Managua, Nicaragua

THANKSGIVING
We spent Thanksgiving on a bus crossing between Honduras and Nicaragua, but it was a nice bus and it had a toilet so it wasn't all that bad. Sara was feeling homesick throughout the day but we treated ourselves to a Thanksgiving feast of fried chicken and plantains for dinner, followed by numerous bottles of the local beer - Victoria. Not your traditional holiday celebrations but then again Nicaragua isn't your traditional country.

A few people had warned us about Managua so we are taking a few extra precautions. It's one of those cities where the word 'armpit' comes leaping to mind when trying to describe it. The setting is potentially idyllic - on the lakeside, surrounded by lush fertile rolling hills - but the place is filthy and lacking of any charm. Near the lake there is a huge abandoned church with one of the turrets missing. All of the major commercial buildings have been moved to the outlying areas of the city for fear of further destruction making it an annoying place to get around quickly.

Managua Cathedral - damaged a few years after it was completed and now derelict

 Monument commemorating the soldiers killed during the Nicaraguan Civil War

Today we have decided to treat ourselves to a movie or two. We've found a nice cinema nearby so we plan to see Harry Potter and Red Dragon before venturing to Leon tomorrow. It's our holiday gift to ourselves. For two nights we stayed just around the corner from the bus station at the Hospedaje Quintana for a bargain US$10 for the stay - we spent more money on beer from the fridge than we did on the room.

Our modest room at Hospedaje Quintana

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.