Honduras - The Original Banana Republic

Hello All

It has been sometime since the last blog, so this could be a long one, all due apologies etc. etc.

When we last left the blog we were about to undertake a weeklong Spanish course where, by the end, we would be speaking fluent spanish and conversing with locals to our hearts content. It was only on the second or third day that i realised that my one on one teacher had numerous nervous ticks, and that many words i thought were in spanish were actually his ticks! He was a friendly fellow though, and he kept me up to date on every football match Guatemala has played recently. Sadly the major thing i have learnt from the course is that Guatemalan football is crap, and that i dont speak much Spanish.

Our week in Antigua was a pleasant one, the school places you with a local family with whom you live with and eat with, and hopefully converse with. By the end of the week, we were speaking well and understood the financial hardships suffered by most guatemalan families, the fact that the family rarely got paid by the school and the fact that they needed to borrow money from us in order for them and us to eat... we did receive the money back, but things got a bit uncomfortable for a while there, but overall it was a great experience, it may help in future to take a packed lunch though.

The big news from Guatemala is that we lived through an earthquake. The "trembola" (not that sort Kev) lasted about 49 seconds (really not that kind) and shook the place about a bit, it was apparently 6.8 on the ricter scale off the coast and we only felt the after effects, a scary moment no doubt for some, but carrie and i handled ourselves with diginity befitting the reputation of tough Aussie travellers. Well Carrie took it well, i just about bowled the Grandma of the house over for a bid at the door frame!

We did have another special occasion in the house with a religous ceremony/parade passing straight past the house. It consisted off each house decorating the road in front with pine needles and religious icons, buying as many firecrackers as they can afford (some more than others sigh...) and the parade walking past with drums and whistles. The funny thing was that the parade has to stop (music and all) until each house lets off all their firecrackers, then they can continue. The problem being that guatemalans are generally nutcases and always pyro maniacs, and that they often take several minutes to discharge all of their fireworks (while holding them with their bare hands), the parade looks on bored, and the tourists look on ammused, then finally when the whislter has had enough, he starts his whistle and the parade continues leaving the nutbag dissapointed that he didnt manage to expend his entire arsenal of explosives. I have some cracking footage to bore you all with when i get home!

But the undoubted highlight of our time in Anitgua was a climb up Volcan "Pacaya" an active Volcano that has live lava flows down its sides. We went in the afternoon and were treated to some of the most amazing atmospheric foggy weather while climbing up, and then clear night skys as we climbed down by torchlight looking back at the glowing red lava behind us. There are not too many countries in the world that would let you climb up sharp slippery volcano rocks to stand about 2 metres away from "liquid hot magma" all with your guide somewhere off in the distance down the bottom of the slope. I had read in the book that several people die a year on the slopes, no way i thought as we climbed up, but at the top we came across three girls (definite future candidates for the darwin awards) attempting to toast marshmallows with 3 inch long plastic forks, "you probably havent thought that one through" we pointed out, at least they agreed and gave up before any more of their shoes melted.

We left Antigua for the Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, a beautiful place, with cheap food and hotels, a long time haunt for hippies and mushroom eaters. It is funny how you find travellers that have been in a place for one week longer than you have, have purchased numerous beaded necklaces, and have likely paid too much for a jamaican coloured bag that will look down their nose at "newbs" that have just arrived on the boat. The lake was a little like that, but needless to say it was still beautiful and we had a great time. But alas, we had to keep moving, so after a couple of days we were off down to the docks to get the ferry home, waved goodbye to our new comrades on the beach, gave the "newbs" a dissaproving look as they disembarked, making sure they had a good view of my newly purchased mayan pants (you will love them matty) and we were off to the Rio Dulce, some 9 hours of busses away. I suffered my first vomit of the trip, the roads are so windy, steep and pot holed i suffered a completely non drinking (i promise) vom out of the window, it seems my sea sickness has flared its ugly head again.

We boated from the Rio Dulce to Livingston, a carribean seaside fishing town, where English is the primary language. It seems historically the Brits sent pirates up and down the coast, and a number of these towns have survived since those days. The culture is really quite strange, sometimes hostile, but always good fun. We spent a couple of days here, a highlight being a 3 hour (each way) hike to a 7 tiered waterfall. The beach hike was completely deserted, and i must say i felt like James Bond as he stumbled upon Dr No´s beach, no Ursula Andress in a white bikini along for the ride though.
From Livingston, it was a ferry, a bus, a private taxi, a border crossing, a bus, another bus and then a ferry and we arrived on the Island Utilla. A small Island off the coast of Honduras, famous for the cheapest (and some of the best) Scuba Diving in the world. We attempted to sign up immediately for a 4 day Open Water Course but were told that Carrie would have to have a medical to be passed fit due to her past sinus surgery, we arrived at the Doctors Surgery at around 1 in the afternoon to be told he had gone home for the day. We eagerly lined up the next morning, and after a 5 hour wait we eventually got to see the great man. This doctor called himself Dr John shuffled into the surgery in bare feet, rasta head dress and a pair of short shorts. He sold T-shirts of himself and wrote "amusing" thoughts in the news paper, and had even published his own book on his one sentence thoughts about life. An interesting guy, it took him about half an hour with us to explain the intricacies of diving, ear surgery, other thoughts on life, and generally just how hard it is to come up with these thoughts every month, maybe ease back on taking so many patients a day and working so hard i said, not sure if he got that little "pearl", but regardless he cleared carrie and we were off.

We both pased our scuba training and exams with flying colours and are proud to say we are now fully licensed scuba divers for life ha! All of this on the back of learning that i am now a fully registered architect, it has been a big week for certificates! Make some room in the pool room!
From Utilla, we ferryed back to the mainland, more buses, and then more buses. It seems the further south the stranger the busses are! (bit like adelaide really) Our border crossing was a strange one, a terrible bus ride (see worst) where an old drunk man on the bus was cracking onto carrie most of the trip, i told him to cut it out and then he started spitting on the ground, and on carries bag, i grabbed his hat and cleaned things up and told him to piss off (i hope, i was attempting spanish), he moved on, but a hairy moment none the less. He eventually apologised and even helped us off the bus at the border. We arrived at the border at 6:30 knowing it shut at 7, a few frantic moments at the immigration window, a rickshaw that i decided i should ride over the border instead of the rickshaw operater (he sat next to carrie) saw us cross by the border by bicycle, a new one for us!

We have now taken one more strange bus, another chicken bus (named that because locals litteraly carry everything including chickens onto the buses) saw us sitting together 3 to a seat (that comfortably fits 2 young american school children). I felt something hitting the back of my leg, i kept kicking it back, no problem, but then the item slid forward again, i looked down to see a hessian sack, no worries probably full of rice i thought, i put my foot down on it. About 15 minutes later i was scared out of my chair, the sack had started moving, 2 inch claws and teeth started ripping through the sack. Much to the locals ammusement they informed me that it was the guy behind me´s (asleep at the time) dinner. Little consolation to me as this thing about the size of a small pig (i am sure it was a wolverine) bundled up in a thin sack was clawing to get free at my feet, good thing i have had my rabies shots i thought, because i was warned about this very situation by my travel Dr. (and i just thought he was trying to rip me off!) Knees around my chin (did i return that one KBR) i survived the rest of the trip, mostly laughing sometimes shitting myself. I guess that is what travelling is about sometimes, laughing when you are trying not to shit yourself!

Anyway we are in Leon now, a beautiful colonial town in Nicaragua, the Nicas already seem a friendly people so it should be fun, we leave this part of the world in 2 short weeks, it is very sad, it is a stunning region that we have enjoyed alot, but the states (and vegas baby) beckon. Sorry for the length of the blog, it is a monster, i hope you got through it! We look forward to getting some emails from you guys at home! And mum, get well!!!!!!

Love Brettski & Carrieski