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Few days back, crossing the Honduras border

Another informal border
Another informal border

As promised, here is an account of the few days before our small incident. We are now in Las Minas, Honduras, at a friend house, thanks to my brother Sergio from New York. We were able to find a mechanic in San Pedro who is taking care of the car, and who seemed optimistic when we delivered it. Now, we can just wait and wait for his word.

Our new family in Guatemala
Our new family in Guatemala
So back a little bit, after a last night in Guatemala, where a nice family let us sleep in front of their house, we woke up early morning, and took the direction of the Honduras border crossing.
Armed guards are everywhere in Honduras
Armed guards are everywhere in Honduras
We were there few hours later, and it took us two hours and US$ 40 to do the immigration process and the temporary import of the vehicle. We were excited to let one more country behind, and at the prospect of a country where gasoline would be cheaper than Guatemala.
The Copan Ruinas market
The Copan Ruinas market
Few minute after the border lays Copan, the country most amazing Maya archeological site, as well as the cute town of Copan Ruinas. After visiting the town, we decided to wait for the following day to visit the ruins, and went to find a place we could camp and cook diner.
Cooking tortillas the old way, in the ashes
Cooking tortillas the old way, in the ashes
The rancher's family
The rancher's family
The Copan ruins
The Copan ruins
Going up in the mountain, we found a farm, and asked the owner for a refuge. He did not only let us camp, but also invited us to the family table, teaching us about traditional food from his country. After saying good-bye, we went down to the ruins in the morning. The site is the most significant in Honduras, and marks the most southern point of the Maya dominance. The northern border of influence being the ruins of Palenque, one of our previous stop.
ruinas2
When the ruins were first examined, in 1839, they were under heavy vegetation. And still today, major discoveries are being done. It takes four hours to visit the site, and there is also a museum and some tunnels we skipped.
Copan with the mountains in the background
Copan with the mountains in the background

Also of interest, a 45 minutes path in the jungle where if you are lucky, you can catch a glimpse of the local animals. Bring insect repellent, unlike us.

There are still many years of work ahead
There are still many years of work ahead

I should be able to give an update tomorrow on our situation, and give more details on what happened in the infamous mountains.

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Adventures through the mountains

In the Guatemala highlands
In the Guatemala highlands

In the morning, I got some work done on the truck, including new break pads, and got a new gasket for the exhaust oxygen sensor, which reduced the noise. The guys at Toyota don’t think much about the constant heat inside the truck, so we will try to not think about it. Since many days now, we roll with the hood open 3-inches, which keep the general temperature down. After all, it may not be abnormal for the truck to get warm, given the load we are carrying.
guatemala_woman After Huehuetenango, we took the mountains road in the northeast direction, to reach the highlands, where are probably the most desirable places to see in Guatemala. In general, in Central America, we will avoid overcrowded capitals, in an effort to avoid criminality, and also because it is more easy for us to set up a bush camp outside of populated areas.

Market in the mountain
Market in the mountain

Our first day in the mountains was fine, even if it gets more difficult for Nadia to eat what she wishes, since she is vegetarian. Most people can’t believe someone would not eat meat. Already Mexico was not a vegetarian paradise, but here it seems worst.
In the heart of the mountains, close to Rio Blanco, a family let us use their little piece of land to camp. A lot of people here have at least one family member working in the U.S., so I think they are happy to welcome someone coming from there.

mountain_road
Unpaved roads are getting more commun
Some roads are completely cut
Some roads are completely cut by rockslides
Market scene
Market scene

In the morning, we found a river where we could bath and clean up a little. Thanks god for that, after few days without a shower.
Then, as we were going deeper east, the road became unpaved, and more and more difficult. Often, our way was reduced to one lane because of rockslides due to rain. At one point, the road was even completely cut, but a deviation was in place, which saved us 10 hours of driving going back and taking another route.

After the accident, people don't complain, but just want their money back
After the accident, people don't complain, but just want their money back

People are driving fast here, including passenger buses, and in the afternoon, as we were on a paved road, and accident happened in front of us. A truck lost wood logs, causing a truck carrying beverage and a passenger buses to fly outside the road.

Nick and the bus passengers cleaning out broken glass
Nick and the bus passengers cleaning out broken glass

As we stopped, I ran back on the road to make signs for upcoming vehicles to slow down, and then, with other travelers, we cleaned up the pavement from broken glasses, and gas-propelled Pepsi bottles.
45 minutes later, and after loading the truck with a 12-pack of drinking water bottles (very desirable for us), we continued our drive in an increasingly dry environment. The landscape changed to cactus and scarcer vegetation, similar to south-Texas.
Before Chiquimula, another family let us sleep in front of their house.

On another note, people who want to contact nadia can do so at nadia2805 [AT] hotmail.com.
She will be glad to reply herself the marriage proposition I get in my mailbox now. Just in case I didn’t make it clear when I introduced her, she is a friend of mine from France, and we are not romantically tied. I will be glad to be the witness at her wedding as long as you are a decent guy.