I have scooted across Honduras to be closer to the mountains and the western side of this beautiful country. Along the way I have encountered some very interesting things...

beautiful women, hidden waterfalls, dead bodies, and towns that are booming thanks to NGO monies.

I left La Ceiba because I felt like too much of my time was being spent in the big cities and more touristy areas of Honduras with no visits to some truly Honduran towns.

While on the bus from La Ceiba to Santa Rosa de Copan (an exchange of buses in San Pedro Sula) my friend, Caroline - lovely english woman, and I saw quite the accident.

The bus was slowing down immensely and there was a large crowd gathered on the road. I was looking out the opposite window from the mayhem and napping when Caroline, in a thick accent, said "there is a man in the road". I asked her to repeat it at least 3 times before I understood and took a look out the window for myself. Sure enough.... there was a dead man laying in the road. By the looks of things he was just recently killed. It was surreal to see because the crowds were all around... no one looking particularly disturbed at this scene. I sat back down and pondered it for a moment. No one else on the bus seem worried... so I went back to sleep. A traveler on this trip told me "a human life isn´t worth much here" and by these peoples reactions... I guess it is true.

Once in Santa Rosa de Copan we found a lovely but musty room and thought we were in a quaint little mountain town. Soon enough we found several other gringos walking about, that there is a large peace corps population around, and that this particular town has quite a bit of money in it. The new buildings, nice restaurants, and other specialty shops clued us in. It was kind of peculiar to see.

We wanted to visit the Flor de Copan cigar factory but found that the tours run at 2pm, cost $2, and no pictures are allowed. We were running out of things to do and decided to forego the tour to head to Gracias.

Once in Gracias we lined ourselves up to visit the Celaque National Park. We climbed 1800 feet to El Mirador. The weather wasn´t working with us as it rained and was really, really cold for the entire hike and once at the spot where we should see a waterfall.... there were clouds and no waterfall viewing. The hike was nice though.

Near the park entrance is a lovely little comedor that I feel every visitor should experience. The lovely 75 year old woman that runs it is fantastic. She will serve you up a proper Honduran lunch for less than $3 complete with some of her home grown coffee. While you are there make sure you get a private tour of her coffee processing plant.

This plant consists of her front porch. She grows, harvests, dries, roasts, shucks, and grinds all of the coffee by hand herself. She then sells you this coffee for a mere 20 lempiras (just over $1). Her flower garden is absolutely stunning. She harvested all of the plants from the mountainside and has turned her little wooden house and "patio" restaurant into something really special. She is a beautiful soul.

The walk back into town from Celaque is fantastic as well. Down a dirt country road with rock walls on either side and farming on the other side of the walls. The views are awe inspiring and the people are really friendly.

The next day, after Celaque, Caroline and I visited the mountain town of La Campa. At first sight this town has nothing much to offer. Take the time to take a walk around though. The canyon that the town sits at the mouth of is beautiful, when the sun is shining, the people are really friendly, and this town is a shining example of what NGO´s can do. It appears that several operations have adopted up this sleepy town as a bit of a project.

At the towns entrance is a brand new set of buildings being built to house an "interpretive center" for visitors to learn about the Lenca people and their pottery. There is also a computer center where the locals can take computer classes, and you can check your email in the afternoon if so inspired.

There are two comedors to choose lunch menus from and the one I dined at has a pet bird at the front door, a piglet leashed off in the front yard, and a friendly bunny rabbit that picks up lunch crumbs from the comedor floor. Nice dining with you rabbit!

We also visited the local family planning office just for kicks. Doña Mercedes is a wonderful woman and more than pleased to tell you about the options of birth control she has to offer. She also makes and sells pottery and crocheted items. In the plastic bag which she stores her crocheted items are a ton of condoms if you are running low. We all had a great laugh at her humorous ways and enjoyed some picture taking. She was smiling with a condom in hand. ha ha

The local guide here, Allen, will also take you for a 3-hour horseback ride for a little more than $11 for two people through the mountains that surround La Campa. A real bargain I would say! Caroline and I are going for our ride tomorrow. :)

That is the update for now. We head off tomorrow afternoon for a visit to La Esperanza and then on to Tegucigalpa and the local towns around there.

I shall keep you updated.