Honduras

The week after by birthday, Pete and I went to Honduras for a wonderful week on the beach. Pete had always wanted to head back to Central America after being there with the military many years ago. We have some friends who have been there and recommended it so we thought we'd check out somewhere a little different. It was a long haul to get there, just with the layovers we got on our cheaper, last minute fare. This year a company went under that would get us from Vancouver to Honduras directly. Hopefully someone will get these flights running again.

It was a week where everything just kept getting better and better. We got there and it was really rainy and there were calling for rain part of the week, but that was the only rain we saw. The weather was awesome, around 26 and little humid all week!!! Our luggage was on a flight behind us so we could have waited another 4 hours to get our luggage, but we were tired from travelling overnight so we just went to the hotel. They weren't going to deliver it to our hotel either and words were exchanged over that. Hard to do with a language barrier. We got to our hotel and they didn't have our reservation. I had the computer printout showing our paid confirmation and the hotel, Palma Real, wasn't busy so we got a room. The only catch was that there was no hot water!! The next morning we checked on our luggage and luckily we had chosen not to wait as it wasn't going to come in until this next day. The new gal at the front hotel desk got our luggage delivered to our hotel. Amazing what one person can do when another can't. The general motto down there is "manana" which means tomorrow.

Pete and I had some shorts and sandals in our carry-on which helped. There was nothing open that first day. It was election day in Honduras and there was no shopping to do, no tours going out, NOTHING. It truly was a day of rest so we plunked ourselves down by the ocean. I love hammocks so spent a lot of time in one. Later that afternoon, we went for a walk along the beach and met an American who was taking treats to some orphans so we went with him. We, then, came across a B&B on the beach with an outside bar. There were a few people there so we went to check it out. Remember, everything was closed this day cause of the election, and this was the only bar open in the whole town - well 30 minutes out of town. This Irish couple that live on a boat in the Cayman Islands came down here just to get a drink. Can they stop drinking those Irish?? It was fun chatting with people who live down here. We finally got our bags so could get settled in.







The food there was good. I liked it more than Pete, who thought it was bland. I was happy to have choices that were healthy and didn't make me sick as I've been sick in Mexico both times I have been there. We had a la carte menu for the first couple of days as there wasn't enough people to have a buffet yet. Sometimes we got food that wasn't what we thought the Spanish word meant. It was a culinary adventure:) and we remembered our Spanish/English dictionary more often. They had a lot of food that they thought us gringos (whiteys) would like and we wanted some more local fare. Later in the week, there was a government conference there so more people. There was buffet food with more local fare. With more people at the hotel, which seemed to coincide with the hot water repair guy coming (yeah right), we got hot water!!!!! Like I said the week kept getting better and better.

Pete and I had a glorious day snorkelling out on these Islands - Cayos Cochinos just off the coast. It was a marine preserve area so we had to check in and snorkelled in two different spots. Saw lots of coral and fish - even a barracuda!! We had lunch on this island that has a fishing village on it. Still amazes me how some people live and how much we live in abundance back home. We had local fare to eat which was great. We had a guy chop off the top of a fresh coconut with his big machete and we had fresh coconut juice and the meat inside. So good. Funny how they live near the water in wood with fresh, natural food when we want more of that in our culture and somehow got away from this.









The next day we went for shopping in the closest town, La Ceiba. The economy has been hurting there also, especially with some of the political issues there as tourism is down. We encountered no problems with this. Maybe it helped that a different party was elected in and people wanted a change. At the resort, we met a gal who is Brazilian and Hondurana and who worked at the Brazilian embassy in Honduras. When the president had been snuck back into Honduras, he was at the Brazilian embassy. This gal was only one of a couple of people who knew he was there. Needless to say she was at the resort to relax after that stress. Back to shopping, there were lots of assertive vendors, but it was tame compared to Mexico and Nepal where I have been before. Honduras does have a lot of guns and security everywhere. It's just normal for most people to carry a gun. It's not like they get used a lot, but if everyone has one, you better have one too just in case. Luckily Pete could scope this out with his military experience so I definitely felt safer in the daylight and having him with me. It was suggested not to go out at night so we didn't. While we were shopping, there were definitely things that were cheaper, but a lot of things that were about the same price as back home - especially household items. This city, known for it's night life in the country, features a week long carnival in the spring. The country doesn't have the same don't litter policy as we do. Sometime this will need to change if they want tourists to come, but there's litter all over the beaches. Our resort was fine as they have hired help to clean up, but outside of that, there were plastic bottles everywhere!!





The next day we were picked up and travelled down the coast to a different area for an overnight stay in Trujillo. It has a beautiful bay and beach there. Even better than where we were staying. It is an undiscovered area so we were checking out one of the last unspoiled Caribbean beaches!!! Beautiful jungle and things are really lush there. There was still a lot of poverty there, but we were with a local who was showing us around and knew where good places to eat, etc. We stayed at this awesome cabana right on the beach that would have been a great place to stay all week. The place was called Tranquility Bay. It was good for 2 of us with a little kitchenette and a porch to look out at the ocean. Did I mention that the Hondurans like to play their music very loudly??? When they do and even at the resort you can hear a bit of a thud at 7am. Again the volume when down as the government conference people came - again things kept getting better. At this cabana, there was no music and for the short time we were there the quiet was relished. I did NOT want to leave. I kept saying that over and over. Our resort was still very nice, clean and well kept and we enjoyed our stay there amongst everything.





We went back to La Ceiba for last minute shopping and then back to the resort for our last day. I was sad to be leaving. One week is never enough, but we had to get away for the time we had. Had to spend a little more time in the hammock:). I did go out of my comfort zone and did some Karaoke. I've always been scared to do it. I wasn't amazing, but I did it. We also tried out our salsa lessons, but we were crappy compared to the locals who grew up with it. We tried. The hotel was putting on some show our last night so we took a "shuttle" to it. Turned out it wasn't far down the beach and it was a tractor pulling a wagon with seats:). Did I mention it was a 3 star?? It was funny actually. The show was very late and we had an early morning departure so we just left and walked back.



What a fabulous week we had!! I did catch a cold down there so it limited my activity level, but it didn't take away from seeing the country or getting know the culture there. We were to have very short stopover on our way back but Houston had snow - which we think we heard that it had only had snow 5 times since they starting recording it. It delayed our flights and had an overnight in Seattle. We got back to the first of the winter cold in Kelowna. I was not just missing the beach and the warm weather, but the people, speaking Spanish and the culture. Will have to go back.

Turning 40!!!

No way!! I can't believe that I am now the big 4-0. I guess I'm officially a spinster. 40, not married and no kids. Not the way I thought my life would be a this age. Other things are better than I thought though. I don't feel like a spinster and I, hopefully, don't look like one. Guess I have to redefine what spinster means. I have been growing my hair long for the past 5 years when I became single after a long time. I figured that I'd want to have long hair one more time before I got too old for that. The thought of it also made me smile at a time when I needed to be smiling. I am still liking it long for now, but maybe one day I'll get it cut short. I just went really red for the holidays. Pete feels like he's having an affair cause I look different:).I did celebrate by getting away to a warm tropical beach in Honduras with Pete for a week. Check out the next post.