I've compiled a few more notes on Honduras and a few other places. Who knows? they might be helpful.
Antigua to Copan
I guess I was lucky because I got from Antigua to Copan pretty quickly: departed at 8:30 and arrived at 15:00. I was anticipating getting thoroughly lost in the urban disaster called Guatemala City, but was miraculously in and out in less than an hour. Actually, it wasnt quite a miracle: A close source (to remain unnamed at the moment) got some key landmarks to lookout for, which helped facilitate the process (see "Plan B" below). I hope this source doesnt mind me letting the secret out, though the directions are still not quite perfect:
"Plan A"
Look out for a sign saying Carretera Atlantico or Pueto Barrios as you hairpin down into Guate. That didn't work so I followed "Plan B" (which should be promoted to Plan A)
"Plan B"
Cruise into Guate and lookout for your first McDonalds on the right. There will be a turnoff almost immediately after on the right, don't take that one, take the second one on the right just under the overpass, which will clover-leaf you around and shoot you heading northeast. Somewhere along the way, some five miles or so, youre supposed to see a sign saying "centro" and "zona 6" if you see that, follow the route to "zona 6" . I must have totally missed the latter because I ended up in the centro. Just as I was about to declare myself lost, I unknowingly found myself on Carretera Atlantico and following signs to Puerto Barrios. If you should experience something like this, just follow the buses and big trucks going north or northeast in the Centro (only stop for directions at a gas station if you must.).
Before leaving the city I stopped at a mall that has a Burger King, Dominoes and some fried chicken place. A good place for restrooms and to take a breather after the chaos you just experienced in Guate. The rest is pretty simple, but the turnoff to Zacapa is not in, but a few minutes after the town of Rio Vado. Later, we turned off and stopped for lunch in Chiquimula at Comedor Delia, which had the friendliest service and the shadiest of bathrooms (literally) (warning: the fruit plates could easily feed three people).
Frontera El Florido
(Later in this email you'll see why I mention this border crossing in detail)
For tours going just to Copan, you can pretty much slip through and back without having to cancel stamps for Guatemala and get new ones for Honduras because its only five minutes further to Copan.
But if you decide to try something different (which I highly recommend) you'll want to cancel your Guatemalan passport entrys (same price as Mesilla) and pay for Honduran entries (though you probably could get around the latter because getting Honduran Immigration to stamp the passports is like asking a big favor. I guess its not necessary, the stamp that is. But they will stamp passports if you persist, which I did, for posterity). However, I'd suggest not canceling the van for Guatemala, yet import the van into Honduras (Just tell the Hondurans that you canceled the van at Guatemalan customs anyway, they won't check). Honduran Customs is a 100 yards beyond the immigration offices on the left, in a breezy little shack. The guys might shoot the shit with you because they're so bored, but the process is legitimate and they provide receipts (Honduras Customs). That done, you're free to explore more of Honduras (see "Omoa" below).
COPAN - LODGING
Hotel Marjenny
Jose Saul Pineda (owner)
651.4225
One block west, two blocks north of Copan Ruinas central park (up hill)
I was planning on checking in to Hotel Yuragua, but I ran into a dude named Jose Saul who owns a nice house with 15 bedrooms that will cost your pax half that of Yuragua, i.e. less than $8 per night. These people are good Jehova's witnesses, so they dont seem to be in to scamming others. They accomodated us perfectly. My pax loved the upstairs rooms because there was a terrace and an indoor/outdoor living room with hammocks. Parking is in the patio again, and no problem. Its kinda cool to unload the van directly onto the second floor.
COPAN - ACTIVIES
So if you stay two days in Copan, Hotel Yuragua has all kinds of activities: Horseback riding, El Rubi waterfall hike, Caving to Boqueron Cave, Agua Caliente hot springs, Tubing in Copan river, bird watching, cultural tours, et cetera.
COPAN - EATING
Churrasqueria Momo's
651.3692
One block directly south of the main church A churrasqueria is generally a palace of grilled flesh, which remains true for Momo's but they will also grill vegetables for your vegetarian pax. The view is excellent and so is the food. Cheap too! Delphina hooked me up with a comp (and even covered my beers, waters and limeade!).
Via Via Hostel/Restaurant/Cafe/Bar
three blocks west of main plaza (walking away from the church on the street to the left).
This place is pretty hip, and could be an even cheaper lodging option. If nothing else its a good place to have a beer to some downtempo electronica muzak.
COPAN to OMOA
So this would be the thing to do to add a little unexpected variety to the tour. But if one wanted a nicer beach, I'm told Tela is the place, an hour southeast of San Pedro. But going to Omoa saves from doubling back into Guatemala and allows pax to experience something almost undiscovered and really cool, and if presented properly can make them feel like part of a true adventure.
We only needed two and a half hours at the Copan ruins. I recommend hiring a guide for USD$30 because the ruins aren't as spectacular as Palenque, but have some amazing stelae that a guide must point out. Julio Melendez was very good and spoke good English with a thick accent. So we got there at 9:AM and were on our way a little after 11:AM.
Leaving the ruins we turned right and cruised the mountains, hills and countryside of Honduras; one of the most pleasant drives thus far because the roads are surprisingly very nice and there is little traffic. Just follow the signs to San Pedro de Sula.
We lunched it in El Cruce, which is a shit town that has little if nothing to offer besides shit gasoline and shit food. We were cruising through San Pedro by 14:30, which is easily done by staying left-ish (northeastish), following the runway scattered with multinational corporations that crashed in the least expected of places (Within ten minutes I counted two McDonalds, two Applebees, a TGI Fridays, two Subways, Burger King, KFC, Blockbuster, and the nicest Pizza Hut Ive ever seen).
Once you pass all that, follow the signs to Puerto Cortes, where you'll be in half an hour. Don't bother with Puerto Cortes, and follow the signs to La Frontera Guatemala, or Corinto, or even Omoa. Before you know it youll be in the sleepy Carribean town of Omoa.
OMOA
I went here on a whim, by recommendation, out of curiosity and because my pax wanted some beach. Again, doubling back from Copan didn't appeal and I heard the road goes through to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, which it has for about 1 year, but hasnt made it on any maps. This makes the excursion all the more adventurous. Note: Omoa is a nice, cool place to chill. A little bit on the dirty side, but true to local color and pace, so I recommend it.
As you roll into Omoa, don't blink, cuz you'll want to take your first (hard) right and follow the signs to El Fuerte San Fernando, 1 km off the main road. Zig-zag passed the fort and in another .5 km youll be at the beach. Or stop at Roli's Place 100 meters beforehand and get accommodations.
OMOA - LODGING
Roli's Place
80 meters from the beach on left, look out for Swiss flag (evidently Roli is a Swiss ex-pat).
This is, or will soon be, a Honduran institution, probably be more and more popular as the town gets discovered once maps get published with the international road. When I arrived, the owners weren't there, but there was a sign on a door inviting visitors to accommodate themselves however and pay whenever. As it turns out a they employ some youths who take care of the place at their leisure and will take money equally at their leisure. Other backpackers came and went just as leisurely.
To replace some Hotel nights I cut out in Antigua and Copan, I told my pax that they have to pay for their own accommodations, which didnt bother them because they could camp for USD$2, hammock for $2, get a dormitory room for $4, get a double room with a fan for$8, or a double with AC for $12.
Roli's has a dozen free rusty bikes, a couple kayaks, kitchen, ping-pong, laundry, easy parking ... basically it has everything and will likely be a highlight. This place is funky, and all details are thought out ... like a giant rusted Swiss-Army-Knife-Carribean Hostel.
OMOA - ACTIVITIES
Omoa's beach isn't very grand, nor very clean, but the water is. You can take out Rolis kayaks if you like, or fish with the locals off the recently constructed pier.
Fortaleza San Fernando - For USD$2 you can tour this Spanish fort, which is said to be one-of-a-kind because it has rounded walls. Cool for 1/2 hour.
Rio Omoa - We spent a good 4 hours walking/hiking to and playing in "Los Chorros de Rio Omoa." ("Chorros" are waterfalls) They're easy enough to find. Basically go back to the main highway, cross it and continue straight until you run into the river. The lower chorros are nice, but dirty. A little ways up the river gets clean and a quarter mile upstream are some pristine falls and pools. Just follow the trail along the river til it ends in the river and walk up the river and you cant miss it. The water is refreshing and the setting is completely untouched. Seriously, it would have been nice to have borrowed/rented a machete to get through some of the tall grass and jungle. But we managed without, suffering minor cuts.
OMOA - EATING
There are a dozen restaurants and other forms of lodging along this small coast that must accommodate national tourists from San Pedro on weekend or holidays, but only a few are open during weekdays. I'd like to recommend some, but theyre pretty much all the same: fish and seafood. Furthermore, we all got some kind of stomach bug there (I was the first, with full on food poisoning) and six others later, but with milder more drawn out symptoms.
OMOA to RIO DULCE
This is a surprisingly quick drive. It's 40 miles to the border, where you can cancel the Van for Honduras and get passports stamped, if you want. Guatemalan immigration is another 12 miles north, where visa fee is just as arbitrary as Mesilla. There was no Customs office to be found, which is why I suggest not canceling the van in Copan.
Puerto Barrios is another 15 miles. In order to save some time, I set my pax up with a water taxi in Puerto Barrios to take them up to Rio Dulce, via Livingston and Hotsprings waterfalls. This was easy and cost about USD$20/pax. The thing that sucked was I had to miss the ride in order to drive to Rio Dulce and wait 2 1/2 hours in that skanky port town (a place where maritime traffic converges overland traffic is inevitably skanky, such is Rio Dulce).
Puerto Barrios
Cruising into Puerto Barrios youll soon realize where most of Guatemala's imports and exports go to and come from. If you want to give your pax a one-way ride to Rio Dulce, follow the signs to "Muelle Municipal" via Blvd/Calzado J.R. Barrios. Turn left when you see the signs declaring "Migracion" and "Check Immigration" which is also 12th Calle. This street ends at the municipal dock and there will be more than enough "taxis" to choose from. However, finding one who speaks English is tricky. I went with a dude named Elias Osorio with a boat named "Lily" working for Autotransmart; he seemed most professional and knowledgable, besides speaking English with a thick accent.
My pax were on their way by 11:30 (we got a late start in Omoa, 9:00) and were in Rio Dulce by 16:30 (Make sure the guide knows you're not staying in Rio Dulce, or he'll take his sweet-ass-time). They loved the trip up the coast the most, enjoyed Livingston, had a nice lunch at some random riverside restaurant that all the watertaxis seem to hit (discourage Elias from staying so long or stopping at all at some crap artisan craft school, no one wants to have that shit forced on them anyway), cruised up the river, saw the Castillo de San Felipe and met me at the Rio Bravo Restaurant Bar. My pax also wished they had their swimsuits to swim in the hot springs water falls.
The Rio Bravo Restaurant/Bar is down the first "street" on your right as you cross the bridge in Livingston. A good place to have a liquado an write endless emails like this one. My pax were happy they didn't have to see the river twice and we were in Finca Ixobel by 18:00.
By the way Finca Ixobel is one of the greatest places ever!
Additional Random notes: -Caesar is the man in Tikal, though a bit overboard with Americanisms in his speech.
Contact him via email at:
littlecaesarsadventures@yahoo.com
I added a night in San Ignacio, Belize and toured Barton Cave with Sandro of Maya Mystic Tours (David was nowhere to be found, but is still in business).
I recommend Sandro:
dalesandrorequena@yahoo.com
cell-55.1212 office-804.0055
Hicaco Tours is still highly recommended for us in Caye Caulker.
They have a new guide named Vito, full of experience, knowledge and quirky humor. Pax loved him. Contact him via Tage at: hicacotour@yahoo.com (I could tell Carlos, the other guide, was jealous of how good of a time we had and tried to usurp Vito for future tours. Carlos may be fine, but I recommend Vito)
Ivan thanks for recommending Maurice at Wish Willy, he hooked us up! Everyone should eat there at least one night.
Saludos,
Jorge
