El viaje

We decided to skip Honduras. Not because we do not want to see it, rather for having had the urge to settle down for a week and for that the chosen place was Nicaragua. We wanted to stay on the Pacific side and Honduras has mainly Caribbean coast. The weather also played a role. With Hurricane season approaching we rather sit on the Pacific. Also we might just take a swing back at Honduras, let see.

So knowing we had to cross Honduras at least for a hundred kilometer stretch or so we left at around 8.30.

That turned out to be way , way too late.

A couple of vultures feasting on a dead puppy tried to warn us but we ignored the signs.

These black undertakers are grim fellows , just like the guys who swarmed our car when we approached the border to Honduras.

Being dressed in blue shirts they do not look quite as frightening but, as we would soon enough learn, are just as much opportunists as the black feathered ones.

These guys stopped us . And looking like officials they tell you to give them the papers of your car and passports to do the “preliminary check“ . With the police officers standing right next to them, nodding in agreement, you do not suspect all of the following.

We had to pay, for absolutely every single step. I will spare you each and every single one of those steps but just to give you an idea:

It started by having to hand over the temporary import papers for the crossing of El Salvador. Why? Just for someone to tell you that these are now not valid anymore and that it costs 15 dollares to make it so ! (?)

Police officers nodding in agreement.

Then the two guys next to first one are suddenly in charge of getting your temporary import papers for Honduras, which you cant really do anything about because they got handed your passports by the first.That of course costs again, and again.

Long story short, you are being fucked from all sides, in every possible imaginable way.

So warning to Dominik and all future Honduras border crossers, just avoid these guys in the blue shirts and do the import papers yourself! It will take longer. But it is just way way cheaper.

While waiting i cut a pinapple.

While waiting i smoked a cigarette or two.

Lu capture my mood quite well after having waited and waited and paid and paid again for things that we did not really have to pay for.

So after around 4 hours of this hideous nonsense we entered Honduras.

The fun immediately started again at the border to Nicaragua!

The one hand does not know what the other one is doing and after a ridiculous 2-3 hours of back and forth they finally let us through!

I am not getting into detail because it was all boring bureaucracy that is nerv wrecking , utterly useless and thus straight up unnecessary.

Our original plan was to drive all the way down to Popoyo but since it already was dark when we finally managed to cross we picked the first biggest town.

León was still a 2 hour drive through the pitch black on really bad roads, so we immediately collapsed when we finally did arrive.