8 Feb 2002 – 14 Feb 2002
Honduras - Nicaragua
Utila - Tegucigalpa - Managua (Nicaragua) - Granada - San Jorge - Moyogalpa
The modern week-by-week edition
Diving done, we head south on a road less marked, only to cop a laugh from a local when he saw the route we’d attempted. Cool roadside vendors, two Central American capitals, and then we ended up on a volcanic island in a lake with, apparently, fresh-water sharks!
Goneriden
This week’s route
Road sections use current OpenStreetMap roads · ferry and flight legs are direct guides
Week 15 in the full journey
The preserved 2002 maps provide full-trip context while the modern interactive journey map is developed.
Memorable moment
After deciding to take a shortcut, we were on route from La Ceiba to the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa.
For about 20 miles, we rode through small villages in the mountains only to find the road deteriorated to a mere donkey trail. "can't be too hard" was the general consensus, so onward we pressed past sheer drop-offs, facing steep cliff faces and, coincidently, along the road completely washed away.
Within an hour Bob (names changed to protect the guilty) had slid down an embankment, got trapped underneath an upside-down bike, damaged both pannier boxes and was in great need of Matthews assistance (your bike was unscratched Jamie).
However, we still pressed on, only to meet two locals who in no uncertain terms told us we were crazy and that we would need at least 4 blokes to lift the bikes over the hazards that lay ahead. With tails between our legs, we progressed back down the mountain past the villagers who observably knew 2 hours earlier they would be seeing the Goneriden crew again shortly.
Original Week 15 accountPictures of the week
Quote of the weekDo you want to go diving today, Boxy? — No! — was the reply as he wiped hangover dribble from his chin.
CompetitionTallest Story Winner was an ex-Kiwi, now a Nicaraguan resident, who told of his run-in with the 'special police', his jail experience and escape from near certain death, and subsequent feasting with the President of the country.
HighlightAfter spending 3 days in Utila, we are now qualified Advanced Open Water Divers and, in doing so, gained an achievement unrelated to our motorbikes
Risk activityAttempting the theoretical mountain road, finding conditions severely underestimated on our behalf.Risk factor9/10
LowlightAfter serious negotiation on prices of selective animals (parrots, lizards, monkeys) with the roadside salesmen, we had to pass up the opportunity of owning any due to the lack of room to tie them onto the bikes.
Road tallyThis week there were two damaged panniers, 1 dented ego, 1 flat tyre and one fluffy little house dog that ended up having a very bad day.
Week 15 photo diary
The mosaic follows the numbered sequence in date-and-time order. Select any image for its full-screen view and comment.