Dallas to Tegoosygoosy
Security coming into Honduras was gimme your passport, lemme take your picture, see you later. Didn’t have to strip down like coming to the US. Drew was right outside the security gate – well, the old drew less 40 pounds and nearly all his hair!
I’m in HONDURAS! So where is Alice? At the McDonald’s upstairs. Her counterpart and his lovely family – two adorable kids, here’s one
We ambled over to the local spaghetteria (yep, a Honduran Italian restaurant) for dinner, featuring a plato typico which translates into a traditional combo platter – rice, chorizo, beef and beans and a white cheese that was very much like feta but comes from a cow. It was delicioso. Just about the time the bill came, we were plunged into darkness when the electricity went out. It made the Good Friday procession passing by outside that much more beautiful with the candlelight. Here’s a couple of pics.
Security coming into Honduras was gimme your passport, lemme take your picture, see you later. Didn’t have to strip down like coming to the US. Drew was right outside the security gate – well, the old drew less 40 pounds and nearly all his hair!
I’m in HONDURAS! So where is Alice? At the McDonald’s upstairs. Her counterpart and his lovely family – two adorable kids, here’s one
My first fact on Honduras is that the children are soooo beautiful. I know children are beautiful everywhere but these little moon-faced kids are spectacular. You never want them to stop smiling.
Tegoose, as they call it, is pretty modern – the ride to Valle de Angeles took about 30 minutes. It was the first of several E-ticket rides here so far because of the Honduran drivers. Let’s just say rules of the rode are pretty much made up as you go along.
We arrive at Alice and Drew’s place and Jordan and his friend Summar were there. Jordan is another Peace Corps volunteer and he’s stationed in the south, Aramecina Valle where it’s really hot and dry and much more rustic than here. Alice and Drew really have it made in this place. It’s a tourist area and well developed.
We headed out to dinner at the center of the city, a lovely park area and joined a couple of friends for a couple of bottles of Chilean cabernet at a local bar. The park was decorated for Easter week including some sand paintings on the road. The buildings are typically concrete, brightly painted and the streets are cobbled with large stones and foot high curbs. It makes for an interesting walk home in the dark.
For appetizers we had anafre, a melted cheese and bean dip with homemade tortilla chips. Then, I got my first taste of pupusas! Anyone coming to my house for dinner from here on will be served pupusas. It’s a corn pancake stuffed with cheese, beans, or pork and served with pickled onions, cabbage and peppers. A little hot sauce on top and you’ve got yourself a mouthful of pure joy.
The weather is spectacular, low 80’s during the day and 60’s at night. The bar we were sitting in was open to the street and the view included a number of handsomely weathered cowboys on horseback and a few donkeys as well. The horses and donkeys have been a delight for me to see. They tie them up on the roadside to graze or the donkey is just loose and strolling around at his own leisure. On the topic of animals, another fast impression of the country is the vast number of street dogs – skinny hounds always on their way to somewhere, most certainly with food on their minds.
Tegoose, as they call it, is pretty modern – the ride to Valle de Angeles took about 30 minutes. It was the first of several E-ticket rides here so far because of the Honduran drivers. Let’s just say rules of the rode are pretty much made up as you go along.
We arrive at Alice and Drew’s place and Jordan and his friend Summar were there. Jordan is another Peace Corps volunteer and he’s stationed in the south, Aramecina Valle where it’s really hot and dry and much more rustic than here. Alice and Drew really have it made in this place. It’s a tourist area and well developed.
We headed out to dinner at the center of the city, a lovely park area and joined a couple of friends for a couple of bottles of Chilean cabernet at a local bar. The park was decorated for Easter week including some sand paintings on the road. The buildings are typically concrete, brightly painted and the streets are cobbled with large stones and foot high curbs. It makes for an interesting walk home in the dark.
For appetizers we had anafre, a melted cheese and bean dip with homemade tortilla chips. Then, I got my first taste of pupusas! Anyone coming to my house for dinner from here on will be served pupusas. It’s a corn pancake stuffed with cheese, beans, or pork and served with pickled onions, cabbage and peppers. A little hot sauce on top and you’ve got yourself a mouthful of pure joy.
The weather is spectacular, low 80’s during the day and 60’s at night. The bar we were sitting in was open to the street and the view included a number of handsomely weathered cowboys on horseback and a few donkeys as well. The horses and donkeys have been a delight for me to see. They tie them up on the roadside to graze or the donkey is just loose and strolling around at his own leisure. On the topic of animals, another fast impression of the country is the vast number of street dogs – skinny hounds always on their way to somewhere, most certainly with food on their minds.
We ambled over to the local spaghetteria (yep, a Honduran Italian restaurant) for dinner, featuring a plato typico which translates into a traditional combo platter – rice, chorizo, beef and beans and a white cheese that was very much like feta but comes from a cow. It was delicioso. Just about the time the bill came, we were plunged into darkness when the electricity went out. It made the Good Friday procession passing by outside that much more beautiful with the candlelight. Here’s a couple of pics.
The first is Jesus in a glass coffin. The angels are life-sized. We walked home after dinner, something I’d love to be able to do more often at home. It had rained earlier in the day but the night was crystal clear and the air was lovely and fresh..
The next day we headed off to La Tigra National Park. Alice and Drew haggled with a mototaxi driver to take us up the mountain and at some points, 1st gear wasn’t low enough so he had to zigzag up the road. A mototaxi is your basic 3 wheeled Yamaha motorcycle with a top and rear seating. At some points, going down the steep road, I was looking hard for the roll bar.
We stayed at Cabana Mirador El Rosario, a bed and breakfast in the park run by a German couple – Monica and Jorge (Yorg). They built a spectacular two story home right into the steep hillside and added a separate two bedroom cabin with a porch sporting a breathtaking view of the valley and the mountains. This is a must-visit place. Monica and Jorge ensured a wonderful visit. Every detail was simply perfect.
We started our hike with the intention of reaching a waterfall about 3 hours away. I think, had Alice and Drew not been nice enough to let me set the pace, they would have made it before dark. It’s a fairly steep climb for the first hour or so. We did reach an overlook and here’s the view .
The next day we headed off to La Tigra National Park. Alice and Drew haggled with a mototaxi driver to take us up the mountain and at some points, 1st gear wasn’t low enough so he had to zigzag up the road. A mototaxi is your basic 3 wheeled Yamaha motorcycle with a top and rear seating. At some points, going down the steep road, I was looking hard for the roll bar.
We stayed at Cabana Mirador El Rosario, a bed and breakfast in the park run by a German couple – Monica and Jorge (Yorg). They built a spectacular two story home right into the steep hillside and added a separate two bedroom cabin with a porch sporting a breathtaking view of the valley and the mountains. This is a must-visit place. Monica and Jorge ensured a wonderful visit. Every detail was simply perfect.
We started our hike with the intention of reaching a waterfall about 3 hours away. I think, had Alice and Drew not been nice enough to let me set the pace, they would have made it before dark. It’s a fairly steep climb for the first hour or so. We did reach an overlook and here’s the view .
The next point of interest was a log bridge over a stream. We ventured further but at 1800 meters from the falls we figured we wouldn’t make it back before dark if we kept going. It was a wise decision since, when we arrived back at the B&B, every body part below the waist was aching from the climb. It was worth every step.
A couple of hammocks on the porch were perfect for watching the sun go down and sip white wine that Alice graciously brought along. Monica made a fabulous dinner, starting with a salad made of organic vegetables grown from Jorge’s garden and topped with a lovely yogurt and herb dressing. The entrée was rice served with green chili sauce and a vegetable enchilada finished over a wood fire oven in the dining room. We tried some of their homemade raspberry wine and it’s worth it.
Their dining room window looks out over the valley and the moon was red that evening. Here’s a crummy pic but you’ve got an imagination so use it and go ahhhhh, like we did.
A couple of hammocks on the porch were perfect for watching the sun go down and sip white wine that Alice graciously brought along. Monica made a fabulous dinner, starting with a salad made of organic vegetables grown from Jorge’s garden and topped with a lovely yogurt and herb dressing. The entrée was rice served with green chili sauce and a vegetable enchilada finished over a wood fire oven in the dining room. We tried some of their homemade raspberry wine and it’s worth it.
Their dining room window looks out over the valley and the moon was red that evening. Here’s a crummy pic but you’ve got an imagination so use it and go ahhhhh, like we did.
The meal ended with Jorge’s special lemon grass tea and some light sweet cakes.We slept like the dead that night.
The breakfast was amazing – homemade jams and bread, cheddar cheese, tomatoes and cream cheese and peanut butter with the most delicious cup of coffee I’ve had in near memory. Monica even pre-heated the cream for our coffee which was delightful.
After breakfast, Jorge gave us a thorough tour of the gardens he’s terraced into the hillside. When they bought the property 10 years ago, it was nothing but barren scrub. They’ve planted over 100 trees, some oak, a lot of pine and added yucca and palm as well. His gardens are impressive, raspberries, some coffee beans, a lot of onions and tons of lettuce. His ongoing war is for his carrot crop but the rodents seem to be winning right now. We saw a Toucan Verde sitting in a tree and making a surprising sound much like a bullfrog. Jorge took us back down the mountain on the road which could be an e-ticket ride at Disneyland. Along the way, a Lesser Roadrunner tore across the road and into the brush.
After coming into town, we did a little shopping. The carved wood and veneers here are very nice and the prices are reasonable so I stocked up. So much so that the shop owner thanked Alice for bringing me in!
Off to the pupusaria we went for lunch. One of Alice’s coworkers joined us, Don Louis, and I got to practice a little extra Spanish, more listening than speaking though. Alice and Drew are both excellent at simultaneously holding a conversation and translating back and forth from English and Spanish. It’s very impressive.
The entertainment for the evening was meeting Fidel, a friend of Drew’s, a multi-lingual commercial lawyer and rabid soccer fan. We joined him in the back of a restaurant to watch the Olympic final qualifying round between Honduras and the US. It was being played in, of all places, Nashville, Tennessee. Honduras won so that was quite a treat since 90% of the fans in the stadium were Hondurans.We heading to Copan tomorrow.
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