HONDURAS!!

COFFEE!
For all you coffee lovers out there, be prepared to experience jealousy! Coming into Honduras I headed for prime coffee country, where it was actually possible to taste the black gold that is exported to the finest coffee shops in the world. In Guatemala the only coffee available is dreadful instant coffee that is imported, but in Honduras you have the chance to experience the real stuff fresh.

I stayed in a home stay in the tiny little highland, cowboy town of San Juan. The town has no hotels, but I had heard if you head for Gloria's house she will set you up with a home stay. So I got dumped off the bus in this tny, dusty town that has more horses than cars. Finding Gloria proved a challenge and involved me asking questions of locals who pointed me off into the distance "over there." They all seemed to know who Gloria was, and after 15 minutes of wandering I narrowed my search onto a small house with a blue door. Unfortunately, Gloria was not home, she was in Guatemala which didnt really help me. I was instructed to go to Soledad, which I wasn't sure if it was a place/person or what the!! Dispirited I dragged my heavy backpack and around the town until I stumbled upon a sign for "Licuardos" which are these delicious refreshing smoothies. I walked into the house/shop and was immediately grabbed by a very welcoming grandmother who wisked me into a bedroom and began making up a bed!!!

Apparently I had found Soledad the person and was being firmly welcomed with a fresh made bed and then fresh made coffee. The coffee was from Soledad's coffee plantation, and she ground it fresh every morning and roasted it herself as well!! It was the best coffee EVER!!! I spent a merry afternoon playing hangman with Soledad's granddaughter, until we were both called in for a dinner of tortillas, beans and cheese and of course coffee!

BEER!
Ok, all you beer lovers be prepared to get jealous!!
So the trusty guidebook had informed me that there was one brewery in Honduras, and I was not one to pass up a beer..particuarly a boutique beer. I spent a lovely couple of days at D&D Brewery in the middle of Honduras, sampling the fine beer and swimming in the pool. I stirred myself enough to go check out the nearby waterfall Pulhapanzak (which I still can't prounouce). It was huge and wet! On the way back with three other backpackers we were lucky enough to find a public bus to take us the 15 km.. although it wasn't a publis bus but actually an evangelical church group on an excursion who were confused by the crazy backpackers waving the bus down, but nice enough to let us hop on board for free!

BIRDS
5AM - what better to do than head out on a rowboat with an eccentric Englishman for a spot of bird watching? We went out onto Lago de Yogoya, a stunning lake in the middle of the country with a massive variety of bird life, being a prime spot on the migration tour between North and South America. The tour was made great fun by the excitment of Malom and his expert knowledge, we were able to see around 30 different species of birds. His excitement could not contained when he spotted his 300th variety of bird on the lake.

CARRIBEAN DREAMS!
Honduras has a large Carribean coastline, with many small islands just offshore. I headed for the backpacker haven of Utila (part of the Bay Islands). It was renowned for scuba diving, which I vehemently was not going to do (snakes and scuba diving being my two greatest fears). I was all set for snorkelling, seafood and Garifuna culture. Back in the heydays of British imperialism, the clever British decided to break up a slave revolt on the island St Vincet by transporting the trouble makers to the Bay Islands. Fast forward to today and the Garifuna culture of Afro-Carribean music, language, food is an enchanting part of the Islands. I loved the language especially, which is a mix of English, Creole and Spanish, a lovely sounding sing song language.

The snorkelling was amazing, although apparently better many years ago before the impacts of over fishing were felt. I did get to snorkel with dolphins twice though!! One came swimming right up and at me, grinning until it swerved away at the last moment. Definitely one of the highlights of my life!!

Scuba is in the air everywhere at Utila, and after watching the action I decided it wasn't that scary after all and I decided to take the plunge (literally). I embarked on my scuba open water ticket (which for interested people was $260 US). The instructors at Deep Blue DIve Centre were absolutely brilliant, and I had one on one tuition. I found the whole breathing under water thing surpringsly easy and didn't really panic. I had the most trouble with the snorkelling mask!! I was flying along relatively smoothly until I got an ear infection and had to stop all the water fun. I wasn't able to complete it, although I did get credit for what I did get through. I was also quite proud of myself for giving it a go.. plus I now know the secret language of scuba divers!!!

HONDURAN IMPRESSIONS
Overall, Honduras was a lot more wealthy than Guatemala with a surplus of shopping malls, massive bus stations etc. I don't think the wealth is any more equitably spread out amongst the people though. There is certainly less Indigenous culture compared to Guatemala, which is reflected in the lack of handircrafts for sale and the surplus of tight jeans and halter necks and high heels!
I loved my time in Honduras and wished to spend more.. guess I will have to return!!

Thanks for reading!
Cheers
Tricia