Smaller Towns > Cities

As we rounded a curve in the road coming down out of the mountains, nearing the end of a 7 hour bus ride from La Ceiba with the debit card finally back in its rightful spot in my money belt, the brown sprawling metropolis of Tegicigalpa came into view. The country's capital, weighing it at metro population of 1,324,000 did little to impress us. On our way from an unsuccessful attempt to find an open ATM that accepted Master Card (unforeseen hiccup) the sun set, causing a mass closing of nearly all street front businesses within 15 minutes. I guess crime is a big deal here, even our hotel room came equipped with bars on the small window facing the interior hallway. Fortunately there was one restaurant of sorts that braved the post sun down jitters. We were attracted to an old oil barrel on the sidewalk with a grill top cooking a wide variety of meats giving off pleasant aromas. At first it looked like a small place with three tables in a room behind the barrel grill, but we were ushered into a hidden doorway revealing a long corridor lined with small tables and another adjoining room with at least 10 more all filled with drinking Hondurans. The deal was, you choose how much to pay, 35 Limpiras and up, and you get a plate of meat with tortillas, salsa and lime. I only wish we had discovered this sort of place before.