We've been home almost a month now and I still miss being in the tropics. Nothing helps you relax like warm, clear, tropical blue water....even better being able to dive in it every day! One of our best trips to date.
We weren't sure how our flight would be since we've never flown "Taca" airlines before. We flew from Norfolk to DC, DC to El Salvador, El Salvador to San Pedro Sulu, to Roatan and Roatan to Le Ceiba. yeah, tell me about it!! Surprise though it all went smoothly and on time. The ferry from Le Ceiba to Utila was a bit rough and not quite what I expected, but it got the job done! Utila is a tiny Island with very few cars, most people drive golf carts or 4-wheelers. The streets are narrow, the building and shops small and close together, the vibe was very laid back, old beach town. Not much to do there other than diving, but the diving is superb!! We dove with Utila Dive Center and if you're ever diving in Utila its the who's who, and for good reason. Great prices, non-crowded boats, good guides and amazing dive sites!! We went during whale shark season and spent our surface intervals on the look out for these huge but elusive creatures with a big pay off....we saw 3!!! I can't even put into words what being in the water with a 40ft long animal is like the only thing that comes to mind is PRICELESS!! I actually jumped in on top of one and had to back paddle just to get the shot you see here....
Most of our time in Utila was spent under water. We did rent a golf cart one day and toured the Island. Not much to see once you got out of "town".
When our week in Utila was up we took a 38ft catamaran to our 2nd destination: Roatan. The ride was better than a water park if you stayed up front in the nets. After about 30 minutes of getting soaked by breaking waves I moved to the mostly dry back of the boat. The trip took about 4 hours and is really the only way to travel directly between the 2 Islands. Take Two: ROATAN.
Roatan is a much larger Island with jungle and elevation changes. Much prettier than Utila and alot more variety....
We did diving, but also ziplines, a dolphin encounter, lots of site seeing, exploring and time chilling at the beach, dock or pool. Its a hard knock life!
I did however get eatten alive by what I've been told are sand fleas....aka....undercover vicious little bitting machines! You don't notice you've been bit until you see the hundreds of round red bumps all over your body and let me tell you they definitely itch!! I was waking up at night due to itching and almost a month later I still have some red spots. Next time I decide to stroll down the beach I will rememeber bug spray...I can promise you that!!
I also will try to learn more Spanish before our next trip south of the boarder. Case and Point: Lucy(Nate's Mom) forgot one of her prescriptions and we went to numerous farmacias to try filling it. Hard to get the right medication when there is a language barrier, infact Lucy thought she had the right meds and accidently took something she shouldn't off....short of a few minor side effects nothing serious happened. One word: Rosetta Stone..ok, so its dos words. See its working already!
I would recommend Honduras, especially if you are a diver you can't go wrong.
An amazing vacation. The proof is in the pictures......
