Blogs from Honduras, Central America Caribbean - page 8

La Ceiba itself was a fairly dirty, characterless big city, so I left the next day to go to the Cuero y Salado wildlife reserve. The town near it, La Union, is 30 km from La Ceiba according to my guidebook. Took 1.5 hours to get there on a crappy converted schoolbus. Great road systems. Got to the town, then took a narrow gauge train the rest of the way, (about 10 km), another three quarters of an hour. While waiting for the train a guy asked me what I was doing here? Guess they don't get a lot of tourists. Not a lot of tourists is right... I was literally the only visitor! Small village around the visitor centre, and some rangers to look out for poachers, but I was definitely the only gringo. They ... read more

Frenchy's 44 Today we went to Little French Key. We made reservations on the internet and they sent a really nice guy, Mario, to come get us at 9:30. It took about 40 minutes just to get there. The island is much harder to get around due to really bad roads. But they sure do drive fast. Frecnhy's 44 is the restaurant you go to and then take a boat/party barge over to Little French Key. Little French Key is a priviate island owned by family that has built a grill, bar, and has several motorized and non-motorized play toys. The water out there is again, some of the clearest we have ever seen. We had a Monkey La-la while waiting for the boat. Whole Lot of Nothing We were the only ones there for most ... read more

Get Me My Snorkel Today was a lazy day. We headed out to the beach and managed to snag chairs under one of the umbrellas. Which was good because I think I turned about 20 shades darker on my legs that were not covered. We did hit the water with snorkels and headed down the beach some. The beach really is so pretty and clear. The reef is not far off the shore either. I did manage to go out and check out the coral this time. Saw a puffer fish, some of those blue/green fish, and a red fish. A claims he saw a clown fish but I didn't see it on the camera shots. I bought him a waterproof bag one year for the camera so we got to try it out. Taxi! Took ... read more

I got back to the States a few days ago, which means that this will be the final chapter of my Roatan blogging. I know I haven’t exactly kept up with the blog, but I still need closure. My last few days in Roatan were spent seeing friends, hanging at the beach, and diving. Saying goodbye to my Roatan friends, who had become family to me, was really difficult. Not gonna lie- I cried. More than once. I know that someday I’ll go back to Roatan, but it won’t be the same. Things change fast there and people come and go quickly, but I hope that I’ll see everyone again sometime. Somewhere. Being back in the States is weird. Everything is basically the same but I have a completely different perspective. Upon arrival in Philadelphia I ... read more

Tela is a smaller, beach town, a bit nicer than La Ceiba. Horribly hot and muggy, so I admit to splurging on a place with actual air conditioning, and (theoretically) hot water. The hot water worked on the first night, but not the second, after the electrical built in water heater on the shower hose (yes, exactly as sketchy as it sounds) shorted out due to a frayed wire and almost electrocuted me when I tried to fix it. I'll stick with cold water, I think. Booked a tour to the Jeanette Kawas National Park for the morning after I arrived. Named after an assassinated conservation activist, it's about 45 minutes away from Tela by motorboat. Went on a walk in the reserve. Lots of birds and about a dozen howler monkeys. VERY loud, and we ... read more

Next day in Tela I went to the Lancetilla Botanical Gardens, one of the largest in the world, I think. It's a few kilometres out of the town, but my hotel rents bicycles, so I was going to rent one to get out there.... Or not. I'm glad I know bikes, and that I checked them out. Of maybe seven or eight bicycles, the only ones without flat tires had either jammed gear shifts, or loose brakes! Yikes! I told the hotel staff and they looked at me blankly. So, plan B, got a cab, then arranged pick up in a couple hours time, and wandered around. The map they gave me of the gardens was extremely unreliable, and since it was a weekday, I was basically the only visitor, but I made my way around ... read more

Sorry for the late entry. Grab a cup of tea and a comfy chair for this read, it's a long one. Rio Dulce, Guatemala (April 29/12) I spent the day and evening in Gautemala City with my friends Alejita, Pablo, Alan, Mario and Nathaly before venturing out on my own once again. Pablo offered me a place to stay for the night and then drove me to the bus station for my early morning ride to Rio Dulce. Rio Dulce is at the edge of a lake (Lago de Izabul) and is considered one of the safest places on the Western Caribbean Coast to dock boats during hurricane season. Upon arrival in Rio Dulce I was approached by the typical salesman trying to convince me to go to one of the hostels that he gets commission ... read more