South Africans always like to braai(BBQ) for everyone else. Any chance, any opportunity the fires are going and carnivorous cravings are being satisfied. Copious amounts of beer and wine tend to accompany the protein onslaught. Generally 2 topics dominate local conversations, Rugby and crime. Occasionally cricket and the weather along with Joburg traffic is discussed but the first 2 topics tend to dominate.
It is a sad reality that almost every person in that country has been affected by crime, either directly or indirectly. The statistics are simply astounding with a huge amount not being reported at all. People live in their houses and apartments behind high walls, razor wire and electrified fences. The fancy BMW's, Mercs and 4x4's all have state of the art tracking devices and anti-theft mechanisms to try and prevent theft and hi-jacking or at least to aid in possible speedy recovery. All in all a sad state of affairs in a beautiful country.
HOWEVER, I have never seen a guard in a cake shop in South Africa and definitely not one with a 45 Magnum strapped to his waist. People here in Tegucigalpa have it way worse than Joburg or Pretoria. Everything is barricaded, some shops only operate through bars, you don't actually go inside. The firepower here is insane! The dude outside the lottery ticket office was in full combat gear with a military grade pistol grip pump action shotgun. The dudes guarding the fast food joints all have snub-nosed 38's , the guards in the supermarkets have 9mm parabellums along with spare magazines on their belts. Every possible building that may contain something of value is locked down behind bars or shutters or iron grills.
Walking at night in downtown is a no-no, walking in some areas during the day is definitely not an option. I hear that Caracas is like this now that Venezuela has imploded. What a way to live!
However in amongst this craziness you get to see a deeply religious side to the nation. There are a few really cool churches in the city center, albeit with electric fencing along the sides of one. What on earth is going to be stolen, the holy water, the incense?? Sitting inside one of the cathedrals i saw people in their Sunday best, posing for photographs in front of the alter with the friendly priest, all smiling and joking. People were genuinely having fun and celebrating the strength of their beliefs. Looking at this one has to wonder where the lawless element comes from. Why do these crazy people do what they do, poverty maybe....
Looking out across the city from the relative safety of the hostel balcony it is possible to see the basic neighborhoods that straddle the hills, a bit like Rio I guess. The hostel is situated in the 'safe' zone where the embassies are. At least one can walk around here at night although all the restaurants seem to be guarded too. It definitely takes some getting used to.
One last interesting note, the flight in from Costa Rica. Reading up on the internet it seems that the airport here provides one of the more challenging landings faced by airline pilots. Apparently things have improved but the number of hills and mountains are still the same. You know that the pilot is really flying the plane when even on final approach he is still in a tight turn, one wing way below the other one, engines being pushed hard one second and then eased off the next. Being sober did not help. When we were about 100m above the ground the plane was still not level and one wing was above the other. I was contemplating mortality at that stage but the aircrew looked chilled so all was good.
At the last possible moment the plane leveled out, hit the Tarmac with a thump and heavy braking ensued. It seems that added to the challenge of hills and mountains there is a relatively short runway. At least these pilots know their stuff, kudos to them!
Busses tomorrow, first full size bus of the trip so far. Should be fun.
Hasta Luego
Andrew
It is a sad reality that almost every person in that country has been affected by crime, either directly or indirectly. The statistics are simply astounding with a huge amount not being reported at all. People live in their houses and apartments behind high walls, razor wire and electrified fences. The fancy BMW's, Mercs and 4x4's all have state of the art tracking devices and anti-theft mechanisms to try and prevent theft and hi-jacking or at least to aid in possible speedy recovery. All in all a sad state of affairs in a beautiful country.
HOWEVER, I have never seen a guard in a cake shop in South Africa and definitely not one with a 45 Magnum strapped to his waist. People here in Tegucigalpa have it way worse than Joburg or Pretoria. Everything is barricaded, some shops only operate through bars, you don't actually go inside. The firepower here is insane! The dude outside the lottery ticket office was in full combat gear with a military grade pistol grip pump action shotgun. The dudes guarding the fast food joints all have snub-nosed 38's , the guards in the supermarkets have 9mm parabellums along with spare magazines on their belts. Every possible building that may contain something of value is locked down behind bars or shutters or iron grills.
Walking at night in downtown is a no-no, walking in some areas during the day is definitely not an option. I hear that Caracas is like this now that Venezuela has imploded. What a way to live!
However in amongst this craziness you get to see a deeply religious side to the nation. There are a few really cool churches in the city center, albeit with electric fencing along the sides of one. What on earth is going to be stolen, the holy water, the incense?? Sitting inside one of the cathedrals i saw people in their Sunday best, posing for photographs in front of the alter with the friendly priest, all smiling and joking. People were genuinely having fun and celebrating the strength of their beliefs. Looking at this one has to wonder where the lawless element comes from. Why do these crazy people do what they do, poverty maybe....
One last interesting note, the flight in from Costa Rica. Reading up on the internet it seems that the airport here provides one of the more challenging landings faced by airline pilots. Apparently things have improved but the number of hills and mountains are still the same. You know that the pilot is really flying the plane when even on final approach he is still in a tight turn, one wing way below the other one, engines being pushed hard one second and then eased off the next. Being sober did not help. When we were about 100m above the ground the plane was still not level and one wing was above the other. I was contemplating mortality at that stage but the aircrew looked chilled so all was good.
At the last possible moment the plane leveled out, hit the Tarmac with a thump and heavy braking ensued. It seems that added to the challenge of hills and mountains there is a relatively short runway. At least these pilots know their stuff, kudos to them!
Busses tomorrow, first full size bus of the trip so far. Should be fun.
Hasta Luego
Andrew
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