Tegucigalpa, Honduras

BANANA REPUBLIC
Honduras is known as the banana republic and there is a good reason why. At the end of the 1900s, US traders took an interest in bananas produced in northern Honduras. With advances in refrigeration, and the relatively short boat trip to southern USA the banana industry boomed. US companies who wanted to purchase land where given generous incentives by a succession of Honduran governments. By 1920, three quarters of banana growing lands were owned by US companies and over 60% of all Honduras’ exports were directly from bananas. The economic success of the banana industry made the banana companies very powerful within Honduras and many of them aligned themselves with political parties. Unlike its neighbours, Honduras failed to foster an indigenous landholding elite which led them to become controlled by US banana interests – hence the name ‘banana republic’.

TEGUCIGALPA
The name sounds like a bit of a mouthful but many of the locals call this place Tegus (teh-goose). It’s not the prettiest of places but we are staying in a decent hotel which makes it bearable.

Cathedral in Tegucigalpa

We had a brief scare yesterday when we arrived. Sara and I had walked about 1-2km from the bus station with our backpacks on and we decided to stop for a few minutes to take counsel. I pulled out the guidebook to take a look at the city map and the next thing I hear Sara yelling at somebody to her left – I was standing to her right. Someone had run up to her and grabbed her wrist and was trying to pull her watch off. With our backpacks on we both weigh about 15kg heavier so Sara had a lot of weight behind her. The man must have realised that he wasn't going to get the watch off her hand so he pulled away and ran off down the street. I wanted to run after him but I had my backpack on and also my shower sandals, which are not built for running, so the both of us just watched in stunned silence as he ran down the street. He had broken one of the pins on Sara’s watch but the more disturbing thing was this happened in broad daylight in a busy area. After six months of traveling it’s the only real incident that we have encountered first hand. Later that day we got Sara’s watch repaired for 35c but I didn't get a receipt so I may have a hard time explaining it to the insurance company. Accommodation was at Hotel Iberia for US$10 a night.

Sara at one of the many Internet cafe's we've frequented -this one in Honduras

The trip continues. Tomorrow, Nicaragua.

Copan Ruinas, Honduras

COPAN
Today we visited the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Copan - in Honduras but very close to the border with Guatemala. The site is well known for the awesome stelae depicting the history of the empire and the huge hieroglyphic staircase decorated with the longest single glyph in the Mayan world. We had waited an extra day to explore the ruins because yesterday was a bit overcast and we wanted to wait until the weather was perfect. Today the sun shone brightly so we took our time and had a leisurely breakfast before wandering the one kilometer down the road to the ruins. The wait was well worth it.

Sara & I at the uncrowded and hugely impressive Copan Ruins

  One of the many stelae at Copan

 Me at Copan 

 One of the many glyphs

 The staircase with the longest single glyph in the Mayan world

SNAKE
For Sara today though will be better remembered as the day we saw a snake. The only other snake except for the one I ate in China. Sara has an unusual fear of snakes. The kind of fear that causes one to completely lose control of ones bodily functions and go completely hysterical. If Sara were to tell the story she would probably say that a six foot snake leapt from a tree branch above us to the ground before our feet, raised its head and struck with potent force, fangs reared, at our ankles. In reality though the poor little thing happened to be on the path in front of us as we left the ruins and it quickly scurried out of our way into the forest. The screaming and wailing would have people believe otherwise. Needless to say we are both alive and well and have stocked up on anti-venom.

Today's run in reminded me of a couple of other times that Sara has been carried away with what she saw. On the train through Siberia she claimed to have seen an emu in a field full of cows. She watched the emu for ages, transfixed, as it stood still in the field. It wasn't until I took a good look that we discovered it was just a man standing behind a cow. Last week at the restaurant at the Tikal ruins Sara asked one of the tour guides the name of the blue bird that was standing outside by the gutter. The tour guide furrowed his brow and ignored her at the time. It was so tall and graceful and was the most beautiful blue you have ever seen, with shock white legs and a long slender beak like a crane. After breakfast when we left the restaurant Sara was devastated to discover it was just a piece of blue rope hanging from a wire.

This afternoon we relaxed with a few bottles of the local brew - Salva Vida (Lifesaver) - and read our respective books in the hammocks at Hotel California - a steal for only US$6 a night. We had dinner at a place called Tunkul and the total bill for an amazing meal, including drinks, was less than US$10 for both of us. Tomorrow we leave Copan Ruinas with the aim of getting a few towns closer to the capital city without spending too much time on the bus.

Sara @Hotel California

Sara at the Guatemala/Honduras border