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Beyond Santa Lucia, the road continues to rise gently amid magnificent scenery, winding through forests of pine whose slender trunks reach up towards clear blue skies. Eleven or so kilometres from Santa Lucia is VALLE DE ANGELES , another former mining town, now reincarnated as handicraft centre and scenic getaway for capitalanos . Perched on the edge of a valley, surrounded by green, wooded mountains, the town slumbers during the week in preparation for the weekends of hard business when the tourists pour in. Buses from Tegucigalpa run through the centre of town, passing the Parque Central and terminating a couple of blocks away. Everything in the town is only a few minutes' walk from both the Parque Central and the bus terminal. The town is chiefly noted for its high-quality, carved wooden goods - including bowls and household items, trunks and ornaments - but there is also a wide range of leather and ceramics. Numerous small shops around town sell crafts, and gentle bartering is possible if you're serious about buying. The covered Mercado Municipal de Artesanias , by the bus stop, offers an overview of the range and quality of handicrafts available, while Lessandra Leather, close to the bus stop, sells very high-quality leather goods - bags, belts, purses and so on - at decent prices. Although many people visit Valle de Angeles as a day-trip, combining shopping with a walk in the surrounding woods, there are a couple of places to stay . The Posada de Angel (tel & fax 766 2233; US$25-40) in the centre of town boasts comfortable rooms, all with bath, set around a courtyard, where the pool is also open to day visitors. Ten minutes' walk north of town on the road to San Juancito, Los Tres Pinos ( rubio@david.intertel.hn ; US$5-10) has three very comfortable rooms set in a garden; the American owner arranges horse-riding and tours of the area. Reservations for both places are usually necessary at weekends and are recommended even during the week. For eating , try Restaurante Epocas (closed Mon) on the Parque Central, which also functions as an antique shop: a range of excellently prepared Honduran dishes are served in the dark, candle-lit interior. El Anafre , next door (closed Mon & Tues), serves large portions of spaghetti. Direct buses for Valle de Angeles (1hr) leave Tegucigalpa every hour until 6pm from an open lot near the Hospital General San Felipe. To get there, follow Av Juan Gutemberg/La Paz past the Bolivar Monument and turn right at the Esso petrol station; the terminal is about 100m further along on the left. The last bus back to Tegucigalpa is at 5pm.
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