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After three weeks of diving in vast, empty, private reefs I had originally decided not to bother going to the popular Bay Islands off Honduras but then after talking to Verena and Patrick, a German couple that we met in the hostel we decided that maybe we should go after all and just sit back and relax for a couple of days, and maybe I would throw in a dive or two. Plus I can hardly come all the way to Honduras and not visit the Bay Islands!
The coach from Copan to La Ceiba (via San Pedro Sula) was comfortable and cool but after 7 hours we were glad to be off and able to walk around. But before we knew it we were sat back down on the 'Utila Princess II' for the hour long crossing to Utila.
The short walk from the dock to the main street in Utila was crazy. The dozens of dive schools on the island are all lined up there ready to get your custom, everyone of then waving leaflets under your nose and shouting louder than the next. Walking past blinkered, we slipped through the mob and walked up to Mango Inn which had been suggested to us because of its pool! Every dive school on Utila has a hotel linked to it to accommodate their customers and Mango Inn was linked to Utila Dive Centre. What we didn't realise was that the rooms and dorms are all reserved for people looking to book a course with the school not just doing one or two fun dives. So, no room at the Inn! After a quick look around we found Bird of Paradise Hotel and booked a room for 300 Lempiras a night (about £10). There was also a pet Capuchin monkey called Marcel who was really friendly and loved climbing up me and jumping into the trees!
We intended to spend our time on Utila to relax, and relax we did. We basically spent our three days there either on the beach, in the sea or nipping up the road to use Mango Inn's pool.
Utila is a PADI factory! Everyday two boat loads of fresh tourists pour in looking to learn to dive in what has become known as the cheapest place to do so in the world. Four days and five dives later they leave with their PADI Open Water cert. The rate at which the island as a whole must certify people is both incredible and scary.
The one diving experience that Utila offered that Belize could not was a wreck. The Halliburton was a small vessel deliberately sunk just outside of the harbour. It sits upright at 30m and is used by the schools for wreck experience, deep dives and as an artificial reef to attract some larger fish species.
Eventually we decided it was time to leave Utila and head south to Nicaragua! Due to the distance we worked out that this would have to include a night stay in Tegucigalpa (Honduras' capital city) a place that no one seems to want to stay but most routes pass through.
The ferry ride back to the mainland was smooth and time flew past (because we both fell asleep). When we landed in La Ceiba we ended up splitting taxis with three Canadian girls who were going to the same bus station. We waited about an hour at the TICA bus station and got talking to the girls. Sam, Katie and Holly we also headed to Leon in Nicaragua and were away travelling for a month but had stayed in Utila a little longer than planned.
The seven hour bus ride was fine but it was a little strange when we got to the Honduras/Nicaragua border. The bus conductor walked down the bus to collect all of our passports and our border fees. We were asked to get off the bus while they were checked. Stupidly, Liann and I had completely run out of money and were desperate to get to an ATM. So now we were outside, in no man's land between Honduras and Nicaragua with no money and no passport. The only consolation was that nearly everyone on the bus was in the same situation. Eventually after an intense hour we had passed Nicaraguan lines and had our passports back. Still no money though.
There were quite a few other travellers on the bus who were all headed to Leon so when the bus dropped us off at the highway we all grabbed a few taxis and David, a guy from Colorado was kind enough to cover our taxi until we could get to an ATM. It was a long day of travelling but we made it, and met some great people along the way!
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