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Santa Maria El Carbon and The Pechs by
Wendy Griffin
At 4:30 am Transportes Olancho leaves Trujillo going past the bus
terminal. This bus will take you directly to El Carbon. It is also possible to
catch it in Juticalpa also very early and go north to El Carbon if you are
starting your trip from Tegucigalpa. If starting from the Coast, there are also
buses that leave Tocoa both early and in the afternoon, which you can take
starting in Tocoa or at Corocito on the road between Tocoa and Trujillo. Tocoa,
Trujillo, and Juticalpa have nice hotels, restaurants, taxis. etc. The nearby
town of San Esteban has hotels and restaurants, too as an alternative place to
stay if you want to return the next day.
In El Carbon, there is currently no hotel, but one is expected to be built in
August 2004. The Pech will put you up if you arrive. Get off at “El Colegio” and
ask for Pablo or Lynton Escobar and they will help you find a place to stay and
someone to cook for you. It is a good idea to bring with you whatever you want
cooked like coffee, beans, rice. Etc. If you are coming just for the day, bring
a lunch. From Trujillo you can do it as a day trip leaving Trujillo at 4:30 am
and leaving El Carbon at 1:30 pm on Transporte Olancho going north. In El Carbon
there are small stores that sell drinks (unless they are out.) The water here is
definitely contaminated, so you want to bring things to drink.
There is a craft center in El Carbon. People make bags, hanging baskets,
marraccas, rope twine, place mats. These are crafts that almost died out and
have been revived. Also there is a school (El Colegio) that teaches boys to make
chairs and other wooden crafts with no electricity.
The Pech members of the ecological committee “El Wata” have been trained to give
guided tours of medicinal plants (Pablo Escobar, Natividad Garcia) and of the
nature around El Carbon. There is path into the rainforest leading to a
waterfall that is a doable one day hike. For those not into strenuous hikes,
visit the coffee fields growing under rainforest shad trees. There are many
rainforest birds in these forests such as the great currasow. The path to the
waterfall is supposed to be one of the best places to see them, because there is
an open field then a wall of rainforest. Bird watching is better in the early
morning hours.
The Pech can lead specialized hikes such as a two day hike into the Sierra de
Agalta to see the dwarf cloud forest. The wind on the mountains keeps the trees
under 3 feet high.
I love visiting the Pech. In the evening sometimes the people are willing to sit
around and tell traditional Pech and Honduran stories. During the day sometimes
people will make traditional Pech foods like sasal (grated manioc or yucca
cooked over a fire) or wines like coyol wine, yucca wine (munia) or corn beer
(chicha). Sometimes the men go on hunting or fishing trips and salt dry the
fish. Rainforest mammals exist in this area, but are scarce.
To visit the Pech take insect repellant as there are no see’ems whose itch will
make you miserable. There is no electricity. If you stay the night you will want
candles and matches, not available there. Before I leave Honduras after visiting
the Pech, I take Zentel (L90) to kill any stomach parasites I might have picked
up from drinking coffee not boiled enough. After Hurricane Mitch, the Pech had a
latrine building project and soon they will have a running water project. There
is a small Mesoamerican type archaeological ruin about an hour’s walk from the
Colegio school.
The Pech are the friendliest Indians I know in Honduras, but the children are
shy. The Pech do not easily give permission to have their picture taken. They
welcome visitors especially those who want to buy crafts. They have a rainforest
reforestation project that is interesting to visit. Besides coffee, they also
grow cacao under shade, if you want to see how chocolate is grown. The Pech have
lost their traditional dances, but they have a traditional music group called
Piriwa. Very unusual drums made from boa skins and marracas are for sale. The
flutes are more rare. There are no telephones in the area. The Pech receive
messages by listening to Radio Catolica out of Trujillo, (next to the Post
Office) which will accept to pass them the message.
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