Bitchin Beaches & Bites

Our time in Tela just kept getting longer and longer. First of all we found out that our good friend from Nicaragua, Neo, was heading our way from Guatemala to spend his final week abroad on the Beaches of the North Coast before returning to Boston, the court system and Medical School. Then Marcella told us that she was coming up for the day with some of her friends from the Doctorage way down in Yoro for the Saturday which suited us just fine, we could easily keep ourselves occupied in our lush hotel until the weekend.

Where Thursday was basically spent, by the pool and in the AC. I think we may have left the vicinity of the hotel and its 3 surrounding business' for a total of about 10 minutes, to go and buy a couple of ice creams. Friday we headed out fo another tour with Garifuna for a kayak through a mangrove river suystem to watch monkeys, alligators and birds, as well as test our skill in some tight and narrow situations. Back in town by the ppol we awaited for Neo, a few drinks to celebrate his return and out for dinner for some Seafood and 15 Lemp Cuba Libres.

Saturday we woke and awaited for Marcella, headed down to the big resort to met here and sneakily hang out in their pool for a few hours before we headed for the beach when we got busted where we bumped into a dazed (and hungover Neo) and out for aa Banana ride before returning to the pool back at our joint. We walked Marcella and the girls to the bus stop and we spent a few hours looking for some souvenirs before grabbing some more sunset brewskies in the pool and heading out for some papusas.

Trujillo bound Sunday morning, arriving in at Casa Kiwi some 5-6 hours later. Casa Kiwi was a really cool house located outside of town on this beautiful beach. The menu in their restaurant had some awesome favourites (no Sunday Roast unfortunately) and the ladies at the bar, Shaz & Joy (very Kiwi) were already getting stuck into it! We met the President's nephew who lives in town and hangs out at the bar, he took us around to another deserted beach for a dip before heading back to Kiwi and gettng ready for the biggest night in town, which ended with Neal piggy-backing me down a pretty steep hill and us falling on our arses.

Feeling a little hungover and soar the next morning, we were supposed to be heading out to another pretty beach but el presidente with whom we were to be going with was still out and partying so it all sort of fell through. In desperation to escape the sandflies we headed into town to use the net and hit a non sandfly invaded beach up there until it started pouring with rain so we headed back Kiwi way and spent the remaining hours of the day and night around the poker table before a 3am swim in the bay (by this time I think the sandflies were sleeping).

With still no car to access any of the nearby attractions, and bus services alredy passed by and sick of sandfly bites, we decided to leave the venue that had lots of potential by agreeing that it wasn't quite doing it for any of us. We grabbed the last bus for La Ceiba where we arrived yesterday heading out for plenty of Chinese food last night and plenty of these crazy Hurricane beverages to fulfill our thirst. Neal took off for Guatemala city where he flies from on Thursday, this morning and Lil and I were planning to hit up the Cayos Cochinos whilst we were here but looks like it is virtually impossible to get there so we figure we might just hit up the bay islands a little earlier than expected and stay in a Hostel a couple of nights whilst we wait for our apartment to be ready on Saturday, really looking forwad to the Bay Islands after the disappointment of Trujillo and no Cayos Cochinos, even more interested to see how Roatan has developed in 8 years, now with direct flights from the US.

Anyway internet is like $10 an hour on Roatan so don't expect an update or some picturesque photos for a while!

Walking the streets of Trujillo, is this the way to Casa Kiwi?

Hammered....

Neo, Lil & Shaz partying big at the Casa Kiwi

Getting thrown from the Banana

Enjoying our Splurge in our Hotel Pool in Tela

One of Tela's perfect beaches, just before we got rained on

Santos G, taking it to the next level!

Well at the moment this whole crazy format of word first, pictures to follow is the best I can do, so I am afraid that you are going to have to stick with it. If you do have any concerns with this format, please fell free to contact me at your leisure.

Anywho, we ended our Tegucigalpa efforts with a bang! I took the Urquia family out for some Mexicana on Saturday night before heading out with Mario, Marcella and a few of her friends. A relatively quiet night in comparison to Friday; with this whole new law about everything closing down at 2 am, and no Edgar to hang out with on the roof of Centenario (MIA due to Hangover), we decided to hit the sack.

Up Sunday morning relatively early to see my host mum off at the airport, she's headed down to Cartagena to help the Honduran team win gold at the Central American & Caribbean Olympics, before heading up to tatumbla for one last home cooked meal with the Urquia's (minus Macky) and watch Zidaine head but Italy to victory. A few afternon brews with some of Marcella's friends before saying our final goodbies and heading back to Centenario and getting our things sorted for our 5:45 departure to go and hang with Santos.

World Vision picks us up for what to us seems way to early, for our drive out to La Esperanza (about 3 1/2 hours from Tegus) and out into Santos' Community. We brought him this sick soccer ball kit with cone goals and shin pads to boot, as well as my Socceroos gurnsey that I picked up in Miami (he'll grow into it) and some rice and beans for the fam. He loved the soccer kit, don't think I have ever seen a kid smile so much, and his folks were so stocked with the food that they spent almost the entire time we were there running around picking and producing gifts for us including a bag of pears, a handful of plums, some cooked spuds and cheese, some jam & a giant rooster money box (we still don't know what to do with it, think he might be following us around the world cause we don't have the heart to throw it out). Santos' old man showed me the fields where they grow produce and we kicked the ball around with the yound fella for a bit before we headed down to his school to meet some of his classmates.

After we'd hung out with Santos for a bit, we decided it was time to continue our journey North so as to reach Tela by nightfall instead of spending a night in dodgy ol' San Pedro. WV dropped us at Siguatepeque from where we caught one of the fastest chicken buses that I have ever been on up to San Pedro, and within the hour onto Tela, another 2 hours down the road on the Caribbean Coast.

Accomodation is a bit more expensive here that what I recall (I guess it has been 8 years) and after checking out the first place that sounded not so bad and found out it was pretty average for what you got, we spent the next hour or so hunting around the city for another option. Lilla fell in love with this place on the beach called Cesar Mariscos, and once I found out that it had a rooftop pool and jacuzzi, i couldn't resist, especially when our room comes with a balcony over looking the palm tree covered, white sandy beach. It was definitely out of our budget, but when they knocked 15% off the price and considering it was going to be Lilla's birthday in a couple of days, we decided to splurge!

We spent the the rest of the sunlight in the pool before having a few drinks on the balcony and heading down to the restaurant for dinner with an English couple we met on the bus. Yesterday was spent at the beach, soaking up the rays and enjoying the warm waters of Honduras has been too long in between. The closing sunshine hours in the pool before enjoying some more views over some Rum & Fresca from the balcony and a dinner to kill for at the end of our street.

This morning we were up early (something Lilla tells me she would never do back home for her birthday) and we headed out for Punta Sal, this beautiful National Park on a rainforest covered, monkey & crab infested, beautiful beach surrounded, headland about a 45 minute boat ride from Tela. We walked through the forest for a bit (something else Lilla would not do on her birthday) monkey and crab spotting, before heading to 1 of several beautiful coves for some snorkel action (can't wait to be diving again) and onto our final destination, a small Garifuna community on another gorgeous costline for some lunch and some R&R.

At about 1:30 a massive storm rolled in, with lots of rain and wind to boot so we legged it for the kitchen of this local lady before we were blown away. The fierceness of the storm made as all think that we were to be spending the night in the kitchen, but within about 15 minutes of craziness it basically subsided to nothing, clearing our passage to Tela.

We got back to town an hour or so ago, Lilla is getting a Pedicure whilst I visit El Grande, not a bad way to spend a birthday, in the Caribbean being pampered!

Taking out the Urquia family & enjoying some Mexicana

Just cause we're taking my Honduran Padres out, doesn't mean we can't get stuck into a little Margarita action!

Jorge Junior playing a little surprise early birthday stunt on Lil

First meeting Santos, he thought that Christmas had come early, tearing open the box to his Futbol pack

Santos & his hermanito

He just couldn't wait to get out on the front garden to prove his future contract with Olympia with his amigos

Getting the low down on Santos' families Maiz crops

Typical Aussie city slicker, thinking thongs can go anywhere

Santos' extended family (that's not even a 10th of them)

From worse to bad

At first glance Tegucigalpa & Honduras seemed as if the economy, of one of the poorest countries in Latin America, had made a change for the better over the last 8 years. But just like so many other Latin American countries, once you dig deeper you only realise that only the rich have become richer and the poor poorer. It is obvious that major US fast food companies realised the potential of the country when real estate value was probably at it its lowest for years directly after Hurricane Mitch in 98. The Hurricane left thousands dead and many more thousands homeless. Tegucigalpa being the biggest and financially strongest city of Honduras has made a full recovery, but from what I understand, the North coast which was struck the worst is still struggling to repair and rebuild.

Catching up with my host family has been an amazing experience. My host father has been able to realise his dream by building a house on their property in Tatumbla, retiring, moving there and growing his hobby farm into a fully productive dairy farm whilst still producing coffee (my favourite), platano and plenty of chilli. I think my whole family is happy for the move, I mean who wouldn’t be happy living in front of a beautiful cloud forest covered mountain.

Lilla and I stayed up with them for the first 5 days making day trips to Tegus to check out some of the old favourites, only to find that Australian restaurants and bars no longer exist, my after school licuado (smoothie) shop (the one that made apply for a job at Boost) is not there either and my favourite in town restaurant behind the church has been replaced by a fried chicken and random other things fast food joint! Our favourite coffee joint, Espresso Americano, where we used to sip Granitas on a daily basis is still around however; in fact it has become more like a Honduran Starbucks, with stores every 10 meters from each other. Malls have replaced empty blocks of land, Plaza Miraflores is now a fast food gaunt, most bridges have been rebuilt (after Mitch washed them away), Hotel Centenario is still where it used to be, Christ still watches over the city and Bigo’s have changed their menu, but nearly everything else is the same.

We have spent the last couple of days up in Valle de Angeles, relaxing by the pool, eating many of my Honduran favourites and checking out some nearby attractions like Parque Nacional La Tigre (no drinking of streams this time Geoff) and Santa Lucia where my other favourite French Restaurant has also sold up. We headed back into Tegus yesterday afternoon as Marcella, my host sister who was with my family in Australia whilst I was in Honduras, was heading into town for the weekend. She has been in Cuba studying to be a doctor for the last 7 years and has now returned to Honduras for placement in the middle of nowhere. We teamed up with some of her friends, Mario, his girlfriend and her friend for a night on the town before heading back to Centenario where we are spending the weekend to party the rest of the night away on the roof (just like old times) with Richard’s host brother, Edgar.

The plan for the weekend is to check out some more local nightlife and enjoy Centenario’s rooftop before heading into no man’s land early Monday morning to meet my sponsor child, Santos G, before heading to Trujillo and some Caribbean action!
Photos below……..

Mario pimpin it with the ladies 

Marcella & Lilla 

Burro waiting for the bus in Santa Lucia 

La Vista from La Tigre 

San Juancito 

Parque Central of Valle de Angeles 

Enjoying el Valle 

Espresso Americano of course 

La nueva Parque Central 

Vista from La Paz 

Once lay a bridge 

El Centro 

La Vista del Cristo 

My host family`s new Tatumbla residence 

Photos from Surf 2 Lava

This is completely messed up, but the blog for these photos are below, so check it out in some kind of reverse action.

Our beach 

Are those really dancing shoes? 

Reaching Rocky Point at Majagual the morning after too many tequila shots! 

Magical?