It took me two days to finally escape from Copan, only to find that La Ceiba was a pretty sketchy town not worth staying in after all. I should point out that Copan is really a sweet little place, worth visiting etc. but too much time there alone and too much time spent fussing over buses drove me a little bit mad.
The next morning I was set to leave at 7am. I made sure that I was on the designated street corner well before, and ready to throw myself in front of any bus that looked like it might leave me behind. At 7.10, a bus arrived, but its driver told me that he was not going my way and that my bus would come at 8. I asked around, but the locals gave me a whole mix of answers, and I wasn't sure what to believe. So I marched down to Suarmy the ticket lady (apt name) in the hope that she would enlighten me... but before I'd even walked in, I got a stream of abuse. "Don't come asking me for another ticket! You idiot, you missed the bus because you were late!.." The awful woman was actually shouting at me!
I may have gone a little bit mental. I shouted back that I was on the corner well before the time she gave me, and that she was the rudest woman I'd ever met. Then I took the ticket back and stormed out. Probably not the best thing to do, considering that I wouuld inevitably have to go back for another ticket later that day, but I was tired and tired of being imporisoned by an incapable bus system. I sat with my ridiculous bag in a cafe for several hours (the next supposed bus was at 2pm) reflected on the fact that I'd managed to have an argument in Spanish, and felt pretty pleased with myself. Eventually, with the help of the boy in a corner shop, I returned to Suarmy for ticket number 3. I grinned at her as I left and told her to have an excellent day. She grunted.
I was the first person on the bus, which left at 1.20... A couple of stops down the road, a six or seven year old boy with horribly disfigured limbs climbed on the bus and sat next to me. I spent the whole journey trying not to stare at him, while he spent the whole time purposefully staring at me. Eventually he fell asleep on me, and even I didn't have the heart to shrug him off.
The journey was long and hot. We passed through tiny shanty villages, whhere the children watched the buses from the sides of the road while their cows and horses munched on big piles of rubbish. There was a lot of empty space, and the towns were interesting to see, but noticably rougher than those I'd seen in Guatemala. When the bus stopped in one town, a grizzly old man pressed his face up against my window and stared at me, mouth open so that I could see his greying gums. I imagine that must be how fish feel in aquariums.
I changed buses in San Pedro Sula, supposedly the murder capital of the world (along with Mexico City, Guatemala City and all the rest...) finally arriving in La Ceiba, on the caribbean coast at around 9pm. One overpriced taxi later and I had arrived in what Lonely Planet described as "the best and only real backpacker's hostel in the town" and what I can only describe as hellish. I was the only guest in the Banana Republic Hostel; my bed was in a smell corridor and looked like it carried several kinds of diseases. The shower was a tap in the wall, which when I turned on, bugs came out of. Outside I could hear the obese owners arguing and car alarms in the street. I was so tired all I could do was laugh at how bad it was, wrap myself up in my sheet liner from home, and hope that my face didn't touch the pillow in the night. I was originally planning to spend a coupleof days in La Ceiba, but after those first impressions decided to set my alarm super early and catch the first ferry to the Bay Islands.
And that is where I have spent this week! Utila is a pretty gorgeous little island overrun with divers and dive companies. Most places offer free or discounted stay in their attached hotels for every day that you dive, and mine is pretty luxurious compared to the Banana Republic Hostel. Utila is one of those places where backpackers tend to collect and stay for longer than they intended. Most of the long-term residents along the main strip are travellers who worked their wayup to dive-instructor level and just never left. It's not a bad lifestyle but I think I would probably go a bit mad if I stayed forever. That said, the diving here is awesome- the water is 30 degrees plus, really clear, and it's also supposed to be the cheapest place in the world to do it.
It's been almost 6 years since I did my PADI open water in Indonesia, so I did a day's refresher session and then spent the week doing morning fun dives (as opposed to a course). I'd forgotten how much I love it- floating around 20 metres down with the fish is the perfect kind of sport. I've seen sting rays, eels, seahorses, lobsters, all kinds of bizzarre ad multi-coloured fish, AND- on Thursday we saw a whale shark! They're pretty rare and I'd been hoping to see one after hearing rumours of them being spotted this week. We were on the boat, inbetween dives, when the captain ponted and told us to jump in. So of course I did without really stopping to think about the fact that there was an 18metre shark beneath me. It was freaking huge, and so beautiful it didn't look real. He hung around for a minute before diving down. Probably irritated by the tourists getting all up in his gills.
Today was my best dive: it was just me and 4 instructors, so I had a lot more freedom to go where I wanted. We went down to look at a boat wreck and heard dolphins somewhere in the distance (but didn't see them unfortunately). Sometimes I think I would love to be a dive instructor- it's a pretty awesome lifestyle, but I am exhausted from all the swimming, 6am starts and nitrogen overload.
One of my favourite hobbies in Mexico and Guatemala was counting how many carbohydrates I was usually served on one plate. Copan was no exception- I had a lunch in the market place of chicken,rice, potatoes, pasta, bread rolls and of course tortillas. No wonder they're all so bloody fat. That's another reason why it's a nice change to be on the coast again- loads of fresh fish andveg. I'm gutted to have missed the lobster season though... I told the lobster I saw in the sea that I wanted to eat him. He didn't have much to say about it.
I spent the first half of the week eating out with some Canadians I met in the hotel. They were nice, but talked about Canadian things all the time, telling each other to "Shut. UP." every time someone said something remotely unusual or funny. And they definitly didn't get my British humour. Sorry guys if you're reading this, but I speak the truth! It was still lovely to meet you. For the last couple of days, I've been hanging round with a Swedish girl and a boy from Bristol, both of whom I can be sufficiently cynical and sarcastic with. Tomorrow we'll all get the boat together back to the mainland, share a taxi to the bus station, declare our love for one another and go our separate ways. Such is the life of a traveller!
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