I went through Honduras twice in April/May, 2010 during my Victoria, BC, Canada to Panama return trip.

On the way down I crossed from El Salvador at El Amatillo in the afternoon. Stayed overnight in the first town, Nacaome, and crossed into Nicaragua the next morning at Guasaule.

On the way back up I crossed from Nicaragua at Las Manos just north of Ocotal, Nicaragua. From there I went via Tegucigalpa, Comayagua, Lago de Yojoa, Santa Barbara and Copan Ruinas and crossed into Guatemala just west of Copan Ruinas.

Aside from one relatively small incident I had no problems. I did not hire helpers and ended up paying the standard posted $35US for the bike. The Honduras crossing is a pain in the arse but it's all about having some patience and learning some Spanish. I was not pulled over one single time on the "notorious" short stretch on the way to Nicaragua in spite of going through several police check points. Nor was I ever pulled over through the interior on the way back north. The crossing heading back was faster and easier than on the way down.

The one problem I had was precipitated by me accidentally driving past a police check point in the "no man's land" between El Salvador and Honduras. The ticked off Honduran cop kept saying "TICKET!, TICKET!" but never showed any signs of actually writing one. I doubt he even had a ticket book on him. I didn't bite and never offered a bribe, which he was most likely waiting for. Knowing that he had my laminated copied licence and a colour photocopy of my registration made that a bit easier. After about 15 or 20 minutes and a little sit down protest on my part, I was let go with a little "OK, you win" wink.


...Michelle
www.scrabblebiker.com