November 18 - 20, 2002: The Ruins and Backcountry.

Odometer: 14,545

Not much to report on our trip through Honduras or Nicaragua. As these countries are small and we are behind schedule we have been travelling right through. However we did stop for an evening at the Ruins of Copan. Our hotel was an extortionist $15 for the evening!

The Copan ruins are the most significant Mayan archeological find in the known Mayan region. And that's all I'm going to say about that. Look at the pics and if you still want more, get a library card ;-)

The day we left Copan it was overcast. Actually, it was overcast the day we arrived, but that's not how I wanted to start this paragraph.

We left and the sky was gray! Better?

Oh, wait! I forgot to mention Louis! On arriving in Copan on an overcast afternoon we were immediately approached by Louis, Mr. helpfull. He insisted our best bet for a hotel was the Yaragua and that we should make haste directly. Hey, why not go check it out. It was listed in the Footprint guidebook we've been using and seemed decent enough.

Well, for $15 it was decent enough. Two ratty beds and cold shower. Woohoo!!

Louis, it turns out, is a college level LBB (please refer to the mex/guate border crossing). The boy knows how to work and angle. I don't know what sort of kickback he got from the hotel, but he found us again later as we were wondering around looking for a place to eat and kindly insisted on a restaurant (we actually considered it earlier) he just knew we would love! For his helpfullness he was treated to a couple of beers and smokes. Oh, and the hostess bought him a meal. The guy has definitely found his niche.

Anyway, as we left Copan the skys were looking dire. I had been studying the map the previous evening and picked roads that would most directly guide us out of Honduras. The Footprint guide warned that the road to the border with Guate was a bumpy dirt occassion, but what we found was nice smoth pavement. And it was thus all the way into Santa Rosa de Copan the next day as well.

Then things got interesting. From Santa Rosa all the way to Seguitepeque we dealt with hardpacked dirt like we haven't seen since Batopilas in Mexico. The interesting part began as it started to rain. Actually the wet road made for better traction and Hugh and I were beginning to get a little cocky. At one point we came upon a truck that was slowing for a dirt grader and we decided to pass by them both. Up ahead was a steam roller that was packing what appeared to be tight sandy material. Hugh was ahead of me by about fifty yards when I felt my front end get loose. I immediately slowed realizing what looked like sand was really clay! Wet Clay!

I watched Hugh plow through and thought, "he's going down for sure" when I started the old shimmy and shake to keep over 500lbs straight up and down. And there's Hugh, all over the friggin' road. What was funny one second became a huge concern the next.

We got off the side of the road and, with some humility, waved at the truck we just passed. Time to check the map again....oh, no. We aren't even half the way on this road (over 60 miles) and if we have to deal with this crap the rest of the day, we are camping.

We tried the shoulder which was just plain old mud but that was'nt working any better. The Avon Distanzias we are riding on just aren't made for this sort of terrain at all. I mean a couple of kids on bicycles passed us!

So, just about the time I resolved that we would be stressing for the next 38miles, we rounded a corner and, lo, the hard pack was back! I didn't think I'd be happier to see a bumpy assed road before. And then it turned to pavement! And then the sun came out! And then it turned to bumpy assed dirt again for the next 30miles :-(

Oh, well, better than clay.

We finally made it to the Nicaraguan border with just enough time to finish our paper work on the Honduran side before lunchtime. Hey, when it's lunchtime, nothing happens for an hour.

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