After Manuel finished painting El Pinguino I headed towards Tegucigalpa. My intention was to get close to the Guatemala border and hopefully stay at a B&B / microbrewery at Lake Yojoa.
This was the toughest day of riding so far. Not too bad out of El Paraiso, but then I had to go through Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. Traffic was bad, the polution was killing me, the road is all through mountains, and their was a fierce wind the entire trip. It was not fun!
I tried to find a B&B that I had visited a few years before on Lake Yojoa. The owner is (was?) an Oregonian from Portland and also had a small brewery. Unfortunately I couldn't find the place. I rode all around the lake, but no success. By this time I was worried that it would get dark, and I don't ride in the dark if at all possible. Fortunately I found a hotel in Villanueva for the night and continued on in the morning.
April 25
I should comment about maps in this part of the world: They are invariably semi-accurate. In general, if you use a GPS, a paper map, and ask three people (who will give you five answers) you have a 70% chance of getting where you want to go. Today was no exception.
In the past I've crossed the border near Copan Ruinas, but this time I (brilliant planner that I am) decided to take a different route. At least it looked like a different route. The problem was that there was not actually a road through to the border crossing indicated on the map! So I ended up going WAY around San Pedro Sula to cross the border.
They have a beautiful new customs facility on the Honduran side. Offices and space galore. Unfortunately, only one person working in the whole complex. After an hour of waiting, I finally got my 5 minutes to get my exit document stamped. The Guatemalan side was even easier, I thought! About 5 miles from the border I went into the customs office. The officer there was very polite, invited me into the nice, air conditioned office and took care of the paper work. Again... I thought! Then he told me that I actually had to go to another city to get the permit for the bike. To make a long story short (I know... it's too late), there went the rest of the afternoon while I chased around Puerto Barrios for documents. Finally got that done and rode the next 40 miles to Rio Dulce.
Rio Dulce is a town that I like. The hotel I stay at - Bruno's - is right on the water and there are always a lot of American yachties there as it is a very protected harbor 12 miles upriver from the ocean. The first night was someone's birthday, so I got to enjoy the party.
April 26
I decided to make a day trip to Finca Paraiso, about 17 miles away. The last time I was there, about 4 years ago, it was all dirt road but now it was completely paved and a real pleasure.This area is tropical cattle country. Other than the thatched roofs and palm trees, you would swear that you were in Texas.
The main attraction of Finca Paraiso is the hot water waterfall. There is a thermal pool at the top of the cliff that pours over into the river below. The water coming off the fall is probably about 150 degrees, so by getting closer or further from the falls you can control the temperature. You can also get a nice hot shower while standing in the cool river. The only downside is that there are some voracious little fish that like to bite any exposed skin. This is not a place to go skinny dipping !
Friday was my day to hang around Bruno's (my hotel), relax, and catch up on this blog. Tomorrow it's off to Belize (Yeaaaahhh! A new country)
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