Latin American Lifestyle and Art (LALA): Tegucigalpa and Valle de Ángeles (Honduras)

I’m predicting my blog postings will be a slightly slapdash affair while I’m on the road – so many vivid experiences in a single day it’s a struggle to find the story and put it together in a concise and cohesive way. I’m exhausted but want to get this posted before going to bed as it was a great day and tomorrow promises to be even better.

Here I am in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa (or Tegus). My good friend Allan met me the airport. We hadn’t seen each other since he returned to live in Tegus last April so we had a lot to catch up on over coffee. Long story short, the opportunity for a road trip quickly materialized. Is there anything better than a spontaneous road trip with a good mate?

Allan will join me on the first leg of the trip to Departamento Lempira in western Honduras, which not only makes the trip more fun but saves me a long and difficult bus journey. With that agreed, we rented a car and quickly completed my Teguc to-do list (thanks to Allan's local knowledge and vast network of friends) way ahead of schedule. With a free afternoon and a rental car at our disposal I suggested a spontaneous trip out to Valley de Ángeles, an artist community in the low mountains outside of Tegus and a place I had long wanted to visit. In this beautiful Spanish-colonial town set up high in the cool air of the cloud forest I feel like we came across a hidden treasure. Amazing hand carved mahogany and cedar wood chests with detailed jungle, village and underwater scenes. We were able to track down the artist, Edmundo Deras, in his workshop and he has promised to have my order ready for the LALA opening. I’m thrilled with my new discovery.

We will set out early tomorrow morning to the town of Gracias and then find our way to the small village of La Campa – home of the Lenca people. So for now, Good Night!