Day 57 - Honduran farms & countryside

15th March, 2009

Following our temples exploration of Copan, we decided to visit a farm; Finca El Cisne owned and run by an incredibly friendly chap named Carlos and his family, about 35km north of town. We left Herbie in town (as deposit on the room we couldn't pay for due to the ATM being down) and hoped in a pickup-truck to take us to our destination. We drove through hills, farming villages and mountain roads to get there. Stunning scenery once again!

The farm was set up by Carlos' great grandparents back in the 30's. They bought the land from the Government, and other small landowners already there, and set up the large farm. It's massive, stretching all the way to the Guatemalan border. They have built an entire community up around the 250 people they employ, with homes, schools & shops - it's a village. As we arrived they were finishing cataloging cattle as part of an inventory, when we met Carlos and our horses for the day. My was called Vanita.

Our host Carlos at the farm, preparing our horses.

Our horse ride took us through mountains, across streams and over hills to see the cattle grazing and being moved from one pasture to another.

Herd of cows being moved to pastures new.

We passed through various plantations; coffee and cardamon - the two main products they produce for sale (other than beef). They also grow all manor of fruit and vegetables for the local communities consumption, and a larger range of livestock. They even farm fish up here, and make their own cream and cheese.

Lukas on horseback.

After a ride around the farm we were baking in the midday heat, so Carlos took us to a great little spot by a mountain river where we all striped off and went skinny dipping for a while. It was really refreshing, and great fun to fight the surprisingly strong currents of this small river.

Skinny dipping in the stream. It was cold!

After a fantastic lunch at the ranch house cooked by Carlos' Mum, we moved onto the coffee processing facilities on the farm. Coffee actually grows as a red berry. Once picked it needs to be dried and mechanically split to separate the beans within from the shell. An outer membrane is removed by fermentation in water after which the bean is dried once again. This raw state is generally how they would sell onto a supplier (still predominantly white coloured). After this drying you would roast (finally giving the beans the recognisable blackened colour and flavour) and grind the beans with a distinct blend to get the different flavours we buy from manufacturers back home.

The processing facility where coffee is split, fermented and dried.

They also do the final stages here, but only to a small percentage for local consumption. To their knowledge they are the only growers in Honduras who offer the full end-to-end coffee production service on-site. There are only two main varieties of coffee plant, however one is just for blending in different quantities with the other, as it's undrinkable on it's own. Amazingly there's as much variance in the way you grow coffee that effects the the final flavour as there is with wine; altitude, water levels, soil acidity and amount of sunlight are all contributing factors.

Coffee drying out in the sun, the natural way - only possible with smaller yields.

Following our tour we were taken to a thermal spring, followed by a pleasant walk back through the village. We spent our evening meal with our host sharing stories and finding out all we could about the lifestyle here in Honduras, before we slept in the on-site guesthouse.

Carlos leading us through the hills on our final leg.

We were whisked back to town following breakfast to use the now functioning ATM, to pay for our hotel room and recover our deposit; Herbie, to head out on the road again. We travelled across the height of the country, hungry for more fantastic experiences like the farm. We arrived late afternoon in the town of San Juan - a small dusty mountain town in the arse-end of nowhere. Updated visual journey map. A no booze town! I couldn't believe it. We read about a lady who can organise tours in town to surrounding villages, and we instantly got introduced to her mother; an 85 year old women (amazingly fit & active!) who ran a home-stay from her house. We couldn't resist, and so settled in for the night there.

The following morning we arose to talk with her Daughter, Gladys, who drew us a map of the surrounding area, filled with suggestions of villages to visit on our own, as no guides were available. So off we set, abandoning Herbie within minutes at the side of the road due to driving conditions being too bad for her to take. We found some interesting and small (5 houses small) villages, with some really friendly people. It was Saturday, so all the kids were about.

Kids carrying benches from one house to another in the village.

We stopped at a supermarket (a small one-counter room) to buy some presents to reward those who Lukas takes pictures of. We composed a series of goodie bags to hand out containing packs of pencils/crayons, some sweets, single-serving shampoo packets and a few plasters. These seemed to go down well. Whilst exploring the villages we found a local Pulperia (general store), that had a table football table (unfortunately not functioning) and some arcade machines! So we cashed in some change, and for 2p a turn we played what appeared to be a Super Nintendo with 6 games hooked up to a Samsung TV stuck in the interface of an 8's arcade machine - brilliant! We played Street Fighter 2, and Super Soccer, Czech vs England. Czech won 2:1. Memories!

Playing old-skool video games with the local kids.

For the afternoon Gladys had found us a guide who took us with Herbie to places we could not find on our won. After describing to him what we wanted, he tried his best to take us to visit people he knew in the area. Lukas was in his photography zone, and you can see many of his trademark people photographs in his gallery. We also witnessed the process of making the roof tiles so common on all the building in this country.

Lukas showing the kids their pictures - this is what's it's like behind his lens.

After this we returned to Grandma to be shown the process of roasting the coffee beans. Pretty simple really, you roast them on a metal plate over a fire, 30 mins, bosh - coffee. Tasted great!

Grandma showing us the process of coffee roasting.

Following an interesting day we rode back along the road to a town called Gracias for the night to get a decent meal, and wash (our home-stay had water issues). The next morning we hoped to make the El Salvador border, and so set off early. At the Honduras El-Salvador border we ran into some issues... After an hour of talking to the guards and completing paperwork, at the final hurdle they turned us down! The fact that the car isn't registered in our name (only being able to do this step if you're a Mexican citizen, and not needed to do this for the short time we were to have to car by Mexican law, in Mexico) has always been a difficult point we've had to explain our way out of, but this is the first time it's stopped us. We were gutted, but un-deterred and so travelled back the short distance to the Honduras-Guatemalan border (for which we already had permission) and crossed with just 30 mins of stamping documents with no further problems. From here it was less than an hours drive to the Guatemala-El Salvador border. We thought we'd try our luck and hope we made it through this time. An lo-and-behold, following 2 hours of further negotiating and paperwork (all on Lukas' shoulders being the only one who understands the language) they granted us permission! It seemed to be a more lapse crossing, but it goes to show how much of a legal grey-area what we're doing really is.

After bouncing between three countries, and having the car details, VIN & engine stamp checked, the boot searched, our luggage inspected several times throughout the length of a whole day, we were in. Relief!

El Salvador seemed instantly different. it is the smallest (surface area) of all the Central American nations, but also the most populace, which became immediately obvious as we passed through small towns that seemed to have as many people as cities we're accustomed to here. Within 1.5 hours and the end of the day's light we'd made it to Lago de Coatepeque; a 6km wide, 120m deep lake, once a massive volcano crater. Updated visual journey map (coming soon...). The lake is surrounded by 3 active volcanoes we hope to explore in our time here, which is limited due to the distance we have to travel back to reach Mexico and sell the car in under 2 weeks time...

More picture from Lukas.