Aymi’s Adventures

Me Overcoming one of my greatest fears and learning to dive!

So when I finally arrived in Utila and looked around for a hostel I soon realised that there was not a lot to do here if you dont dive.  So I decided to just go for it and fully conquer my fear of the sea.  I had no intention of doing it before I got here, then all of a sudden it sounded like a good idea.  I wasnt so sure at some points, like the first night, after being shattered after a full day of travelling and then having to go watch PADI diving videos and complete knowledge reviews – needless to say I fell asleep after the first unit!!  And having to get up at 6am to be at the dive shop for 6.30 was not my favorite, but what I did discover was that diving is a great cure for hangovers – fantastic!!  I also found that I really liked being under the water and able to see everything thats going on around you.  Its so peaceful and relaxing and also educational.  I never though I would be the kinda person who would enjoy identifying different species of fish and coral, but its actually really cool!

So my days on Utila consisted of lots of diving, lots of theory, rushing around a lot and generally having fun.  Utila watersports became my little family, we dived together, ate together and drank together for 9 nights – almost resulting in me missing my 6.20am ferry back over to La Ceiba on the mainland!!

The boat, me diving, my instructors & dive buddy’s

The I went over to Roatan  – the largest Bay Island to meet up with Dave who I met in Costa Rica.  Roatan was a lot more beautiful than Utila, there was more to do here, like laze on the beach (Utila didnt really have a beach) but also a lot more expensive than Utila.  The first 2 nights I stayed in a well posh place for $25 per night as I thought I should treat myself, the last 2 nights I stayed in Daves house which was really cool, actually on stilts over the water and a cat there had just had kittens which were great fun to play with.

The gang in Roatan & Mummy & kitties.

Back to La Ceiba on the 1pm ferry meaning I missed England’s penalty shootout, although when finding out the score I was actually glad I wasnt subjected to watching it!! 

So we decided to Spend the night in La Ceiba and take the direct bus to Copan tomorrow.  Although I had heard bad things about Ceiba, I actually quite liked it.  Everyone seemed really friendly and we had a good night out in a bar called Expatriots!

The only piccie I have of Travis & Casey – my travel buddies from the Bay Islands all the way through to Antigua in Guatemala – havent forgotten about you Stephen but the stupid computer has lost all my other piccies!

After the long bus ride to Copan we all knew we were going to like the place.  It was kind of like Grenada in Nigaragua, but smaller and quainter.  We spent 2 nights in Manzana Verde, part of Via Via which was a really cool hostel, went round the Maya ruins which were pretty impressive, very different to the Inca ruins in South America – much smaller stones, but much more intricate heiroglyphics.  Spent the afternoon moving from happy hour to happy hour – needless to say the bus journey up to Antigua, Guatemala the next day was not the most pleasant.

That lovely border crossing sign – AGAIN!!! 

So after leaving Tamarindo and feeling alone I soon met up with 4 others all heading for Nicaragua, so I managed not to do the border crossing alone – although at this point I am an expert at the Costa Rica Nicaragua border anyway!! We split up at the border as they were heading to San Juan Del Sur (fab memories there) and I knew I had to get to Managua to get my ticket changed. So after arranging a taxi all the way to Managua for $45 the bus turns up, so decide to save myself some money and take the bus instead. Everything went smoothly if uncomfortably crammed into the chicken bus, they were really helpful and advised where to get off and told the cab driver where I was heading to. So Managua was not as bad as it seemed.

2 minutes later I ask the taxi driver how much, the reply 65 instantly made me think he meant Cordobas, it was only when I realised he meant dollars that I realised I was in trouble. It was my own fault for getting in without agreeing a price, but still annoying knowing I could have got a cab all the way from the border for $45. Anyway, by this point he´s threatening to throw me out (were in some dodgy area by now) with all my stuff and just take the 100 cordoba note I had pulled out. Evil Robbing bastard. I ended up giving him just over $30 to get there as it was pretty scary especially when he pulled over another taxi driver and they had me completely blocked in the car. At least I didnt get any stuff robbed though & was not hurt, it could have been much worse!

So when I arrived at the Casa Blanca hostel (after shouting a string of obscene language at the taxi driver) it was an absolute dive, bugs on the bed, blood on the floor and a group of 5 big black guys getting drunk in the reception area. I didnt care, I just needed a bed for the night. I couldnt get any food as nothing was open and it was to unsafe to walk anywhere so decided (& I wasnt about to get another taxi) to befriend the group of guys who turned out to be from various parts of Africa. Went well and they gave me free beer all night (it´s becoming my usual diet – who needs food!!!) only to proceed by trying it on with me. Nothing happened and I didnt feel threatened by them, I just wanted to get out of that hell hole!!! The nights sleep was also pretty bad – to be expected!

Took me an hour and a half to get my ticket changed in the morning and then left with a French guy on a minibus to Leon. I am now staying longer in Central America and cutting out some of the United States. So for those of you i’ve forgotten to tell I now fly from Guatemala City on 17th July straight to Philadelphia, then train to New York on 20th July and the rest of my itin as planned. Met an American guy when we got off in leon who had been robbed of everything he owned apart from his passport and 100 Cordobas by his taxi man and was punched in the face and held at knife point – made me feel a lot better about my situation and realise how lucky I actually was!

Leon was another beautiful town in Nicaragua, I had a great two days there with some more great people.  Spent the day at a beach about an hour away from Leon which was great after the night of drinking before.  The beach was perfect even though the strong current made it difficult to swim.  The weather was fantastic until around 4pm when the heavens opened and there was an amazing storm.  You could see the clouds moving over the beach, it was so weird to watch, Ive never seen anything like it, it was exactly how I would expect a hurricane to be.

I then set off for the Bay Islands with an English guy.  We started at 8am and after 4 busses only made it as far as Tegucigalpa (the capital of Honduras).  The hotel we stayed at (Hospedaje Familiar) was even worse than the one in Managua, it was basically a knocking shop.  I couldnt even bring myself to use the toilet there, let alone the shower.  Neither of us had any local currency and only a few dollars between us, so we set of in search of a cash machine, an hour later after 3 cash machines all of which didnt work we gave up and had half a chicken in the only place we could find that was open.  The woman let us pay in dollars and gave us our change in Limps, which came in handy for the next full day of travelling.  I was so glad I had a travel companion for this journey, it would have been horrible if I was alone, but it turned out to be quite a funny adventure!

We set of again at 5.30am and 2 long bus journeys, a ferry crossing and some more money issues we finally arrived in Utila around 6pm and boy did I enjoy a nice long shower!