Gracias and Birthday's!

 

Today is my dad's and sister-in-laws birthday! Today I woke up early and then sat around and worked on my book. I then tried to take a shower but they had turned off the water to do some repairs. I almost had to take a bucket shower but then they turned the water back on. Thank goodness! It was a cold shower but a shower none-the-less. Afterwards I went and ate breakfast and changed hostels. I went to the same place I had had dessert last night, hotel Guancascos. It is a very nice hotel that has a beautiful view of the city. Afterwards I went and walked around the town for a bit and then went to the old fort. I saw a really colorful grasshopper and then some really giant ones. The largest ones were at least as big as your hand! It was gross! Afterwards I went and had a late lunch. When I was finished it had began to rain so I went back to the hotel to wait it out. It is the rainy season so it rained a lot. I ended up taking a nap since there was nothing to do and at one point the electricity had went out. I woke up later in the evening and it was still raining! So I decided to eat dinner at the restaurant at the hotel. In the nighttime it stopped raining. I went to bed late after working on my book some more and exploring the internet.

Gracias

Today I woke up early to make my way to Gracias. Since I got up early I was able to get up and pack and catch a ride to La Ceiba. From La Ceiba I took a bus to San Pedro. From San Pedro I took a bus to Santa Rosa and then to Gracias. So basically the whole day traveling. Once in Gracias I took a motor taxi to the hostel. After I had settled in I went and found something to eat. I then went and found a restaurant and had dessert but mostly I was there to use their WiFi (my hostel doesn't have WiFi). So all in all it was not that eventful.

Rio Canregal

I thought of leaving today but decided I would stay one more day. I am staying in a dorm but there is nobody here but me. So I had the dorm to myself. Well there are 2 other ladies but I think they are friends of the owners and they are from Honduras. So there are no other foreigners but me. Honduras doesn't have to many tourist at this moment except in Roatan. I think the bad image keeps people away. So I woke up a bit early and did jungle yoga! It is a great place to do yoga. Well actually it was more a combination of stretching and yoga poses that I will now call yoga. Then I took a swim and it was beautiful because nobody was there except me and nature. Then I lazed around for a bit. Later in the afternoon I went to Pico Bonito National Park. Now let me just say that this park is beautiful but I almost died. Not really but at times I felt like it. It was so hot and humid in the jungle. Many times I didn't think I would make it. Every time I got to a point that I thought was the end I exclaimed "Oh God, please let this be it"... and lets just say I had to exclaim that a lot since it wasn't the end. Also I was the only one in the park so if I died no one would know! I finally got to the end and was rewarded by the beautiful waterfall. I then took a bath under the waterfall which was awesome. Again it was just me and nature. It was a little bit slippery and I really tried to be careful because again if I died no one would know. After I had cooled off I walked back to the entrance on a different path. I got back to the hostel around 5 something and chatted with one of the people that worked there before taking a 10-15 minute dip in the river. Afterwards I showered and ate dinner. I ended up going to bed earlier than I was going to because the powered failed. Ah life in the jungle. I wish that pictures could capture the beauty of the places I have been but they really cant. But I do try....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rio Cangrejal

 

Evil parrot

I woke up early (well fully woke up) around 5 something or another. I got up and got everything ready to go. I walked to the gas station a little before 6 am to catch a taxi. I bargained the price and then took the 20 minute drive to the ferry. It was too early to make it a collective taxi but I got a good price. I then waited for the ferry to come. A little before 7 am I got on the ferry and made the 1.5 hour trip to La Ceiba. I then took a collective taxi to the bus station and grabbed a bite to eat. I had contacted jungle river lodge yesterday and was told I could go river rafting today with 2 other people. They told me they would wait for me so I was really trying to get there. They told me the bus left at 9 am but when I got there that was not the case. The bus actually left at 10 am since it was Sunday and really we left at 10:15 am because the bus driver was chatting with one of his friends. In this time I had time to grab breakfast, which consisted of 2 donuts and a cup of juice for $1 (what?!) and wait for the bus. We finally got on our way and I got to jungle river lodge a little before 11 am. When I got there, like I had figured, the 2 people had already went rafting. I was told I could still go with 2 of the guides. I finally decided to go and I still had fun. We did a little bit of rafting and some river hiking. By river hiking I mean we walked and swam in the water and jumped from rocks (boulders really) into the water. I didn't jump from all the rocks as some were pretty high and I am afraid of heights but I did okay. After the river hiking we rafted. The rafting was okay because the river was really low because it hasn't rained. Afterwards I went back to the hostel and ate lunch. I then hung out for a bit and then later went for a walk and took some pictures. Overall I had a good day and went to bed a little earlier than usual as I was exhausted from my lack of sleeping. I also decided that this would be an excellent area for yoga. Yes jungle yoga tomorrow!

 

 

In other news...that parrot is evil. He walked up the stairs toward me just to try to bite me. :-/ And he wouldn't say anything except "Hola" for me. 

Rotan and West End Beach

So today I woke up and was suppose to leave to catch the ferry at 2 pm. I hadn't finished reading the book (the book that I can't remember the name) and really tried everything in my power to finish it. When I woke up I began to read it. I finally got up and went and ate breakfast then went to the beach and read for a bit. I left the beach after 12 pm and by that time had decided I didn't feel like leaving and would just spend the day here. I also didn't feel like leaving because there was no rafting trips I could join the next day. I went back and told them I was staying another night and paid. Then I hung out in the hammock for a bit reading. Then I went back to the beach. Today I rewarded all my hard work (of relaxing, beach, and laying in the hammock) with 3 scoops of icecream! I had a cone with cookies and cream on top, coconut in the middle, and pistachio on the bottom. I got it all over me because in the heat it melted way faster than I could eat. But it was freaking delicious! I also met a guy who had come for the night who had just come from Utila. He was telling all sorts of crazy stories. Like that they have a serious cocaine problem over there. He is a med student from England and he told me people would try to pay in cocaine when they didn't have money. And people thought the clinic was a drug store. Now some of these stories were crazy and I'm not sure how true they are but it is very possible...unfortunately. I spent the rest of the day at the beach and came back in the evening. I relaxed some more. Later in the night I hung out with a bunch of people from the hostel and some other random people. I also reminded myself why I prefer not to hangout with people most backpackers. They were the typical backpackers that wanted to drink and then go party and talk about drugs. Some had crazy stories but overall I though man am I too old and mature to hang out with some of these people. Also the girl, that had said "there are black people here and they have nice hair" when talking to someone on the phone, was there. I found out she is young so that can account for some of here -errr-umm--lets call it lack of knowledge. Later everyone went out except me (well not really but seemed like it). I went to bed and woke up like every hour because I guess I was afraid I would miss the ferry that I had to take the next day at 7 am. So I wasn't super mad when the partiers came back and turned on the light at whatever god awful hour they returned.

 

Roatan and West Bay Beach

What a lovely day I had! Today I woke up and relaxed and read my book for a bit. I then went and got breakfast. Afterwards I returned to the hostel to tell them I was staying another night and to pay. I had thought about changing hostels but then I decided against it mostly because it involved looking and moving. I relaxed for a bit before heading back out to take a boat to the West Bay. I am staying on the West End where backpackers stay and where it is cheaper. The West Bay is nicer and more expensive. It is also where the nicer beach is. I walked along the shore and found someone to take me to the beach. The guy was nice and he gave me free snorkeling. I had told him I wasn't interested in diving (thing everyone comes here to do) or snorkeling (next thing people come to do if they don't dive) as I can't swim. He told me he would take me for free (because I had to try it) and he did. Afterwards he dropped me off at West Bay and I hung out at the beach for the rest of the day. I then took a ferry back to the West End. I then hung out with some of the people that were also staying at the hostel. I met a couple but the woman was a bit strange. Nice but strange. I also chatted with Clemente (I think that's his name... lets just go with it) whom I had met the other day. He is from Germany and wants to go to Guatemala in June for classes near lake Atitlan. I will also be near the lake so I shared some of my knowledge with him. Later I went out to eat and then went to a place where they were playing music. I had tried to meet up with 2 of the girls from the hostel but couldn't find them. I ended up hanging out with some random people and chatting with the guy who worked at the restaurant I had eaten breakfast. I then walked back to the hostel very early in the morning. When I got there I used my phone to find my way to bed since I was being courteous to the people that were sleeping. I then went to bed but woke up on and off since it was hot. All in all a lovely day. Who can ask for more than an island and a beach... except a hammock... yes tomorrow lets add a hammock. Oh and tomorrow lets not have all the tourist. Too many tourist on the beach. Way to many!

Goodbye lake and hello Roatan

So I woke up early and packed up my things. I was going to walk down the road to get breakfast but time escaped me and before I knew it, it was time to go. I went and tried to find the guys from yesterday but they weren't there. I saw a guy packing a truck and I asked him what his name was and he told me Allen. So I asked him if he was going to San Pedro and if I could catch a ride. He told me yes. So I paid my bill and waited for him. We left maybe 20-30 minutes later after picking up 2 other guys. He drove me to the bus station and dropped me off. So yeah free ride. I then grabbed something to eat, as I hadn't eaten yet, then caught a bus to La Ceiba.  The bus dropped me off on the side of the road and told me to go across the street to catch a taxi. I went across the street, and with the help of a local girl, caught a taxi. They charged me a little bit more than it should have cost, I think, but I got to the ferry all the same. I got to the ferry early and then bought my overpriced ticket. I then went and got a snack to eat. I went back to the ferry station and waited for the boat to leave at 4:30 pm. But this station has air-conditioning and Wi-Fi so it was quite enjoyable. Close to 4:30 pm we boarded the boat and at 4:30 pm we were off. The ferry took 1.5 hours. After I got my luggage I tried to find a taxi which is not hard as the first words you hear are "Taxi?". I took a collective taxi to the hostel I had contacted and told I was coming. But when I got there the taxi driver told me it wasn't near the ocean (which I had thought). He told me of the ones near the ocean and I decided to go to the other hostel I had looked up. He then told me I would have to pay him extra and we argued for a bit. He took me to the other hostel near the beach and I asked him how much I owed him. In the end I gave him an extra L50 because I didn't feel like arguing anymore and my backpack was in the trunk (not sure if he would have held it for ransomed as I didn't let it get that far). I then walked to the hostel and asked if they had rooms. I declined the private room because 1. It was more than I wanted to pay and 2. It was only available for one night. So I "dormed it". First night in a dorm! Check off of things to do on trip... Anyways it wasn't that bad. The only thing I didn't like about the dorm is that when one person is asleep (if your courteous) then you shouldn't make noise or turn on the light. And there was one person that went to bed early so I hung out in the lobby for a bit until I was ready to go to bed. I also had began to read a book (another thing to check off the list) as I had told myself I would read a book on this trip and have had yet to do so. I actually tried to read 2 others before I settled for the book I read. Unfortunately I do not remember the name but it was a good book as I was reluctant to go to bed.