Having been very sad to leave Nicaragua for the second time, we made quite possibly the easiest and friendliest border crossing into Honduras, another of Central America's jewels. 50% of the population live beneath the poverty line but despite these hardships, the people are amongst the friendliest that you will encounter, seemingly a trait of developing world countries. The first thing we noticed as we boarded the chicken bus was how inquisitive the children are. Initially staring at us curiously, they were soon keen to sit beside us and strike up conversation. This happened several times during our time in Honduras. Honduran children are also so polite and well behaved...and they make the best Spanish teachers!
As Steve and I were both drifting in and out of consciousness on the bus, we ended our days journey at Danlí (Hotel Las Vegas, $12 inc cable), a dusty, attractive town two hours south of the capital. Here we sampled the delights of the local cuisine and truly what a delight it was to have a balance of nutritious and (fairly) healthy food on one plate. It was delicious!
Following Danlí we breezed through the capital, Tegucigalpa, arriving in Tela quite literally with a bang, as our bus ploughed into a taxi sending it spinning across the road. The damage caused was unbelievable and as fate would have it there were no lorries or buses coming the other way! But, in true Honduran style, the passenger hopped into another cab and the driver merely stood there scratching his head, with not a single cross word or road rage to be heard.
The Caribbean town of Tela has the same characteristics and identity as all
Caribbean towns, albeit not as seedy or dirty as most! Whilst here we took a kayaking tour of Parque Nacional Izopo, a network of canals passing through mangrove forests, home to abundant wildlife. Gliding silently through the canals we encountered many challenges, skillfully maneuvering our kayak in and out of the many obstacles in the crocodile infested creeks. Sitting so close to the water knowing that, although I couldn't see them, the crocs, with their big, beady eyes, could most definitely see me, was unnerving to say the least. Every ambiguous bump that we went over set my little heart racing! But, apart from our guide's close encounter with a crocodile as it jumped momentarily out of the water, very little wildlife was seen. Regardless of this, it was a fun and energetic day, giving us the opportunity to penetrate what is normally the inpenetrable.We shared our trip with a group of boys whom we later learnt to be street kids, rescued from the streets and given food, clothes and shelter as part of a rehabilitation program. And what a lovely, polite bunch of lads they were. Laughing happily like normal boys their age they clearly appreciated their outing, which none had experienced before, giving no inkling as to their troubled pasts.
Our next destination was one that I had been looking forward to since the beginning of our trip...the Bay Islands, namely Roatan. It was here that I planned to take my love for snorkeling one step further and obtain my PADI certification in diving, the Bay Islands being the cheapest place in the world to do this and sharing the worlds second longest Barrier Reef with Belize.
First we had to contend with the prices. With Roatan being a prime holiday hotspot, food and accomodation does not come cheap for the likes of us backpackers. But, thanks to stocking up on banana sandwiches and cheese and biscuits, we managed to stay within our budget!
The second thing to contend with was the mosquitos. On an island where malaria is rife its always a good idea to over indulge with the DEET, otherwise the mozzies have a feeding frenzy on your legs, as Steve and I found out. Hey, these mozzies even looked mean. The nights were particularly bad, so bad that it became easier to barricade ourselves in our lovely air conditioned room.
For my PADI course I opted to go with Native Sons (http://www.nativesonsroatan.com/), a friendly, hospitable company that gave off good vibes as soon as we walked in. I jumped in at the deep end, so to speak, commencing that afternoon with my first confined water exercise to be closely followed by my first fun dive.
For the majority of people, the first breath underwater is said to be exhilerating. For me it just felt unnatural and forced and this was just kneeling in shallow water. When it came to the open water dive I truly struggled, unable to equalise my ears and therefore suffering excrutiating pain. Eventually, with the help of a very patient instructor, I made it to the sea bed, having to overcome the urge to rush to the surface everytime the panic started to set in (which, incidentally, can kill you). Then there was the neutral bouyancy to contend with...then having to periodically check the air gauge, with my air diminishing rapidly...then me panicing slightly because my air was running out. Needless to say my first (and last) day of PADI turned into a Discover Scuba Diving course, with me discovering that bad sinuses and claustrophobia are not a good mix for diving! I was still popping Ibuprofen three days later, although the sea turtle that we saw was a great consolation prize.
The following two days were spent at West Bay Beach, by far the best beach in Honduras, with its soft white sands and the warmest, clearest turquoise water. Feeling energetic on the second day we kayaked the 45-minutes there (and back), participating in a spot of snorkeling. The snorkeling here was amazing and totally underrated. I have never seen such beautiful, huge coral walls so close to the shore, home to an array of the most colourful aquatic life.
With Hurricane Dean storming its way through the Caribbean and us not wanting to take any chances in the event that it might change course, we left Roatan and spent the night in La Ceiba with one aim in mind...white water rafting!
Kitted out with life jacket and crash helmet, to say that we were apprehensive about jumping from a height into the heart of the frothy rapids below and traversing across river is an understatement. Nevertheless, we followed Action Man, our guide, as he taught us a few tricks to overcome our intial fear of the raging Cangrejal River. Finally we were ready for the rafting, battling through the series of Class I to IV rapids with all our might. We took to rafting like ducks to water and, despite Steve momentarily teetering on the edge of a Class IV rapid, we managed to stay in the raft. We proved to be a great team and rafting proved to be a lot of adrenalin pumping fun.
Another day, another bus ride, this time taking us away from the gringo trail to a small, dusty, mountainous town called Gracias. A colonial Spanish town, Gracias is quiet, slow and peaceful and asthetically not too dissimilar to Trinidad, Cuba. As with Danlí we were welcomed by the friendliness of the locals and curiosity of the children. Although we did very little but rest in Gracias, we did partake in a very scenic walk from Gracias to...Gracias. Despite our best efforts to walk to the hot springs we took a wrong turn and walked in a huge, great circle, which was a pleasant walk all the same.
Our time in Honduras reached its finale thus we made our way, apprehensively, to El Salvador, our final Central American destination. Although we enjoyed the Caribbean coast, nothing can beat experiencing the real Honduras and the charms of the people in it.
[Photos: 1 - Crossing the border; 2 - Tipico Honduran food; 3 - Kayaking at Roatan; 4 - Snorkelling at West Bay; 5 - Rafting; 6 - Gracias]
