May 25, 2009
As last week was coming to the end the question became what we were going to do over the weekend. After some discussion and inquiring of locals we decided to head up to Honduras. The border of Honduras and Nicaragua is only about 1 hour and half away from where I am in Nicaragua. So although going to another country sounds like a journey the trip there was not bad at all. So, let´s talk about crossing borders. It is a very interesting process as you can imagine. At the border between Nicaragua and Honduras there was literally a rope across the road. Here lied the first obstacle for travelers. As we walked around the rope we were confronted by border control. They looked at our passports and then told use that it costs a dollar to cross the border. Next we continued to walk forward until we were called to an immigration hut (I would compare it to a ticket booth for a movie theater). We were waved to the first window and again told to present our passports. After a thorough inspection of our identification we had to pay a 40 Cordobas for a processing fee. Then we were directed to the next ¨ticket booth¨. This one as indicated by a sign was Honduran. Again at this booth our passports were inspected and information was taken. And yet again we were charged a fee. This time it was an entrance fee of 60 Limpiras (the currency of Honduras). All I can say is doing conversions of three different currencies can really take a toll on the brain. After this final fee we were allowed to walk about 20 feet until we were yet again called over to another booth. And the point of this booth…was to prevent the spread of the Swine Flu. We were asked our ages, departure city and destination. But by far my favorite question was ¨Tiene Gripe¨ or in English ¨do you have the flu¨. There was no temperature check or mouth swabs only this question. Hence this question alone was protecting the Hondurans from the Swine Flu.
That covers my border experience (pretty simple huh). Once in the country Dan and I headed to Comayagua. Comayagua is one of the largest cities in Honduras and has unique Spanish colonial architecture. The city was beautiful and had a great central park in front of a central church. While in the city for Saturday the 23rd and Sunday the 24th, we explored the streets. We found several cool restaurants and stores. My favorite part was going to a local museum. The museum went through the history of the city of Comayagua. It started with ancient civilization and ended with the current day. I learned that Comayagua has Spanish colonial architecture because of the Spanish inhabitance of the city some years prior. Overall the city was wonderful and I can’t believe that it doesn’t draw more tourists.
Monday, we head back to Nicaragua and did the whole border thing again (just backwards). One thing that was different though was that on the bus to the border Dan and I meet a girl traveler from Canada, Katherine. I would say that she was about 25 and she clearly looked like the free spirited adventurous type. She had been traveling Central America now for about 4 months by herself! The fact that people can do this amazes me. So far on my trip I have encounter 4 people (including Katherine) that have spent months and one years traveling Central America on their own. The fact that they are strong and adventurous enough to just leave everything back home and explore fascinates me. I am beginning to notice that they all have very similar personality types. All of them are outgoing and friendly. They all have a love for simplicity and for health. And most intriguing is that each one of them when asked what they are doing after Central America answer ¨Going home and saving for my next international trip¨. These are some really cool people I am getting to meet. Talking with them really sheds light on a different perspective of life and a different living philosophy.
And that puts me here typing on this computer in Nicaragua,
Nat-tan
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Hi Nathan. After reading your blog and Dan’s last blog, I figured that you may take a trip to Honduras or Costa Rica. I am glad that you had a good adventure! Adam came home on Sunday May 24 from Ireland. He has a great time visting Andrew. He even got to play some rugby with a college team from Andrew’s university. Ofcourse Jessica asked him if he did better than Ross when he played rugby in that “Friends” episode! Hope things continure go well and good luck getting ready for the trade show.
For only having been there such a short time, the depth and breadth of your observations are amazing! I’m glad you’re enjoying your time there.