COPAN RUINAS AND ON TO LA CEIBA

THE PLAN THUS FAR

Current thinking:

Monday, go buy a ticket to Le Ceiba.  Tuesday, go there.  Arriving on the weekends to a new place is not great.

If I can find a comfortable and very cheap place in La Ceiba, loiter there for a bit.  Otherwise, get on to Utilia and check out their scuba diving.  After that, Nicaragua.

Gotta get to Costa Rica before the extremely short visa they give for the four countries in the middle of central America runs out.  After there and possibly Panama it's on to south America.



HAPPINESS IS

When traveling,

Happiness is:

Being able to fart without fear it will be like soft serve ice cream delivered with a high pressure air hose.



LAUNDRY

Back when I was living in the states and a single person would tell me "I have to stay home and do the laundry today." I would take it for granted that meant either: "I have found something better to do." or "I just want to putter around my house today." I just got done doing laundry. With a washboard. Different story when I say "I've got to do the laundry." That means I'll be splashing around in stagnant water rubbing soap the size and shape of a can of coke (or pepsi if you prefer) over clothing and using them on the washboard for a bit.



CLEANING STAFF

Never mess with the cleaning staff.  Been my motto for years.   I try to be polite and considerate of them.

Why?

1.  Cleaning up other peoples crap for lousy pay is a hard job.
2.  They have full access to my room.  Don't want them to slip a snake into my bed or something.



LA CEIBA

Well, I am in La Saba (Honduras). It is a grim and depressing city that is extremely dangerous.

A couple of expats I spoke with at the bus station told me it was too dangerous to walk around anywhere - even in the day time.

After getting a taxi to my one night hotel (also grim and depressing) the owner felt the need to stand outside with me on the street while I smoked to make sure I didn't get rolled.

So happy I am out of here tomorrow.

Compared to Copan, this place is also crazy expensive.  Twenty USD seems the cheapest one can get a hotel room.  I'm staying at a place called 'The Stadium' - don't recommend it though they want me to write a review on it.

Be careful what you wish for.

The choices in town seem to be this place, a more expensive hotel or one outside of town that appeals to the 'lets go to the jungle' crowd.  I've been in enough jungles for awhile.



VIDEO

Copan Ruinas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7



COSTS

Hotel room - very basic in Copan normally 15 USD, haggled down to 10 for long term.  In La Ceiba, 20 USD.

Food in La Ceiba, about 200 L plus 40-50 per drink.  Bit on the 'fuck you' side of costs for me.  Food was decent but I just had a burger and fries.

HONDURAS

HONDURAS

I took a long and rough bus ride from Guatemala to Honduras.  It's not like riding around in the states.  Imagine being on a 'washboard road' (lots of bumps) and your closer.  Add in huge potholes, plenty of swerving around, a driver who is an adrenaline junkie and you are closer still.  Travel in many parts of the world is not the smooth highways you can fall asleep in.

On the advice of others I went to Copan aka Copan Ruinas (the ruins of Copan).  They have what I am told is a somewhat mediocre Mayan site here.  Other tourists have told me the one in Guatemala is much better.  I don't know, haven't been.

Why go to Honduras if not to see the sites?

Scuba diving.

While in Indonesia, I learned that Honduras is *the* place for scuba diving.  Cheapest in the world to dive and some nice stuff in the Caribbean.

My strategy is simple.  Live as poor as possible for a month, then go to Utila to learn to scuba dive.  After snorkeling around the clear waters off Indonesia's Gili Islands, it became a goal.

Unfortunately, living cheaply for a month is harder than it sounds.  Well, for someone like me anyway.  [Note, if you want Logan to 'get on with it', go to the paypal 'donate' button on the bottom of the page.  Once I get $600 I'm off to Utila.]

One of the problems with Honduras is that you have to eventually pass through a city called San Pedro Sula.

Not a nice place.

If you'd clicked the wikitravel link above, you'll notice they have an average of three homicides per day.

Awesome.

Sadly, there is no practical way to avoid this town.  It is the transport hub of the country.

So you will be going through it if you visit Honduras.

I was talking with a travel agent about San Pedro Sula and mentioned it was currently 'the murder capital of the world'.

Travel agent:  "Don't call it that.  It's just a copy paste by journalists."

Logan:  "That's a lot of copy pasting!  How about 'Death City'?

Travel agent:  (Gives Logan a hard look.)

Logan:  "Even Detroit was down in the forties.  (Pounding on her desk)  They need to TRY HARDER!"

Travel agent:  (Sighs and shakes her head.)



SECTION FOR AMERICANS

Don't read any of the shit about central America.  It is geared to scare you and in my experience thus far has proven not to be true.  People I've met don't disdain Americans - they want to find out what state you live in so they can tell you about a relative or friend who lives in a different random state.



FUCKING AND FIGHTING ALL NIGHT LONG

In the USA (can't say America here, technically, I'm in America) they humanely destroy strays.  Bleeding hearts whine about this as they whine about many things.

After listening to cats, dogs and the hated roosters fuck and fight all night long I've decided I'd like them and their owners or previous owners all humanely destroyed.  Along with the bleeding heart people.

PS:  Cats fucking still better than music.



COPAN

Currently staying in 'Iguana Azul' (Blue Iguana for those at home).  No major bitches.  The private room is normally 15 USD per night but I haggled him down to 10 USD with the promise of staying for a long time.  Which I have so he has no bitches either.  The place is fine - decent wifi.  Unfortunately, the bathrooms are outside.  Hence, if you want to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and it's raining, you get wet.  In better news, they do have a washboard and soap I can use for free to clean my clothing.  Much cheaper than the only place who thought to offer a laundry service in town wants.



RESTAURANTS WITHIN COPAN

Within town are two main restaurants the tourists seem to hit.   Twisted Tanyas and Via Via.  Although the latter has decent two for one drink specials the food and service in both are shoddy.  You pay for the ambiance.  I've been going to the Honduran equivalent of 'fast food' places (not at all like McDonalds) and also the local favorite 'Commodore Mary's'.



WHOSE SPIDEY SENSE WAS TINGLING?

Was doing something else while opening a bottle of water.  Froze.  Something wrong.  Pondered and discovered that I didn't feel the plastic seal tear.

Do I think someone has refilled the bottle with whatever water was available in order to make a dollar off an unsuspecting buyer?

Fuck yes I do.

Into the sink with it!



COSTS

Meal, with drink, small mom and pop place - under 100 HNL
Meal in upscale place, with drink - under 200 HNL

Anything more expensive than that I've not eaten.

Room with air conditioning, 20 USD