Crazy / Verrueckt

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Erst Englisch, dann Deutsch.

Well, we didn’t make it to the Caribbean Island of Utila after all! Our stay in Honduras so far has been very…eventful to say the least! After a long travel day we finally arrived in Tegucigulpa, the capital of Honduras where we witnessed a nasty fight as we arrived at our hotel. A ‘crazy’ local man obviously didn’t like the look of our group and got pretty aggressive. Before we knew it, a beefy Venezualan guest stepped in, it escalated pretty quickly and they had a full on fight which got pretty ugly. The police were called and he was taken away. Needless to say, we were glad it was only an overnight stop over!

The enxt morning, had another very early start and tiring travel day ahead of us. Two hours into the journey, the bus stopped and we were told that there had been a floding and the bridge ahead was blocked due to the waters! At first our guide thought we could find another road and got us all to jump into the back of a truck as someone had offered to gwet us across (for a fee of course!). We needed to get to the other side to drive on to catch a ferry over to the Bay Islands. As soon as we’d got comfy in the truck, we were told that there was actually no way to cross the river at all as the floodwaters were high all along the valley and this way the only road across. So we all jumped out again, rucksacks and all. Later we found out that dam had burst overnight. After several hours of waiting around on the roadside our guide dropped the bombshell that due to this natural disaster, we were officially ‘off itinerary’ and GAP tours would no longer be covering our costs (hotels, transport etc) until we got to our destination ...somehow or other! As you can imagine we were fuming! That means we’ve been forced to pay double as we’d already paid all that from the UK! Then came the next bombshell: he said the only option we had to was to return to the capital city and FLY out to a town on the other side of the river the next day, costing about $90 each as well as hotels and taxis, ferries etc on top! After paying all that money, we would only have ended up with one day on the island and aft6er 3long travel days many of us didn’t see the point. In the end, the group ended up splitting up. Half decided to fly out and head on to the Island, the other half of us (including Christian and I) decided it would be more cost-effective and less stress to just head onto the next stop and meet them there, especially as it’s been raining non-stop (pretty depressing but to be expected in the rainy season!) and the weather forecast for the Islands was 1000% precipitation anyway! Was pretty stressful, tempers were short, budgets and priorities different etc. We had to sign forms and wait for confirmation as to whether we’d even be allowed back onto the tour. Anyway, we definitely feel we made a good decision even though our guide tried to tell us that we’d never make it to Copan (our next stop) ourselves etc and that the river would be flooded for days.

After a restless nights sleep, the next day, we managed to get to Copan - oddly enough travelling back over the same bridge that had been blocked the day before! The waters had already receded. Though it was yet another very long travel day (10 hours, the third day in a row) it was a relief to get there ok and know that we could stay put for three more nights! No long bus journeys and proper meals instead of snacking for three whole days, heavenly!

Copan is a really lovely small town and the second most popular tourist destination in Honduras after the Bay Islands. It is famous for its extensive impressive Mayan ruins which we visited today. The town is well cared for and colourful, cute cafes and restaurants and quaint cobbled stre4ets. The men walk around in cowboy hats with guns and machetes. They complete their outfit with Wellington boots! An odd sight indeed! It’s small enough that everyone knows everyone and the locals are really friendly.

The group of us hired a tour guide at the Mayan ruins which was definitely worth the extra money. They were huge and it’s hard to comprehend how they managed to build such giant structures with their bare hands. We saw temples, typical homes and sites of both animal and human sacrifices. It was an honour to be sacrificed to one of their many Gods. The ceremony involved being lain over a huge boulder and beheaded by a priest. The blood was collected in little shells and was then burnt so that the smoke of your soul went up in to the skies to ‘talk to’ and ‘be with’ the Gods. If you won the popular game of ‘Touchball’ the captain of the winning team would have the honour of being sacrificed to the Gods in a huge, auspicious ceremony would thereby earn themselves a place in heaven. The equivalent of winning the World Cup!? The game ’Touchball’ sounds impossible. The team had to keep a ball in the air using just their torso, head and knees (no hands and feet) without it falling to the ground. Apparently, they managed to keep it going for up to 10 minutes. Mayans used to travel down all the way from Mexico to partake in the game, a journey which would have taken them at least three months to walk! Crazy.

Tomorrow, we have another full day in Copan and will eagerly await the arrival of the rest of the group late in the evening. We are slightly nervous that bad weather may cancel the ferry out of the island and that they could be stranded there as we have seen storms in the Caribbean on satellite shots in the weather forecasts. Fingers crossed. Then we head into Guatemala where we will begin the next part of our tour and get a new guide. Six of us are continuing on and we will be joined by seven new people. Now, it’s time to head bach to the hotel. Apparently there’s hot water and I’m dying for a hot shower! What a luxury.

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Hallo Ihr,

Nach der wunderschoenen Stadt Granada haben wir Nicaragua verlassen und sind in Richtung Honduras aufgebrochen. Auf dem Weg haben wir an einer Tankstelle den W50 aus Kamenz gesehen. Verrueckt und lustig. Am spaeten Abend sind wir in Tegucigalpa, der Hauptstadt von Honduras, angekommen. Dann gings schnell ins Bett, da die Reise am naechsten Morgen schon um 6:30 Uhr beginnen sollte. Das tat sie auch, aber nach 2 Stunden Busreise war sie schon ungeplant zu Ende. Dieses Jahr war es in Honduras recht kalt mit vielen Regenschauern und diese haben dazu gefuehrt, dass die Fluesse in den letzten Wochen rapide angestiegen sind. An jenem Morgen brach ein Damm in der Naehe der ehemaligen hondurischen Hauptstadt Comayagua und hat viele Haeuser und Bruecken ueberschwemmt, eine der letzteren haetten wir ueberqueren muessen. Fuer ca. 5 Stunden haben wir herumgehangen, dann entschloss sich der Busfahrer zur Rueckkehr, unserer cleverer Tourfuehrer hingegen fiel auf einen ansaessigen LKW-Fahrer herein, der uns fuer 45 US-Dollar einen Alternativweg versprach nehmen zu koennen. Nachdem wir den Bus verlassen und den LKW bestiegen hatten, bekam der LKW-Fahrer einen Anruf, dass dieser Alternativweg doch nicht passierbar waere. Nun, mit all dem Gepaeck machten wir uns dann auf einen sehr strapazioesen Rueckweg nach Tegucigalpa. Doch dann begann erst das richtige Elend. Unser Tourguide meinte, wir muessten am naechsten Morgen in Richtung Bay-Island fliegen und dann mit Taxi, Boot … dort ankommen (einen Tag verspaetet), das haetten wir aber selber bezahlen muessen, da wir durch die Unpassierbarkeit der Strasse die Tourroute verlassen haben und GAP (die Reisefirma) erst dann wieder fuer Unterkunft und Transport bezahlt, wenn wir zurueck im Tourplan sind. Nun, fuer viele von uns wuerde das wohl die Reiseversicherung bezahlen, aber was ist mit der Zeit? Einige von uns waren der Meinung, dass es sich nicht lohnen wuerde, einen weiteren Reisetag zu investieren und ans andere Ende des Landes zu fahren, letztlich dort aber nur einen Tag zu haben, um dann wieder fuer 2 ganze Tage zu reisen, ehe wir am Freitag dann das Ende/Ziel unserer Tour, Antigua, erreichen wuerden und nicht genuegend Zeit in Copan (alte Maya-Ruinen) haetten. So spaltete und z.T. stritt sich unsere Gruppe. 7 flogen dann am Morgen nach San Pedro …, waehrend sich die Abtruennigen, zu denen wir uebrigens gehoeren, fuer 2 Tage von der Gruppe trennten und selbstaendig den Weg in Richtung Copan antraten. Dort sind wir gestern Abend wohl behalten und ohne Probleme angekommen.
Heute haben wir die Ruinen besucht und sind von ihnen und der Landschaft verzaubert. Wir haben einen 500 Jahre alten Baum gesehen, dessen Wurzeln z.T. an der Bodenoberflaeche verlaufen und fast so dick wie mein Bauch sind.. Morgen werden wir in bisschen wandern und am Abend unsere Gruppe wiedertreffen, sie kommen dann in Copan an. Am Freitag geht es dann nach Antigua, wo unsere Tour endet und die naechste beginnt. Wir hoffen sehr, dass unser neuer Tourguide, eine Frau uebrigens, ein wenig erfahrener, cleverer und verstaendlicher ist.
Mal sehn, was Guatemala zu bieten hat. Sicher viel Spannendes.

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