The Nomads

Day 43 Thursday May 22

Left Esquipulas, Guatemala

Temp: 30 degrees C

Sunny

We had coffee and left at 10:15 for the border.

About two kilometres from the customs we ran into a horrendous line-up of tractor trailers and vehicles as far as the eye could see. And it wasn’t very assuring to see the drivers camped out under their trailers in hammocks and chairs and sleeping pads. Drivers were cooking, sleeping, wandering and browsing at the local tiendas. I thought “we’re here for the duration, and no place to pitch a tent!”

Fortunately everyone kept waving us forward and moving over so we could squeeze by on the bikes until we were right up front where we were asked to park the bikes to one side.

We spent the next three and a half hours getting the paperwork done to bring the bikes through Honduras. There were 552 Limpires worth of fees and bills and permits to be had and each one required a Herculean effort on the part of each appointed clerk, with many to’s and fro’s and repeat trips to the local photocopy service (which was doing a thriving business, I might add). To say things progressed at a snail’s pace would be an over-indulgent and very charitable description.

Sue got a lot of reading done…..

We finally got clearance and the go-ahead at 3:15.

By the time we got to Santa Rosa de Copan (about 120 KM) we decided to stop for the night as the next nearest place we could expect good lodgings was San Pedro Sula which would have required hours of night driving through the steep mountain switchbacks of broken pavement.

The geography of Honduras is an object lesson in extreme topography. At almost every turn going up or down we were greeted with splendid belvederes, vistas that were as breathtaking in beauty as they were scary! …many moments of vertigo…

And to add a “soupcon de j’en sais quois” to the mix, we were constantly enveloped in the heady combined fragrance of burnt brake pads and overheating clutch plates!

And the curves were a lesson in extremes as well, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes not, most times scary!

The good news was the altitude. We were so high up at times that we were shivering with the cold and had our winter coats been immediately available, we would have been wearing them!

Today was the first day that we haven’t been in an “all day, drenching sweat” for weeks. Nice.

We pulled into Santa Rosa de Copan around six and settled intoa nice gated local hotel where the bikes would be safe.

The plan for tomorrow is to head towards La Ceiba and the bay islands of the coast.

Kilometers - Daytrip: 118 km total: 10,882
Gas: $ 10.00
Lodging: Hotel Getsemani $33.34

# posted by Richard and Susie @ 11:24 AM