It had rained heavily again during the night (well after
all, it is the wet season down here !!), so we slowly got sorted out and packed
up, enjoyed our cold shower (hey, I will never underestimate hot water availability
again !!), and after the “security gates” were opened by Jimmy, we headed into
town for a few quick photos, and then hit the road o the northeast, heading up
towards San Pedro Sula. The road to
start with was
ATROCIOUS – Not only enormous potholes (like up to a foot deep
!), but whole sections of road just missing !
Thank goodness we are in a vehicle as robust and capable as Troopie, and
that I have excellent tyres. Very
country – boys herding sheep and cows beside the road, cowboys galloping down
the street on their horses, pigs running around freely, maize spread out on the
road drying (what would happen if you drove over it ?), ox carts, and lots of
little villages, so fairly interesting to drive through. We are getting a lot more “looks” from
everyone as we drive through than we have previously. Fairly hilly and mountainous to start with,
we eventually came down into a much hotter flat valley where there was more
agriculture in the fields. Pot holes in the shadow of trees were particularly hard
to spot before you hit them !
One slightly interesting thing for me was that suddenly
we are seeing Toyota Troopies like ours !
Obviously not pop top campers, but new Troopies used as Ambulances, a
few pick ups, and even a police car – So maybe spare parts will now be
available if I needed them ? I also
found out yesterday that all these tuk tuks are made in India, and exported to
Central America ! We went in a brand new
one yesterday and there wasn’t a single rattle.
The bad roads will soon change that though !!
After we had turned south near San Pedro Sula, we headed down
towards Lago de Yojoa which we had been told was beautiful by Yobani, and also
been given the “rough” directions to this D&D Brewery where we “might” be
able to camp. Lots of fruit stalls
beside the road as we drove south, and then as we drove down around the lake on
the main road, there were fish hanging up for sale that had been caught in the
lake – They might be fresh, but hanging up beside the road surely they would
soon start to smell a bit ! There was
no where apart from hotels for us to really stop and camp anywhere, so we went
around the lake on smaller roads towards the little town of Pena Blanca where
D&D was apparently located. We were slowly finding our way there by asking
directions every hundred yards, when a van that had been following us for a
while pulled up beside us and an English voice called out “You looking for
D&D” ? When we said yes he said “Follow
me” and off we went down smaller and smaller roads until we suddenly turned
into this compound – And there was a little bit of heaven in the middle of Honduras.
Before we even stopped, Osmond (our rescuer) directed us into
a parking spot
and told us we could camp there, and then we wandered down the little paths
through the trees to meet the manager
and Bobby the American owner, and discover a swimming pool and bar (serving
about 50 different beers from around the world !) and restaurant and accommodation
huts and all set in the undergrowth so you can hardly see them. Just beautiful, and even more so because it
was so unexpected. So we had a couple of
beers, chatted to Patrick from NZ and American Scott and his English wife
Shirley who live on the islands off shore (after cruising the Caribbean for 6
years in their yacht), and then had a delicious supper under the trees. Bobby is busy renovating the whole property
so it is a hive of activity at present.
While camping for a smaller vehicle is OK, it is not viable for bigger
ones, but one could park here and stay in one of their cabins, or there is even
a bunk house for back packers etc.
Activities include hiking, rowing or kayaking on the lake, or visits to
waterfalls etc in the area – It really is a delightful option for people travelling
through to explore this area and see some wonderful countryside.
N14.56.801 W088.02.295
After a good nights sleep (despite some more torrential
rain), we have now just breakfasted (Tuesday morning) and have decided to spend
the day here, catch up on wifi and banking etc, do some laundry, and then head
down towards Tegucigalpa and then Nicaragua tomorrow.
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