The trip meter on the bike rolled over for the second time yesterday. I am now 20,000km into this trip and four national boarders away from where I started.
I rode across into Honduras a couple of days ago and Marie and I are in a small town on the North coast of Honduras for Christmas. Initial impressions of Honduras are that it is much more like Mexico than Guatemala. The climate is till very tropical and the people seem much the same. The difference is that it seems significantly poorer here. The vehicles are mostly older and more battered which means they are being kept running longer out of need. The roads are still pretty good but not as nice as in Guatemala. The towns seem to have more litter and there are many more side roads that are not paved and so the dust is back again. The people again seem nice enough but there are even more guards with guns around the place. In a city that we passed through, there was even and armed guard in a donut shop! - Although I must admit, they did look like very nice donuts!
It is now Christmas Eve and it looks like I will spend this Christmas in the Australian style rather than the North American style I have become used to over the past twelve years in Vancouver. Rather than the snow and cold of the North, this year I will be in the heat. The morning will be spent at the local beach with sun and sand and surf before the heat of the day builds up. Then there will be an overly filling mid-day meal and the afternoon will be spent in the shade with beers while avoiding the fierce blaze of the sun. Yes, even though most North Americans will think I'm nuts, there is something very familiar and pleasant about it for me.
Feliz Navidad to us all.
