Why Mexico?

Mel finally left Honduras yesterday en route to the Dominican Republic, and from there he plans to continue on to Mexico where he will settle down and undoubtedly live a life of luxury. My question, and maybe my readers can help answer, is why Mexico? Why not Cuba or Venezuela? Wouldn't life on a Cuban collective be happier than a bourgeois life in Mexico City? Wouldn't the electrical outages in Caracas remind him of home in Honduras? Or maybe, just maybe, Mexico is where the business is with the narco-cartels...? Hmmm...

Game Over, Honduras is Victorious!!

Finally, we get to see the back of Manuel Zelaya. The game's over. Honduras won!! The final scores:

THE WINNERS

HONDURAS- The clear winner, it scored a major victory. It did not capitualate to Zelaya, Chavez, the OAS, the USA, or Brazil.

ROBERTO MICHELETTI- Honduras' first hero of the 21st century. They should put a bust of him on the Blvd. de los Proceres in Tegucigalpa.

THE LOSERS

MANUEL ZELAYA I trust he will be miserable in his exile given the anguish that he has put Honduras through...He proved himself to be a selfish, egotistical, SOB.

CHAVEZ- Honduras checked his influence. Is 'Chavismo' dying? Please see the recent election results in Chile.

THE OAS- All I can say is poor Insulza...

THE USA- We already knew that America is a power in decline, that the American century had ended...Now, to be beaten by poor little Honduras...Talk about a bruise to the ego...

BRAZIL- Now we know exactly where Brazil's influence ends: in the jungles of Guiana and Surinam.

History of Honduras

Over the past fourteen years of marriage to my beloved Catracha (yesterday was our 14th wedding anniversary), I have become fascinated by Honduran history...everything, from Mayan, colonial, intervention of the banana companies, to the present day.

Recently, I found a jewel of a website that has a fantastic collection of articles about Honduras' past. The link is as follows:

www.historiadehonduras.hn/

Enjoy!!

When In Tegucigalpa, If You Want To Eat...

MEXICAN

While Cebollines or Casa Mexicana may be the best known Mexican restaurants in Tegucigalpa, LOS NOPALITOS (Calzada Republica de Uruguay, No. 219, Colonia San Carlos, behind Centro Comercial 'Los Castanos', tel. 221.0584, 252.5474) is by far the most authentic, and in my opinion the best. This restaurant is owned and operated by a Mexican couple in a renovated house. The menu is authentic, yet extensive. The prices are very reasonable, yet the quality of the food ranks four stars. This is definitely not the typical Tex-Mex place. I don't even know which dish to recommend because it's all good! Think home style Mexican cooking with a sophisticated touch! This is another of Don Godo's Favorites! (****/$$$).

Casa Mexicana has good food and is probably our second choice, but in the evening it is more of a bar scene than restaurant. We don't go to Cebollines any more. They increased their prices and reduced the size of their portions. To add insult to injury, Ceobollines no longer gives complimentary chips and salsa (unless you beg!). One other alternative is Clarita's on the road to Valle de Angeles (km. 6). While I have never eaten there, my wife and kids say it's good.

When In Tegucigalpa, If You Want To Eat...

PIZZA

There are many places to get pizza in Tegucigalpa, ranging from franchises like Pizza Hut, Dominos, and Little Caesar's, to Honduran restaurants such as Tito's, La Trattoria, Mia Pappa, La Fontana, and Claudio's. However, Don Godo's family prefers IL PADRINO. It's right off of Blvd. Morazan, just behind Pollo Campero (tel. 221.0198). It's an Italian restaurant with all the typical dishes, but this is where we go for pizza. My kids really like the shrimp pizza, and all the other non-pizza dishes we have tried were quite good as well. The ambiance is a little lacking, kinda like a big box room with Italian decor, but it still rates being one of Don Godo's favorites. ($$$/****)

For me, La Trattoria is a close second. Claudio's is the only pizza place with a wood burning pizza oven, but while the pizza was quite good, we thought it was overpriced. The last time we went to Tito's, they had quit giving crushed peppers and parmesan cheese with pizza (claiming they could only offer it with pasta dishes).

Parading Past Mel's Security Outside the Brazilian Embassy

The Five Lempira Note and the Battle of Trinidad

I've often wondered about the battle scene on the reverse of the five lempira note, so I couldn't resist the temptation recently to take a small detour to see where the battle took place. From Tegucigalpa, on the road to the south, a few kilometers past Ojojona, there is a sign indicating that to the right, 2 km. down a small dirt road, is a monument to the Battle of Trinidad. About a km. down the road is a small, unassuming house with a larger than life statute of Francisco Morazan. I guess the owners are really proud of their heritage.





A minute further down the road, we get to the sight of what is probably the most important battle in Honduran history, the Battle of Trinidad, which was fought on Nov. 11, 1827 between the liberal forces led by Gen. Franscisco Morazan against the Conservatives. Morazan's forces won and this battle catapulted him to power. The battlefield is very modest, no visitor's center, no tourists, just one single monument...But the detour is well worth the extra ten minutes or so in order to put the five lemp note in it's proper historical context.