Lietuviskas aprasymas zemiau
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Day 49: Drive and Learn
March 28, 2006
A few more hours on a bumpy (but rather scenic) road and we pass Tegucigalpa, the congested, dirty and ugly capital city to be avoided by all possible means, and eventually, arrive in Las Manos, the border town. Long live the Honduran-Nicaraguan frontier! If not for the always ready to "help" border guards, the crossing of this border would have been unbelievably easy: friendly and helpful officials, no lines, no photocopies (not a single one required!), no unnecessary forms or stamps… we almost believed we were having a vision of an ideal Centroamerican "aduanas"! The only painfully real phenomenon in the whole customs territory was the border guides :)
One could think dealing with the border guides becomes easier as you cross more borders, gain experience and develop immunity against them. On the contrary! Your wish somebody had invented an anti-border-guide spray grows stronger with every frontier you pass! Luckily, good new ideas work equally effectively. Since the majority of people in these countries automatically assume that Dovi is a girl "from here", married to a gringo (Zee), and is bringing her husband from the States in order to show him her homeland (for instance, if there is an English menu in available in a restaurant, they always give it to Zee, while Dovi gets a Spanish one. Or you should see the condemnatory looks the "traitor" gets!), we decided it was time to make some use of that! The idea was simple: as soon as the border guards approached, Dovi announced that she herself was a guide and demanded to clear the way for her client (Zee). To our greatest surprise, the trick worked like a charm - all the border guides disappeared instantaneously!! Looked like we pressed the right button - don't mess with another guide's client :))
Half an hour later, we were back on the Pan-American Highway, happily rolling down toward Leon. Leon, the famous stronghold of Nica's liberals and the cultural capital of the country, was planned be our first stop in Nicaragua. And it was, only much later than we thought. 100 kilometers/ 60 miles on Highway 26 to Leon turned into a hellish bone-shaking 3.5 hour ride on a once-paved-then-abused-and-never-repaired road. By the time we finally reached Leon, the city had gone to sleep! That much for the cultural capital :)
Tip #1: if you drive from Las Manos toward Leon, avoid Road #26 which branches off the Pan-Americana (Highway #1) at San Isidro. You will be much better off if you choose the longer route via Managua instead. On the map, Road 26 is marked as one of the major highways, but in reality there is hardly any pavement on it! (Which we thought was very surprising, as generally the roads in Nicaragua were in nearly perfect condition and a pleasure to drive, especially after Honduras).
Honduras - Nicaragua Border Formalities and Practicalities:
Quiet, quick, clear, and simple - the easiest border crossing so far. No photocopies
required, US dollars accepted everywhere. Took us less than half an hour to
have both exit and entry paperwork done and get back on the road. Expenses:
USD12 for the mandatory car insurance
USD3 per passport for the exit stamp
USD7 per passport for the entry stamp
The customs layout in Las Manos (the border town with Nicaragua) is a bit
tricky: you start from the Honduran customs, which is a tiny obscure booth
on the left side of the road, well-hidden in a row of multipurpose stands
and kiosks, so you have to look very attentively for the sign that says "Aduanas".
This is the place where you cancel your Honduran temporary car importation
permit. About 50 meters/ 150 feet down the road there is another similar booth
where you will be able to purchase car liability insurance ($12 for 30 days,
allegedly mandatory). Finally, another 50 meters/ 150 feet further there is
a much bigger building with Honduran and Nicaraguan immigration and customs
offices. This is where you go to get your passport stamped and your car Nicaraguan
car importation issued.
Cick on the pictures to enlarge
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The rooster of all roosters... Logo of a popular electrical appliances store :)
"Gaidiskiausias gaidys" - populiarios elektros prekiu parduotuves iskaba |
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The Cathedral of Leon
Leono katedra |
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Headquarters of the liberals
Freskos prie iejimo i Liberalu bustine |
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Political moods of Leon
Politines Leono nuotaikos |
Nuvesk pelyte virs paveiksliuko, spustelk jos kaire ausele, ir paveiksliukas padides
49-oji diena: Keliauji ir gudreji...
2006 m. kovo 28
Anksti ryte greitai iveikiame likusi kelio gabaliuka iki Nikaragvos pasienio. Pakeliui palikome sostine Tegucigalpa, apie kuria galime pasakyti nebent tiek, kad patariame jos vengti visomis isgalemis - kaip ir daugumos kitu sostiniu ir didmiesciu. Pasienyje, kaip ir tikejomes, tenka gintis nuo iprastinio "gidu" antpludzio - "Ne, aciu, jokios pagalbos nereikia, viska issiaiskinsime patys..." - kur tau! Jokie atsikalbinejimai pagalbininku atsikratyti nepadeda, taciau staiga sugalvojame nauja taktika. Dovi, kuria dauguma visvien dazniausiai palaiko tautiete, istekejusia uz "gringo" (amerikono - Zi) ir gabenancia savo vyra apziureti gimtosios salies (smerkiantys zvilgsniai "Tevynes isdavikei"- deja, neisvengiami!), pareiskia pati esanti gide, ir pareikalauja jos klienta palikti ramybeje :)) Bingo!! Naujoji taktika virsija visus lukescius, "gidai" akimirksniu issiskirsto, ir per 15 minuciu ramiai isvaziuojame is Honduro ir ivaziuojame i Nikaragva. Tai buvo, ko gero, ramiausias ir greiciausiai pravaziuotas pasienis. Jokiu bereikalingu formu, nesibaigianciu kopiju (sunku patiketi, bet niekam nereikejo pateikti nei vienos kopijos - Centrines Amerikos muitineje tai - itartinai per normalu!!), absurdisko nesibaigianciu atspaudu rinkimo - tegyvuoja Honduro-Nikaragvos pasienis!! :)
Su Nikaragva viskas aisku - butinai turime apziureti du didziuosius istorinius-kulturinius
centrus, amzinus politinius varzovus - liberaluji Leon'a ir konservatyviaja
Granada, sostine Managua ir meninku sostine Masaya. Pirmasis pakeliui - Leon'as.
Issukame is Pan-American greitkelio I 26-aji kelia, kuris zemelapyje taip
pat pazymetas kaip vienas is pagrintiniu salies keliu. O kad ji kur devynerios!
26 kelias buvo, svelniai tariant, siaubingas! 100 kilometru vaziavome tris
su puse valandos, ir Leon'a pasiekem jau temstant ir tokiomis atkratytomis
smegenimis, kad miesto apziura atlikom daugiau "is reikalo" - noras
isbyrejo besipurtant per 26 kelio duobes.
"Is reikalo" apziuretas miestas pasirode senas, jaukus, turintis miela senamiesti, nemazai ispudingos architekturos, daug ispanu kalbos mokylu ir studentu is visu pasaulio, graziu aiksciu bei jaukiu kavinukiu, ir tikrai daug uzuominu apie politine miesto pakraipa (fresku, plakatu pavidalu)... Taciau, kaip salies liberalu ir kulturos sostine - per tylus! Nei diena, nei vakare nesulaukeme jokio renginio - sutemo, viskas uzsidare ir miestas paprasciausiai nuejo miegoti.
