Tegucigalpa

I stayed a couple of nights in the Capitol of Honduras and enjoyed the sites in the City Center and learned the story of the statue of the Virgin de Suyapa and Don Pepe´s Men´s Room. At dinner, Hondurans cheered as their team beat the U.S. in futból.

Tegucigalpa is the capitol of Honduras. The pronunciation includes the English word ¨goose.¨ The city center is safe for tourists (in the day). Squads of tourist police, city police, national police and military are everywhere. Pharmacies and other stores have private guards and bars between their customers and the merchandise. I did feel safe in the central park (Plaza Morazón) near the cathedral and spent several restful hours people-watching. The temperature was perfect.

I visited the Museum of Art and really enjoyed it, including the traditional courtyard architecture of the building itself. I also visited the Museum of Man, but there was little to see. The Iglesia de Los Dolores and the Cathedral both had glorious, gold altars.

I ate at the Terraza de ¨Don Pepe¨ and learned the story about the Virgen de Suyapa and the Men´s Room. The Virgen of Suyapa is the patron saint of Honduras. The statue has disappeared from the Basilica on several occasions. One time it was found in the garbage can next to the toilet in the Men´s Room in Don Pepe's restaurant. To commemorate the discovery , the former Men´s Room has been turned into a shrine (with a new Men´s Room built in the next room).

Getting there--The day began with a bang--literally. Someone was shooting off fireworks to celebrate the resurrection of Christ! On Easter Sunday, I traveled from Estelí, Nicaragua, crossed the border into Honduras and made it to Tegucipalpa. It was a long day--walk to the highway, taxi to the bus station, 2.5 hour bus ride to Ocotala, taxi to Los Manos, walk across the border, half an hour bus ride to El Paraiso, one-hour bus to Comayaguela, and a half hour taxi to the hotel in Tegucigalpa. Whew! Despite the crowds of people going home (or back to work) at the end of Holy Week, everything went smoothly. At one point we were in a line with about 200 people waiting to take the bus to Tegucigalpa. But bus after bus picked everyone up and we waited less than a half hour.

Lodging--I stayed in the Central Area at Hotel MacArthur. It was clean, comfortable and secure.