It was on my way to Honduras so I thought I'd drop in and check out a cigar factory. Unfortunately, I arrived on Friday afternoon - just after the factories shut down for the weekend. I didn't fancy waiting around for three days either. The only choice was to sample the finished product myself.
This left me with a free day so myself, Zack and Maya went to check out Salto falls. At 36 meters, they pack some serious power!
On the way back we visited a farm selling local cheeses - jackpot!
My visit coincided with the opening of a Western-style supermarket. I woke up on Saturday morning and sleepily wandered out to pick up a bottle of water. I was hit with a full-on street party. There were bands playing, stalls handing out free samples and street entertainers. The opening of the store must have been the most important event the town had seen in a decade. After a day of raucous celebrating, and just when I thought it couldn't get any more over the top, there was a 30 minute firework display!! I think they might make a slight loss in the opening week...
The next day I headed off to Somoto, right near the Honduran border. The region is home to the Rio Coco, Central America's largest river. Over millions and millions of years, the river has cut it's way through a huge area of solid rock. The result? A truly stunning 10km canyon.
If you can find a good guide, they will take you to the start of the canyon, put a life jacket around you and chuck you into the river. The next three hours is spent sliding down river rapids and jumping off cliffs. You emerge 10km downstream with a huge grin on your face.
The next day myself and Michelle headed for Honduras. The boarder was extremely efficient, which is unusual for Latin America! We'd aimed to get up to Lake Yojoa but we were too late, so stayed a night in the capital, Tegucigalpa (te-goos-ee-gal-pa - ridiculous name!). We took a slight detour to visit Suyapa church, containing Our Lady of Suyapa, the patron virgin of all Central America. The church is a huge modern Gothic affair with some beautiful stained-glass windows. The virgin statue, however, is six centimetres tall.
We arrived in the centre of the capital at 4pm. Tegucigalpa has a reputation for being a very dangerous place and I usually take these warnings with a pinch of salt. However, when the guesthouse owner told us to come back before it got dark, it seemed a bit more real. We were right in the middle of the downtown area and every corner had a policeman with a shotgun. I can't say I'd recommend it! Anyway, nothing bad happened and we headed off early the next morning.
I've just arrived at Lake Yojoa for a bit of beer tasting at a local microbrewery. Can't wait!
The crew at the canyon.
Salto Falls
Cheese. Mmmmmmm.
A cool statue in Tegucigalpa. I had to hide my camera and run round a corner as soon as I'd taken this picture...
Just like this!
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