Woke up around 5:00am to get ready and leave. There were six of us all leaving Hostel Iguana Azul headed for Utila. We caught the bus together and ended up sitting all together. I was equally delighted that I didn’t have to share my seat with anyone. I was able to sleep and listen to music to my hearts content.
The nicest thing about today was watching the scenery slowly shift from Copan to La Ceiba. The area surrounding Copan is full of hills and valleys and is the sort of beauty I’m used too in Canada. As we continued though, the hills shifted to one side only and it became more palm trees and humid, rather than dry.
One thing I have noticed here is that Honduras seems equally better off and worse off than Guatemala. The people seem less indigenous and seem to live a less traditional life. There are plenty of farms and ranches here though, including my first flock of sheep I have seen here. The animals seem better fed for the most part than in Guatemala, which I was surprised to see. However I have also seen some of the most ramshakle houses here. Buildings made up of metal, plastic and wood. I watched families who had very little to their name.
We made it to San Pedro Sula quite easily and managed to get a ticket for La Ceiba easily as well. The bus was nicer (no longer on a American Public School bus, or a cheese wagon to some), more like a tour bus minus the air conditioning. I sat intentionally next to a window in order to get some air on my face, watching the dozens of palm tree farms go by.
When we made it to La Ceiba we were greeted by several people trying to get you into the taxi. They know the tourists are heading to the ferry for Utila and they are quite persistent. In the end we would have had a better deal if there was only six of us, however I was also trying to negotiate for seven (we had picked up a girl along the way). In the end I was yelled at by the driver for trying to “molest him” out of a price. I didn’t need this crap, so I negotiated with the far calmer driver.
After some close calls, we finally made it to the ferry. We found out that the quoted price for the ferry to Utila was L400, however everyone fails to mention the L72 taxes. So I’m telling you now. I also encountered my second angry Honduran. After buying my ticket, another gentleman was not so politely informing me I had to put my backpack on the trolley. Not wanting to part with my bag especially to an agitated man I tried to buy time. I asked him why, yet his answer was unsatisfactory. Considering we were 1.5 hours early, I felt it wasn’t quite necessary to pack my bag on there. I also double checked with the main ticket lady about whether it was necessary. Turns out it was. However after all of this, I could have easily kept my stuff with me. I had room where I was sitting at least.
During my one hour, very bumpy ride to Utila, I was able to study some Spanish and almost fall asleep. We were on the boat during sunset and it was definitely a spectacular sight to see (sorry no photos, yet!). I had heard good things about Captain Morgan’s and opted not even to look around. Perhaps it’s a rookie mistake, but frankly I was fairly certain it is what I wanted. The accommodations are off of Utila itself on the Water Cay, the classes were small, and they are incredibly close to the dock. I tried to make it to the island before the last boat headed out but sadly I couldn’t get all my paperwork ready.
So I headed to Hotel Bavaria for a night, paying L200 ($11) per night for a private room with a bathroom. I ended up spending the night watching some movies on my laptop and falling asleep peacefully.
No comments:
Post a Comment