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South & Central America
  • Ruth Snow
5月 – 11月 2015

South & Central America

Ruthによる198日間のアドベンチャー もっと詳しく
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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow
    1

    Ometepe

    2015年9月21日, ニカラグア ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Today we got to see the Nicaragua as I'd imagined: less shiny, more rough. After breakfast and caffeination, we left the hostel at 10:30am in search of the bus stop only to run into a bus coming around the corner. At last, our first proper chicken bus - the old American yellow school buses that are brightly painted. There were plenty of seats and no chickens so not the full experience but it did play some cool music. We crawled along a dirt track through fields dotted with houses. Stopping frequently, it took over an hour to reach Rivas which is only 15 miles away (25C). Once in Rivas we were accosted by the usual suspects and got a taxi to the port, San Jorge (200C - we paid extra to stop at an ATM and not pick up any other passengers as we'd heard of a few horror stories). We boarded a big boat and waited 45 mins before setting off on the hour long crossing to Ometepe (35C). Ometepe is the largest island in Lake Nicaragua made up of two volcanoes which have joined. One volcano is active, the other is dormant. The last serious eruption was in 2010.

    My seat on the boat was partly in the sun with no breeze and I was roasting! It was a pleasant relief to arrive and get on another chicken bus despite it being rammed full - ahh, the proper experience, but still no chickens! Our luggage was lobbed onto the roof and we were crammed inside, standing room only, and then a rather large lady came aboard to sell her wares. I thought surely she's not going to try to go down the aisle but yes she shoved her way down and made a killing in sales of her bags of drinks. We set off but kept stopping to squeeze in more people. Luckily the windows let in a cool breeze once we were moving. After an hour the bus emptied out and we got a seat for the last quarter of an hour. It started to rain but luckily for our luggage, not too hard or long.

    We got to Santo Domingo at about 4:30pm (27C) and checked into Hotel Finca SD (23$) which had a cute port-hole type window. We went for a wander down the beach. It is supposed to be the nicest beach on the island - it's striking in a rough and raw way but the water didn't look very tempting and there were tiny flies everywhere! We saw a strange, natural-looking light emanating from the horizon upwards which we couldn't explain.

    We had an early dinner at a veggie restaurant at the top of the beach. I had lentil & veg stew, Anna had humus, both with rice, salad and freshly-baked bread. Anna had another cheap beer and we had a really, really rich brownie each (440C).

    The island had been suffering from a power cut since our arrival and we sat at the restaurant in candle-light. We got back to our room at 6pm and were wondering what we'd do all evening when the power came back on - great timing!

    So far we are loving Nicaragua for it's cheapness and friendly people. Anna says it might be one of her favourite countries but I think that might be the cheap beer talking!    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Ojo de Agua

    2015年9月22日, ニカラグア ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We went back to the veggie cafe for breakfast (the hotel's menu wasn't very inspiring and there's not a lot of other options) (340C). We both ordered some granola, yoghurt and fruit. The lady came out with a huge plate of fruit which we assumed was to share but no, we got one each! Absolutely masses of it! She also gave Anna some turbo-strength coffee (Nicaraguan is best coffee yet) and me a huge jug of passion fruit juice. We couldn't manage even half of the fruit so she wrapped it up and we ate it for lunch.

    After a rest for our fruit-laden bellies we walked half an hour up the paved single road that runs around the edge of the island. We arrived at Ojo de Agua (eye of water; 80C) which is a natural swimming pool fed by a cold underground river from one of the volcanoes. It's a beautiful place to just chill with a coconut...the weather was a bit overcast so it wasn't the lazing in the sun kind of day we'd hoped for but a Tarzan swing and a slack line made it great fun. The place was pretty deserted for most of the time. We also saw some petroglyphs (stone carvings) which the island is famous for.

    As we walked back, we noticed the volcano was surrounded by a 'cloud hat', which we'd also seen in Arenal - must be a volcano thing! The sunset was beautiful and then as it got dark we saw some bats, a squashed frog, a squashed snake and then a load of awesome green fireflies dancing all around us! Some of them stayed still and you could see them right up close flashing intermittently.

    We had dinner at the same place. I had the humus which wasn't as good as the previous night. Anna had grilled aubergine with roasted tomatoes which was amazing, one of her favourite meals ever! We shall try and recreate it in the chalet. She also had a huge jug of iced coffee which was rocket strength and will likely mean she's bouncing off the walls all night.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Granada

    2015年9月23日, ニカラグア ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Anna chose our breakfast: choco pots - as in the ones with little stick biscuits you dip in choc spread. Yummy but hardly nutritious!

    We got the 9:30am bus to Moyogalpa (27C, 1.5 hrs), jumped in the waiting boat (35C, 1 hr, not so hot this time) and got a taxi to Rivas ($3, 10 mins). A bus soon turned up so we clambered on to get a seat but it wasn't leaving for an hour. Luckily it wasn't too hot and we wiled away the time taking advantage of the hawker's wares...2 bottles of pop to hug to keep us cool, some popcorn and some peanut bars, all for under a quid. We reached Granada at 3:30pm (1.5 hrs, 31C). The bus stopped in a muddy area, which didn't even look like a terminal but this was the end of the line - I was expecting Granada to be a bit grander! We couldn't work out our map so got a taxi for 20C for the short ride to Hostel Aryan ($30), which is essentially someone's house with rooms rented out.

    We went out to explore in the remaining daylight. Granada is a beautiful, old colonial town but much less shiny and developed than others like Cartagena. We saw a few churches and the central square and then had an earlyish dinner at Pita Pita, with seats around a central courtyard with a fountain and plants. We both had the falafel plate which came with tons of salad and pitas and was amazing. Plus we had mojitos which were rubbish (700C).

    We continued exploring and found a street full of al fresco dining. It being low season, there were no diners so they all wanted a piece of us. We went into a shop where we tried some chocolate (very earthy, crumbly and rich, not at all like Cadbury's) and some flavoured rums - chocolate mint was my favourite, the chili one nearly blew my brains out!

    Next door, we started chatting to a Floridian couple, Mike & Melissa, who randomly came and started running a bar here: Kayuno. She was his fourth wife so she'd made him get a tattoo on his ring finger rather than a normal ring. Their chef, Steven, cooks mainly veggie food and came out with samples of food for us to try. It started to chuck it down so we went inside for a drink. Anna had Toña beer served chilled in a frosted glass so it froze as it was poured. I had coconut water in a can which was surprisingly good. Mike also gave us free samples of 12 & 18 year old Flor de Cana (local rum), Bacardi 151, a 75% rum which tasted like petrol, and Surfers on Acid (Malibu, Jaegermeister and pineapple juice). His crazy drunk friend told us he was a gold prospector and he'd found a boat from Atlantis! The rain tipped it down for a few hours turning the street into a river. Eventually it eased up a little so we trudged home in the wet. A lovely impromptu soiree.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Pancakes, waffles & mojitos

    2015年9月24日, ニカラグア ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We went to the bus office to get our onward travel tickets then had breakfast at Kathy's Waffle House: blueberry waffle for me and two huge bacon pancakes for Anna which she couldn't finish (350C).

    We then went to check out the chocolate hotel and booked in for tomorrow night. Anna's tummy was over stuffed so we went back to our room where I promptly fell back asleep.

    A while later we went out to sample some gelato (muy bien), past some more churches and walked to the edge of the lake. On our return we found the crazy gold prospector from last night who insisted we join him and his friends for drinks. We sat outside and he plied us with mojitos, which were average at best, and tried to hit on Anna. We told him he was barking up the wrong tree but it didn't stop him telling me to send her his way if I ever got bored of her! Lovely, old guy but bit of an alcoholic. One of his friends, married with kids, told us he has organised a cigar party tomorrow night full of prostitutes. I'm not sure if this was supposed to impress us?!

    We left the drunkards to have dinner across the street at Kapuyo (bar from the previous night). We shared veggie chili, garlic bread and veggie tacos - all amazing food (570C). The street was much busier with the lack of rain. Melissa told us it usually rains constantly at this time of year so we've been lucky. It's been overcast but not too hot which is perfect for us. Anna bought some magnetic lava rocks from a street kid for 40C which are highly addictive to toy with.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Chocolate mansion

    2015年9月25日, ニカラグア ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We went to the supermarket and picked up a donut and pineapple ring for breakfast on the way. Not a day to be healthy! We left Casa Aryen and walked to our next place - time for a bit of luxury! We had booked into the Mansion de Chocolate ($65) for a treat. It is our most expensive hotel to date, however I have justified this because it includes an all you can eat breakfast buffet, which is $7 each which Anna wanted to try, plus spa treatments are half price for guests so we shall save a further $12 each, thus the 'actual' cost is a bargain for such a lovely hotel!

    The chocolate hotel is a huge mansion type house which was built by an ex president. It has beautiful features: pillars, courtyards full of plants, quirky pictures and a large pool Check-in wasn't until 2pm but we went with the hope they'd let us in early and they did. We dumped our bags and headed next door for the chocolate workshop. At $22 it's a bit pricey but well, it's chocolate!!!

    It was just the two of us with our lovely teacher Ismael. The room smelt absolutely divine! First he showed us a cocoa tree in the courtyard, then we roasted some cocoa pods, de-shelled them then ground them to a paste (hard work!). From the paste we made 3 chocolate drinks: Mayan (with hot water, cinnamon, pepper & honey), Aztec (as for Mayan plus chili & vanilla) and European (with milk, sugar & vanilla). As we mixed, we had to chant: Batay, batay chocolatay (mix, mix - apparently picked up from Dora the Explorer!). All tasted lovely.

    We then took some paste which had been spun for 15 hours and made our own 50% dark chocolate bar each. I added cashews, raw chocolate nibs and sea salt; Anna chose coffee and chili. Then they were chilled for a couple of hours.

    We also learnt that Anna's phrase of 'mucho gusto' which she says after every meal thinking it means 'I like it lots' means 'nice to meet you'! Instead she needs 'me gusta mucho'.

    We spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool, which was big and home to 4 ducks (plus some noisy kids). It was overcast so not much tanning going on. We had some yummy nachos and guzzled our chocolate bars - mine was the best tasting, far better than any bars I've sampled here. I think I should become a chocolatier. They melted quickly so there was no point trying to save any for later! Anna's wasn't as good so she tried to eat half of mine as well as her own.

    Then it was time for our hour-long cacao-oil massage. They were fantastic and we emerged sufficiently pummelled and uber-relaxed. I had a blind man called Carlos who was very embarrassed when he accidentally felt my boob up! Anna had a lady who sent her to sleep.

    We watched the sun set over the rooftops of the hotel from our balcony and then shared a delicious, cheap veggie burrito & quesadilla at El Loco Burrito (200C). We went to Kayuno bar for a quick drink which turned into another drink for Anna who ended up teaching the bar staff the Time Warp.

    When we got back to the room we couldn't get the aircon to work so they moved us next door into a deluxe room. The bed is the largest I've ever seen - at least 6ft wide! Result!    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Hiding in Managua

    2015年9月25日, ニカラグア ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    After the most wondrous sleep in our massive bed we went down for the all you can eat breakfast. I 'only' managed some fruit, a pancake and a waffle with rich, dark chocolate sauce. Anna managed marginally better but our pre-brekkie swim to work up an appetite never happened.

    We checked out and were given yummy truffle chocolates. This place just gets better! Then we spent the afternoon lazing by the pool. For once it was pure sunshine which was a bit hot for us so we chose sunbeds half in the shade and went for frequent dips with the ducks. The ducks didn't appreciate our presence and tried to bite anyone who came too close. We had nachos for lunch then around 4pm we went to the bank and then the pharmacy to pick up some anti-malarials (£6 for both of us for rest of the trip - Honduras is meant to be high risk; so were the San Blas but we didn't realise!).

    We got our backpacks and walked towards the bus stop when we were stopped and herded onto a small minibus. It was jam-packed already but they squished us in on top of everyone. Thankfully we soon got seats and the bus raced along, barely stopping to pick up or throw off passengers. It's not called the Express service for nothing! It took just over an hour to reach the capital, Managua (25C).

    We got an official taxi (225C) for the short ride to the Tica Bus hotel ($23), which is a bit of a dingy place with shared bathrooms, but is part of the terminal so is much safer. Now we are inside it's recommended we stay inside! Managua is renowned as a dodgy place, there are some horror stories involving taxi kidnaps & robberies and people warned us to be careful. However, you can't really avoid it going to Honduras unless you take a slow route on the chicken buses and we don't have time. Tomorrow's bus leaves at 5:30am and there were no buses to get us here that early so we were forced to spend the night. There is a small shop on-site so we had a healthy dinner of crisps and m&ms and are now holed up for the night!

    Tomorrow we cross the border. I knew nothing about Nicaragua before our visit. It has unexpectedly turned into one of our favourite countries and we'd love to spend longer here and hope to return. It's cheap, it's not shiny and Americanised, it's completely charming and it has the best coffee and chocolate so far. But most of all, the people are absolutely lovely and welcoming, as are all the Latinos, but here even more so. Plus it has a chocolate hotel - need I say more?!    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Honduras: Brewery with no brews

    2015年9月27日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    100L = £3. $ also widely accepted.

    We had a restless sleep in the sweatbox of a room that is the Tica Bus hotel, helped eventually by pouring rain and a thunderstorm which cooled us down.

    We dragged our weary bodies and got on the 5:30am Tica Bus ($41), our first proper long-distance bus in a while. Not as nice as the SA buses (no food / blankets etc) but a great improvement on the chicken buses of late. We both promptly fell back asleep for 3 hours, crossed the border with no issues (the bus people did the passports) and fell back asleep for another 4 hours.

    Honduras is far more mountainous than Nicaragua so we were soon back to crawling along winding roads. At 4:30pm we got off the bus at La Guama, which is little more than a layby with a couple of shops. We didn't have to wait for long to get a chicken bus to Peña Blanca (15 mins, 15L) and then a minivan to our hostel (5 mins, 5L).

    We checked into D&D Brewery ($17.50), chosen because it broke up our journey nicely and is a brewery. It is situated near the  large Lake Yojoa and the open-air bar / restaurant has a bonfire and is nicely lit making us feel like we are in the jungle again. In fact a rather large, jumping spider greeted us as we opened our door, eek! Compared to our bed in the chocolate hotel, this one is tiny! Barely bigger than a single bed. And no towels. Not overly impressed, but then it's cheap.

    We had dinner of veggie burritos and tacos and chocolate cake - bland and overpriced. Anna started her beer drinking but was most annoyed that from the menu of 42 beers, there were only a handful available :( Apparently it was fully stocked the night before and a large group had wiped it out! It started to rain shortly after we sat down - luckily it's covered, but it was cold and I had to put on my fleece and trousers for the first time in ages!!! There were a lot of smokers and some noisy screaming children which ruined the ambience somewhat.

    Anna had 4 beers which enabled me to thrash her at chess, draughts and scrabble! At 9pm they stopped serving, which seemed ridiculously early. It was still raining when we went up to bed and the rain made a horrendous, erratic noise on this roof, so much so I had to put earplugs in.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Hannah brings us treats!!!

    2015年9月28日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    I was awoken at 7am by a huge glob of something falling on my arm and shoulder! It had rained so hard in the night that the plaster above our heads had started to drip. We were fearful of the whole ceiling caving in so didn't try to get back to sleep. We went down and had blueberry pancakes which were lovely, though took a few attempts for the staff to understand 2 lots of pancakes & 1 coffee for some reason. Total cost for accommodation, dinner, breakfast and 4 beers was 1,236L (£37). We spoke to the owner who said the lack of beers was due to an unexpectedly huge crowd of locals on Independence Day that they haven't fully recovered from and the new shipment is being held at port by the authorities.

    Then we packed our bags and wandered to the road where we only waited a few minutes before a minivan turned up and took us to San Pedro Sula (2 hours, 50L). SPS is supposedly one of the most dangerous cities in the world due to it's high murder rate (beaten only by El Salvador I believe). Travellers are warned against going to SPS and yet you pretty much have to as it's a main transport hub. Likely the danger is overhyped as the issues are gang / drugs related, however there have been attacks on tourists so we were on high alert. Possibly it was unwise to arrive on a chicken bus, possibly it was the safest way. As we approached SPS we noticed armed guards everywhere. There was a plain-looking Chinese restaurant with two guards outside armed with huge rifles - seemed a little excessive so I think it was a cover for some dodgy dealings. If it wasn't for all the hype, we wouldn't have noticed much difference from any other big city.

    We arrived at the bus terminal unscathed, ignored one dodgy bloke, and waited in the food hall with a burger king and juice. On our second sweep of the terminal we found my sister, Hannah, who has come to join us for a holiday. We don't plan to do much actual travelling so it'll be a more relaxing couple of weeks for us :)

    We got the bus to La Ceiba, on the northern coast of Honduras, (Viana, 365L, 3.5 hours) which had blankets, drinks and an unidentified pastry snack. We took a collectivo taxi (30L each) to Gran Paris Hotel. They had no record of our reservation and tried to sell us a room for $85. The one I'd reserved was $58 - he told us the difference was taxes. I showed him on a calculator his math sucked and suddenly he agreed to my calculations of $68!

    Hannah unpacked and gave us our treats!!! Flipflops and phone cover for Anna, salt and vinegar square crisps, daim & picnic bars, Reese's cups, tampons (uber expensive here), ibuprofen and some face wash and cream for me. We started our anti-malarials (Plaquinol) and sampled some of our treats.

    We jumped in the pool and then headed out for dinner. We couldn't see much nearby and although the hotel guy assured us it was safe, we didn't want to wander too far. Hannah was wilting fast due to being up for over 36 hours - 3 planes, 2 buses and 2 taxis - so we went to Pizza Hut around the corner (220L - meal prices just for me & A).

    Hannah crashed straight after at about 8:30pm and we guzzled some of our chocolates and tried to stay quiet so as not to disturb sleeping beauty. The lights kept going on and off, presumably due to power failures but a generator kicked in almost immediately.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    La Ceiba

    2015年9月29日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We all woke up early and had the breakfast of beans, plantain, cheese and ham. Then we had a fruitless search for some tour companies before visiting the beach. La Ceiba lives up to LP's assertion that it's a dump! It certainly isn't geared up for tourists. We didn't pass any nice looking restaurants, the beach was fairly non-existent and dirty looking and the central park was a concrete block.

    It's one saving grace (which may save it from being in the top 3 dumps of our travels) is a small park next to the hotel with lush trees, plants, animal statues and old trains which were used to transport fruit. One other notable bonus point is that we had coconuts for 13L which are some of the cheapest yet and very tasty.

    We spent the afternoon at the pool and then got a taxi to the port (50L each). We took a tin-can type speedy ferry to Utila, one of the Bay Islands (1 hr; 802L return).

    On arrival we were bombarded with hostels offering one nights free accommodation to try and lure you to dive with them. We ended up going to Utila Dive Company which were really friendly and very professional. We were then dropped off at their sister hotel, Mango Inn, which has a jungly setting and a nice pool. We were given a dorm for just us three which was nice and wooden and fairly spacious but had shaky bunk beds, lumpy mattresses and smelt a bit of wee! But it's free and we were tired and couldn't be bothered to lug our bags elsewhere. We were promised a non-dorm room the following night but decided to shop around a bit. The place was rammed full of people, mostly Americans, and seemed a bit noisy for us. It's the most touristy place we've visited yet by far.

    We went to Captain Morgan's, which is where I had originally wanted to go, based purely on the fact that it's piratey. The rooms were marginally more expensive but looked shiny clean, new and were en-suite; the vibe was far more chilled, it is right on the beach and the diving is cheaper. Far better option for us, so we booked in for the following night.

    We had street-food 'gringas' for dinner which seem to be a cross between a quesadilla and a taco. They were yummy and 35L each. I had one, the others had a couple each. There was a brief, heavy downpour but it soon stopped for our walk back.

    We had come here hoping to see whale sharks but both dive companies said there have been few sightings recently; we will have to do a whale shark dance to encourage them to come and visit us!!    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Utila: diving refresher

    2015年9月30日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We awoke early again and had breakfast at Thomson's Bakery, drawn in by the wondrous smells. We had fresh, hot cinnamon rolls (12L each) which were divine, and yummy pancakes (35L for two).

    We checked out of Mango Inn and into Captain Morgan's. The people in our intended room had extended their stay so they put us in a small room with a double bed and a single bunk on top. It had a shared bathroom with only 1 toilet and shower for a lot of people so not the best but far cleaner than last night and they gave it to us for free. We sat down with a free welcome drink and filled in some paperwork by the beach.

    We wandered to the nearby beach and went snorkelling (free gear from hostel). The beach was beautiful and the water warm and clear. It was just sea grass apart from some sunken concrete blocks which attracted a few fishes including angels and trumpets. The actual reef is apparently further up past the beach. When I got out a huge fly tried to bite me so I ran back into the water and sunbathing was out of the question!

    We walked back and were about to head out for lunch when an instructor said it would be a good idea to do a refresher course as we hadn't dived in a while. Since it was only $20 we agreed and went over the basics, did the usual drills, and went for a short swim around the pier not seeing much.

    Utila is renowned for it's sand flies and they viciously attacked us throughout the briefing and as soon as we got out. Nasty little things. The mozzies were out in force too :(

    We went to dinner at Mario's Place with an Aussie, Kaitlyn, who had done the course with us. We had frozen lemonade, Hannah and I had enchiladas, and Anna had fish (335L). Utila has one main concrete 'street' with not much room for all the tuktuks, motorbikes and golf carts racing along and big crabs crawling along in the gutters beside the road.

    We decided to pay the $10 to have aircon as it was so hot and we weren't paying for the room. Anna was too hot, Hannah was too cold...can't please them all.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Dolphins, a shipwreck and a toadfish

    2015年10月1日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We were up at 6:30am, set up our dive gear and left at 7:15am. A short boat trip later and we were at our first dive site: Ted's Point. Our DM, Jordi, was a very chatty hyperactive guy from Barcelona. There was one other girl called Sara in our group. There were about 8 other people on the boat, which wasn't very big - by far the most cramped dive boat I've ever been on. Anna came on the boat and snorkelled, turning her back a lovely shade of lobster.

    We got into our gear and Hannah's BCD wasn't inflating due to a dodgy reg. While this was being sorted some dolphins appeared and Jordi yelled at us to get in quick. We hurried and descended immediately but the only sign of them were the high pitched whistles we could hear. We carried on down to a small boat wreck on it's side and then ascended slowly via the reefs. The visibility was fantastic, the corals were beautiful, lots of blues and purples, however not too many fish. We saw teeny nudibranchs, a huge blueish crab, a ray and held a tiny spindly arrow crab. We switched over our tanks and the boat captain hunted for dolphins for us, but to no avail. It was a pretty short break before our second dive, which was at Big Rock. We started off on a shallow, sandy area looking for black seahorses but didn't find them. We then went a little deeper and stayed on the reef. Our sights included a toadfish, moray eel, cowfish, pufferfish and others. Again, not tons of fish but the reef looked amazing and it was a nice dive.

    We degeared and started to head back. Hannah came up and sprayed me with a mouthful of crackers as she yelped 'dolphins!'. We all lined up with fins and snorkels on the back of the boat as they started bowriding. On the captain's shout we were supposed to slide gracefully off the back but in reality we all jumped and splashed, obscuring all visibility. Once the bubbles had cleared most of us saw the pod of ~8 swim quite far below us. Hannah missed them. They didn't hang around so we got back on the boat and found them again and jumped back in. This time Hannah saw them, whilst I didn't. Anna was lucky enough to see them both times. Again they didn't stay around, which apparently they often do so we headed back. We each had to tip the captain 200L for the dolphins - it's 300L for whale sharks if we get that lucky, a fee I will gladly pay! We got back just after midday.

    When we returned we were given the exciting news that an en-suite room was available so we moved our stuff over. We went for brunch at a nearby cafe - Hotspot. I had a great smoothie and coconut bread with peanut butter (70L), Anna had the traditional breakfast incl coffee (100L) and Hannah had a quesadilla and smoothie (100L).

    I went back to our room and promptly fell asleep. The others soon joined me and we all had a much-needed nap. We chilled for the rest of the afternoon. Hannah went to sunbathe but I didn't want to risk the sand flies.

    We wandered along the main street searching for a place to eat. They were all offering similar menus but at American rates so we ended up back at last night's place. I bought a huge mozzy zapper (250L), which looks like a tennis racquet and emits a blue light to lure the little buggers before zapping them. The other end is a torch. I have not really suffered with the mozzies on this trip so far (Anna has), but the ones here are vicious and we are all covered in bites that itch like crazy :( Hannah almost froze us to death with her Arctic aircon preferences - we need to get her adapted quick!    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Beach BBQ

    2015年10月2日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    A loud crack of thunder woke us up just after 6am and it started to pour down. We all went back to sleep and it continued to rain for a few hours. After a nice long sleep we headed to breakfast at Hotspot cafe and I had a huge bowl of fruit (70L), Anna had a fruit crepe (90L) and Hannah had a nutella crepe - she claims it had too much nutella which makes me think she might have sunstroke. It didn't stop her joining us for a cinnamon roll though.

    Then it was chill time. Hannah and I lay in hammocks whilst the lobster hid inside. Hannah and Anna later went to the Iguana Research Centre (donations only) to see some Swamper iguanas but didn't stay long as there were literally hundreds of mozzies vying for their blood! I meanwhile was happily dozing in the sun on the docks - the wind was keeping the bugs away and the temperature was just perfect. They came back and went snorkelling off the dock, however couldn't see a thing due to silt from the rainwater run-off. We then all went for a quick sunset kayak (free). We found a patch of jumping fish and hoped dolphins might come and investigate but flipper & co must have been busy.

    There was a beach BBQ at the hostel in the evening (120L). I had a quick veggie fajita instead from the bar (70L). It took them a while to get the BBQ going (they resorted to using dive tank oxygen!) and then ages to cook enough food for everyone. There were free shots, some of the best fire poi I've ever seen by DM Jordi and another guy, and beer pong. We didn't join in as we have an early dive tomorrow morning, however it was a lovely atmosphere and the mozzies were kept at bay with insect coils everywhere.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Bringing the roof down

    2015年10月3日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    There was heavy rain for most of the night and we were awoken by several deafening claps of thunder. It was still drizzling when we got up early for diving. The instructors were late after the night before but we eventually got going.  The rain had stopped thankfully.

    Our first dive, at Labyrinth, was good - lots of swim throughs, an eagle ray, a turtle and a huge crab. Despite the heavy rain during the night, the visibility was not too bad. Still not many fish. Jordi and many of the other DMs were really excited by the turtle - not a very common sight here. We were with 2 other pairs who had just done their advanced. They were among some of the worst divers I've ever seen with no buoyancy control or awareness of anyone else. Thankfully they went behind us during the swim through as they kicked up so much sand it looked like a sandstorm.

    After a very quick break, we had our second dive at Laguna Beach. It wasn't overly exciting but there were a few more fish including a school of blue tangs and there were some pretty sights, especially when the sun came out briefly.

    We had breakfast at the same spot - Anna and I shared a fruit crepe and a nutella crepe (sadly not as much chocolate as Hannah's yesterday). Hannah was healthy and had fruit, yoghurt and granola. It started to rain again so we hid in our rooms for a short while. When it cleared we headed out for our daily cinnamon roll, after which we headed to the Mango Inn, our first hostel, in search of hummingbirds. We saw a couple briefly but Hannah wasn't able to get photos. We then headed to the Driftwood Gallery but were barked away by 3 fierce-looking dogs. Don't think the owner was home. Hannah very kindly bought us all Captain Morgan t-shirts...so nice to have something different to wear! And something clean! Not for long though!

    After a quick nap Hannah and I sunbathed on the dock and Anna bought us nutella choc pots, spicy crisps and iced tea. It was sunny and the perfect temperature - perfect until the flies started nibbling me as dusk approached.

    We went to the vegan restaurant, Seahorse, with Kaitlyn, which is beautifully decorated with seahorses, other sea-themed things and a lot of mosaic tiles! Hannah and I had Thai red curry, the others had peanut sauce dishes. All were delicious (385L for me & Anna). Kaitlyn had recovered from a dodgy tummy due to eating raw plantain. She and Hannah had bought them thinking they were bananas. Turns out raw plantain is bad for you!

    Hannah then taught us to play monopoly deal on the balcony. Just as we were getting the hang of it a piece of the rain-swollen roof plaster fell down. We got up and moved away just as a huge piece came crashing down onto my chair, which would have given me a sore head! Everyone came to investigate the noise, the mess was swept up and the owner, Kevin, came to have a look. One of the staff, David, gave us a beer each 'for our nerves'. I donated mine to Anna, Hannah to Luis (reception guy). David gave us a game called Crimes Against Humanity which was really funny. Later he and an Israeli guy, Kfir joined in. Luckily our laughter didn't bring the entire house down! The second time in a week that roof plaster has fallen on me!!    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    An active day

    2015年10月4日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We all slept in, then headed to our usual cafe for breakfast. Unfortunately it is closed on Sundays but luckily the bakery wasn't so we stocked up on pancakes and more cinnamon rolls. We then went in search of iced coffee for Anna but it was closed. We did however see an iguana. We stopped at another place for smoothies but they were weak and tasteless.

    We suncreamed up and headed down to use the kayaks but by the time we were ready some kiwis had taken them out. We chilled in the hammocks for an hour or so until they returned and then paddled around the bay for an hour. It was lovely to be out on the water and be in the sun without getting too hot. Afterwards, we went for a snorkel and jumped / dived / somersaulted off the dock.

    Next on Drill Sergeant Hannah's Agenda (she hasn't quite adjusted to slow paced island life yet): a walk to a snorkelling point 20 minutes up the road. We passed the beach we had previously snorkelled off which had been deserted, which was transformed at the weekends - full of locals with music everywhere. When we reached the snorkelling spot, it was 50L to access the pier - we didn't know about this and hadn't bought any money. There was nobody around but we felt uneasy about using it so walked back.

    Then to complete our active day Anna and I went for another snorkel off the dock and found the big green moray eel and watched the beautiful sunset. We had fajitas with Katelin at the hostel bar then had an early night as we were all shattered - more exercise than we've done in ages...nice to be active again.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Wrecks and rubbish

    2015年10月5日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Hannah was up and out in the early morning sun to work on her tan. We were not! I tried to be adventurous for breakfast and order the local cheap food: Baleada (30L), a thick tortilla with beans and salad - however it also had egg in it so I wouldn't touch it. Anna kindly had it instead and shared her fruit crepe with me. We resisted cinnamon rolls but Hannah bought us one for lunch.

    I lazed in the hammock until midday when we set up our dive gear. Our DM was a Honduran called Andrea. We were also accompanied by 3 young American trainee DMs who were annoying and poor divers.

    Our first dive site was very close to the hostel: Halliburton wreck, a 30m cargo ship. It was a pretty good dive despite not great visibility. There weren't many fishes or parts you could swim through properly but you could go down onto the deck and swim through the wheelhouse which had a creepy doll's head in it. There were also a few random bicycles on the seafloor - the DMTs tried to ride it and cut their hands on the corals - idiots. It was a bit chaotic at the end of the dive as both groups exited at the same time - would be far better to stagger it. One of the DMTs completely ran out of air - too much energy spent getting in everyone's way!

    Our second dive site: Black Coral Wall, was strewn with tons of rubbish on the surface - unclear why but there was tons everywhere. The dive was boring with uncolourful coral, poor visibility and again few fishes. The water also had a greenish tinge to it. Andrea spent ages looking for a frogfish - unsuccessfully. Worst dive here by far.

    Once we got back we lay on the dock in the last of the sun and then I picked up our laundry (80L for a carrier bag) and saw a couple of hummingbirds on their feeder. We had dinner at Fookin Wok - pricey but portions were big enough to share so we got two dishes and all tucked in. Food was delicious with tons of veggies. We had iced tea which was disgusting - they forgot to charge us and we didn't correct them as it was so foul. We all fell asleep really early.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Non-northside dives

    2015年10月6日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We were up early for two dives on the north side - supposedly better diving but wind has prevented us from going there before. We had DM Andrea again plus Katelin and 2 DMTs.

    Our first site was a wall dive: Raggedy Cay. It was the best dive here so far...the corals weren't as colourful as the south side but there were far more fish and they always make it more pretty and interesting for me. We saw a barracuda, a big green eel, tons of tiny blue fish, blue tangs, parrots. Still not on the level of Asia or Egypt though.

    Our second site was Stingray Point. Andrea spent the first 20 minutes searching little growths in the sand for tiny creatures. She gleefully showed us a slug-type thing that was half a cm long. We were bored...then fed up. The lack of large, pelagic species seems to have led all the DMs to focus on tiny animals without considering the paying customers might not care less! Eventually we moved onto the reef which was ok but the visibility wasn't great and there was a green tinge again. My ears started hurting so I ascended a bit and stayed above everyone - far better fish life above anyway. It was a rubbish dive - my highlight was a huge triggerfish. Andrea has never seen a whale shark and she's been a DM for 3 years!!! This makes us doubt how often they actually see whale sharks!

    It started raining on the way back and we all got a bit cold. We had breakfast of nutella crêpes and cinnamon buns and went for a walk around town. We stopped in at a freediving place but costs were over $200 for a 2 day course - unsure why it's so high when little equipment is involved. It started to rain as we walked back and we were soon soaked. I got cold and felt a bit drained so stayed in bed for most of the afternoon. It was pouring with rain so I didn't miss much.

    I checked a dive map and discovered our first site was on the West coast, the second was definitely southside. We had specifically asked for northside and said we didn't want to go anywhere else so were pretty pissed off. Katelin went to ask why and was told that there weren't enough fun divers to finance a northside trip! Most of the divers were DMTs. Katelin has been here 2 weeks and never been to the northside despite them saying all the morning dives are northside. They claim to be the dive school going most to the northside but seem to be lying! Grrr...I feel a TripAdvisor review coming on.

    We went to Mario's Place for dinner then played Monopoly Deal and Uno before heading to bed tired.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Seahorses

    2015年10月7日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    For once I had a healthy breakfast of a smoothie and baleada (15L, no eggs!). I even turned down a cinnamon roll despite the others scoffing them. We went to buy more bug spray as we are using a bucket load here (and still getting eaten alive) plus granola for Roatan which we expect to be pricey. I showed Hannah the hummingbird feeder at the laundry and we were in luck - 2 were there. She got great photos with her fancy camera; ours were less impressive on Anna's phone.

    Hannah spent most of the day sunbathing on the dock. Anna was having asthma troubles so I stayed in the room with her and then we went down to the bar for iced tea (amazing homemade stuff) and chips.

    Later we swam over to the Tranquila Bar dock where Andrea had told us there were 5-6 resident seahorses - very useful info so we will forgive her slightly for being obsessed with looking for tiny creatures on our dives. Anna was still breathless so I towed her most of the way and then we hunted around and under the docks. After fifteen minutes of searching I found a couple of orangey red seahorses hanging on a rope. They didn't seem at all perturbed by our presence and photo-taking. Anna got cold so I towed her back as the sun was setting.

    We waited for Katelin to come back from her night dive (she saw tons of bioluminescent plankton) and then went to Fookin Wok, ordered 3 dishes and ended up with tons of leftovers. We donated ours to Katelin who has only 100L to last her until Monday - banks are closed due to bank holiday! We played more Monopoly Deal and Anna finally won!

    Cost of Captain Morgan's:
    Room = $13 plus $3 aircon each per night per person (hot water)
    $20 refresher dive (v cheap compared to many places)
    $242 for 8 fun dives ($30 per dive)
    $20 for Anna to come out on boat 4 times to snorkel    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Roatan

    2015年10月8日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We had baleadas and smoothies again for our last visit to the Hotspot 'fly' cafe. We checked out and put our bags in Katelin's room. We headed out for a snorkel but soon turned back after being stung numerous times by tiny jellyfish - luckily the pain didn't last long. We hung out by the bar until our 2pm boat back to the mainland. We said our goodbyes to the lovely staff and DMs - definitely the friendliest hostel of our travels, I could have stayed a lot longer if it weren't for the bugs. Katelin came to wave us off and fetch cinnamon rolls for us.

    Someone had stolen our leftovers (plus other people's) from the fridge. Jess, the receptionist, was reviewing the CCTV footage as we were leaving to find the culprits. Wrong as it might be, we all suspected the newly arrived Hondurans who had been drinking heavily and leaving a lot of mess around.

    We got back to La Ceiba and had an hour to buy new tickets, have a coconut and get some caramel popcorn. The boat to Roatan, Galaxy Wave, is a proper big ferry rather than the tin can that goes to Utila. The terminal is also a big posh affair with security scanners whereas Utila just has a ticket booth. The poshness is reflected in a higher ferry price ($65 return). We were almost the only gringos on the boat.

    We left at 4:30pm. An hour and a half of freezing aircon and a basketball movie later and we arrived at Roatan. There was a beautiful sunset and we saw a huge cruise liner leaving the island.

    We got a taxi for $20 with a very nice driver, Juan Carlos, and booked him for the return journey - took about 35 mins. There is just one main road along the island and he said there are 410 taxis for all the tourists. Roatan is much bigger than Utila at 65km long whereas Utila is ~15km. Tourists are located in West End (cheaper area) and West Bay (pricey).

    He dropped us off at Chillies, which is at the West End in Half Moon Bay ($39), where we were shown our new lodgings: a very cute wooden cabin nestled in a jungle setting with barely room to swing the furry reception cat, and with just a curtain separating the bathroom.

    We went for a wander along the beach front which is paved but has no pavements and has restaurants and bars either side. It is much less built up than I'd been lead to believe and is a lovely cute place. Many of the restaurants are a bit fancy and prices are in dollars ($8-15 for a main) but there are a few cheaper ones and a fair bit of street food.

    We had dinner at Creole's, a cheap and busy place. I had a 'small' bean and cheese quesadilla which was plenty (60L), Hannah had a large version (100L) which she couldn't finish and Anna had chicken, rice, beans & coleslaw (120L) and drinks for 25L each. Very reasonable prices and lovely food - I suspect this will become our regular. We had thought we'd have to be cooking for ourselves but it's much cheaper than we'd feared.

    My new nickname is Soggy Tits Sparrow courtesy of Katelin due to my bikini sodden wet t-shirt and then me telling the taxi driver I am a pirate!

    We were told by one of the guys at Captain Morgan's that everyone in Honduras should carry their passport at all times and if police catch you without it they can put you in jail for a night! We had not heard of this before and I find it unlikely they'd target Westerners but good to know!!!    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Attack of the moray eel

    2015年10月9日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We had breakfast at the cute little shack in front of the hostel named Yahongreh? (You hungry?). I had fruit salad (50L), the others had 2 huge banana pancakes (80L) which they struggled to finish. Again, surprisingly low prices for great food with a sea view. We picked up a gallon of water for 50L, which is also v cheap. We saw several hummingbirds whilst we ate.

    A few people have been telling us how they don't like the mainland Hondurans who are from the capital or SPS - they are rude, messy and look down on the workers. So much so that 'Roatans' don't like to be called Hondurans as they don't like the association.

    We went to talk to the dive shop next door, Native Sons, and signed up for an afternoon dive. They are very chilled, have no other customers at the moment and set up your equipment for you. Price is the same as Utila - $30 per dive, with a $5 discount per room for each day you dive; you also have to pay $10 a week for marine conservation but get a cool band as a keepsake. $5 for Anna to snorkel. The equipment looks much newer - saying that the snorkel leaked and my reg hissed each time I breathed!

    We went for a snorkel (free hire for divers) in the bay in front of the hostel. There are marked off areas to protect the reef and snorkellers from boat traffic. It starts off as seagrass but then turns into a fairly decent, large reef with a fair few fish. The highlight was about 5 glowing squid. I had a baleada (20L) and Hannah had fruit salad while Anna munched on crackers for lunch.

    There are 3 dives per day - the boat comes in after each dive since all the dive sites are so close. This means each dive can be longer which is another bonus. We went on the 2pm dive and were the only ones going on the huge, spacious boat which is specifically designed for diving. A bit of a change! Our DM was called Eddie, a man of few words but who was always checking to make sure we were with him unlike the last few DMs we've had. There was another guy called Alan who used to work here and was lionfish hunting - one of my favourite fish from Asia, it's not native here and is considered a pest species as it eats everything in sight and is decimating the reef life. They have introduced lionfish to the menu to try and get demand up so more people will go hunting, however they have poisonous spines so some people aren't keen!

    The dive site was called Fish Den and was the best dive we've done in Honduras by far. The coral was plentiful and varied but not overly colourful; the visibility was great and there were loads of fish. We swam through valleys of coral and a couple of long swim-throughs. We saw a small hawksbill turtle and at the safety stop a huge green moral eel swam by and stayed with us for about 5 minutes. At one point it was coming for me, getting closer and closer as I gently tried to move away, and I started to fear he was going to attack! Eek! Apparently they do attack divers carrying lionfish.

    Alan caught 5 lionfish. We saw him catch 2 of them. He gave them to the boat skipper who filleted them and offered them to us - Anna took a couple of bits and fried them up in coconut oil and we all had a taste - typical whitefish flavour. Can't get much fresher than that!!!

    We soaked up some sun and then explored some of the shops. Rusty Fish is a very cool shop with tons of colourful, sea-themed knick knacks made of recycled material. Hannah got some great bargains from there. Anna and I headed to the Chocolate Factory shop and tasted all the samples but at $5 for a tiny bar, we didn't buy any. Anna asked if we could tour the nearby factory and they called the owner who said he'd pick us up and take us on a tour for free. He was bery enthusiastic but I'm not sure we'll take him up on his offer as we'd feel pressured to buy things.

    We went back to the same restaurant and then had a drink at Sundowner's, the bar opposite the hostel. We sat on sun loungers by the sea, with a bonfire and candles lighting up the area, listening to some good live music. Lovely atmosphere! There are plenty of crabs here too, on the beach, on the path to our cabin, or rustling in the bushes.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Chocolate factory and ginormous fishes

    2015年10月10日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We went for the 9am dive to El Aguila (The Eagle) wreck, a 30m cargo ship which was deliberately sunk and then broken into 3 by a hurricane soon afterwards. The visibility was great and there several swim-thrus, plus it's next to a reef so a far better dive than the Utila wreck we did. We were with Eddy and Allen again, plus an Israeli girl called Jenny who was miles behind us most of the time filming things.

    The stern is on it's side so as we entered it and then swam down a level it felt really funny as there was a slight current and it was hard to tell which way was up. We then swam around the stern and saw a big eel garden full of tiny grass eels poking their heads out of the sand. We then swam across the destroyed middle section and onto the bow which had several levels to swim through. On one, Eddy swam in through one door and a ginormous snapper swam out the other door - it was dark so he had no idea what the huge monster was at first. After a tight squeeze out of the hatch at the front of the boat we headed towards the reef which was covered with big groupers and snappers. I've never seen so many huge fish, it was amazing! They were completely unfazed by us and you could swim right up to them. We continued to swim around the coral, through valleys and small swim-thrus. It was a beautiful dive - my best in a long time!

    When we got back we had breakfast and then walked to the ATM but it wouldn't give us any money. We phoned the chocolate factory owner and arranged to meet at his shop. We met him, Vidal, and his Scottish wife, Jodie, who were absolutely lovely and they took us to the 'factory' 5 mins away which is a small shop that the cruise ships stop at, with a small area behind where the chocolate is made. Vidal talked us through the whole process which takes a long time and is very small-scale. We tried raw, fermented and then roasted cacao beans plus numerous samples of the finished products with various flavours; plus some starfruit truffles which were delicious! We also tried some plum and hibiscus jams which were really tasty. He was really enthusiatic and didn't expect us to buy anything, however we got 5 bars for $20.

    He also offered to solve our money crisis which was very kind by letting us make a credit card transaction and just charging us the 4% which is far better than the 19% which the hostel charges. Anna and I walked to his shop to do this and then got a couple of pieces from Rusty Fish. We returned to find Hannah in the sea.

    We grabbed some snorkel gear and headed out in the bay searching for a sunken submarine. We climbed onto a small sailing boat which has a swing rope for public use and swung off a few times which was great fun. It was fairly hard to get the rope back for the next person and luckily there was a guy there to help us rock the boat. The guy also showed us where the submarine was and we saw the huge green moray eel that lives there.

    We went for dinner at a busy street food place with tables and chairs in front of a supermarket. For 100L we had plates of kebab or chicken, plantain, coconut rice & beans and salsa - really good food! Anna had the most ginormous piece of fried chicken.

    When we returned a cockroach was sat on Anna's toothbrush - luckily she has a spare! We later found it on the toothpaste - obviously likes fresh breath.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    West Bay & an underwater galaxy

    2015年10月11日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We went on the 9am dive to Turtle Crossing - sadly no turtles. It was a nice dive but nothing special. We went on a catamaran this time and got to lie on the trapeze looking down at the crystal clear water. We went with British DM Andrew who was a bit moody, and Jenny and 3 American guys who all refused to come up at the end and pissed Andrew off even more.

    Andrew gave us all a $5 voucher if we promised to write a TripAdvisor review so we had a big free breakfast of pancakes and fruit.

    There weren't enough people to do a night dive here so I arranged one with Sun Divers across the road for $50 and they kindly agreed to let Anna come and snorkel for $10. Hannah decided not to come as it's pricey.

    Then we got a 10 minute water taxi for 60L each to West Bay, where the rich people stay! It's a beautiful white sand, turquoise water beach with no sand flies. A lot of the beach is reserved with hotel sunbeds for the posh people but us commoners walked to the far end and found some shade under some palm trees. There is a huge reef just off the shore and we took it in turns to snorkel and sunbathe / guard our bags. Anna and Hannah saw a hawksbill turtle. Anna and I couldn't find the turtle again but did see a gigantic parrot fish. There was a nice wind making it the perfect sunbaking temperature.

    We came back and Hannah went snorkelling again in Half Moon Bay and saw another turtle.

    Anna and I prepared for our dive by eating yesterday's chocolate! Just before sunset we went and got geared up and headed out on the boat and moored up not too far out (site = Deep Channel?). DM Sofia gave us a long briefing and then we went in with 4 others. We saw octopuses, lobsters, a huge crab waving it's claws, long sea cucumber 'snakes', a file fish, dead-looking sleeping fish, a parrot fish in it's sac and various other things. All around you could see little pairs of red eyes and when you shone the torch on them, they were tiny red shrimp. Half-way through the dive we knelt on the bottom and turned our torches off for 10 minutes. Once our eyes adjusted the whole ocean lit up into an underwater galaxy - it was amazing! Bubbles and any movement caused green bioluminescence and all around you could see the 'string of pearls', which is a very rare thing only seen in Roatan and one other place apparently. They are small crustaceans which light up as they move up and down in the water creating the appearance of a row of flashing lights - a mating display (photo is from web to give an idea). The end result was tons of lights all around us - awesome! After over an hour we came up and the sea was flat calm and the sky was lit up above us with masses of stars, absolutely stunning.

    The boat had moved to the end of the dive where it was shallower and Anna went snorkelling and saw a huge green moray eel and the bioluminescence - she absolutely loved it.

    We got back to shore, showered quickly and headed out to dinner. Creole's was shut as it's Sunday so we ate at the same place as last night. I asked for vegetarian and got chicken-fried rice. Not as good as last night's meal.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Utila vs Roatan

    2015年10月11日, グアテマラ ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    We went to both on backpacker budgets and were surprised to find that you can survive on Roatan for the same price as Utila. Hopefully the below may help as we struggled to find good advice aimed at backpackers before we went. We would have stayed longer at Roatan had we known it was as  cheap.

    Accommodation: we stayed at Captain Morgan's in Utila and Chillies in Roatan. Both were the same price - $39 per night for 3 people with hot water, en-suite. CM charged $10 extra for AC, Chillies only had a fan which was fine. I'd recommend both places as really lovely hostels.

    Food: there is more choice for cheap eats in Utila, our favourites were Mario's Place, Hotspot Cafe & Foo King Wok (pricey but can share dishes; don't touch the iced tea!). Roatan has more pricey restaurants but there is plenty of street food and a great place called Creole's down past the casino which has good, cheap food. Yahongrey? is a small shack at Chillies which does cheap breakfasts and lunches. On average we paid 100-150L for dinner = £3-4.

    Diving: From our experience of 8 dives in Utila vs 4 in Roatan, Roatan wins hands-down for visibility, more fishes, larger fishes and more variety. Best dive was El Aguila wreck in Roatan. Roatan dives start later (9am) versus 7am in Utila. Utila squeeze 2 dives into the morning and 2 in the afternoon making the dives shorter with minimum surface interval. The boats in Utila are small and crammed full. I believe Utila is cheaper for courses and free dorms are the norm - resulted in a lot of inexperienced divers kicking us!

    Snorkelling: Roatan has good reefs to snorkel off the beach at Half Moon Bay and West Bay. There is a submarine wreck in HMB with a big moray eel (near the boat with a swing) and we saw hawksbill turtles at both points. Utila has some reef snorkelling off the beach but it's not great; however you can see moray eels and seahorses under some of the docks. Both places let snorkellers on the dive boats for $5 a trip and the snorkelling was decent.

    Beaches: Utila was worse for sand flies; you can't lie on the beach without getting bitten, but you can lie on the docks. West Bay didn't have any sand flies.

    Beauty: West Bay is a gorgeous white sand, turquoise water beach; Roatan is a much prettier island.

    Whale sharks & dolphins: Utila has the possibility of seeing whale sharks but the chances of seeing them seems quite exaggerated - October is supposed to be peak season but when we went they hadn't been spotted for 3 weeks. One of our DMs had been there for 3 years and never seen one. Boats do search for whale sharks and dolphins imbetween dives - if they spot them and you want to go snorkelling, you pay a small fee to the captain.

    Nightlife: Utila has a huge party scene with free shots and cheap drink offers every night. Roatan has a lively bar - Sundowner's which had live music, and a lovely setting on the beach with a bonfire.

    Trips: In Utila, we didn't go, but you can take a day trip to the Cays for $15 which are supposed to be beautiful beaches with snorkelling and no sand flies. If there is a group of you, you can rent a private island for a couple of nights to at a very reasonable price. In Roatan, it costs $6 return for a water taxi from West End / Half Moon to West Bay.

    Shops: Roatan has better shops. Rusty Fish has funky recycled things that make great souvenirs. The chocolate factory sells lovely chocolate & the owner will happily give you a free tour of the factory if you ask.

    Conclusion: For us (3 girls in their early thirties who aren't into heavy drinking), I'd rate Roatan way above Utila. I'm glad I went to both but I wish we had spent more time in Roatan. I'd return to Roatan, not to Utila.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    White water rafting

    2015年10月12日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Our previous taxi driver picked us up at 6am for the 7am ferry back to the mainland. There we met Katelin and got a taxi ($18) for the half hour drive up a very bumpy road to Omega Tours Ecolodge. It's a beautiful jungly place near the Rio Cangrejal in Pico Bonito owned by a German couple. The husband has built the place from scratch and done a great job. We have two rooms, sharing a bathroom with 2 other rooms but they are unoccupied so we have the place to ourselves.

    We went on one of the walking trails within the property's grounds and got some lovely views and passed orange and rambutan trees, plus saw a small red snake with black bands which apparently could kill you before you made it to hospital!!

    At midday we had spaghetti (and saw a squirrel - who knew they were here?!) and waited a short while for our food to settle and then donned life jackets and helmets. We spent an hour or so swimming in the river and jumping off rocks. It was fun but a bit slow paced for my liking - we seemed to spend ages waiting for no reason. Hannah held a horrible jumping wolf spider.

    Then we boarded our raft and spent an hour going down class 2 & 3 rapids. It was great fun but fairly tame and a bit slow as we stopped between each rapid to discuss the next one. Katelin managed to unexpectedly fall out towards the end and was swept across a few rocks but luckily nothing too painful. At the end we purposefully flipped the boat and all fell in. Anna freaked out thinking a spider was on her; turns out a little fish was caught in her life jacket.

    We enjoyed dark n stormys at happy hour and then went searching for fireflies but there weren't many around. Anna and I shared nachos, veggie lasagne and homemade ice cream (360L). The food is quite pricey but very good and big enough to share luckily.

    Anna and the barmaid, Helen, serenaded us with the guitar. As we sat at the bar we could hear a tiny frog making a lot of noise, plus a ton of cicadas.

    Price: $70 including room, rafting and lunch.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Stranded in the jungle

    2015年10月13日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    We had planned to do a zipwire / hot springs / massage day in Sambo Creek, however due to poor internet over the last few days I hadn't finalised a pick up time. I'd sent an email yesterday requesting a time but then the internet and phones went down and stayed down. We had breakfast - measly portion of bread and jam for 70L and waited in the hope they'd show up. But they didn't :( Their subsequent email showed they got confused where we were staying and the tour was $10 more than initially quoted so all a bit useless!

    The German couple who owned the jungle lodge had driven off somewhere without a word as to where they were going or when they might return. This has done little to improve my general view of Germans (there are of course several lovely ones I know).

    So we were stranded in the jungle! No internet, no phones, no chance of hailing a taxi and nobody to ask. It was hardly the worst situation in the world - swinging in hammocks in the jungle, Hannah getting some last-chance rays of sun by the pool etc but it felt like a waste of a day, especially for Hannah and Katelin who are nearing the end of their holidays.

    We weren't keen to get back to La Ceiba as there is little to do but were worried about being stranded for another night. We were told there was a chicken bus at 1:30pm so we figured we'd get that but then a minivan turned up dropping off two other tourists and offered to take us to La Ceiba for $20. Our saviour! He also have us rambutan fruit :)

    We asked if he knew of a place with a pool so he took us to a hotel with a pool but it was overpriced and crucially the pool was in the shade! So then he took us to the cheap Hotel Estadio which I had booked by email. The rooms smelt of wee and Hannah had a dodgy camp bed! We used their wifi to book another hotel and then jumped in a taxi and ran away! (taxi = 25L per person within La Ceiba). After the longest check-in in the world at Hotel Carnaval ($33 per room, including brekkie), we were finally happy! A lovely hotel, 2 huge rooms, king size beds and very clean and shiny. The location seems better than the place we stayed last time as well and less deserted even though the other one was more central.

    We walked the short distance to an ATM and then stocked up on snacks in the big supermarket nearby. We went back to the room to catch up on wifi stuff and then headed out to dinner - we were searching for a recommendation: El Jardin de Susana which was supposedly a block away but couldn't find it. It was pouring with rain so we looked at two nearby restaurants but they only served burgers so we went across the road to Pizza Hut (diff one to last time). Anna got a headache so we put her to sleep early and had a quiet night.

    NB Caxton FX card hasn't worked in any Honduras ATMs! Halifax CC has been our saviour.    もっと詳しく

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  • Ruth SnowSouth & Central AmericaRuth Snow

    Zip wires and hot springs

    2015年10月14日, ホンジュラス ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    I didn't get to sleep for ages - too much iced tea in Pizza Hut perhaps, not helped by Anna being starfished right in the middle of the bed. Begrudgingly I got up at 6:15am to have a breakfast of tortillas and beans (plus egg and sausage for the others). We had arranged to go to Cayos Cochinos, some beautiful islands, for the day but we were told it was cancelled due to poor weather as it had been raining heavily all night. We asked them to phone the canopy tour people we had been hoping to do yesterday and they arranged it for us.

    We waved a sad farewell to our aussie friend who is heading to Nicaragua for a week. She will be missed :(

    Sambo Creek Canopy & Hot Springs Tours ($49 - strangely $6 less than quoted by email) picked us up at 8am and drove us the half hour to Sambo Creek. They put harnesses on us and gave us gloves and we hiked up a steep slope for 10 minutes. We came out to a viewpoint looking out over the jungle to the sea where you could just about make out Roatan, Utila and CC.

    After a brief demonstration and a close encounter with a small hairy worm which could give you a nasty scratch we set off on our 18 zip wires. You had to brake yourself using padded gloves so you controlled your own speed - Hannah failed to master this at first so was 'escorted' by Wilson until she was trusted to do it herself! It was great fun. The wires ranged from short to long (1km) and fast to slow. The views were stunning. We hoped to see howler monkeys but they eluded us - the only animal we saw was a tree iguana. We stopped by a small geyser of bubbling, steaming water - one of 13 pools that feed the hot spring pools below (mixed with cold water from another river to create various temperatures). Our guides, Simon and Wilson, were fantastic; really enthusiastic and took a billion photos of us.

    After our canopy tour we relaxed in the hot spring pools - there are 4 of increasing heat. We were given pineapple and watermelon pieces in a floating wooden 'boat' which felt very luxurious, especially since we were the only ones there. Then Hannah was called for her massage. Half an hour later an oompa loompa appeared! She was coated head to toe in geyser mud. Then it was my turn for a lovely pummelling full body massage by Mundi and a covering in the hot, orange goo. As I waited for it to dry, I walked up and down a wooden boardwalk along the steaming river / waterfalls, which were absolutely stunning. Once the mud dried, I washed it off in another hot pool. After Anna had been done, we dried off, had some more fruit and were driven home by about 3pm. A fantastic tour! And the weather had stayed dry with some sunny spells.

    We munched some of yesterday's supermarket snacks and then walked 15 mins to book our bus tickets for tomorrow. We were all shattered and chilled for a bit - swapping photos and packing. Hannah is very kindly taking some of our unwanted stuff back which will lighten our loads and make room for souvenirs. I am leaving my wet, stinky trainers here as I hopefully won't have any further need for them.

    It rained again. We went to Pizza Hut again.    もっと詳しく

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