A Trip to San P...transportation

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After school, we took a trip back to San P. I think Maureen was just hungry to get out of town and hungry for a restaurant meal.

Transportation

Once in situ traveling itself can be a great adventure on new modes of transportation. 8%!o(MISSING)f their household budget is spent on transportation. We are not talking car ownership. Where the majority walk, lucky ones have wheels, here indicating two wheels or three. Individuals use 100-125 cc motorcycles or scooters. Larger than that is for highways, which is still not really large enough. Helmets are rare. I recall more than one mother with a baby in a rebozo, plus two urchins hanging on, tooling around on an old 125 Honda. I thought of renting a cycle or scooter, but they require one year dirt experience which totally makes sense. Of course there are some pickups and a surprising number of SUVs.

Without wheels and needing a ride, you can always take a mototaxi, rickety three wheeled demons swarming over cobblestones in pueblos and cities, beeping and squealing. Just as New Orleans has streetcars named “Desire”, mototaxies are usually named. The most common genre is evangelical: “Praise

God”, “Christ Loves You,” and “Have Faith” (appropriate, given how they drive). The other genre is more earthy, “Playboy,” “Three Whores,” or "Blind Luck” (also appropriate).

For towns, public trans is the classical “chicken bus,” though I’ve only been on one with an actual chicken. These are old US school buses (“South Bay Christian School”) too decrepit to pass our safety standards, now in Latin American purgatory. When you get on, always choose a seat in the middle. Toward the rear is the transmission, or what is left of it since they obviously don’t use transmission oil. And the engine, earplugs not supplied. And the shocks, also not supplied. Still, if you are forced to choose, take the rear over the front. Trust me, you do not want to see how they drive, a five hour white knuckler, tranquilizers not supplied. The “great traveling adventure” is usually one trip long. After that, it is a long noisy smelly bumpy cheap trip that gets you there most of the time sometime.

Tourist Story # 1 : Faced with all this during planning we had seized upon the splendid idea to rent a car. We could “go anywhere,” comfortably without waiting. We could drive to the jungle instead of chartering a plane, “see the land.” Through many emails, I sought approval from Avis in San P to take a compact to Guatemala and bring it back. I didn’t know the laws and couldn’t read the signs but that didn’t bother me in France. (Should have.) Avis, as owner, must supply permits for us to cross a border. After agreeing to maximum insurance and a huge deposit, they agreed. I was so excited to embark on a road trip with my daughter. It felt like an all day pass in a foreign Disneyland. Not needing it for the little pueblo of Cofradia, so we were going to pick it up Friday. Thursday afternoon I received a call that Avis had “changed their mind.” Excuse me?! I am now in your country with travel plans and you “change your mind?” The agent was so understanding, apologetic, and agreed that this was not right. But the decision was made by a district manager, so “there’s nothing we can do.” The Avis supervisor I reached in the US said, “Oh, we just sell them the name. Actually we have nothing to do with Honduras. There’s nothing we can do.” So what does selling them your name mean? “(Silence.)” I called five other domestic rentals, some which looked like “rent a wreck,” and none would approve crossing a border. It’s a challenge; we must be traveling.

In another week, I would have realized the road conditions: two lanes, and often only one lane if you count the potholes, some needing ladders. I would have realized how people drive. No way would I drive a car as fast as a chicken bus. I have a T-shirt with the Honduran “rules of the road.” Like “you can pass on curves.” Always use your horn to say Hello, Goodbye, I’m Here, You’re Not, Whatever. Maps were hard to find and just as well because they were inaccurate except for major highways of which there are none by American standards. I am so glad we did not rent a car.

In San P we enjoyed a holiday marimba concert in the park (green dot). Five men were playing one marimba. Met up with two other teachers for dinner (red dot).

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Photos

Mototaxi on internet
Never saw anything that looked like this.

Comments

[Marcia Billings]

I'm glad too that you didn't rent a car, but I do understand the allure of a road trip with a daughter. Funny post.