T is for Tegucigalpa

It’s a mouthful, I know. If you prefer, you can call it like the locals do, Tegus, I do. It’s just easier. Tegus is the capital of Honduras and home to world’s 4^th most dangerous airport.  JFK is the 5^th (depending on which list you look at) which means I’ve flown into 2 of the ten most dangerous airports. Toncontin is the airport I had the pleasure of using a few times while living in Hondo, another affectionate nickname. What makes it dangerous is its incredibly short runway which leaves you holding your breath as you descend over the city’s only highway. (I might be more scared to be driving on said highway while a plane is coming in for a landing overhead.) You’re not holding your breath long, though your back is not touching its seat till it comes to a complete stop at the gate.

Tegus is about 1-2 hours away from Comayagua where I lived and taught for a year. That is depending on what form of transportation you use. I usually used the bus which took the better part of two hours depending on how many random shanty towns it stopped at along the way.  My fellow teachers would go to Tegus to go to a ‘big city.’ One which had American food- Fridays, Chili’s, McDonalds, you get the idea. There were also large shopping malls and movie theaters with nearly new movies.  I went to Tegus as a means to an end. From there I went to Valle De Los Angeles and La Tigre national park on random solo weekend trips. It was also the jumping off point for all locales south- Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama.  The main bus terminal was there and I used it often while I traveled to all Central American countries but Belize.

Tegus is a big, busy, dirty city, like most capitals are and for this reason I never spent much time there, but I have a special affection for the capital which led me to so many other places during my time in Central America.