This morning Fabs and I did a quick tour of the Marriott. The have a large sports bar, coffee shop (supposedly the best coffee in the city), and a restaurant open 6am to 10pm. There is a small souvenir shop and a spa, gym, and pool on the third floor. What’s great about the Marriott is they have a complimentary shuttle to go the mall which runs almost every hour. The Marriott is next door to the presidential palace as well as McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts. Their rooms are pretty standard. Breakfast and wifi are included in the rate.
Before I forget I have to tell you about the electricity!! The outlets are the same here as they are in the US, however, there is something going on with the electric companies!!! While we were at dinner with the attorney’s the power went out twice! The first time it lasted about 10 seconds and the second time about 3 seconds, but it went completely dark!!!! I was a little startled, but the Hondurans kept talking as if nothing was wrong. The next day it happened again FOUR times while I was at the hotel! The power including the lights, TV, and air conditioning shut off for a couple seconds before turning back on. While visiting the Marriott today we were sitting in the coffee shop and the power went out. I finally had to ask what the heck is going on and Fabs says it’s just normal. It happens all the time in hotels, homes, and business. Hospitals and airports have their own generators. She doesn’t know why. She says she hardly even notices anymore. I definitely noticed! I don’t know how people work!! I would be ANGRY if I was at work typing an email and the power kept going out!! Maybe everyone just knows to save whatever they are working on every couple of minutes?
From the Marriott we went to the mall that is across the street from the Intercontinental. It is a GREAT mall!!! There are two stories of stores and a third story where the movie theater is located. Their website is http://www.multiplaza.com/visitusH2.html There is also a large grocery store inside the mall. After the mall we checked out of the hotel and headed to the airport. For all of the Gladney adoptive families, I want you to know that Fabiola is an EXCELLENT host\guide\driver\translator!!! Her English is perfect and she is arrives on time! She loves her country and is passionate about adoption. She also seems to be a bit of perfectionist and likes to make sure things are done correctly which is priceless when it comes to helping families finalize their adoption!!! When she dropped us off at the airport she said, “I’m looking forward to seeing the families. I know we are going to have a great time.”
The Toncontin airport is small. When we entered there was a line of people almost to the door. Since there are so few flights everyone must get here at the same time. You have to check in first and then you pay the airport fee. After waiting in line for 27 minutes (there was only ONE agent at the desk checking everyone in) 4 more agents arrived and the process went much quicker. After you get your boarding pass you go to the Banco. DON’T follow the airport signs which direct you to go left towards the escalator!! If you are looking at the check in desk the place to pay the airport fee is located on the right. It is the window underneath the green Banco sign. The airport fee is $37.50 which can be paid in dollars, lempiras, or on a credit card. Next you go back past the check in desk towards the kids’ play area and up the escalator. Turn left at the top of the escalator and follow the signs for “boarding hall.” A man checks your boarding pass to make sure you’ve paid the airport fee and then you proceed to security. The security person took my bag and put in through the machine… I did not remove my laptop or my bag of liquids. He did as me to take off my shoes. That’s it! No one looked at my passport at security. All of the fast food restaurants are located in the main lobby before you go through security. After security there is a small bookstore, souvenir shop, and a food kiosk with drinks and small snacks in addition to the duty free shop. Puerta 4 is located on the right just on the other side of the security check. Puertas 1-3 as well as the stores are to the left after you go through security. You have to go through the duty free store to get to the Puertas 1-3 and the other shops. The airport does have free wifi which I greatly appreciate. The desk agents and vendors all speak English.
Just to confirm my initial assessment of the landings at Toncontin airport, I decided to do it again, but this time in at dusk, in a much smaller airplane that’s having mechanical failures!!!! About 40 minutes into the flight from Teguc to San Jose the pilot made an announcement. I didn’t catch the whole announcement, just that there was an issue and for our safety we were turning around and going back. THANK GOODNESS I didn’t understand. I assumed San Jose was having bad weather. Once we landed the other passengers on the plane told us the pilot’s equipment was malfunctioning and we had to go back. Once we landed about 15 people came out to the plane to check out the issue. 12 minutes later they announced we had refueled, the plane was fixed, and we were taking off again!! WHAT?!?!? In the US we would have sat for 20 minutes waiting for the mechanics to arrive, another 40 minutes for them to discover we would not be able to use the plane, and then we would all get off the plane and wait while they found us a new one. 12 minutes after we landed here we are getting ready to take off again. The good news is that everything went smoothly and we landed in San Jose the same time as the rest of the Gladney team arriving from the US.
I hope this information has helped all future travelers to Tegucigalpa!