Abandoned Railroad Building and Pier

On the way into the center of downtown Tela, you will ride over some train tracks. Tela used to be a huge banana producing area, hence the nickname "Banana Republic". (Palm oil is also a major industry in Honduras. It is used for food, soap, and more recently as a biodiesel. Along the highway there are thousands of acres of African palm tree plantations cultivated for this reason.) Although many bananas are still grown and sold from Tela, it is no longer the main industry. But back when bananas were big business... the United Fruit Company, known for the Chiquita brand, was reaping huge profits.

In 1913 they agreed to complete and operate 2 national rail lines and in exchange received huge tracks of land, leaving small-time farmers landless. The fruit company never finished the railway and, although they only used a tiny portion of the acquired land, it wasn't returned to farmers until the 1960's. The land was returned "voluntarily" in exchange for exclusive banana contracts with the farmers. This meant more money for the fruit company with all risk being shouldered by the farmers. The workers are are still fighting for more rights and better wages. The railroad was abandoned around 1974 when the banana business moved elsewhere and all the tracks have long since been overgrown.

The railroad building is still standing but has greatly decayed over the years. Christina and I were planning to come here for a spooky Halloween night but it was raining and so we used that as an excuse to chicken out. The other day I went to check it out. It was eerie walking around by myself even though it was daytime. Come with me on a tour inside. Click on the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLvpZgoFcOg Just down the street from the railroad building is the pier. This is where the train tracks ended their journey. It seems odd to build railroad tracks on a pier but this is where the bananas were loaded onto large cargo ships. Click on the link to see a 360 degree video of the gorgeous surroundings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gHHaMESKgQ The pier caught on fire in the 1990's and and hurricanes have also taken their toll. Some haphazard work has been done to try to repair it but to no apparent benefit. It is very precarious with wobbly boards, holes in boards, and missing boards. Christina won't even go out there with me. I love it. It is only used nowadays by fishermen and weirdos like me who have some strange attraction to standing over and staring at water. Instead of fancy poles, the fishermen just tie a piece of string to their fingers or a wooden stick and are actually successful. The water below was green and very clear. I spotted whole schools of little fish. There were a handful of long skinny fish. I saw this one while swimming in Belize also. Name? Afterward, I walked past a few small boats lying next to the pier (pavon is Spanish for peacock and it is also the surname of a popular Honduran futbol player who played with the LA Galaxy team in 2007 but left to rejoin his previous Honduran team, Real Espana.)... and sat under the pier to watch and listen to the waves roll in. Check it out. Click on the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJZjAY2jZaA Hope you enjoyed the stroll. I am dying to jump off of it but am a little afraid of doing it alone. Any takers? It's not very high.