boarding the Cessna of doom We spent the last week or so hanging out and scuba diving in the awesome little island of Utila, Honduras (just west of Roatan). It is a vibrant, colourful, friendly place where you begin to recognize people after just one or two days on the tiny Caribbean island. We both loved the chill and safe atmosphere, though getting to the island is another story...
We made our way from Jinotega to Tegucigalpa on the chicken bus (basically a souped up school bus) with one overnight stop in Ocotal, a border town in northern Nicaragua. The bus trip was surprisingly easy - we're definitely getting the hang of this! From there, to save time we chose to catch a relatively cheap flight, stopping over in La Ceiba, a small town on the northern coast of Honduras. This is where things got interesting. We were lead from our first plane (large enough to fit around 40 passengers), shoved down the runway, and packed into a small Cessna with barely room enough for us, three other passengers, and the pilot. With six people and a whack of luggage, we were surprised the plane even took off! Without any attempt at a weight balance or safety talk, we proceeded to take off down the little runway. This was a far cry from any flying we've done in little planes with Chelsea's brother Shawn, where he goes through his full safety checklist, provides a headset, ensures we wear seatbelts, etc., but no worries - it was really just a short hop over from the mainland. Everything was smooth during takeoff and I felt fine until the door right beside me popped open just as the plane left the ground! I managed to get it closed again, though for the rest of the flight I wouldn't let go of the seat in front of me for fear of an exciting but very final skydive (did I mention my seatbelt wouldn't do up?)
We made our way from Jinotega to Tegucigalpa on the chicken bus (basically a souped up school bus) with one overnight stop in Ocotal, a border town in northern Nicaragua. The bus trip was surprisingly easy - we're definitely getting the hang of this! From there, to save time we chose to catch a relatively cheap flight, stopping over in La Ceiba, a small town on the northern coast of Honduras. This is where things got interesting. We were lead from our first plane (large enough to fit around 40 passengers), shoved down the runway, and packed into a small Cessna with barely room enough for us, three other passengers, and the pilot. With six people and a whack of luggage, we were surprised the plane even took off! Without any attempt at a weight balance or safety talk, we proceeded to take off down the little runway. This was a far cry from any flying we've done in little planes with Chelsea's brother Shawn, where he goes through his full safety checklist, provides a headset, ensures we wear seatbelts, etc., but no worries - it was really just a short hop over from the mainland. Everything was smooth during takeoff and I felt fine until the door right beside me popped open just as the plane left the ground! I managed to get it closed again, though for the rest of the flight I wouldn't let go of the seat in front of me for fear of an exciting but very final skydive (did I mention my seatbelt wouldn't do up?)
Rubi's Hostel - best in town Once we landed (and after a couple more battles with the plane door) we caught a cab into town, got settled into our hostel and immediately fell in love with the place. Basically a single narrow road along part of the coast, the town of Utila seems to consist mainly of bars, restaurants, dive shops, houses, and hostels. The people are a weird mix of locals of either Caribbean or Spanish descent, backpackers, scuba enthusiasts, and retired ex-pats. It was a great pastime to sit on a patio and watch as guys on motorcycles weaved their way through the mass of cyclists, pedestrians, and retirees riding around in golf carts. We rented bikes one day and in the span of a few hours were able to make our way around most of the island, save for some of the rougher & muddier dirt roads.
We were lucky and managed to score a room at Rubi's Hostel, recommended to us by our new Turkish friend Ozgar who we met in the airport at Tegucigalpa. He was flying to Roatan for one night and catching a ferry to Utila the next day, so he asked us to reserve him a room if we stayed there (even though at the time we didn't know his name). Rubi's was great! Very simple and affordable ($20/night for both of us), but clean, and located close to everything. We even had hot showers, which was a nice treat after returning from a night dive or being soaked in one of the many downpours (rainy season, sigh).
We were lucky and managed to score a room at Rubi's Hostel, recommended to us by our new Turkish friend Ozgar who we met in the airport at Tegucigalpa. He was flying to Roatan for one night and catching a ferry to Utila the next day, so he asked us to reserve him a room if we stayed there (even though at the time we didn't know his name). Rubi's was great! Very simple and affordable ($20/night for both of us), but clean, and located close to everything. We even had hot showers, which was a nice treat after returning from a night dive or being soaked in one of the many downpours (rainy season, sigh).
Amazing octopus on our night dive! The main attraction for us, of course, was the scuba diving. We'd read that it was possible to dive with whale sharks, which would have been incredible. Unfortunately, we missed them by just a couple days (a pretty big storm on our first night drove them further out to sea). All in all, though, the diving was great. Lots of large & colourful coral formations, plenty of sea life, and nice, warm water (28 degrees celsius). We did seven dives while there, including a night dive. It's always great to be able to see how strange and different things are at night - parrotfish awkwardly sleeping on the seabed, lobster & shrimp emerging from their hiding places inside the coral, and one of my favourite parts - the tiny bioluminescent plankton that are everywhere but invisible until disturbed. Near the end of our dive we gathered on a patch of sand, covered our flashlights and waved our hands around, watching as the tiny glowing specs appeared out of nowhere. It was an added bonus to witness the water and sky above occasionally light up from a nearby thunderstorm. It was all quite magical.
crazy colourful coral Lucky for us, Ozgar generously lent us his underwater camera for a couple of dives so we were able to get some cool photos and videos. We both felt very much like Monsieur Cousteau by the end of the week, and will likely have an undersea documentary in the works before too long. =)
After Utila, we'll be making our way back down to Costa Rica to hang out with my parents for a couple weeks (assuming we survive the flight).
Pura Vida,
Mandrew
After Utila, we'll be making our way back down to Costa Rica to hang out with my parents for a couple weeks (assuming we survive the flight).
Pura Vida,
Mandrew
To open in a new window click here
RSS Feed