one fish, two fish

so i know i left you all hanging before, but i made it to honduras. well, honduran ghost towns are more like it.

after a two-day journey involving the aforementioned various forms of transportation through tiny little seaside towns (and the very big and very scary san pedro sula), we made it to la ceiba, a port town that is the jumping off point for all the bay islands in honduras.

basically, our journey consisted of this: taking a sunrise taxi from flores to the santa elena bus station, where we bought a ticket for a second-class bus (not a chicken bus, mind you, but there was still the livestock of choice in its own seat at the front of the bus). a four hour journey brought us past lago izabel and steamy rio dulce to a random junction in the middle of banana fields, where we were hustled off the bus and straight into a microbus heading to puerto barrios. from the microbus, a very nice guatemalan bargained us a great deal for a pick-up ride to the honduran border. we got our exit stamps, changed from quetzales to lempiras and walked into a different country (it looked the same). honduran officials hassled me a bit because i had two stamps from guatemala, but some lempiras shut them up and got me a stamp. from there, a chicken bus to omoa, where we checked into a hostel that hadn't seen another guest for two weeks, and they stayed one day. weird. the town itself was right on the caribbean sea, and we made it just in time for sunset, the sky turning brillant colors of orange and red before the sun dipped into the sea. and then the mosquitoes came out to play. ugh.

omoa after sunset

the next day, took a bus from omoa to puerto cortes, a shuttle from puerto cortes to unispiring and scary san pedro sula (we HAD to go there after all, grrr), then a first-class bus to la ceiba, where we missed the last boat by 30 mintues. the one thing in all my travels that actually ran on time, go figure.

at this point, we had not seen ONE other fellow traveler. it was kind of cool, but mostly eerie. consulting the ever trusty lonely planet, we picked the hostel heralded as "the best place to meet other backpackers." empty. tried another in the "zona viva" area of town. again, no one, but they quoted us a better price so we stayed. in a tiny room on the first floor with a leaky roof and a very rusty lock on the door. with a group of thug-looking hondurans hanging outside our window. and then it started thundering. and raining. and then the power went out. on halloween night.

feeling almost safer outside than in, i put on my money belt for the first time ever with my passport and memory card (my only two true possesions), and left everything else, partly convinced it would be gone when we got back. running through empty flooded streets, we made it to the one open bar and had ourselves some very delicious fruity cocktails, mini umbrella and all--because what else would you do in a deserted honduran town on the caribbean sea during a tropical storm? drink (and keep ém coming, senor)! and when we got back, the dutch hostel owner informed us that even though the security guard had failed to show up, we should not worry, because "roy" was keeping watch. roy, with his stoned eyes and beer in hand, slumped over in a plastic chair, is supposed to make me feel safer? we pushed our beds against the door that night.

but to make a long story short--too late, right?--made it to utila. there are actually other travelers here, thank goodness, but not many. seems that everyone was scared away after the coup--governments of various countries are still telling people not to come, so travelers either avoid it all together or take a bus straight across. it's really too bad, because it's a beautiful country with really strong local character, and you can tell the tourist cut is really hurting. i was called an "oddity" on one of the most touristy islands in the world. come to honduras, people! i saw more guns in guatemala.

caribbean culture on utila is really strong--lots of reggae, coconuts and island living. i actually keep forgetting that i'm in honduras. everyone speaks english, or speaks spanish in that "ya mon" caribbean accent. unfortunately, i found myself grounded by a particularly nasty ear infection, so getting my open water diving certification had to be put on hold for the moment. a bummer, really, to be told i can't go in the water on an island that revolves around that one thing. but i've made do, and against doctors orders went snorkling yesterday, which was amazing! truly incredible to be able to see the life aquatic. one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. seahorses and stingrays and sea turtles, oh my. who needs diving, anyway??

utila by day

utila by night. and also the dock and hammocks, where i spent most my days.

i will be attempting to make my way to nicaragua tomorrow--and just in time, as it seems there is a hurricane/tropical storm heading our way. fingers crossed we don't get stuck on the island--i've getting eaten ALIVE by mossies and god knows what else!

besos!

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