Despite the very early start the previous day, we got little sleep on the bus and arrived in Honduras very tired. Thankfully the owner of the hostel was there to meet us at the terminal and drive us to the hostel. Once again the hostel was basically someone's house where they used the bedrooms as dormitories and double rooms. Our room was very nice and had a lovely big bed, air conditioning and cable TV which were all very welcome! We had dinner at a restaurant in a nearby shopping mall and then hit the hay for a well deserved early night.

The following day was a very lazy affair and we spent most of it planning the rest of our trip. We'd seen and done some great things but we were both a little disillusioned with Central America. The language barrier was a constant issue and with Sarah having given up trying and us both being tired, our relationship was starting to suffer. The options (neither of which were particularly bad!) were to carry on with our original plan and continue through to Guatemala, Belize and Mexico or head north and work our way back to New York. We had less than two weeks of our trip left and eventually decided that we couldn't do justice to three more countries in such a short space of time so we decided to have a chilled out few days on the Caribbean coast before heading up to Miami and then on to New York.

We booked a trip to the famous Copan Ruins the following day which involved yet another early start for a 3 hour drive to the town of Copan Ruinas. After a decent drive, we stepped out of the minibus and almost immediately we were approached by an American girl who asked if we wanted to team up with her group and share the cost of a tour guide. There were several guides around so we left it to the girl to do the negotiating and then set off for the tour. The ruins were very interesting and the guide added lots of detail and stories which made the tour very good. The ruins and surrounding area also reminded me of the temples at Angkor Wat in Cambodia which brought back some memories. After the tour we headed to the town of Copan Ruinas for lunch but, while the town was very picturesque and quaint, heavy rain hindered any real sightseeing so we opted for lunch in what turned out to be a Honduran version of Zaks! The journey home almost went spectacularly wrong when we were stopped at a checkpoint (there are several of these on most roads through Central America) and asked to present our passports. Our driver and the guards were amazed when we said we didn't have them with us so we were held and told we could not continue our journey without them. I suggested bribing the guards to let us go but Sarah and the driver weren't keen so we were basically stuck. In the end we had to call our hostel and get the owner to find our passports in our room, scan them and then email them to the checkpoint. What a palaver!!

One thing we'd promised ourselves was at least a couple of days on a 'paradise' beach and after talking to the owner of the hostel he suggested that we go to Roatan. Lonely Planet backed up the recommendation so we were off at 6am (again!) the next day for a bus to La Ceiba and then a ferry over to Roatan. Having nonchalantly refused the sick bag which was offered when we boarded, the ferry ride turned out to be quite rough and I experienced sea sickness for the first time ever. I somehow managed to keep my breakfast down but sadly the same couldn't be said for poor Sarah and most of the other passengers on the bus! The smell on the boat as we left was something that will live long in the memory.

Roatan was a small island off the coast of Honduras and we'd booked a hostel in Half Moon Bay which was one of the main resorts. The hostel turned out to be along a small dirt track leading up a hill behind the main street and after 40 minutes of searching and asking the locals, our taxi driver finally found it. It was well worth the search though as the house was simply amazing. It was an octagonal, all wooden, three storey house owned by a lovely Italian lady called Barbara who'd built it herself when she moved to the island. Our room was lovely and the views across the island from the roof terrace were spectacular. The drive in and a walk around the bay proved that we'd made the right choice as the island was everything we'd expected with white sandy beaches lined with palm trees and possibly the clearest, bluest sea I'd ever seen. We took a walk along the beach and found a small beach bar where we settled down in a couple of deckchairs and watched the sunset. We were joined at the bar by a group of people who had moored their yachts just off the shore and used small motor boats to get ashore. Naturally, Sarah and I weren't in the least bit envious! To round off the day, we wandered back to town and enjoyed a lovely Thai meal on a small jetty. Roatan was quickly becoming our favourite place and the whole experience was simply gorgeous although we did notice that we were covered in sand fly bites when we got back to the hostel which took the shine off a little bit!

We wandered to West Bay the following day which had a lovely long beach lined with hotels, guest houses and restaurants. We found a nice spot and spent the day swimming, snorkeling and generally just lazing around in the sun. The snorkeling was fantastic with the variety of colours on the fish and coral simply wonderful. We took a water taxi back to Half Moon Bay and found a nice beach bar where we watched the sunset and toasted the new League 1 champions with a few beers. I did briefly feel like I'd missed out on something special by not being there to see Norwich play at all during the season but soon decided that I was in a far better place and most people would swap places with me given half a chance! We stopped off at a pizza restaurant on the way home and then relaxed at the hostel and watched a DVD in bed. If Carlsberg did days out…….

The following day was more of the same as we explored the Half Moon Bay resort and did a little bit of swimming and sunbathing to while away the hours. The town had a lovely feel to it and was exactly what we were after for our Caribbean beach experience. We were treated when we got back to the hostel as Barbara was having a dinner party and we were kindly invited to join the group. They were a very friendly crowd and we even managed to snag some food to go with our left over pizza! The only downside was discovering that I'd lost my wallet somewhere during the day. This resulted in a slow walk in the dark to retrace my steps and hopefully find it but sadly the search was to no avail. Barbara lent me her phone to cancel my card and also kindly called the local police to report the loss. The only bright spot to the situation was that I'd kept my spare bank cards in the hostel so I wasn't totally scuppered for the rest of the trip.

It was back to San Pedro Sula the next day and we took the 7am ferry back to the mainland. The trip was much smoother this time so thankfully there was no need for any sick bags. After another 3 hour bus trip back to the hostel, we had dinner and then had an early night as we were travelling to Miami the next day. The trip to Roatan was truly memorable and a great way to end our time in Central America. I'd thoroughly enjoyed the experiences and sights we'd seen but I had to admit that I was ready to leave and head to an English speaking country and the comparative comfort of a large city. I'd already decided that I would come back at some point in the future as I am still keen to see Guatemala, Belize and Mexico. Yet more places to add to the list of future destinations!