Ahh... the Beauty of Tela, Honduras

Perfect Weather
I know I've babbled on about this many times but it truly is paradise here. The overcast sky that had been lingering for the past month has finally evaporated into clear blue skies. The view has been amazing. On top of the Maya Vista Hotel in town you can get a full panorama of the entire bay. Click on the link to see the full 360 degree view in a quick video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5fWKrnPBmQ

The humidity has also significantly decreased. It has been pouring rain almost every night this week (but bright and sunny during the day) which has helped. Even the temperature has dropped a few degrees (now with highs of 88F and lows of 68F).

In the mornings before work, I have been riding my bike into town to run errands (trying to book a day trip to Cayos Cochinos- some tiny islands, buy film for my underwater camera, get some produce, use the ATM, buy some Dramamine for the boat ride to Utila (by the way, if you want pills here like aspirin or ibuprofen or Dramamine, you can buy individual pills from any convenience store, no need to buy the whole box with directions and expiration date and warnings... why would you need all that?), checking the post office for mail you never send, ha, ha, etc.). I have also spent a few mornings at the beach swimming and relaxing (the water has been very clear and calm enough for me to just lie there and float) and absorbing the gorgeous view of the Caribbean Sea...and of the palm tree backdrop. One morning Christina and I stopped by an art gallery... to browse and buy something that might preserve our memory of our time here (besides all the millions of photos I have). Scenes Along the Highway
I also rode my bike along the highway a few times. There are many interesting sights as you ride along the 2-lane highway just at the end of our street. The highway is the main road that, among other places, leads eastward to La Ceiba and westward to San Pedro Sula. You can never avoid the animals. Drivers need to be on full alert to avoid hitting grazing cattle crossing the highway. It is always interesting to analyze the construction techniques in the houses I pass. It looks so easy, I could build my own house. The countryside is lush and green. When the grass needs to be cut in these fields, a group of 2 or 3 guys will go out and spend days hunched over hacking away with their machetes. Government workers can be seen on a daily basis trimming the roadside with machetes. (By the way, when a man with a machete boards a bus, as often happens, he just checks it in with the assistant who holds it up front until the passenger gets off.) The ever-green views are obviously attributed to the tropical, rainy climate. All the water needs to go somewhere so Honduras is full of rivers, lakes, streams, and bridges. The highway has many merenderos (little restaurants), pulperias (convenience stores), llanteras (tire repair shops: all of which have a huge tire out front with their name painted on), and sometimes even an, obviously hygienic, carniceria (meat store). When exiting or entering a large town, there are police checkpoints on the highway that every car has to stop at. I'm not really sure what they are checking for but even the buses have to stop. You really can't beat it here and I'm depressed that you are making me leave it. Then again, I feel have explored almost every part of Honduras I possibly could (excepting the Moskitia region which requires at least a week and $350) and I would just be bored revisiting the same locations if I stayed any longer. I guess it's about time to be off to new adventures as there are still tons of places I want to visit on my mental travel list.

Plus, I now have the additional great news of having a teaching job to go back to in San Diego. My district has rescinded all the pink slips for permanent staff (no word yet on the probationary teachers). Now I just have to figure out which school site I will be teaching at.

Last Weeks and Carnival

Last Weeks of School
I have been busy here at school. We finished up our last units and this week was review before final exams next week. Of course there are the never-ending interruptions to teaching days. Two weeks ago we had a whole school day celebration for Mother's Day which was catered and included a gypsy-esque dance performed by a group of mothers, a professional singer, a flamenco dancer, and an interpretive ballet by the little girls in Kindergarten.

Thursday of review week we had a morning marathon (7:00am -9:00am) where the streets were blocked off and kids raced each other by age group: 1st-3rd grades, 4-6th grades, and the junior high/high school. There was even a race for the parents. Medals were given to the winners and a TV crew was present. Hungry and sweaty, everyone went home, showered, ate, and changed from the PE uniform to the regular formal uniform. (I went to the beach for a little swim and sun during the break.)

School resumed again at 1:00pm and but there were no classes as we were all assigned to make confetti and posters for two hours for another princess competition. At 2:30pm we took the short bus ride to another school in town and cheered our way through the princess competition (also with a TV crew). This time the winner was to be princess of Tela's feria (or carnival) in June. The competition had 4 girls and involved clothing and dancing just as age-inappropriate as the one we attended in September.Review week was again interrupted on Friday for a Spelling Bee. Christina and I were judges and announcers. The kids were split into 3 groups to compete: 1st/2nd grades, 3rd/4th grades, and 5th/6th grades. Each grade had three finalists to represent it and there were 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in each group. It was very smooth and the kids really seemed to enjoy it. At least this was a more educational interruption to our teaching day. (There was a TV crew covering this event also and I had to give an interview with them in Spanish... Hopefully it will never be shown on TV.)Next week (the last week of May) are final exams. The kids come to school from noon until 3:00pm. The week after exams (1st week of June) is something called recuperation in which kids who have a failing grade receive tutoring (by their regular teacher... me) in the area(s) of need and take another exam to see if they pass. It will be interesting to witness how the school thinks a child can pass a subject she/he failed all year with just 3 extra days of tutoring. (I am fairly certain the whole thing is a big charade and the kids will be promoted regardless as I know of almost no kids that have been held back.)

The 2nd week of June we have graduations for Kinder, 6th grade, and 11th grade. Then we are done with school stuff and Christina and I get to spend one last week in the Caribbean on Utila island learning to scuba dive and relaxing on the cays there. We come home (to the US) on June 21. I still can't believe it is going so fast.

Trying to Savour My Last Weeks
As noted, Christina and I have about 4 weeks left before our flights back to California on June 21. Of course it is bittersweet as I am excited to see all my friends and family, lie on my couch, and eat some food I've been missing but I am also sad to leave behind this amazing beautiful country, the great weather, and all the free time I have here to enjoy life. (Luckily I have my job back with San Diego Unified as they have come to their senses and rescinded my pink slip... and hopefully many others also. Now I just have to figure out which school site I will be at; I'm still crossing my fingers that the one I left will have an opening for me.)

I am trying to absorb as much feeling to savour from here as I can but the weather has not been helpful. I have resorted to showering two times a day and wiping my face every five seconds as it has been more humid here than ever (the week Shannon was here was the worst of it, so bravo for her great adapting abilities). The temperature has been about 95F in the daytime and 75F at night but the heat hasn't bothered me; It is just the constant feeling of being sweaty and sticky. That said, I still much prefer this to dry weather or to being even a tiny bit cold.

It has also been overcast so the views at the beach and on bus rides aren't the amazing landscapes I would like to be photographing in my last weeks. It has poured rained (with great rumbling thunder and lightening... I love a good storm) a few nights in the last weeks but it didn't seem to cool the temperature down or clear up the overcast sky. Even with the gray sky, the beach is still as idyllic as ever with warm clear water, only tiny waves, and a nice breeze.

I have also been hand washing lots of clothes (piled up from my visitors and all the sweat from the weather), buying car insurance and looking into cellphones plans (If you have a plan you love or hate, email me) for when I return, taking Marlon, another teacher, out to dinner for his birthday, and of course reading and relaxing. I also took my sheets and towels to the laundromat for the last time.

I am sad to miss my brother-in-law, Mike's, birthday and I am devastating at the prospect of spending my birthday without my (twin) sister. We have never been apart for our birthday before. I'm trying not to think about it. I will be home soon enough. I really can't believe my time in Honduras is already coming to an end. I wish you would all just move here so I wouldn't have to leave. You must see how important you all are if I'm giving up paradise for you.

Gran Carnival Nacional
On Saturday Christina and I went to La Ceiba's Gran Carnival Nacional (La Feria de San Isidro). Most big cities in Honduras have their own carnivals (or ferias; Tela's is in June) but this is the biggest one in Honduras and supposedly the biggest in all of Central America.

The two-hour bus ride to Ceiba was packed and very slow as it stopped constantly to squeeze more people in along the way. From the bus stop in Ceiba, we got a quick baleada and beverage and walked about 20 minutes down the street to the carnival. It was about 2:00pm and the parade had just begun. It was very hot and humid but we were some of the lucky few who found a shady spot. There were numerous horseback riders, lots of princesses, firetrucks, various groups of Garifunas, floats with dancers, a float for Japan (oddly enough), a guy walking on stilts, and many creatively costumed people... some creepier than others.It was the slowest parade I have ever attended. There was a gap of about 10-15 minutes between each float or group during which time we just stood melting and contemplating whether that was the end or not. Each time a float approached, the crowd began shouting and diving for beaded necklaces tossed to them. Every few minutes we would be deafened by three hi-tech jets soaring over the parade and doing tricks for the crowd like spinning around and around and shooting straight up into the clouds. There were hundreds of people lining the streets to watch the parade but it all seemed under control and safe. We had to leave by 5:00pm to catch our bus back to Tela so we couldn't witness carnival after dark but from the looks of it, it was going to be madness.

Back in Tela we had our own parade of sorts that night. There was a big futbol game on TV and everyone was watching or listening on their radios. After the game, a huge string of cars, trucks, and vans loaded with people drove through the streets honking, playing full-volume party music, and cheering. It lasted about 20 minutes.

A Friend, the Capital City, and the Jungle

Shannon Arrives
Sat. May 10 my friend, Shannon, came for a week visit. I picked her up from the airport where we discovered the airline had lost her suitcase. All she had was her backpack with a few items. They had to no idea where her suitcase was or when it would arrive. Nice way to start a vacation... luckily we wear the same size so she could borrow my clothes and use my toiletries.Once we got to Tela we walked around downtown, ate some baleadas, bought her some underwear and a towel, strolled down the pier, ate pupusas for dinner, and went home to "shower" and sleep. Christina let us in on all the gossip at our school. There is a lot of soap opera crazy sleaziness going on right now and Christina and I want nothing to do with it. Tegucigalpa - The Capital City
On Sunday we took a bus to the capital city, Tegucigalpa, for 204L each ($11). I had been there twice before (see Nov. blog post for more) and I was excited to go back for an escape to big city life. The bus ride was 6 hours across the country through tropical jungles, agricultural plantations, and pine forests. Shannon felt a little motion sick in the windy mountain roads but she was able to sleep through it. Just outside the city, it started raining and the bus broke. Happily another bus came in 5 minutes for us to board and it stopped raining.

Departing from the bus we shared a taxi to the center of downtown with two girls from Canada. One has been living in Olancho (a farming city in Honduras) for 6 years as a missionary. Shannon and I walked to Hotel Iberia and got a room with two beds and private bath for 220L each night ($12 total). Then we explore the town a little, ate dinner (desayuna tipica: the typical breakfast with refried beans, fried sweet plantains, tortillas, avocado, scrambled eggs, "sour cream", and a chunk of the nasty Honduran cheese) for 25L ($1), and then had a few refreshments at various dives around the city. At one establishment there was a group of 5 young off-duty policemen. They were very entertaining and all readily confessed to being corrupt... just what Honduras needs. The church (Iglesia Dolores) next to our hotel was all lit up that night giving it a beautiful but eerie glow. On Monday, we woke up at 7:00am, showered, ate breakfast (next to a table of Mennonites - first I've seen in Honduras), and tried to call the airport from an internet cafe to check on the missing suitcase... no luck. Then we took a long stroll exploring the city. Many of the buildings here are pretty old and in disrepair but it is all part of the charm of Teguc. We stopped at The Galeria Nacional de Arte (out front a protest was going on to fight corruption. The protesters had built a tent community and were fasting. Some hadn't eaten for 24 days! There was a news crew there also. We donated some money, signed the petition to support their cause, and were pinned with yellow ribbons). The museum was 25L ($1) and had many great paintings and statues. Then we peeked inside the Teatro Nacional Manuel Bonilla. It was a beautiful theater built in 1912 with a balcony and stained glass windows. Standing inside it was hard to believe we were still in Honduras. A piano concert was scheduled for the next day and in the lobby we ran into one of the pianists. Afterward we headed up a tiny twisty road to La Leona park. The park has an amazing expansive view of the whole capital, although it was a bit overcast. While there, a man was cat calling us. We thought he had left but discovered him on a bench trying to attract our attention with extremely inappropriate exhibitionism. It was vulgar and shocking.At an internet cafe down the road, we spent about two hours trying to track down Shannon's suitcase with no luck. Just beyond that was the Museo del Hombre Hondureno. It was fairly small, only 5L ($0.25), and we seemed to be their only patrons in a long time. There were 4 different rooms and in each one a teenage docent led us from painting to painting explaining each with a well memorized script, all in Spanish of course. Mostly it was just paintings of famous Honduran people and events.

We walked across a bridge over a really stinky polluted river next to which young men were playing soccer. I don't know how they could breathe. The bridge led to a huge indoor swap meet and then back outside over another bridge to a large chaotic street market. There were some kids flying a kite on the bridge and other kids below trying to knock it down with rocks. We watched cars and buses maneuver around an insane pothole. I love the gritty hectic city life... at least for awhile. We ended the day with some dinner (at a surprisingly good Chinese restaurant) and some drinks. Each place we went that evening was a dive with widely varied music selection (Roy Orbison, reggaton, ranchera, Chicago, The Police, ...) and a few cockroaches scattered about. The cockroaches seemed to be everywhere we went, even outside randomly cruising the sidewalks and streets. Happily we found none in our hotel. They creeped Shannon out so I tired to smash them before she noticed them. Aren't I a great friend?

At one watering hole, an adorable, 20 year old, working girl joined us at our table. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt but there was no doubt she was a member of the oldest profession. She was quite hilarious and entertaining but seemed sad. We were sorry to leave her but... what could we do. She was trying to hustle us into buying her drinks and tried to sell us her watch and bracelets and kept eyeing our purses.

On Tuesday we showered, went to an internet cafe to check the suitcase situation (they still had no idea where the bag is), and went to a little outdoor merendero for a desayuna tipica. The restaurant had no sign and was just a wooden shack with plastic chairs and a TV showing novelas (a typical merendero) and Shannon was convinced I had just taken her to someone's house and demanded food.

Before checking out of our hotel, we had just enough time to tour the Museo para la Identidad Nacional (50L - $3). They had a large exhibit of photographs of Frida Kahlo all taken by Leo Matiz and another large exhibit, La Encantadora Taiwan, featuring the most gorgeous photographs of Taiwan's nature and culture.Then we took a taxi to catch the bus heading back to Tela, six hours away. Along the way we saw donkeys, vultures (I have seen vultures numerous different places while here. Each time is always exciting as they are really creepy looking birds.), wooden stands with the sun streaming through various glass jars and bottles filled with honey sold by the people there, clay pots and hammocks being sold along the road, and of course the natural surroundings endlessly green.Back in Tela, we showered, walked around the barrio introducing Shannon to people we ran into, ate dinner at the house, and slept.

Pico Bonito
Wed. morning we got up about 7:00am and took a taxi into downtown. We stopped at the ATM. The students from all the local schools were having a peace protest in the central park. We stopped at an "internet cafe" which was actually some person's living room with couches and family photos and all. The missing suitcase was still in limbo but the airport assured her she would be reimbursed.

Our plan was to take a bus to La Ceiba but we were informed that the buses were on strike due to high gas prices (the price for gas is equivalent to that in California but they obviously have much less money here) and wages. We got a taxi to the highway and waited in the sun hoping a bus would come. After about 30 minutes of melting (the weather was more humid that week than it had ever been here all year), we debated just heading to the beach but 10 minutes later a bus for La Ceiba pulled up (36L - $2).

After the 2 hour ride, we arrived at the outskirts of Ceiba and our bus stopped. There were about 200 semi trucks and buses parked along the highway blocking it off. All the passengers had to exit the bus and walk past the protesters and into town. This was now our third protest in less than a week (Maybe more Americans should follow their lead).Once past the protest, we got a bus to Rio Mario and hiked 45 minutes up to the waterfall. There were chickens, a pig, dogs, and lots of insects along the hike (the mosquitoes left us alone (I still haven't been stung once and Christina, my roommate, is still always covered) but Shannon got bit by a few mean little black ants). We had the waterfall all to ourselves and swam and relaxed for a few hours. It is really a lovely secluded little spot. We hiked back down to the highway and waited for a bus but none came. Instead, we took a taxi to the Jungle River Lodge in Pico Bonito (40 minutes for 105L - $6). We got a nice cabin with private bath and a fan. Shannon found it interesting that the bathroom did not have a door. (Christina and I have found this to be true in many Honduran hotels. We just had to indiscreetly ask each other to step outside for a bit.) They also don't offer towels.

Serendipitously Christina (my roommate) and her friend that was visiting had just arrived at the lodge also so we had dinner and drinks together. The owner, Oscar, and the staff are very friendly and remember Christina and I when we go there so it has a really warm big family feeling. I love it there and we all stayed up late talking. Oscar encourage us to come back before we leave Honduras for a going away party. He promised to give us free rooms for 3 nights for us and our friends (because we have so many here, ha, ha. But if any of you are interested...). There is something a little creepy about Oscar but usually he is fine and everyone else there is great. We even ran into the German girl we had met there in October who had also just returned with her adorable 3 month old baby boy.On Thursday we woke up late, had breakfast, and then the four of us (Shannon, Christina, her friend, and I) went on the zip line canopy tour. It still amazes me how the guides hike through the jungle barefoot. Everyone really enjoyed it but the weather was oppressively humid that day and we were all drenched in sweat. When the canopy was finished, we all jumped in the pool to cool off. Then we walked up the road to the suspension bridge to enjoy the view. Shannon and I headed back to the hotel, paid our tab (1750L each - $92), and took a taxi to La Ceiba proper. At the bus depot, we ate lunch (some delicious baleadas with beans, avocado and tomatoes), and took the 2 hour bus back to Tela.

On Friday we went to the beach for an hour and then I took Shannon to the Telamar to get on the Hedman Alas bus headed directly to the airport (256L - $13). After saying goodbyes, I went to the school to teach. I was exhausted but I try not take off much time from work as there are no subs here. When a teacher is absent, they just have the other teachers cover that class during their free periods.

Guest Blog: written by my mom

Impressions of Honduras
Sara wanted me to give my impressions of my visit to Honduras. It only takes a little over 5 hours of flying to get there. But you better know enough Spanish to get anywhere. I relied on Sara for that and also to know how much money to pay the taxi or bus. If the amount was written, like on our food bills, I could count out the lemps.

It is very hot and humid there. All the streets are not paved so it gets dusty everywhere. Lots of places have no hot water - like Sara's house. But by night it was nice to jump in a cold shower and clean up for dinner or a good nights sleep. The country is really beautiful with all sorts of green trees - I saw many different kinds but mostly palm. Then Sara tells me that the country tree is the pine. I don't get it.

I found you can get almost anywhere by bus. The buses stop along the road if you hold out your hand and it is not a direct bus. People come and go, a guy walks up and down the aisle to collect the fare. And on Sat. we got a preacher who talked or shouted for about an hour. What a ride.

There are wonderful things to do there. Lots of water so lots of rivers and waterfalls. Tela is by the ocean so we also have the beach.

Sara was quite the tour guide. She planned a perfect trip. I saw a waterfall and had fun swimming in the pool under the fall. We watched the local kids climb up the fall and slide down on one side. It looked too dangerous for us to try. Then we went to the Jungle River Lodge and spent time in a river and gliding through the trees. Once, on the zip line, leaves hit my face so you have to remember to stay straight. And yes I also ate termites.

Then we flew to an island - Roatan. The island was really paradise. We got a room with balcony looking over the bay. Now I can die because I saw white sandy beaches with crystal clear water. Sara even got me to snorkel for the first time. She described the fish better than I could. What an adventure. I kept swimming and looking at the beautiful fish and coral that I didn't even realize how far I was able to swim out. What fun.

Anyone who thought of visiting Sara and did not really missed a treat. Read Sara's whole blog from beginning to end and you will see what you all have missed. It was a great vacation with the best tour guide you could ask for.

My Mom, a Caribbean Island, and more

A Day in Tela
On Sat. April 26, my mom came for a visit. I picked her up from the airport and showed her the sights around Tela. I even got her to ride bikes with me to explore properly. We biked into town for some baleadas and to sightsee, went to the beach to soak in the sun and swim (unfortunately it was very windy that day so we didn't stay too long), and enjoyed the sunset from a rooftop. Rio Maria and Pico Bonito
The next day we took a bus and went on a 45 minute hike along Rio Maria. The beginning is a gravely dirt road up the hill. We ran into a few kids along the way that had caught a lizard for dinner. The last part of the hike is very narrow and a bit steep. My mom had a rough time but she made it. The reward for our hard work was relaxing and enjoying the waterfalls and swimming holes Rio Maria has to offer. There were a bunch of local kids there performing some crazy stunts. One boy climbed insanely high in a tree and jumped off, heart pounding, into the pool. Another boy found a smooth spot on the face of the waterfall and used it as a water slide. Afterward we headed to the Jungle River Lodge in Pico Bonito where we spent the next two days relaxing by the river. I convinced my mom to try the zip line canopy tour and she had a blast flying through the jungle and over the river. Click on the link to see a quick video of her zooming over the river: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMWJCa1wJzw We also went on two short hikes, where I found a huge grasshopper (don't worry, it's only the shell). We even ate termites... not very vegetarian of me. (I haven't eaten an animal in about 7 years and I willingly ate live termites. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time (somehow) but now I am feeling kind of guilty.) Roatan Island
On Tuesday, May 29, we went to the airport for the 15 min. flight to Roatan, one of the three islands off the Caribbean coast of Honduras. Unlike mainland Honduras, Roatan has many tourists and is much more expensive but it is well worth it. The plane was very small, just big enough for about 15 passengers, with luggage strewn about and the pilots right in front of us in an open cabin. The flights to Roatan are just under $100 round trip but the only other alternative is a rocky, nightmarish, 2 hour ferry that I experienced once and hope to never again. (It's about $40 round trip.)

We landed in Roatan about 11:30am and took a taxi across the island to the West End to explore a few hotel options. The hotels range from $20 a night basic dorm rooms to $200 a night luxury resorts. We ended up at the Dolphin Hotel in a private room with two beds, a (real, actual) hot water shower, and our own private balcony overlooking Half Moon Bay for $40 a night. It was basic but suited our needs well enough. This was the view directly in front of our hotel. The West End is fairly small so we walked up and down the white sandy road exploring restaurants, other hotels, dive shops, and various stores. We stopped for lunch at a Mexican food place, Cannibal Cafe, and then put on our swimsuits to relax for a few hours on the white sands of Half Moon Bay. There wasn't really anyone else there except for a couple people practicing scuba diving. The water was completely calm and clear but there was more sea grass than I usually like. We swam and I snorkeled but didn't really see much there, just a few fish. My mom started to get bit by sand fleas so we decided to go back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner.

For the next 3 days, we soaked up the sweet Caribbean island life and had the following basic routine:
Woke up around 7:00am, read for awhile, enjoyed the ocean view and people watched off our balcony, got ready for the beach, and ate breakfast for around 300L ($16) for both of us. Then we walked down the pier to catch a water taxi for 50L ($2.60) each. The ride to the West Bay is only about 5 minutes and all of it is breathtaking. The West Bay is at the very tip of Roatan and is the most gorgeous, stunning beach I have ever seen. It is the epitome of tropical island paradise. The cool water is the most amazing shades of green and turquoise and blue. It is completely calm and bathtub clear. The beach is backed by verdant jungle and palm trees line the white sand leading to the water.The beach is not completely deserted for on certain days cruise ships ferry people in for a few hours and a few resorts nearby have numerous guests sharing the beach. On May 1, International Labor Day, many locals also came out to enjoy the water and have family picnics. It was refreshing to see that this beauty is not just limited to tourists. Even sharing the beach, it wasn't crowded, and the best stretch of beach, past the hotels and next to the point, is still very empty with only a handful of sunbathers. One day there was some amazing ominous clouds but it never rained and remained a perfect 85 degrees F.A quick swim out from shore brings you to the coral reef for awe-inspiring snorkeling. The coral reef here is the second largest in the world, only beaten by the great barrier reef. Needless to say, the snorkeling is spectacular. The underwater pictures, on the other hand, came out really crappy but here are a few anyway. My mom and I both went out for extended periods numerous times each day. We spotted all kinds of fish but I don't know their names.

This what some looked like: a half fish/half sea horse, a school of black fish with fluorescent purple outlines, a small fish with the top half bright blue and the bottom half bright yellow, a rainbow fish with yellow, red, green, orange, and pink variations making it resemble a mango, a small deep black fish with fluorescent blue polka dots, schools of fish with yellow, black, and white stripes, a plaid fish...

And the coral was a garden itself: purple sea fans, huge brain coral, orange fuzzy organ pipes... it just went on and on. (One day there were thousands of jelly fish all over. They freaked me out at first but they didn't seem to be stinging me or anyone else so I swam right through them. Jelly fish are fascinating to watch... but only when they aren't stinging.)

When not snorkeling or floating around in the crystal clear water, we relaxed in the shade of a palm tree or umbrella, read, and enjoyed a few refreshments. Around 5:00pm we walked down the pier to hail a water taxi back to the West End, showered, walked around the sandy road, and ate dinner (they have all kinds of food to choose from: Thai, Italian, Mexican, seafood, Indian, etc.). Our dinners with drinks for both of us ranged anywhere from 600L ($32) to 1,100L ($58) but they were always delicious with great candlelit atmosphere in open patios or on wooden docks so we could enjoy the sunset over the sea. Then we headed back to the hotel to read and people watch off our balcony before getting a peaceful nights sleep and doing it all over again. (The last night we were there the electricity in the whole city went out from 6:00pm until about midnight. We were still in Honduras after all. Many places had generators but others just relied on candlelight.)

Unfortunately, one bad thing did happen. Someone stole my favorite t-shirt (the yellow one with two giraffes and a heart). I have no idea why someone would come into our hotel room just to steal my t-shirt. I had my wallet right there but they didn't steal any money. It baffles me to no end. Anyway...

After 4 days on the island, getting into the groove of the laid-back Caribbean atmosphere it was hard to tear ourselves away. The only way I could leave was with the knowledge I was returning to Roatan (or maybe Utila, another island off the Honduras coast) in about 6 weeks (when I might even get my scuba diving certificate! and Christina and I will be on a tighter budget staying in hotels with kitchens and cooking all our own meals). But grudgingly we departed.

On Sat. May 3 we took a taxi to the airport to catch our flight back to La Ceiba at noon. Two chickens were among the passengers... really, I'm not kidding. Then we hopped on a bus back to Tela. Upon arrival, we walked around town a bit. Tela being a relatively small town, I am constantly running into people I know. These are some students I saw that day. Then we ate dinner and went to back to my house to sleep. On Sunday my mom was off to San Pedro for her flight back to California.

Another Visitor
I am now looking forward to yet another visit. My friend, Shannon, is coming on Saturday for a week. Sadly for me, she is not a beach girl so we will be sticking mostly to jungle areas. I love her anyway.