We Arrive....Finally: days 12 & 13

If you've been following this blog from day one, you're probably ready to get to Honduras too! That's the way we feel and we had already been on the road 10 days prior to entering Mexico. On February 6, 2013 - 23 days  and 4,783 miles later - we finally arrive in Siguatepeque, Comayagua, Honduras, Central America.

 

This portion of my blog has been, for me, as much a journal and memory keeper as it has been a "blog". Someday, after time has faded some of the memories, we will be able to go back and read of this epic jouney in the life of our family. I had the great good fortune to experience a similar, although far more intensive and exhaustive trip, with my own father and younger brother in 1980-1981. That grand adventure has remained, and always will be, a highpoint in my own life. I was glad to be able to make a similar trip with my own boys, and if it leaves as great an impact on their lives as that first trip made on mine then, if for that reason alone, this trip too will have been worth every "tope" we came to a screeching halt for.

 

Back to the story. Leaving Rio Hondo we found the road to be quite good pretty all the way to the border at Agua Caliente. Some have asked why we did not cross at El Florida. Well, this is where, in our "transmigrante" status, we were instructed to cross. I was tempted to just take the turn to El Florida as it is much shorter, but I was afraid that we might be turned around and sent to Agua Caliente...and I did not want to take that chance.

 

Approaching the border we were again met by guys wanting to assist us with the crossing. This time I was far more prepared. I arranged a price before hand and even had most of the photo copies of our documents already in hand. Everything was going smoothly until, "Ah, there is a slight problem, Señor. You were supposed to exit Guatemala within 24 hours of arrival as you are a transmigrante". "No, no," I tell them, "I informed them we would not leave until today, Tuesday." My "guy" tells me not to worry, it will be okay, but we should be sure and show our "appreciation". What are you gonna' do?

 

We have another "guy", Hugo, who is Honduran and who has been waiting to help us cross into Honduras. He does a fantastic job. Arranges for someone to watch the van, helps us through immigration, does all the customs paperwork and even takes Tiger (and me) to get his official entry papers. I have hopes at this point of making Sigaut by nightfall. But then Hugo tells me that the "system" is slow. We wait, and wait. He and I had not settled firmly beforehand on a price for his services and so as we sat waiting I asked him how much he thought he should be paid. In Spanish he tells me that perhaps $100 for the van and $50 for the trailer. I consider this and decide that it is a bit higher than I had planned, but that he was worth it. I agree. Suddenly he takes off running and comes back in less than 10 minutes with our paperwork and asks for the $150 to pay for the van and trailer "permit". I'm confused, and not for the first time. "Is this official" I ask. "Oh, yes" he assures me." Well, I'm in no position to argue and whatever it was we had agreed on, the system sure liked it. Soon we are through the gate and the police check point and on our way. Oh, in case anyone was wondering, the import taxes on all our household goods (excluding van and trailer) were only $150 USD.

 

Travel note: For anyone making a similar trip, ask when you enter Guatemala if you are able to cross at El Florida or even the newer crossing between Puerto Barrio and Cortez. Although I haven't crossed at either one, the roads must surely be better than the ones leading out of Agua Caliente. Also double check the 24 hour rule.

 

I'm going to abbreviate the next 200 miles. I will only say this. The road between Agua Caliente and Santa Rosa de Copan is HORRIBLE! It appears to be a beautiful road until out of nowhere appears a giant pothole so large that it cannot be straddled. Some of them measure 8" deep. Then there are the washouts. It is mountainous and curvy. You know it's bad when 40 mph feels like you're really making time. It became very clear that we would not make it to Siguat that night.

 

Eventually we found a nice hotel. Estancia Don Miguel in Quimistan, Santa Barbara. It is new, has secure parking, a decent restaurant and reasonable prices. They have a number of STM teams stay there every year.

 

Anxious to get to our destinationwe leave early and by 11:30 am we are in Siguatepeque! It feels like coming home as we pull into the SEBCAH compound where we had stayed for two months exactly one year ago, and are greeted by so many of our friends.

 

THE BEST NEWS IS THAT WE HAVE A HOUSE TO MOVE DIRECTLY IN TO! Our friend, Mark Fittz, had contacted me a few days before when this place became available and asked me if we wanted it. My answer was a resounding, "YES". My hope and prayer had been that we would be able to move immediately into a house on our arrival. By 1:30 pm  the trailer is unloaded and we are at home in Honduras! 

  

 



Antigua, Guatemala City and beyond: day 11

It's a beautiful morning and we hate to leave this beautiful place called Panajachel. We get an early start so we can make the steep pull to Sololá before it gets to hot. Soon we are back on CA1 head for Chimaltenango. For those reading this blog who were with us in Huehuetenango in 2008, you may remember the place on top of one of the mountains where it got really foggy (I think they called it Alaska) well, this was the same road and we ran into the same fog, the same sharp curves and steep assents and descents.

We decided to make a detour and go through Antigua. I've always been very good with directions and finding my way around, but one of the problems I've experienced on this trip is that I was never able to find a good map of Mexico or Guatemala. Coming to one crossroad I chose  the wrong way and we drove 10 miles out of our way before I figured it out. In a way it was worth it because we were able to get a good view of Fuego (Fire), one of Guate's most active volcanoes. Every few minutes it belches a cloud of smoke into the air and sometimes at night you can see the glow of fire.

I know Antigua well, having spent four months there years ago. It is a beautiful old town and has become a tourist destination. All the streets are cobbled and driving the van and trailer over them was excruciating. I was beginning to think that if the topes and potholes hadn't already broken all of our belongings the cobbles would. We did not spend much time in Antigua as I wanted to get through the City by mid day, but we did take time to order two Domino's Pizzas to go.

Guatemala City is broken up into zones, some of which are very dangerous. Carlos had given me some directions, but without map I was still very unsure of where we were going...only that we needed to get to the far side of the city in order to head for the Atlantic. I made a habit of stopping every 2 -3 miles to ask if we were still on the right road. I did not want to end up in the wrong part of town. Fortunately we made it through with out getting lost, but it took far longer than I had anticipated.

Leaving Guate, the road begins a long winding descent towards the Atlantic. The land becomes much more arid and less populated. We had made it a rule that we would not drive after dark and because decent hotels are few and far between we would begin looking for a place to stay every night around 4 pm. A few miles before the right hand turn to Zacapa we found a very nice hotel, Hotel Pasabien. The rooms were actually small duplexes. Priced at Q400 ($51.00) it was a bargain. It had a great pool with a dive tower (with out the board). Our boys had already jumped a few times and were sitting in deck chairs when a STM team from Texas showed up. There were a few young guys with them who were showing some interest in the tower, but appeared reluctant to be the first to make the leap. I told my boys to go jump again, knowing full well the other would have to jump too.  We men are so predictable, especially when we're young!

Just to prove they did!

Mark



Ben



Thomas

Later that evening we walked across the street to a small, open air, roadside restaurant and ate something similar to a fajita, but filled with rice and cheese and cooked over an open fire. By now all of us are anxious to get to Siguatepeque. We've been on the road for quite awhile now, 21 days, and the van is getting pretty old. The boys keep asking me if we can get there by tomorrow night. My reply is, "If all goes well". Of course when does that ever happen.

We Meet the Dennings; still day 10

I really hadn't meant to spend this much time writing about our time Panajachel, but it's such a great place! We wrapped up our last day here by driving into Pana and meeting up with some really cool people. I first wrote about them in my post titled Maps: 1" Equals 500 miles and since then have followed their blog Discover. Share. Inspire.  When it comes to "living life different" and all that means; travel, adventure, earning a living, raising kids in foreign countries, humanitarian efforts...these folks are the real deal!

I knew Greg and Rachel and their five children had been living in Panajachel for several months and thought it would be awesome to meet them in person. We arranged to meet them at the home of a friend in town for an hour or two before Super Bowl. Greg and I immediately hit it off. I don't think either of us has ever met a stranger and we had so much to talk about. He is full of energy and enthusiasm and has been called the "walking antidepressant". Greg and I were so busy talking and sharing ideas I did not get to visit with Rachel much, but I feel that I have known her for a long time through following her blog. I really hope they'll stop by and spend a few days with us in Sigautepeque when they get back on the road again. I think their final destination at some point in the next few years is Tierra del Fuego...or Antarctica maybe.



Our family with the Denning family in Panajachel. I'm not sure what Barbe is looking at!

 

The boys were busy warming up for Super Bowl, playing football with all the kids. They even got in a few passes with Greg before we left. As we were getting ready to leave, we found out the van wouldn't start. Bad solenoid. I had replaced it just before leaving, but for whatever reason the new one had a loose connection inside. So every now and then, out would come the blue tarp and under the van I'd go to wiggle wires until I found the sweet spot.

Heading back to the hotel, we picked up some Super Bowl junk food and some hamburger. I sit on the veranda, cooking hamburgers while the boys watch the pregame show on our rooms "big screen" TV. Later, we all watch the game and watch the 49er's lose. Of course by now, all this is ancient history and the pain of losing is long gone.