Off the beaten track....

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Here were are on the north coast of Honduras.... in the little town of Tela. Not much to this place really.... kinda small and pokey. Well, most of the towns along the north coast of Honduras are just that. But, one really feels as though they are off the beaten track when they are here... especially that of mainstream tourism. Actually, even the backpacker trail seems to run a little thin in this part of the country.

Well, back in Copan we ended with a bang by enjoying a morning of ziplining through the forest canopy. It was priceless... truly!! The kids had a blast... though Riel was nervous at the start (hell, so was I). But... when it was all over we wanted to drive back to the top of the hills and start it all over again. Luca was all smiles... right from the start. Actually, he was the first to go... strapped to the chest of one of the guides. Off he went... smiling and laughing. Riel had cold feet on the first platform, but as she was also riding tandem, she was somewhat more comfortable. The operation is pretty small in that there are just a few employees and not a lot of guests each day... but the size and number of lines was amazing. The third run was 1km long... just imagine that!! It was also a few hundred feet high... crazy. That was a long ride. Photos just do not do it justice... one really has to see the video. I will try to attach some here tomorrow. Our day also included a visit to the local butterfly farm run by a very informative fellow. That place was great for the kids. In the afternoon we spent over an hour at a bird sanctuary.... with over 160 exotic birds indigenous to the region... macaws / parrots / parakeets / etc. Also a great visit. The afternoon was all about the pool... and soaking up as much of the town as would could as it was our last day.

OK... i wrote the above stuff last night... then got kicked off the computer... so am back 24 hours later. Lost my train of thought. Had a great drive up to the Carib coast... and have enjoyed getting to know the 'real' Honduras. If we had just left after Copan then I would never be able to say I had really been here. We covered a lot of terrain... explored Ceiba and the north coast. Checked out the Pico Bonito Lodge... passed palm groves, pineapple plantations, creeks and rivers. Quite eye opening as this is the 2nd poorest country in the America's. Neither Tela or Ceiba are safe so wander at night... so we have had all 3 dinners in this hotel... yuuuk. It is easy to build a nice hotel... but the hard part for some developing countries is finding a way to properly manage them. Hell, I am easy going and can accept most of what is thrown at me without making a fuss. But, at the Villas Telamar there are real issues. This is Tela's BEST hotel... and one expects more for over $100 a night in Honduras. First we got a different standard of room than what we booked (problem solved by Tordes... as she is better at that stuff than I).... then little stuff like going to get towells for the pool but they have none.... then swimming up to the poolside bar for a drink but they don't have a bartender on shift.... trying to use the internet, but they do not have the pass code.... wakeup calls coming 1 hour early. Ya know... for less than 20$ a night I would not care, and in Honduras this is pure luxury. Anyway.. not like we can't survive such trauma.. ha ha. Today I left the family at the poolside and enjoyed an excursion to the Punta Sal National Park... involving a boat ride... a bug filled hike through primary rainforest (monkeys / spiders / crabs / creatures)... snorkelling... ... lunch in a Garifuna village... more snorkelling... more bugs... and a boat ride back. It was great... though would have been torture for the little ones. I don't think I have ever applied so much bug repellant!!! My likes were dripping with the stuff... and yet I am covered with bites of every size and variety tonight. Returned to find the family sun tanned and soggy like prunes after a day in the pool. As usual.. the skies opened by 5pm.. and rain came like we have never seen before. Tough competition for Vancouver. Early dinner... as the sun had sapped all the energy the kids had left. Early start tomorrow.... on the road by 0700.. snacks in hand... heading south into El Salvador... destination - Suchitoto.

I promise more pics soon, just no use trying here... and hey...Tordes has promised to write a blog!!! Soon. Well... maybe. Lets wait and see. Honduras has been great... and one day we will get back so we can make it out to Roatan.

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