Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Honduras here we go!! So 2am came and my private shuttle to La Ceiba in Honduras arrived, I said goodbye to my new friends which was actually a little hard after spending last few days travelling together. The shuttle bus to Honduras was huge and as there were only 3 of us we all got our own bench seat. In the shuttle we had Even - Australian and Katie - Holland; both heading to Utila to do their open water dive certificates like myself. We all sleapt on and off until arriving at the boarder at 4am where amazingly we were allowed to cross the boarder. Something dodge was definitely taking place; as the boarder was certainly closed but somehow the shuttle company had a connection which allowed us exit and entry. After paying our exit and entry taxes and getting our stamps we were back on the road. At 5am our driver stopped and we picked up our next driver who would drive us through to La Ceiba. The second driver was a maniac and we took off like a bat out of hell headed for the North of Honduras. We stopped for some free coffee and a late breakfast around 10am where we chatted with some locals - both of which spoke English well. Going across the country we were treated to some amazing scenery, interesting little towns and a tiny glimpse at Honduras culture. We arrived to the port in La Ceiba at around 2pm, brought our ferry tickets which were quite expensive at $28 and grabbed a quick lunch before our 4pm ferry. We chatted with some more locals who were all very friendly and then boarded our old ferry headed for Utila. On the boat this guy came up and chatted to us and actually turned out to be the owner of one of the dive schools on the island; just so happening to be the one we were looking at. His name was Alfredo and he gave us a run down of the course along with everything we needed to know about the island. We couldn't believe our luck and when Alfredo was about to leave he invited us to a big electronic beach party they were throwing on the island tonight and guaranteed to get us in for free. Arriving to Utila was like a ferrytail: coasting into clear blue waters with a tiny island jotted with Docks, dive schools and old colonial houses. Along with my travel buddies from the shuttle we disembarked and was met by Maya: a parrots dive shop representative that would take us to the shop in a little golf cart - very nice touch. Driving along the Main Street in town we were all falling in love with the simplicity of the place and the fact there were no cars just golf carts and motorbikes riding around. At the shop we met all the staff which consisted mainly of foreigners; Australians, Americans etc and were welcomed like never before. After a tour of the shop we were given some welcome drinks and sat on the dock watching the sun go down. We agreed on prices, course and then went and looked at accomodation options: the dorms for the dive shop were pretty rough and the rod were very stuffy but there was a second option: to stay in an apartment next to the shop that would work out at only $30 extra for the week. It was a no-brainer - take the apartment and have our own rooms, kitchen etc. Unfortunately there was no power in the apartment yet so we had to spend our first night in the dorms. At 8:30pm we had free drinks at the dive shop to celebrate two guests getting their dive master certificates. So before 8:30pm we headed down the street to find some dinner: there were loads and loads of little roadside stalls offering tortillas stuffed with everything imaginable and for between $1 - $3 they were the best deal on the island. We decided on a little stall and ordered up our tortillas and just as we did the power went out; the tortillas came out in the dark and we ate not really having any idea what the hell we were eating. When we got to the shop free drinks had just begun and wow they had 4 ginormous bottles of rum and only about 10-15 of us to drink it all. We met a bunch of other Parrots dive school staff and students and we kicked off to what was going to be a huge night. The rum flowed and so did the conversation; I met Chris - South African guy who would be in our group for the course and met two other Aussies; both from Western Australia. When it came to go to the beach party we all had to do shots and watch the initiation of the two new qualified Divemasters: forced to funnel through a snorkel a liter of rum and coke. Everyone was in high spirits and I imagine just like me; quite drunk at this point. We were given a free lift to the beach party which was on the other side of the island and upon arrival given our free pass tickets. The party was great and had a huge stage with Djs throwing out electronic music all night. I danced, talked and enjoyed the night and made a wise decision not to drink anymore. By 1am we got everyone in our dive group together and made our way back to town and our hostel to try and get some sleep.
OBSERVATIONS:
- Shuttle to La Ceiba
- Arrival new country: Honduras
- Arrive Utila
- Parrots Dive Shop
- Electronic Beach Party
- comments