Utila tarian

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After a long bus ride - Managua > Tegucigalpa > La Ceiba - we were truly exhausted. Why you might ask-after all the bus seats recline, but I'd be tired whether I slept or not. If I tried I might be able to sleep...but then imagine what I'd miss as we made our way through the country, even when it is dark there are thngs to see!

We had stopped for the night in Managua and made our way through the immediate area around the bus station (read 'sketchy') to a family run guest house we had heard about and after cleaning up we headed out to find a place to get a beer and a bite. Isn't it curious how one always finds the energy to 1) find a local drinking establishment, and 2) have a beer or two and a bite regardless of how tired you may be? There are always people willing to help wherever you are-may are genuinely interested in helping and so when you ask you'll get ideas as to places to go. We eventually found a place and it was full of locals, music was playing, people were laughing, and the beer looked awfully good. Our waitress spoke a bit of English and she was delightful and seemed to be having a good time.

Nicaragua is approximately the size of New York state and has over five hundred fifty miles of coastline. There is a large lake in the interior of the country that has several islands in it that were formed by volcanos. We will have to make a separate trip to explore Guatemala and Nicaragua since there is so much to see.

I have always truly enjoyed the 'journey' which is in many cases the bus rides through the various countries, and seeing all the crops the respective countries grow-palm oil, banana, coffee, rice, citrus, and loads and loads of corn, etc. You miss all that if you fly so I always try to make time for bus rides. Not to mention the abundance of rivers and deep valleys through much of the area we covered. Often many of the homes are just off the two lane road and so we get to see them going through the course of their day living as we fly past.

We stayed two nights in La Ceiba, Honduras, after finding a local guesthouse: Banana Republic. No relation to the clothing store, and apparently no need to honor copyright. As it is the holiday season the ferry was not running to Utila until the 1st of January. So we ended up spending New Year's Eve in La Ceiba and staying an extra day in an otherwise boring town. There were plenty of fireworks, but not all the bangs sounded like fireworks as in many countries where shooting your gun into the sky doesn't seem to present a problem, unless the round comes down on you! While there we visited a restaurant called the 'Expats' and met an American who had been in Honduras for ten years. He had married a local women and had two children. He provided all kinds of helpful information regarding Utila as he had lived and worked there for five of the ten years. They had great 'American' breakfasts and wonderful local coffee.

My wife did not like the boat ride at all the next morning. Thank god she had only had coffee as it came up rather easily. And we were not to take any more boat trips! We stopped at the travel agency right off the dock and bought tickets for a flight from Utila to San Pedro Sula as time was running out and we had to be back in Belize for our flight out in several days. The people at the travel agency (Frank Morgan's Travel) were very helpful and efficient. We got into town and found the place our American friend had spoke highly of: Margaritaville. It was a hotel with nicely appointed rooms for $40/night which had A/C and decent bathrooms. They also had several Cabinas which rented for $80/night and were located on the water, and one just happened to be available. My wife had caught a cold earlier in the trip and so having a place with our own kitchen, tv and several places to sleep was just the ticket. In retrospect it had rained more than sun on this trip, and there were the overcast, but generally warm days. We were able to buy and cook our own food which was a wonderful break from the usual chicken, rice and beans. We had a difficult time finding places that had salads or vegetables as part of their offerings. Utila and Roatan have dive shops which offer dive certification, equipment rentals, and trips out to dive. Many of the people who visit the islands are there precisely for that reason, however, we were not.

We left Utila early in the morning and after landing in San Pedro caught a taxi and then bus to Morales, Honduras, and then on to the Honduras/Belize border. Our trip lasted through the night and we arrived in Belize City in the latter part of the morning and had enough time for a bite and some shopping, and then to the airport for a flight out in the early evening.

I figure we spent nearly fifty hours total in the bus going from place to place over the course of our trip. Many of the days were rainy or overcast which was unusual since the winter season was to be over in the middle of December. We did not get a chance to swim or snorkel - in part because of the weather, but also because when we had beach, it was not sunny. We'll go back since this trip only whetted our appetites.

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