. We were the only tourists on the bus.

The lady sitting in front of me carried a pet sparrow in her purse. She took it out to show to me.

The plan was to spend the day in the markets of Jocotan before returning to Honduras.

Next- The markets of Jocotan, Guatemala

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

To read more about my travels click here

Honduras, the bus to Copan Ruinas, Part 12

Honduras-Part 12-taking the bus to Copan Ruinas

After lunch, it was time to catch the bus for the 3 hour ride to Copan Ruinas in the northwest part of Honduras. 

I had asked Santos to come back to the hotel to take me to the bus station.  He couldn’t do it, but he sent his friend, Alejandro.  When Alejandro dropped me off at the bus station, he told me it was $8 USD.  I told him I thought that was too high, so we agreed on $7 USD (still too high, but what the heck).

There is a very nice, new bus station in San Pedro Sula.  It was only about 15 minutes from the Hilton Princess hotel. I checked in at the bus line—Hedman Alas.  I had taken them before.  They are a first class, quality bus line.  Their waiting area resembles movie theater seating.  Take a look at this photo below.  I look like I am eating popcorn waiting for the movie to start.  Actually, I am eating plantain chips waiting for a bus! 

I know, the first rule of blogging is not to load your blog with a bunch of photos of yourself, but this is the only one I had around the bus station.  You will just have to endure it.

At the bus station, I met two teachers, Kathy and Sharon, going to Copan also to study Spanish at the same school where I was attending, Ixbalanque Spanish School.  They asked me if they could hang around with me in Copan.  I said “sure”.  I mentioned I might go to Guatemala the next day and they latched onto me quickly.  We agreed to meet at the central parque in Copan the following morning. 

The (3) three-hour ride through the countryside is very interesting. You pass through a number of small villages.   I think Honduras is a beautiful country. 

The bus arrived in Copan at 6:30 p.m.  One of the co-owners of  the school, Kathy, was there to meet us and take us to the respective families we would be staying with.  My house would be a repeat stay from 2 years ago.

When I arrived at my homestay, the cook/housekeeper, Trini, remembered me, gave me a big hug and ran to get the mother of the house, Ruth, who was also very glad to see me return from two years ago.  They fed me dinner and I was feeling “at home” in less than one hour.

Tomorrow:  We cross the border into Guatemala

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

To read about my other travels click here

Honduras, Power Chicken lunch in San Pedro Sula-Part 11

Honduras-Part 11-lunch at Power Chicken in San Pedro Sula

When I travel I am always interested in what the local people like to eat.  At the Hilton Princess  hotel, they told me THE place to be seen in San Pedro Sula was right down the street at Power Chicken.  So, it was off to Power Chicken for lunch.     PChick. is Honduras’ answer to McDonalds.

  The place was packed!!  It was assembly line cooking and service at its finest.  Very efficient.  I ordered chicken fingers, fried yucca (yum), white rice and a Diet Pepsi for $6.  I thought the price was a little high, but they gave me a lot of food.

Needless to say, I was the only gringo in the restauarnt.  It is always fun to go into the local places.  Reminded me a little bit of Pollo Campero in Guatemala.

After lunch I had to hoof it back to the hotel to get ready to leave San Pedro Sula by bus.

Next-Taking the Hedman Alas bus to Copan Ruinas

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

To read about my other travels click here

Honduras, vegetable markets of San Pedro Sula, Part 10

Honduras-Part 10-The vegetable markets of San Pedro Sula

The fruit and vegetable markets are co-mingled, but for purposes of illustration, I thought I would separate the photographs and just show the vegetables in this post.  It probably makes it more interesting. 

Santos walked through the markets with me for the entire time.  Having a Honduran with me seemed to give me more credibility with the vendors.  Santos acted more like a bodyguard than a taxi driver.  He was always staying close by, looking around, watching the people, etc.  I finally asked him about it.  He said he used to be a security guard and it was just second nature to him to be watching the crowd to make sure no one tried to pick my pocket, or grab my camera.  OK with me.  Later, he told me I should never go into those markets alone.  Said lots of pickpockets were there.

While we were strolling through the markets, I could occasionally hear comments in the background about the American guy taking photos, but could not discern exactly what they were saying.  A number of the vendors just flat-out asked me if I wanted to take photos of their produce.  I think I was just an oddity there.  I was probably a break from their normal Saturday market routine.  Every time I spoke with one person, (3) three others would come up to listen just because they were curious.  Fine with me.  The more the merrier. 

Ok, check out these photos.  Pretty good looking stuff, huh?

After a few hours in the markets of San Pedro Sula, it was time to return to the hotel to get ready to leave for my 3 hour bus ride to the west to visit the little town of Copan Ruinas.  But first, lunch!!

Next: A trip to Power Chicken for lunch!

Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net

To read about my other travels click here