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Leaving the capital, the Caribbean highway passes through the hilly, infertile terrain of the upper Rio Motagua . As you head further down the valley, the land rapidly becomes bleak, dry and distinctly inhospitable, until you come to the first place of any note: the Rio Hondo junction . Here you'll find a waiting army of food sellers swarming around every bus that stops, and a line of blue and red Pepsi-sponsored comedores. If you need refreshment, there are usually fresh coconuts for sale, too. The road divides here, with one arm heading south to Esquipulas and the three-way border with Honduras and El Salvador, and the main branch continuing on to the coast. There are a number of motels scattered around Rio Hondo which, bizarre as it may seem, is viewed by middle-class Guatemalans as something of a weekend retreat, due to the presence of the large Valle Dorado waterworld park-motel (tel 941 2542, fax 941 2543; US$40-60), close by at Km 146. On down the valley the landscape starts to undergo a radical transformation: the flood plain opens out and the cacti and scrub are gradually overwhelmed by a profusion of tropical growth. It was this supremely rich flood plain that attracted both the Maya and the United Fruit Company, to the great benefit of both
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