It’s a Long Walk From Guatemala to Honduras

by Steve Dasseos on July 16, 2010

Unless you’ve read my About Us page, you may not know that I lived in Mexico & Guatemala from July 1985 to July 1986. That means I lived in Guatemala in during its Civil War. I learned Spanish in Antigua, Guatemala, too.

In the course of the year, I traveled quite a bit. I love history and archaeology, so I was able to visit many Mayan ruins and other historical sites. And I have many fond memories of Latin America.

This morning I read Shannon O’Donnell’s article ‘A Little Travel Guilt: Copan Ruins, A Necessary Third?’ which got me thinking about my own trip to Copan, Honduras.

I have always been a cheapskate – that means I got to see even more out-of-the-way places (like Iximche) due to my desire to save money on certain modes of transportation. In other words, I walked a lot more often than I had to.

One of those extra walks involved leaving Guatemala and entering Honduras. It was about a mile between the Guatemalan and Honduran border posts. There were drivers who shuttled people back and forth for $.25 a ride, which I was happy to pay.

Unfortunately, the price for an American male was $3 which I didn’t want to pay. It started at $6, but the lowest I could get them down to was $3. I was at a disadvantage because of these things:

  • I wasn’t Guatemalan nor Honduran
  • I had a 40 pound backpack
  • The mile-long dirt road spanned a valley so I had to walk down a half mile and back up a half mile
  • It was a hot and dusty day in April 1986

So I walked. And as the drivers passed, they heckled me for being too cheap (which strengthened my resolve). I eventually got to Honduras where, to my surprise, the drivers bought me an ice-cold Coke and lunch. We chatted and laughed for about 30 minutes and they made sure I got on the right bus for Copan.

I hope this makes sense. If you want the right travel insurance advice, call us at 1-888-407-3854 and we’ll help you figure it all out.

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I hope this makes sense.

And, if you have any questions about travel insurance, call us Toll-Free at 1-888-407-3854 or email Steve (me), The Travel Insurance Guru, here or using steve [at] tripinsurancestore dot com.

I hope this makes sense. If you want the right travel insurance advice, call us at 1-888-407-3854 and we'll help you figure it all out.

Now, a word from our sponsor: TripInsuranceStore.com (Travel Forums' Most Recommended Travel Insurance Website)

PS - If you liked what you read, please Subscribe to my Blog.

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