After leaving my house, spending a night in Guatemala City, I was off to La Ceiba, on the coast, where the next day I'd take a ferry to Roatan. Fourteen hours after leaving Guatemala's capital, I arrived in La Ceiba with my fellow PCV Amy and her sister, who coincidentally planned their vacation to the same place. We ate our first "baleadas" for dinner (large, chewy tortillas with eggs, beans, cheese, and avocados wrapped inside. yum) and had a rather unpleasant experience with a cab driver who lied to us about the ferry schedule the next morning, causing us to scramble to get to the dock...and find complete mayhem. Apparently, half the population of Honduras ALSO goes to Roatan during Semana Santa (Holy Week)! We struggled in a large room full of yelling, pushing people, trying to get to the ticket counter. As the 8:00 and 2:00 ferries were already sold out, our only chance was to get on the 5:00 pm, or stay another night in that awful hostel. I frantically pushed my way to the front, feeling guilty about not following the rules of line etiquette, but since nobody else was either, I knew it was a matter of survival of the fittest in there! I miraculously got to the ticket counter to get ferry tickets for the three of us. And then - we had to figure out what we'd do between 8 am and 5 pm, when our ferry was scheduled to leave. After chatting with some people about different options (AKA going to the mall) we took a taxi to a fancy hotel on the beach, ordered breakfast, and lounged by their pool/beach until it was time to head back to the madness on the dock. I killed time by going for a run from all the stress and anxiety that I had from standing in the line that morning, buying cheap sunglasses from practically every vendor that walked by on the beach, and chatting with Amy and her sister.
Finally, we board the boat, quickly made friends with Honduran vacationers, and were off! The water was really choppy which made the boat ride so much fun, except for those poor people who were barfing into plastic bags the whole time. When we arrived to Roatan, I was so excited to see Becca! Being the awesome friend that she is, she had a cold beer waiting for me and I couldn't wait to get in the shower. The next five days on the island were so relaxing and stress-free. We took naps every day, read on the beach, worked on our tans, ran and went to yoga class, and snorkeled. I feel kinda guilty for not diving in the place that is considered a diver's paradise, but honestly the idea still scares me and snorkeling was about as far as I felt like pushing myself. It was amazing to see all the coral and fish and made me really appreciate the complexity and beauty of our Mother Earth! We met some incredibly nice people, who overwhelmed us with their generosity and definitely contributed to the good-feeling vacation vibes.
Traveling home was another adventure. We left Roatan, much easier than the arrival since most of the Semana Santa/Easter ferry traffic had died down, and arrived back in La Ceiba, dragging along a new friend we'd made the night before; the bartender at the restaurant where we ate dinner. Since our ferry arrived to the mainland early in the morning, we had some time to kill before our bus to San Pedro Sula later that day, so we'd looked into going hiking in the jungle to see a huge 60 ft. waterfall. Becca and our new friend and I get in a cab from the ferry dock, and proceed to get lost for about an hour while the taxi driver tried to figure out how to get to this national park. By the time he'd figured out where it was...it wouldn't give us enough time for the appox. 3 hour hike. So, what did we do? Well, we said, screw the jungle, and headed back to that fancy hotel where Amy, her sister, and I had killed time on our first day in La Ceiba! And in addition to our new bartender friend coming along, I invited the cab driver too, since he seemed like a cool guy. It was only 10:30 am, but we immediately headed to the bar and had some drinks, chatted, ate, and before we knew it, it was time to head to the bus station. It was sad saying bye to our new friends, but off we went on the next adventure.
We arrived in San Pedro Sula, and the owner of the B&B where we were staying met us at the bus station, took us by Subway to get some dinner, and we enjoyed some awesome air conditioning and cable TV for the rest of the evening. Becca flew back to LA early the next morning, and I was SUPPOSED to return to Guate. Well, I get to the bus station, and at the time we're supposed to leave, they tell us that the roads are blocked near Copan, a city close to the border with Guatemala, because of protests. And that we should stay seated in the waiting room, blah blah blah, until further news because we could depart any moment. Well, EIGHT HOURS LATER, they tell us that the police have ordered them to postpone any trips until the next day. Mind you, I did not move out of this waiting room for the entire time, and was going completely crazy. At this point, everyone freaks out, because the bus company was not offering to pay for accommodations. I called the B&B where Becca and I had stayed before, in a panic and hoping they'd have space for me, which they did, although I was not happy about the idea of paying $46 by myself for a room for one night. But then, I decided to go with some Honduran girls and a Mexican guy that I'd made friends with while waiting all day in the bus terminal. One of the girls' uncles recommended a hotel in the city where we could stay. So I called the B&B back to cancel, the owner was very understanding, and then took off with 7 people that I'd known for only a few hours to spend the night.
We arrive at our destination, and it was the shadiest hotel I've ever seen. Completely falling apart, crap everywhere. Never mind Wifi, they didn't even have water, which I noticed after using the restroom. While the Honduran girls were discussing room arrangements, I went to the lobby to talk to the Mexican guy, in a state of panic, and told him I just didn't feel like I could stay here in this shithole. Luckily he agreed and said we should go to the other hotel, and I got the courage to tell everyone else that I didn't want to stay. Surprisingly, they all said "Let's go!!" and off we were to find cabs to go to the B&B. After squishing the Honduran girls' massive suitcases in the car, the cab driver asks "What are you doing in this part of town?!" because it was apparently one of the most dangerous parts of the city. Great. We arrived to the hotel where Becca and I had stayed the night before, and it felt like coming home. Since we were 7 women and 1 guy, it made the room arrangements a bit complicated, and the Honduran girls all of a sudden no longer agreed with the original price and were heckling the owner to give us a cheaper rate, which made me really uncomfortable since he was so nice and accommodating. The room arrangements were finally decided (not very democratically may I add) and that I'd share a queen sized bed with two of the girls in the same room with the guy, who would sleep on a single bed. It was definitely a first for me...I didn't mind sharing a room with people I didn't know, since I'm used to that from hostel travel, but sharing a bed, with TWO other girls!? It was not the most restful night since I felt like I was hanging off the edge all night, but anything was better than that place we'd almost spent the night.
The next day, we go to the bus terminal, it felt too familiar from all the time I'd spent there the day before, and had even become friends with the bus company guy. We drank a beer before boarding the bus to celebrate the fact that yes, we'd be leaving finally, took some photos with our new friends, and ten hours later, I was back in Guatemala City. It's easy to say that with the 6 additional hours from Guate to Chiantla the next day, I was SOO happy to be home and never want to get on a bus again...at least for a long time.
The trip may have been a little more adventurous than I'd expected, spent more money than I'd hoped, and collected dozens too many mosquito bites, but I am so thankful for having the experience of an island vacation in a gorgeous place, thankful to Becca for all the effort she made to meet there, thankful to the wonderful people that one meets along the way and helps make the experience something so beautiful, memorable, unique.
To end the blog on a humorous note, in one of the yoga classes I attended, the teacher tells us to make an intention for our yoga practice, and to focus on a different part of the body every time. As we're sitting there, breathing and warming up, she says, "for this class, I want you to focus on the spot between your genitals and anus." Let's just say I almost completely lost it right there and my stomach hurt from trying so hard not to laugh.
A Honduran baleada
Enjoying delicious cocktails on our last night
The perfect beach - West Bay
Drinking Monkey Lalas at Sunset
The pool where we had some fun times in West Bay
With our new bartender friend and Cab driver, hanging out at the hotel pool and beach after our jungle mishap
The clan that I spent the night with in San Pedro Sula. And the bus company rep. that also became our friend during the 8 hour wait. Of course the day this photo was taken, we were all smiles. I didn't capture any of the pissed off, yelling travelers who were stuck without anywhere to go!
The excitement on the bus once we finally took off!
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