God Created Nature Garbage-Free (First Steps in Honduras)

by FERENC IVANICS
On the last mile in Guatemala we had to make a choice: many miles in El Salvador and a few in Honduras, or many miles in Honduras and none in El Salvador. We took the second choice. We found out looking at the online maps that Honduras has many high mountains and we will zig-zag around them. We changed our quetzals to Honduran lempiras (there's no official change rate at the border, and if you are a "tourist" then, you know...), and we headed for Ocotepeque. While walking mildly uphill we discovered something.


There's no such thing in Honduras as waste-management or waste-transport. But what's really scared us was that people didn't really think that it would be nice to have something like that. There's garbage everywhere: in the streams, in the valleys, at the side of the road, and yes, in the private yards of their houses. And they say this is their waste-management, their collect garbage in small piles. Many small piles.


And don't be surprised: in Honduras everything is wrapped in plastic. Biscuits in the biscuit bag are wrapped individually, we've seen soft drinks of less than 2 ounces (50 ml), all packed nicely in plastic. In almost all the diners you see plastic plates, forks and knives. There's plastic waste virtually everywhere. And high mountains, of course. But I'll save that for next time.

What "the Future" Brings...

After having some teeth removed and having some fences painted, the boys move on towards Colón and then El Porvenir.

Thank you all who made this possible. The blog flow will return to normal.

Breaking [the Barriers of Time]

As our twitter followers already know, István and Ferenc have Arrived in Panama. The delayed blog posts will catch up with them (on the blog they are still in Guatemala), since they will spend a few days in Panama City.

They asked us to break the flow of blog posts with an announcement, here it goes.

by FERENC IVANICS
We have reached Panama City in Panama. We cannot keep going, the Darién gap blocks our way. We cannot take on tha Darién walking, it's unpredictable, it's extremely dangerous and we don't have the kind of expeditionary equipment needed either.

Right now we're analyzing two possible crossing options: via boat or via plane. Both options cost money, money we don't have. Until we don't find a solution, we're prisoners of Panama, we're stuck in Panama City. If anyone can help, please show up and contact us. We talk about accommodation, a chance to wash our clothes, some food. But if you are able to help us raising some money, that's the biggest help. Thank you.

Rotary International

Those who've been following the blog for a while already know what's the boys' approach to money worries. They drifted to the edge of distress various times in the past, and on a few occasions they almost gave up.

It's been like that in the past and it seem that it's going to be like that in the future as well. So far they've managed to go on, but not without frustration and pain. At this very moment they are trying to raise money to be able to cross the Darién Gap, but sometimes they do receive great and vital help as well. This is a story from April, some five months ago. With this donation they made it through Central America.

by FERENC IVANICS
So far we've survived. I don't like that word, to survive. During these hard periods we suffered, both physically and mentally. Despair, nerves, bleak prospects, madness, but first of all starvation came down hard on our bodies.

But at the very last moment there always came a friend, an organization, a foundation, a corporation, and sometimes: a stranger. A few times it was pure luck that saved us, but another times we worked hard the get a chance to go on. We're still here, we're still walking. Our main propulsion are smaller and bigger donations. We would have stuck here in Central America if we didn't get a push.

An old friend of ours from our hometown, Palić, understood that our "whining" is not theatrical, there's bloody reality behind our words. He understood that we were in deep sh-t this time. And he brought Rotary Club's attention to our mission. This friend is Varga László, and we cannot thank him enough.

We feel honored to receive help from Rotary. We think that they help causes that they believe in. They believe we will make it. The 850 USD donation we received is an impressive help compared to our budget. So, for a while we can forget our worries and focus on our task. We must thank this tranquility to Rotary International. And we appreciate the faith they put in us.

Volunteer Firemen

by ISTVÁN IVANICS
From Puerto Barrios it's some 100 miles walk to reach Zacapa, a small town surrounded by arid mountains. When we arrived to the city borders, we bought some six pounds of bananas and started looking for a campsite for the night. We were calculating our chances at the church yard when Amilcar, the owner of the nearby rubber-shop approached us to help. He tried to reach the man responsible for the church for hours, without luck. When it started to get dark, he escorted us to the fire department. He told us that they would surely help. And he was right. Thanks to him we met the staff of the fire station and their captain, Valdemar Madrid. While we were waiting for a small monetary help in Zacapa, we were allowed to stay in the classroom of the F.D, that was used to train new recruits.


Most of the firemen are local volunteers, and the youngest of them was a 16 years old lad. In Guatemala firemen are often the ambulance as well. And they do not slack about too much, they take care of Zacapa, other 42 small villages and the families living in the mountains. Volunteers work a day for free every week to help their fellow citizens. Hats off to them. We cannot thank their help enough and we wish them good luck and peaceful shifts.

Tamarind

by FERENC IVANICS
Tamarind is a really fancy and popular fruit. Kind of. Since Mexico it's been on the shelves of grocery stores as a soft drink. The tree is resistant and grows well in full sun. The fruit or pod is a legume, some five inches long and it has a hard, brown shell. The fruit has a fleshy, juicy pulp.


Its flavor is, how to put it, unique. It has a quite strong aroma, tastes acidic and mildly sweet. It's so acid that it's impossible to eat more than a handful at a time without damaging your mouth. But anyways, it's fine and produces a great soft drink.