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Published: December 15th 2007
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Lying in bed on the morning of our departure to Belize, Laff mentioned:
"It´s been pretty plain sailing so far. Not one disaster or anything." This naturally paved the way for the first disaster of the trip, that very same day...
We travelled that afternoon to Chetumal , the border town between Mexico and Belize. However, as we routinely went to retrieve our bags from the undercarriage of the bus, there were only three present. Unfortunately (fortunately for Dave, Rhys and Alex) Pots had been dealt the nightmare blow of having his whole backpack stolen. Despite the efforts of David and Rhys houding everyone in sight with a blue rucksack it was nowhere to be seen. To make things worse, barely a word of English seemed to be spoken in the town. Somehow, between Rhys, his Spanish phrasebook and whatever form of translator we could find we managed to record and domument the theft with the bus company and the local police station so Pots could make his insurance claim. Pots´collection of designer-label clothes are now regularly seen fashioned on the streets of rural south-east Mexico.
A day later than planned we arrived in Belize city where we took
an hour boat ride to Caye Caulker, an island off the Belize coast, in the Carribean Sea. Although there was no sand beach as such the water around was beautifully clear and we took a snorkelling trip and swam among dozens of stingray. The island also offered some awesome lobster although the laid-back Carribean service meant dinner was a drawn-out affair! It´s fair to say we were the key lads on the island and our reputation was increased when we visited the ´Split´ (the swimming area of the island). Taking on the extra high diving board in front of a big crowd David threw himself off, flipped in the air and landed gracefully flat on his back. His blushes were spared however when Rhys climbed up a second later only to take the humilating route back down the steps. David also became the adopted son of a Norwegian (again) couple and spent most of our final day in their comapny exchanging banterous anecdotes and generally offering a lot (or so he claims). This was while the rest of us sweated out our worst hangovers of the trip so far (especially Rhys who specialised in the local cuisine the previous night)
in the baking sun.
After 3 nights in Caye Caulker we began the monster journey to Utila, off the coast of Honduras. In one day we took a boat back to Belize City; an old school bus for 7 hours to Punta Gorda; a tiny and highly dodgy boat across to Puerto Barrios in Guatemala; a taxi ride to the Honduran border which was dark, closed and a little scary; and a taxi ride from the other side where we narrowly missed a horse on our way to Puerto Cortes. From there we made our way to Utila the next day.
We arrived in Utila, just off the northern coast of Honduras, with no intention of diving but the events of our first night on the island entirely changed our plans. At 30p for a local rum and coke it was a case of musn´t grumble and after a couple of hours of matchbox we met our future dive instructor Alfredo. It is fair to say we were putty in his hands and by the time we went to bed (having lost a pair of flip-flops, our dignity, credibility etc...) we´d effectively all signed to the PADI scuba diving course.
Whilst the idea of underwater breathing was less attractive the next morning, we stayed true to our word and re-located to the picturesque dive hostel Underwater Vision. Four days of diving, instruction and classroom sessions awaited. I say four days, it was four days for Rhys and I. After a mere three hours in the classroom Alex got a nasty bout of the yips and handed in his notice. Only a day later Pots followed suit after what can only be described as a panic attack on the beach during the first confined water session. Fold. This left only H Money and Jezzilenko (thanks Brock) and despite the depleted numbers we had an awesome few days. In six dives we saw sea turtles, jelly fish, stingray, countless fish and beautiful coral everywhere. A great experience.
Laff and Pots certainly used their time wisely though and achieved an excellent tan on the reading jetty overlooking the turquoise Caribbean Sea. They also enjoyed a schooling from the locals in a late night game of poker which cost them more than a few lempiras (lampards to us).
A big hello also to all the boys and girls we met in Utila. Our dive course group, Jim and Widge, the Goose, Brock and Rafa - no doubt we´ll catch up with you guys at some point. After the course finished we had a couple of mental nights out visiting the kooky Treetanic (literally a bar in a treehouse) and the infamous Bar in the Bush (minus Pots who had an unexpected attack of squizzers), not to mention Coco Locos which was undoubtedly the main scene of the crimes. The all you can drink and eat Underwater Vision bbq was another highlight. El vino (rum) did flow.
Alas our week in the Bay Islands was over, almost certainly our favourite place so far and typically it ended with another savagely early ferry start. We´re now in Guatemala dominating a five day Spanish course (more on this to follow in our next installment!) and counting down the days to Christmas in Costa Rica. Hope everyone´s well at home and looking forward to tomorrow´s football showdown (Hoare vs Mullin). All the best.
P.S. The Hitman Hatton, gutted.
41 DAYS (and counting) UNTIL WE GIVE LAFF THE SLIP IN BOLIVIA
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ginge
non-member comment
Crap?
hey davo... all looks pretty average there mate - im in this place called cardiff its wicked...loads of mental rain and revision/deadlines - you boys should check it out!! tres jealous really bud - remember you'll never better my tan though, so stop trying!! head-to-head matchplay in the summer, loser buys ciders. done. wont see you soon, take it steady boyo