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Published: January 10th 2012
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Creative use of a word
It's actually a department store in San Jose, Costa Rica. I could not find the word 'carrion' in the Spanish lexicon-anybody?? After a long bus ride from we were in La Ceiba, Honduras. We got up early to be at the bus station by 0500; I think even if I were able to sleep soundly that previous night, or on the bus, I would still be exhausted. It wasn't because it was a stuffy, crowded, smelly, loud, chicken carrying bus; on the contrary, the bus had comfortable seats, a toilet and it was air conditioned. It's a
combination of sleep deprivation and sensory overload that really sucks the juice out of you.. Think on it - one can't help but notice all the differences between one's familiar culture and the new culture you are willingly being thrust into. Included in this 'unlikeness' are weather, language, people and their culture, the different concepts of time, different smells, signage, flora, fauna, vehicles, traffic, terrain, etc. But then imagine what you'd miss as you made your way through the countries, even when it is dark there are new and different thngs to see. It is this exhausting, yet rewarding process which 'slows time down' for me. Obviously, time doesn't slow down but paying attention puts a different twist on things and I didn't want to
Where it all begins
Prett much the center of Utila, Honduras. miss anything.
The night before we had arrived in Managua, Nicaragua, at around midnight. After making our way through the immediate area near the bus station we headed to a family-run guest house which had been advertised on a board at the bus station. It is not always possible to book ahead a place for the night, unless of course there is an international hotel chain in the area where you can find people whose command of the English language is good, and you can reserve a room-unlikely here. Or if they have a website, or you are up to it and can find out what other travelers before you found, but that is not common everywhere. As a general rule we don't book ahead and I cannot think of a single occasion where we were unable to find a welcoming place to stay. That doesn't mean it's always easy-just infinitely doable. The people were friendly, their english was passable - my Spanish was not -, and when asked provided suggestions regarding a local place to get a beer, where not to go, how to be safe-local people are truly the best source of information. Other travelers 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,
All IN One
Multipurpose room: Laundry, crafts, reading, sleeping, and drinking room 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'
Cabin view
I balked, originally, when I was told it was $80-unheard of for my 'shoestring budget' but it ended up being a great move. 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.
Window dressing
Flash picture of mosquitoe screen 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
Tuk Tuk?
A close relative to the ubiquitous Tahi Tuk Tuk 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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Pea
non-member comment
Yea, baby
I liked the descriptions you gave-helped me to see the places you were