Page 24: - No Return Ticket - Just a Ride Report /w Pics - From the beginning
Honduras: Ancient Ruins:
The next day its back on the road on foot heading for some ancient ruins in the area we read about.
We are walking for less then ten minutes when a pickup truck stops and offers us a lift. Again the driver doesn't accept any money for the ride. We are like'n Honduras more every day, everyone has been nice, we like the things to do here and the places we stay.
Los Naranjos: This is an ancient trading post set up over 5,000 years ago by a tribe from Mexico for trading with the local tribes here. There is a nice dry walking path with tons of beautiful birds and exotic plants and trees along the way, oh yeah.
Heidi and I enjoy the hike while engaging in discussions of how it must have been like for the ancient people from Mexico to hike all the way down here and build up this complex trading post. The thought of it is mind boggling. The site is a work in progress and is barely excavated but we got an idea of what it must have been like here thousands of years ago.
This is a long day of hiking. We already spent 4 hours on foot and can feel our legs muscles tweaking and the distance hike endorphins kick in. Adventure Travel, Yes……
On the way back we pass through a few small communities.
Laundry day:
Back to Pena Blanca we wait for a bus to take us the last 6 miles to the hotel.
Ice cream cone, 15 cents, OK. Ice cream is a good way to end a long day’s hike. I learned that from my father after we finished a week long leg hiking the Appalachian trail, I think we both pounded a quart…….
The bus ride back is packed. There are almost a dozen Peace Corp volunteers on board heading for Hotel Agua Azul for the New Years holiday. We are told 40 or more Peace Corp people arwe booked at the hotel, fun time...
Fishing from Hotel Agua Azul.
The spinner lures I’m using aren’t cutting it. I see people every day with stringers full of 5lb Bass…..
We are back on the road after the holidays, so stay tuned and Happy New Year to all :).
A Few Thoughts:
A New Year, this is a good time to reflect on where I came from, where I am and where I’m going. 2008’ Unreal and we are on an adventure of a life time. Now, at age 50 I can still see myself at 16 on my first solo cross-country motorcycle adventure looking at the road atlas I borrowed from my father. I’ll never forget the feeling I had when studied the highway leading all the way through Mexico to Panama. thinking about doing that gave me a real chill. I knew then that some day I would ride south of the border, and this is it. It’s hard to imagine a dream staying alive for 34 years. At times I felt like I wasted my youth devoting so much effort buying things and making money. Luckily I met the woman of my dreams who shares a similar vision of adventure, travel and warm tropical lands. I am one lucky dude and I need to let Heidi know. If things go as planned we will achieve my Panama dream on a motorcycle and here’s to exploring South America. Did I say I am lucky, I must remember that every day for the rest of my life...
“Things haven’t been the same since you came into my life. You found a way to touch my soul and I’m never never going to let it go” (Madonna)
Falling asleep listening to crickets, waking up hearing roosters and exotic birds screeching is to me one of the best parts of adventure travel. I really miss sleeping and waking up in our tent but staying at a lakeside resort in the sub-tropics is even better. Honduras has been a totally unexpected pleasure for both of us and there are parts of the country that are said to be even better. I’m already making plans in my head to visit Honduras in the future. (A guy just walked by with about 6 Bass in a plastic bag, all around 2 or 3 pounds) Yesterday while preparing for today’s ride I spent hours researching Nicaragua. There are a lot of lakes in Nicaragua complete with volcanoes, exotic birds, monkeys, palm trees and lots of hiking trails. We are stoked.
Going from point A to B is getting easier, so we are able to enjoy the things we like doing even more. Heidi and I really have our navigation and riding system down. We are a team……..
Lago de Yojoa to the Nicaragua border:
Again, this ride is uneventful, just good roads and beautiful scenery. It feels like we could have been riding through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in the USA. Tons of pine trees roads, which are the national tree of Honduras, cut through granite rock and streams flowing alongside. Everything feels so familiar, maybe we have come to feel at home in Honduras, maybe it’s the scenery, not sure what it is but it sure feels good.
We are staged at a dirt cheap motel for the night just miles from the Nicaragua border. With luck the border crossing tomorrow will go smooth.
Stay tuned, much more to come…….
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