I left Ceiba at 8:15am, arriving in San Pedro Sula at 12:15. I left San Pedro at 12:25 (lucky timing because the bus terminal is huge and I had to walk through the whole terminal and ask every trustworthy looking Honduran that I could find), arriving in Comayagua at 3:30. When I wasn't sleeping I saw many notable sights; thousands of banana trees, the Chiquita banana warehouse, a slaughtered pig in what looked like an auto shop and someone sweeping the blood off the cement, and buses that were part of a building, one bus was lifted up three stories and used as a bridge between two buildings. Strange things that are not capture-able on camera while on a bus. You just have to be here.
I chose Comayagua for a few reasons, its history (as the capital of Honduras from 1537-1880) and its location (just 45 minutes from Tegucigalpa, my last stop before the border crossing back to El Salvador).
La iglesia de la Caridad is the only indigenous colonial chapel in Honduras, and is open-air (although I did not see the inside).
Historians are not sure about the exact date it was built, somewhere between the late 1500's and the early 1600's.
La iglesia de San Francisco was founded in 1560, but the bell (brought from Spain) dates back to 1460.
La iglesia de la Merced, built in 1550, was the first church to be built in Honduras and is one of the oldest in the Americas.
Each church, all within ten blocks of each other, have a well utilized park, and entertainment (me, walking in the park).
Por último, en el parque central, está la catedral. The church dates back to 1722, but the arabic clock (donated by Spain's Phillip II) is over 900 years old.
I enjoyed looking at all the old churches and buildings but I felt like the catcalling was worse than every place I have been on this trip (especially since there was a lot in English..."hey, where you come from", etc.). I made a comment to the owner of the French restaurant, Pique Nique, where I ate dinner. She said that many people speak English here because there is a US base nearby and los estadounidenses come every weekend. Who knew that at any time there are between 500-600 troops in Honduras? Once again, I am finding that I am learning a lot about the US through traveling abroad.
Looking good in front of the churches Brady! Sad about the catcalling, it must ruin a bit of the atmosphere. Though there are much better things to focus on otherwise. You would make a good history teacher too!
ReplyDeleteI laughed out loud regarding the catcalls. I think they are fox calls because you look way too cute to be traveling in CA alone. Funny stuff.
ReplyDeleteThe churches are amazing. They are so well preserved. Everything looks very loved and cared for and clean. Even though you were yelled at, did you still feel safe?
I never knew that about the US military presence there. Wow. Do they seem a tad anti-American because of it?
Keep on sharing. I'm loving our trip together, vicariously.