Undiscovered Gracias Lempira, Honduras

Gracias discovered, but unknown

It’s 1536 in unexplored, remote Honduras. The Spanish conquistadors under Captain Juan de Chaves are starving to death. They’re exhausted from transversing steep mountains. Diseases from malnutrition plaque them. They’re under orders to establish a city in the mountains as a base for conquest of the indigenous Lenca tribe. Thirst, hunger, sickness, despair, and fear of attack are their real enemies. At the height of their most desperate moment they are finally over the country’s highest peaks and look down on an open plane. “Gracias a Dios (Thanks to God) we have finally found flat land” shouts the Captain. “Here we establish our fortress and city.” There were rivers, and fields of corn and beans planted by the Lenca. After a brief skirmish, the indigenous farmers were routed. The conquerers take everything. Thus, Gracias is named and founded. It is one of the oldest colonial settlements in present day Honduras.

The Spaniards had steel. The Lencas fought with stone weapons

Spanish fort overlooking Gracias, Celague National Park in the background

I’m in a chicken bus transversing the same colonial path, hungry, thirsty, and desperate to get out and stretch my confined body. We struggle up the sheer mountain side barely doing twenty miles an hour. The vistas are breathtaking. You can see mountains in the distance. Deep canyons and valleys are feet away from the precipitous drop. A dense pine forest covers the mountains. There are rivers raging below. We go over one more vertical mountain top and there is “Gracias”. Lempira was added later to commemorate the Lenca warrior leader who united all the neighboring tribes in defense of their land. Lempira and his allies held off the Spaniards and forced them into a cease-fire and negotiations. Under the white banner of truce Lempira went to discuss terms for peace. He was ambushed and murdered by the treacherous conquistadors. Today Lempira is a national hero who represents resistance to outside forces, in defense of one’s territory. Honduran money is named lempira, after this great leader.

I rode the bus on the left to Gracias from Copan Ruinas. 

Celaque Mountain under cloud covering in the background

On the way to Gracias, we passed by Santa Rita de Copan

“Gracias” is how the locals refer to their old-world town. It remains undiscovered by the outside world. Few foreign travelers venture this way.  It’s citizens are amicable, hospitable, and glad to help a stranger. As I walked down streets, obviously a visitor, people would greet me with a smile and a “good morning” or “good day”. Some would stop and asked where I was from and would make suggestions of sights or places I should visit. There were no pushy vendors or merchants focused on only selling me a service or souvenirs. Narrow cobblestone roadways, red tiled roofs, historic colonial churches and buildings, a restored fortress, blooming flowers and venerable aged trees create an atmosphere of a bygone sixteenth century era. I wandered into the courtyard of the La Merced church and heard angelic harp music floating in the air. There were four “Angels of Merced” practicing for an upcoming religious celebration. They allowed me to listen to their music. I thought I was in heaven, on earth. 

Gracias Lempira's colonial architecture

Narrow cobblestone roadways

Many homes have well developed gardens

Colonial La Merced church where I heard angelic harp music

"Angels of Merced": after I took photos of the church (two minutes),

I turned around to speak with them, and they were gone.

Were they really there?

An ancient statue gracing the outside of the church

These soothing hot springs helped me through the pain and discomfort

of climbing Celanque Mountain

I visited the Casa Galeano museum and Botanical Garden to get an introduction to the history and traditions of the area and city. Twenty-million year old fossilized bones of giant turtles, mastodon, small horses and camels, gigantic bears, and hippopotamus have been unearthed. I learned that the Lenca have continuously lived in the Gracias area and surrounding mountains for over 6,000 years, and possibly longer. They were a matriarchal society ruled by a group of women chiefs. These women leaders ruled by knowing “the knowledge and wisdom” of the goddesses and gods. The Lenca were farmers who worked collectively to plant corn, beans, ayote, chiles, and tomatoes. A pre-Columbian peace accord among competing tribes called “Guancasco” maintained harmonious relations in the area. During the Guancasco celebration agricultural products were exchanged as gifts to commemorate peace and goodwill.

Casa Galeano museum

Entrance to the Galeano Botanical Garden

Original 18th century door and painted walls of the museum

At the museum I was introduced to several legends of the area. “El Duende” of the mountain Celaque lives in a cave, hordes riches in gold, perfumes, and food. He is a short, three foot hairy man-beast who wears an oversized sombrero. He steals and hides young women in his cave. After being touched by him, they fall madly in love with him. At that point he no longer wants them. He ransoms them back to their families. When the woman can no longer be with the Duende, she loses her mind and is forever crazy with desire to only find and be with him.

“La Siguanabana”, also called “La Sucia” (dirty, foul), is an apparently beautiful woman who seduces men. She resides around bodies of water, lakes, rivers, ponds, and water filled arroyos. When men come up to her, she is naked with an attractive body, but her face is covered with her long, flowing, lush hair. After her seduction, she shows her face which is horribly disfigured and ugly. She marks her prey with her sharp finger nails and with a terrifying, grisly, bone chilling laughter announces “here’s my tit, I’m now your ‘nana . . . ha ha ha ha ha ha!” The men are left crazed, and sometimes never recover.

Artists rendition of La Siguanabana

Celaque Mountain: In pursuit of El Duende

Celaque at 9500 feet is the highest peak in Honduras. The Celaque National Park is a designated wilderness area and the largest tract of cloud rainforest in Central America. The only way to see the upper portions of the park is by hiking. Only hiking trails are developed in the cloud forest zone. Horseback riding is allowed at the lower elevations. No motorized vehicles are permitted in the park. Celaque is steep, deeply forested, and teaming with wildlife. There are many rivers and unexplored caves. I’ve secured the services of an experienced guide, Candido Melgar, to take me on an expedition to find the cave of El Duende.

Start of the day before our ascending Celaque Mountain

The main rode to the mountain was blocked by a large hole in the rode.

These repairs would take all morning, potentially canceling the trek.

This fearless tuk tuk driver, Alex, knew another route.

It had pot holes and wash outs, but he and his machine were up to the challenge.

We made it to the entrance of the park and started the trek.

Our destination is the “Mirador” (view point) of the Santa Lucia waterfalls. It’s located in the cloud forest section of the mountain. Celaque a Lenca word translates to “box of cold water”.  There are eleven rivers that begin in Celaque. They provide water and energy to southwestern Honduras and El Salvador. The rivers are crystal clear and the water is clean enough to drink without purifying. The trek is projected to take three to four hours to the Mirador, and two hours to come down. The trails are steep, strenuous with multiple switchbacks which increase the distance to be covered. 

One of many rivers we crossed

Manny de and Candido Melgar, remarkable field guide

The hike goes through nine different species of pine trees, numerous orchids, countless plants and medicinal wild herbs, and heavy cloud cover. Most of the time is under a forest canopy, which shields from the sun, but makes it very humid, wet and sticky. Three quarters of the way up the mountain, my heart is beating like it’s going to pop out of my chest. I’m unable to catch my breath. I hear my heart beating loudly and rapidly. Partly due to the altitude, but also to the vigorous and demanding upward hiking. I rested for ten minutes, drank lots of water, ate some banana chips and chocolate chip cookies. I finally was able to breath normally and my heart seemed to slow down. We resumed the ascent. On the way down my thighs, knees, and ankles were throbbing, cramping, and I thought would give out on me. No one said finding the Duende would be easy.

Candido, always the master guide, is forty-eight years old and grew up hiking and exploring these mountains. He’s college educated and has taught classes on the flora and fauna of the area, and on providing guide services. He studied protecting biodiversity and ecological planning at the University of California Santa Cruz (my former employer). He’s the scientific authority on the mountain’s habitat, ecology, history, and protection. This guide is at the forefront in establishing procedures and methods for protecting natural reserves in Honduras. If you come to Celaque, I highly recommend his guide services. He’ll show and name the different plants and their use for cures, eating, or to ward off evil spirits. We saw a number of snakes. Candido knows which are deadly poisonous. 

When Candido was in his late twenties, he and three friends were hiking and exploring the numerous caves of Celaque. They came upon a large cavern that was covered by small boulders, tree branches and debris. As they uncovered a small opening, Candido peered in and saw the Duende. His face was covered by an enormous hat, but the short hairy body was clearly in view. One of the three friends fainted. The others were unable to revive him and became concerned that he was so ill that he needed medical attention. They decided to stop their exploration and get the friend off the mountain and to a doctor. Each member took turns helping to carry the unconscious friend down Celaque. When they reached the entrance to the park, the sick friend woke up and no longer had symptoms of illness. He did not recall passing out or what happened. They ascribed this mysterious affliction to the Duende. After a couple of days, Candido and some of the same friends went back to the cave. They were unable to find the opening. They searched many times, and remain unable to locate the exact cavern. It was situated on the way to the Mirador - our direction of travel.

The Mirador of Santa Lucia waterfalls

Manny de happy to reach the destination, now we have to climb down

Worth one more look

We stopped at two cave openings. But found nothing of interest. We continued our climb and reached the Mirador in three and a half hours. I was ecstatic to reach our goal, even if we didn’t discover the home of the Duende. He may have relocated to a more remote, less travelled area, or perhaps passed away. There are still infrequent sightings and the legend remains active and talked about. I can attest to the fact that his environment is difficult to reach and travel through. My mild pseudo “heart attack” may have been caused by the Duende. He might still be somewhere in Celaque, I’ll leave it to others to bring him to the attention of the world.

Potentially uninhabited cave of the Duende. The cave

continues on for some distance.

Perhaps, the Duende's dog?

“Americans” in Gracias & La Campa

In Gracias, I met Dan and his son Kris. They’re two Americanos from Michigan relocating to Honduras. Dan recently retired as a medical professional and is donating his much needed services to help the people in Gracias with their medical needs. He married a Honduran woman, Karen, and they have a delightful little girl named Nicole. He invited me to accompany him and Kris as they checked out different homes to potentially rent. Dan’s well thought out strategy is to rent for one year, make sure he likes the area, while he conducts a search for property to buy. He secured a two bedroom home in Gracias, with a second story loft, indoor bathroom, a large living room for $138.00 a month. The home needs some work, but the owner is willing to work with Dan to bring it up to his standards. You can follow his transition into being an expatriate in Honduras at “Gringo in the Red House” web address: http://dannyjackman.blogspot.com/

Kris (on the left) and Dan, aspiring expatriates in Honduras

During the house hunt, we went to La Campa and I met “Gringo Donald”. He’s a former lumberjack, fisherman, hippie from Washington State. He was fortunate enough to find his Shangri-La in Honduras. He owns a piece of property on top of a mountain looking down on the tranquil little village of La Campa. He lives there with his Honduran wife, Christina, and their little baby girl. Donald grows and raises everything he needs to survive on his property. What he doesn’t grow, he barters for with his produce. There are bean, corn, coffee, bananas, and medicinal herb fields. He also has an extensive flower garden. He raises chickens, has horses, and a parakeet and dogs for companions. 

"Gringo" Donald at home

His Shangri-La on a mountain ridge in Honduras

His "million dollar" view

Christina and their daughter

First "home cooked" meal of the trip. It was delicious and

much appreciated from this generous family.

La Campa's colonial church from the sixteenth century

A few years ago an international hotel chain offered him one million dollars for his paradise. He quickly and adamantly said no. He intends to live out his life in his version of nirvana. He is an Americano who found happiness and created a garden of Eden after searching everywhere for the meaning of life, and found it in a remote mountain ridge in Honduras.

Gourmet Coffee, Honduran opinions, and the future of Honduras

This area of Honduras is known for growing gourmet quality coffee. It is shade grown, using organic methods. Most of the beans are intended for the export market, with large quantities going to US and European consumers. I started each day with a cup of this brew and can attest to the quality and flavor. The coffee I drank was freshly roasted and had a rich, smooth taste. If you are a coffee aficionado, you need to travel to southwestern Honduras and sample its product. It is among the world’s best coffee. 

One of the restaurants in Gracias housed in a building from antiquity

What they served was a grill chicken breast. It was filling and very good.

Found a Chinese restaurant, this shrimp and chicken fried rice

dish was excellent!

I was interest in what my Celaque Mountain guide, Candido, thought about the Honduran “coup” that happened two years ago. Then President Manuel Zelaya (a left of center politician) was attempting to modify the constitution, his critics say to remain in power, and the Supreme Court ruled his action unconstitutional. He was removed from power by an alliance between the Supreme Court and Congress. Candido believes it was a good thing. The president was “allying himself with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and was taking the country towards socialism. He was unpopular because of this. The majority of people favor his removal. It benefited Honduras.” Candido went on to say, “The new president, Pepe Lobo (a right of center politician), is doing all the right things. He works with all parties and brings them into his government. He goes to the people and asks for their vote. He says he’s leaving after serving his term and won’t attempt to change the constitution so he can remain in office. Honduras is now on the right track.”

I also asked Candido what does the term America and American mean to you, and how do you label yourself? He said, “I’m Honduran, but we also refer to ourselves by what department we live in. For example, I also call myself a Lempirano, because I live in the department of Lempira. There’s three Americas not one - North, Central, and South. In college a number of students started to use the term Central Americans, saying we are all Central Americans. I don’t think it’s widely used. We here in Honduras have stronger ties to the other nations of Central America. But, we still think in terms of what country we live in. Our political theories came out of the French enlightenment. The term Americans we use to refer to people from the United States. We generally don’t mean it to include us here in Central America.”

In contrast to Candido’s optimism and sense that Honduras is “now on the right track”, I interviewed Nancy, who was my Spanish language teacher in Copan Ruinas. She said, “I’m very pessimistic that things will ever be better. Honduras is too disorganized and split between the few rich and the many poor. I have no confidence that the rich will ever help the less fortunate or the poor. Even I who work, struggle to meet my financial obligations. When the coup happened two years ago, it economically hurt Honduras. The day after, students who were scheduled to study at the Spanish school cancelled. Tourists stopped coming to Honduras. When tourists and students don’t come, I don’t work and consequently do not get paid.”

Nancy is a born again Evangelical Christian and well educated. She has complete trust in God and whenever she experiences hardships or problems turns to prayer and the bible for answers. She told me, “God provides the way. We’re living the last days of the bible. I don’t have confidence in political or business leaders. I don’t understand why they are so greedy. When you die, you can’t take it with you. You come into this life with nothing but your soul, and leave with only your soul. All the material wealth you accumulate will be left behind. The rich and powerful, like the poor and everyone else, will only be judged by what is in their soul, and the purity of it. I don’t expect things in Honduras will change. I know that the end is coming soon for the world.” 

She also makes the claim, “I know that the current President Pepe has had two secret meetings with Hugo Chavez. The coup changed nothing. The reason the coup happened was that the ex-president was implementing socialist programs like giving food and money to the poor. The current president is talking about doing the same thing. The majority of Hondurans do not support socialism, only a small minority do. The one’s getting handouts from the government. If you’re poor, hungry, have sick children that are starving, who’s not going to follow anyone offering food and money. The poor do not understand socialism, only that their children now have something to eat. It’s a dangerous situation, because this segment can cause problems for the rest of the country. What’s going to happen when the government stops giving them food and money? There’s going to be many problems. We who work for a living suffered harshly and struggled to survive after the coup. There are no good leaders in Honduras. They’re only concerned with their own betterment and acquiring wealth. We need to put our trust in God.”

The future of Honduras

A young boy waiting, looking for work at the hotel

His older sister also looking to earn some money to help her family

During my visit to the Casa Galeano museum I bought a book on the hero Lempira and local myths and legends by a noted Honduran writer and intellectual named Chico Poncho Martinez. He’s written books on Honduran history, legends and the protest movement. Since I’m left with competing views on the “coup” and the future of democracy in Honduras, I’m interested in finding out what he thinks. He’s from the Lenca tribe and lives in a remote, secluded, rarely visited by outsiders village named Erandique. If possible and he’ll meet with me, I’m attempting to make the trek to his isolated mountain top bastion and interview him on these topics. Let’s go . . . .