The Nomads

Left La Ceiba, Honduras 9:00 AM

Temp: 42 degrees C

Sunny, Super Hot and Humid

By morning we had decided to pack it in and head for the ferry to Roatan. This was the objective of going all the way to La Ceiba and we were pretty excited about getting there and were happy to write off the extra nights cost at the “Hotel from Hell!”

When we got there we were informed by the “agent “ who was supposed to access the ferry cost for the bikes(no set fee schedule) that we would have to pay 6000 Lempiras plus 1000 per person. It seems that they haven’t figured out yet that bilking foreigners is not the way to build a healthy tourist trade. What a disappointment! The reef ther is part of the second largest barier reef in the world and I had been so looking forward to doing some diving there!

Fed up, we decided to strike out for Nicaragua. We inquired about the best roads there and headed for Los Manos via Esquipulas del Norte and Talanga, only to come upon, after about 100 km, a stretch of road through the mountains that was 150 km of dirt and gravel. We turned back to Saba and took the only other route after being assured it was “apaviemiento”. About 30 Km later the pave ran out and we were looking at five hours of even worse dirt road in even rougher mountains through the heart of Honduras. And the thermometer was topping out at about 42 degrees!

The map we were given from the officials at the border show both these roads as paved main roads!

It was now three in the afternoon and we were at least four hours from a town with a hotel we could stay at. We turned around and headed back to La Ceiba hoping to get there before dark. I was in a bit of a panic and didn’t spare the horses. There were times we were doing 110-120 on roads we had previously traveled at a nervous 70-80!

. I was in a bit of a panic and didn’t spare the horses. There were times we were doing 110-120 on roads we had previously traveled at a nervous 70-80!

You do not want to drive after dark in Honduras , not ever! Period!

La Ceiba was a zoo and we had no hope of making it in to the room we already had paid for. Theat section of the city was closed to traffic and cordoned off, so we hightailed it to Tela , a town on the coast about 80 Km away, in the setting sun with fingers crossed and “spider senses” tingling.

It was getting dark as we pulled into Tela. The town wasn’t exactly what you would call a tourist destination, and I was thinking as we drove around the town looking for a suitable place to stay that we were in dire straights. As I was about to give up I spied the shoreline and off in the distance I could see palapas on the beach so off I went in that direction through the narrow streets.

The Veromar!

What a surprise to find a nice hotel with air conditioning and a swimming pool as well as a decent beach, bar and restaurant, and a gated parking for the bikes. At this point I think I’d have given my first born (sorry Mikie) to stay there! And to top it all off, the price was reasonable for what we got.

Three happier people you never saw!!!

A nice finish after a couple of bad days…

Kilometers - Daytrip: 384 km total: 11,604

Gas: $ 25.00

Lodging: Hotel Veramar $58.00

# posted by Richard and Susie @ 11:41 AM