JTOG Day 39: Good Bye El Salvador, Hello Honduras!

CLICK here for Andy’s Recap of the Spirit of Golf in El Salvador!

Any time you only stay two nights in a country you miss out on a lot but I felt my 48 hours spent in El Salvador, especially when it comes to golf, gave me a great deal of insight. The above video captures that spirit of golf in El Salvador which is historic and traditional in one sense and new and cutting edge in another way. I missed out on a lot that El Salvador has to offer. I wish I could have toured the city with a guided tour operator and I wish I could have gone to the beach. That’s the nice thing about El Salvador—everything is compact and close by. I definitely have to come back some time soon and play Cuscatlan and El Encanto in all their beauty!

It is never a bad day when you stay in an Intercontinental Real. It’s a great day when you wake up in one Intercontinental Real and go to sleep in another one, even when there is 200 miles, a 5-1/2 hour drive in between and a international border to cross. That was my goal today and I accomplished it but not without a few surprises along the way!

I left Volcano San Salvador behind as I left the Intercontinental Real Hotel. I was hopping capitals today going from San Salvador to Tegucigalpa. It took me a while but I finally learned how to pronounce Tegucigalpa—Teg-uci-gal-pa, always with an image of a horse galloping away. It seemed like I could still see Volcano San Salvador in my rear view mirror as my focal point on the start of the day’s journey, Volcano San Vincente became visible. I would head east, cross the border into Honduras then head north to its capital city Tegucigalpa. San Salvador is at an elevation of 2159 feet and it seemed like we almost went down to sea level before starting the climb to Tegucigalpa at 3250 feet. As Torch and I went up we went through some wind mills. Never seeing the city until we got to and over the mountain I felt like we were full of anticipation on the yellow brick road like Dorothy and Toto.

I got a little ahead of myself there. Along the way to the border I stopped in a nice little Coca-Cola town for an early lunch. I say Coca-Cola town because of all the Coca-Cola signage. Torch had a rest out front while I refueled in a Coca-Cola restaurant. My tour friend Jorge from the Guatemala-El Salvador border really had set me up with his buddy Roney to help me pass through to Honduras. I met him at a Puma gas station a few kilometers from the border. Ah, communications, it was nice to have a cell phone again!

Things with Roney went well on the El Salvador side of the border. It is always easier it seems to be leaving a country than entering one. On the Honduras side there was a little issue which resulted in me letting Roney go. We needed to get Torch her temporary vehicle permit in Honduras. Roney, without consulting me, paid an official $US 10 to not have Torch inspected. At least that is what he told me. Of course I was curious to his thought process and his expectation of spending my money without asking me. The fear he communicated was that without paying the bribe, it would take three hours to inspect Torch down to actually unscrewing the air conditioner vents to look inside. I asked Roney what the chances of being inspected to that extent were. He said 100 percent. I said I would take my chances and drove through the checkpoint, got the vehicle permit and did not get inspected. Maybe he did pay them off so just in case I reimbursed him $US 10. Who knows?

Now on my own, going solo, speaking no Spanish, I drove on through the border realizing I missed stopping at the Customs building to get my temporary visa. Torch needs hers and I need mine. While making a U-turn on a fairly broad street I bumped (not hit since I was more stopped than moving) a little red streetcar that shuttles people around town. The operator took exception to it although I looked out the passenger side of the car and saw no damage. I smiled and waved my hand and said thank you and drove another 30 yards into a parking spot. He followed, I got out and a customs official came to my rescue since there really was no damage. He then took me inside and helped me complete the paperwork to enter Honduras. The funny thing was that when I came out about 15 minutes later I was expecting some more interaction with the operator fellow but he was no where to be seen. When I went to my car, I saw and realized that I had left Torch all alone, unlocked, with the keys in the ignition and the engine was running! Who says I am not an idiot and that Honduras is not a safe country!

The ride up to Tegucigalpa was beautiful, especially within 50 miles of the capital city. The mountain outcroppings were dramatic, irregular and stunning in their natural design. If Tegucigalpa was a fort it would be hard to attack, at least from the south. My Garmin connected with its satellite occasionally confirming I was heading the right way. Though once we arrived in the Tegucigalpa city limits the satellite connection was lost and it was useless. I managed to meander around a bit, in hindsight overshooting the Multiplaza Mall and Real Intercontinental Tegucigalpa that I was searching for. Eventually Torch and I found our way and located home for the foreseeable future.

I couldn’t document exactly what I did that night because all my camera batteries, two Go Pros and the Canon were spent. As I recall I did some more laundry in the bathroom sink of my luxurious room. My stay had VIP status with access to the concierge floor so I headed up there for some dinner. I met a few interesting and knowledgeable people who updated me on current events in Honduras and gave me some insight into the city of Tegucigalpa. Both that and a confirmation email who change my plans for my visit to Honduras.

Here I was always searching for white pearls in those oysters on the Redondo Pier in LA back in the 80s, when fast forward to the 2010s to Honduras, I learned that it was a black pearl that will come into my future and very soon.

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