Honduras (Roatan and Tegucigalpa) and Nicaragua

Roatan was absolutely fantastic - easily the highlight of my trip so far. I would have stayed for longer than I did if it weren´t so expensive and it also felt like cheating a bit because it really wasn´t like the rest of Latin America! There are so many expats and tourists there that it had a completely different culture and most people there spoke English so it was very easy! The island was really laid back and there were loads of young people there giving it a great atmosphere.

It was sunny most of the time I was there and really nice being able to lie on the beach and going for a swim in the ocean every so often to cool off. Best of all was the fact that I could wander around wearing what I wanted without getting hissed at!

I stayed in a place called West End which is where the majority of the backpacker facilities seemed to be - hostels, restaurants, dive shops etc. When I first arrived I had a bit of trouble finding a hostel as quite a few places I tried were full while others wanted $35+ a night. I managed to find one place that had a room for $12 but I was told I´d be sharing with the crabs so I decided to give that one a miss. I think I struck lucky in the end because I managed to negotiate a rate of $20 a night for a nice little cabin with private bathroom, air-con, balcony and cable TV (which had episodes of Spongebob Squarepants in English but I won´t mention that because it´s very sad).

I ended up staying on Roatan for 6 nights, with most of my time being spent doing the PADI Open Water Diver course which was loads of fun. It was a mixture of studying and practicing different skills under water which a bit of exploring the reefs mixed in. The instructor, Chris, was great, and the rest of my group - Laura, Kayne and Nick - were really friendly. I was the rubbish one in the group but still really enjoyed it and I´m now an Open Water Diver! The highlight was seeing a huge greenback turtle on one of the dives. I did my diving with a company called Ocean Connections which I´d definitely recommend to anyone thinking of diving on Roatan.

The worst thing about Roatan was the sandflies which seemed to get everywhere and I´ve now got loads of bites all over me and am almost out of insect repellent!

On Monday I finally broke away from the island paradise and got back to the "real" Latin America. I took the ferry back to La Ceiba and from there got a bus to Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital. I wasn´t overly impressed with the city, especially when it started to pour down with rain as soon as I got there! So I didn´t hang around and came to Granada yesterday. When I was leaving the hostel in Tegucigalpa the guy working there was going on about there being a strike and how there were no taxis and I should have left an hour earlier to get to the bus station. Well apparently there was a strike but there was no shortage of taxis at all and I got there in plenty of time so I´m not entirely sure what he was worried about.

From Tegucigalpa I got a bus to Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. At the border I was screwed over by some dodgy money changer who gave me an exchange rate of 0.82 but I realised a minute later that other people were getting 0.95. It´s my own fault really for not asking around but I complained anyway and managed to get a few more cordobas off him! Then I was screwed over again when I got to Managua and got in a taxi to the bus stop where I´d get a bus to Granada. The taxi driver told me it would cost "ten" so I stupidly assumed he meant cordobas because it was literally a 5 minute ride but of course he decided he´d meant $10. I pointed out to him that this was ridiculous and he had the cheek to start giving me a lecture about how much a litre of petrol costs. He didn´t seem to understand that a 5 minute journey doesn´t use up 5 litres of petrol! Fortunately the bus to Granada was much more reasonable, costing only $1 for the hour long ride. It was pretty packed but I had a good view because I was sitting on the dashboard.

The first hostel I went to in Granada was full so I settled for some dodgy place nearby which is only $5 a night. There seemed to be a lot of furniture moving and sweeping going on until pretty late and then it started again at 5.30 this morning! I wasn´t quite sure why they were messing about like that so early but the mystery was solved when I stopped by at the hostel at about 10am this morning and discovered that it had transformed into a market! I thought I was in the wrong place at first but apparently not - I just hope they´re getting a good price for all my stuff.

Granada is a pretty town with a nice central plaza and impressive cathedral. This morning I walked down to the Lago de Nicaragua (the lake) and through a park next to it which was pleasant but a bit too hot and humid.

I´ll add some more photos on here at some point (when I remember to bring my cable).

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