The journey begins Saturday November 6th where I wake up at 5am to catch the 6 15 bus to Tela. Alison, Phanie and I arrive around 12 and we go on a search for our hotel caled Hotel Mango. When we arrive it is a really nice little hotel. It is simple but clean and is very cheap! We thought they had a cafe but they said it was closed which meant no complimentary breakfast for us. The hotel was very close to the local park so we went there for a while and sat and ate some ice cream. ALison got a hit on. twice haha. Then we decided to explore the city, we found the restaurant we stopped at on our way to cusuna, called luces del norte, ate some really good food!! Tried crossing ariver to get the other beach ended up soaked but very happy when we finally found a way across. Swimming.
Then Sunday the 7th we spent the day at the beach. The girls and I chatted a lot and slept a lot. Swam in the ocean with Alison with HUGE waves, might have been a little dangerous. For dinner went to Maya Vista which is this nice hotel and restaurant that has the best view of the city. It was magical.And we met a man named Roberto who told us about his brothers art gallery on the other side of town.
So then Monday the 8th we went and visited Robertos brother art gallery. It was a 25 minute walk or so and got to see a lot of Tela. Beautiful Beaches! We meet Cruz the brother and saw his incredible talent displayed all around us. Pictures of the Garifuna people and their daily life. Some pictures were of struggle and others of moments of pure joy. We talked with him about family, life, poverty, corruption, and justice. He says he fights his battles through his paintings. He was inspirational. We talked until we had to leave to catch our bus to La Ceiba. Arrive at Olas del Mar hotel and AGAIN find out there is no complimentary breakfast because the kitchen is under reconstruction! ugh. I really wanted free breakfast. It was raining out so we spent the night in the hotel watching Royal Pains, Alisons new favorite show, but she calls it Growing Pains haha.
Then the BIG DAY!! Tuesday in Cayos Cochinos! Talk about a perfect day. We left at 7 in the morning and get into a bus where we meet two other men from the US, Bud and Groover. They are a hoooot! Very funny. Bud is a world traveler and leads people up mountains in Africa, I believe in Kenya and in the Congo. Groover sells garage doors but industrial size. We talk the whole car ride to Sambo creek. They telll us all about Cayos Cochinos and their house and their life stories. As we get in the boat that will take us to the island they invite us to lunch at their place. We accept and off we go to paradise. We snorkled in Mesoamerican reefs which are supposibly the 2nd best in the world. The colors were amazing, the water was warm and the sun was shinning bright. The sand was sooo white and clean. We went to various keys around the island. They were little floating islands with palm trees and little huts. very surreal. We learned about the NGO running the place and how they protect the reefs and animals. They had strict policies on leaving things where you found them and throwing trash away. Good principles. We went into a forrset to see the red boas which are only found on the island.Then had lunch with Groover and Bud who made us laugh the whole meal with them feeding off on another in their storytelling about life on the island. They told ua about Survivrçor Italy that had been on one of the keys and how they went and mooned the cameras. They may appear to be old but they are truley young at heart. We finished by visiting a Garifuna community that lived on one of the keys called chachauate. there was a little linking sandway in between the two keys. The warm ocean would splash against the small pathway. incredible. Went back and slept. I had very sweet dreams.
Wednesday comes and we go to visit an NGO as a project for one of our clases. We visit a local Garifuna organization that fights for Grifuna representation and rights. They work for the Garifuna communities that are left without power, education, and their basic necessities. We mmet the president of the organization and left with books and posters. They had pictures of their ispirations...Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and Barrack Obama. I was very proud when I saw the photos. Had to go to the bank because the numbers in my account were not right. Found out I had been charged twice sometimes and I have bad credit! only here in HN though, thank goodness. That night we went to the stadium to see my favorite Honduran team play, Victoria!! Victoria vs Vida, they are the two teams from La Ceiba so it was a big deal game. Stadium was full and lots of rockets going off. and chanting. Sadly they lost, I couldnt believe it they are the number one team! but its okay, the atmosphere was great and I bought a jersey!! FUN.
Thursday, Alison and Phanie begin facebook status wars...yeahhh. haha We walk the beach in the morning and the boardwalk and at 12 check into the best hotel ever. The Quinta Real! SPend the day in the pool, in the beach, in the ocean, relaxing. Its our last night in La Ceiba. SO we do it right by going to a seafood restaurant and getting dessert! Eat some real good fish. Oh and on our way to the hotel a car pulls up beside us and its BUD!!! He tells there on their way back to the US and he just saw us walking and decided to say hi. What are the chances! He cracks some jokes and we sy our goodbyes. I slept very well in my nice big bed with the ocean view window, listening to the sounds outside.
Friday is departure day, thats today. Woke up, finally got my FREE BREAKFAST! yumm. had fresh squeezed OJ and hot chocolate with eggs, tortillas, ham, and beans. so worth it. Played ping pong with Alison, she beat me 3 times!! ah well. Sat on the beach, collected shells, rocks, and sea glass. I watched crabd making their homes until I decided to go up to the internet room and write my blog. We return to Teguc around 9 pm, bus leaves at 1pm. Had a great vacation. Have lots of memories. Laughed a lot, ate a lot and loved a lot. truley unforgettable.
Elena
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