honduras...

it was a great two weeks adventure to central america.  

my original plan was to take a lot of pictures - since it was my first time to travel all the way south.  but this plan changed as soon as i arrived in El Salvador, my stopover.  it hit me that central america is very similar to my birth country, the Philippines.  the weather, the houses, the people - the whole package of the countries in itself was like a carbon copy (or vice-versa).  yes, there are differences like the language and the food but i guess being colonized by Spain made the similarities uncanny.

the bus ride between countries - yes, i took the bus - was not an issue was i originally dread.  it was the border crossing that caught me off guard.  i am used to the borders up north.  my college was 30 minutes away from the Canadian border - where the minimum age to drink is 18 (21 here in the US).  anyway, the borders down south is very different.  here, you have to give your passport to the bus conductor prior to reaching the border.  once you reach the borders, you have to get off the bus.  the conductor will then give the passports to the border officer of the country you are leaving.  after inspection of documents, the immigration officer will then call each name, hand his/her passport before s/he can board the bus.  one of the people i met in one of my bus trip told me that  you wanted to make sure they call your name, otherwise, you are in trouble - or need some clearance.  

once that is done, it's not over yet.  the fun (NOT!!!) part is actually just beginning.  on the other border - which by the way is a few steps from the other border - everyone had to get off the bus again and this time, everyone have to take their belongings.  this was a more extensive verification - they check your luggage. it would have been fine since it's standard luggage search - but it would be great if the search area was air conditioned.  it was in a covered court and wait in line until you go to this small room.  you are lucky if there's an a/c or at least a fan working (mind you that central america is hot and humid).  out of the three borders i crossed, it only experience a working fan on the border of honduras/nicaragua.  the rest, lets just say i took a shower without running water.

stories from some passengers and also the street vendors along these borders are just plain scary.  one vendor mentioned that one time, a bus was literally dismantled into pieces - there was a tip that there was a drug inside the bus.  the passengers of the said bus were stuck on the border for over 7 hours.  whether it was true or not, i'm just glad it didn't happen to me.

the longest bus ride i took was from costa rica to panama - took us about 14 hours.  this might be issue to some but it was not for me since i drove 19 hours straight before (click here for my driving adventure).

all in all, i had a great time and it was an experience all right.  so here is the first picture installment of my trip.

**street art, tegucigalpa, honduras 

**pinata, tegucigalpa, honduras

**museo para la identidad nacional, tegucigalpa, honduras

**museo para la identidad nacional, tegucigalpa, honduras

**museo para la identidad nacional, tegucigalpa, honduras

**street photography, tegucigalpa, honduras

 

**iglesia de los dolores, tegucigalpa, honduras

**iglesia de los dolores, tegucigalpa, honduras

**iglesia de los dolores, tegucigalpa, honduras

**iglesia de los dolores, tegucigalpa, honduras