Late August 2009 we drove from Antigua, Guatemala to Copan Ruinas, Honduras. Copan Ruinas is known for its Mayan archaeological site. Even though it was a rainy day, we felt we had plenty of time. Since we have visited the archaeological site in the past, we felt that we knew the route. We had also done the same border crossing before with pets.
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| Rain en route to Copan Ruinas © Spaswinefood |
However, this time at the border crossing it took forever to do the paperwork for our pets. The agriculture person on duty took his work very seriously and checked every piece of documentation for all the required vaccinations for both the cat and dog. He even called the head person in Teleguchigalpa to double check on the requirements. Since the requirements for cats and dogs were little different, it was line by line for each pet. Fortunately, I had complete veterinarian records (and I mean complete - not just health certificates). He told me not to leave Honduras without getting exit papers for the pets. He also said that I could only obtain these documents in Teleguchigalpa at a certain office.
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| Casa Marías Hotel © Spaswinefood |
Finally, we arrived in Copan Ruinas where we meet up with Karla and Gary at Casa Marías Hotel. There is a good selection of places to stay and restaurants in Copan Ruinas. That night we choose to dine at Twisted Tanyas Restaurant and Bar. We have visited Twisted Tanyas on a number of prior occasions and have always enjoyed the food, wine and conversation. I remember the conversation that night, we discussed what the perceptions outside Honduras were of the June 2009 coup.
Honduran cuisine has had African, Indigenous, and Spanish influences. Many dishes often use coconut in the preparation. Tortillas and plantains are often a part of an Honduran meal. While Honduras has been known for its fruit production (e.g. bananas), historically this has not greatly benefited the average Honduran.
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| Some where on the route to Gracias © Spaswinefood |
We left Copan Ruinas the next morning for Gracias where we took a road to the National Park at Celaque. Before driving into the park we bought groceries in Gracias.
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| Road to Celaque © Spaswinefood |
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| Celaque © Spaswinefood |
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| Ewok at our camp site in Celaque © Spaswinefood |
We camped at Celaque for three nights. We were the only campers in the park. We did a few hikes and just relaxed. It is a very pleasant environment.
At the entrance to the park there is rustic comedor operated by Dona Alejandrina. I had heard stories from John's prior trips about Dona Alejandrina and so we visited with her before leaving. I wanted to create a little business for her so I bought tortillas for later.
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Entrance to the kitchen at Comedor Dona Alejandrina © Spaswinefood
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| Dona Alejandrina making tortillas for us © Spaswinefood |
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| Baking the tortillas © Spaswinefood |
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| Dona Alejandrina © Spaswinefood |
We enjoyed our visit with Dona Alejandrina. She is totally delightful. It was great to see her prepare tortillas in her kitchen.
During our three day stay at the park John cooked wonderful meals for us at campsite.
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| Our cooking/dinning area at Celaque National Park © Spaswinefood |
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| John preparing dinner at camp © Spaswinefood |
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| Pasta for dinner with some good Chilean wine © Spaswinefood |
After a restful stay at Celaque we continued on our road trip westward towards Telguchigalpa.
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| Countryside near Gracias © Spaswinefood |
While driving across Honduras we stopped at a roadside stop to buy fruit. Honduras has great tasting fruit. In fact after eating freshly picked fruit it is hard to settle for anything less.
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| Karla buying fruit at a roadside stop © Spaswinefood |
Later we stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant near La Esparanza. We had a pleasant lunch on the patio.
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| We asked and it was o.k. for Ewok to join us on the patio © Spaswinefood |
Upon arriving in La Esparanza we took time to visit the local market.
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| Wonderful fruit at La Esparanza market © Spaswinefood |
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| Karla and Gary buying fruit at La Esparanza market © Spaswinefood |
After a quick over night in a hotel north of the Honduras/Nicaraguan border on CA3, we drove to the border crossing at Guacualse. We did exit Honduras without going to Teleguchigalpa for pet export permits. Thinking about not having that official paperwork did cause me some worries but, at the border crossing no one asked for any information on the pets.
I invite you to join me in my travels in Honduras and elsewhere at Spaswinefood, or you can visit my travel column at the Examiner.
I invite you to join me in my travels in Honduras and elsewhere at Spaswinefood, or you can visit my travel column at the Examiner.
Sharon
Tasting Memories from the Las Américas Trip
November 2010
See other Spaswinefood posts on Honduras:
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