A post from Mack:September 8th was Sam's 21st birthday. Instead of the traditional ritual of sleeping all day and partying all night, he did pretty much the opposite. We got up at 3:30 am to catch a "collectivo" to Copan Town, just across the Guatemalan border. I spent several days in the town last year, so I wanted to briefly show Sam the sights before we moved on to San Pedro Sula.
On the (short) road between the border post and Copan Town, we drove past CI's relatively new Western Honduras community center. I knew they had established a program in Copan, but I didn't know exactly where. Later, I learned that they've got about 1,000 sponsored kids in the area, but their goal is to be able to accommodate 3,000.
It was about 10:30am when our van arrived in town. Since we were still burdened with suitcases full of heavy gifts, we hired a tuk-tuk taxi* to take us to our hostel.
*Just as a note of interest, tuk-tuks are small "auto rickshaws" used for short distance transportation. The name originated in Asia (probably Bangkok), and I find it odd that other countries – such as Honduras and The Netherlands – have adopted both the vehicles and the term "tuk-tuk". I would expect them to come up with more culturally fitting names for their versions.
Our day started out badly, when halfway to the hostel Sam realized he'd left one of his bags behind. Our 'guide' took him on a mad dash back to the bus station, and eventually they tracked the suitcase down at a different hostel with some of our fellow collectivo passengers. We were now indebted to this man and his tuk-tuk, and he welded himself to us for the remainder of the day (and night).
I took Sam on a zip-line canopy tour, and to see the Mayan ruins. I had a grandiose plan that we would float down the river to the ruins on inflatable tubes. This scheme was thwarted by two insurmountable obstacles:
1. Sam forgot to bring his tube.
2. The river flows in the opposite direction of the ruins.
We had to take our friend's tuk-tuk to the entrance.
When it was time to return to town, I wanted to share one tube and float BACK on the river. No dice. We discovered that there is a high fence built around the ruins, with strands of barbed wire along the top. This is presumably to keep tourists from sneaking into the ruins without paying the $15 entrance fee, not to prevent honest ticket holders from accessing the river afterward.
We pre-paid our tuk-tuk driver to pick us up at 5:30 the next morning to catch a 6am bus to San Pedro Sula. Hint: Don't do that. When our driver had not appeared by 5:45, we jogged to the main square in search of alternate transport. Nope, none around so early. When we eventually flagged someone down, it was our apologetic driver out looking for us. We loaded the tuk-tuk, and he got us to the station just in time to see our bus disappear over the bridge. Fortunately, we had planned for such a contingency. Really, we were aiming to take the 7am bus!
Arriving in San Pedro Sula around 10:30am (again), we took a taxi from the bus depot to the hotel where we would be meeting Victor later in the day. I didn't want to admit the name of our hotel to the taxi driver … but there was no other option. I was hesitant for good reason, because when the man found out that his filthy backpacker passengers were staying at one of the best hotels in the city, he quoted us $40 for the ride into town. When we pulled up to our hotel, I 'tattled' to the bell boy. He approached the taxi driver on our behalf and politely informed him that we would be paying the usual rate of $5, instead of the 'rich, dumb tourist' fare.
Unless you are insistent upon opening doors for yourself, there's nothing bad to be said about the Real Intercontinental Hotel of San Pedro Sula. They will treat you like royalty, and your stay will be completely comfortable. The restaurant is good, and the swimming pool will cool you down at the end of a long, hot day. The hotel is located directly next door to a modern shopping mall, providing you with easy access to a movie theater and food court. Of course, you could sponsor a child for 6 months for the price of one night's stay at Intercontinental.
Alternatively, try staying at Dos Molinos B&B, only 300 meters away from the Intercontinental. Basic rooms for two rent out at $25 per night, plus you get to eat breakfast with the family in the morning. Luis, the proprietor, will pick you up from or drive you to the bus station/airport. My dad and I stayed at Dos Molinos last February, and we were quite satisfied.
But, since Victor was willing to share the extra bed in his room, Sam and I dumped our bags at the Intercontinental and grabbed one of their honest taxis. Our destination was CI's new central office … which the taxi driver couldn't find.
After stopping for directions, we arrived at the CI office, where we were greeted warmly. We enjoyed a tour, and I was reunited with my friends Miriam and Jessica, our hostesses from last year's visit.
The new office is truly astounding! It is beautiful, modern, and air-conditioned – a vast improvement from the previous office. The best part is that CI owns the land and the building, whereas they were renting at the other location. Much of the construction material was donated, and by using local labor, the office was affordable to build.
Now for the downside … the office is not located in a very "nice" area of the city. In fact, it's way off the edge of the tourist map that Intercontinental gives its guests. Obviously, real estate in the more central parts of town comes at a premium that CI doesn't want to pay. Unfortunately, some problems with crime occurred, and CI has been forced to hire a 24-hour guard for the building. His gun is HUGE.
(Don't worry, this is not a building where any of the children come. It's exclusively offices for program administrators and letter translators.)
Nothing much else happened that day. We shopped (read other post), saw a movie, and connected with Victor after he finally arrived. We spent the evening at the mall buying even MORE stuff to give to our boys the next day.
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