OMEGA TOURS ECO LODGE
In La Ceiba there was a taxi was waiting to take us to the Omega Eco Lodge, up in the mountains. (half hour ride $20US)
It was a beautiful lodge. Our room was more like a tree-house cabin. It had 2 floors, each with its own king size bed. Both levels were screened on three sides with the most spectacular views, right from the bed. There was a swimming pool, restaurant, dining area and bar with outdoor patio. They even had an outdoor shower made completely of stones.
However, we did not get to partake in any of these extras. It was raining a bit when we arrived (remember there was bad weather coming). It started to pour within the hour of our arrival. We closed the wooden roll down blinds to our cabin. We decided to sleep downstairs because the wind was a little less than upstairs. Even so, the wind drove some moisture through the blinds and onto our bed. We didn't go back upstairs, but it must have been worse, as our ceiling dripping water all night. The power went off and we went to bed early via candlelight. It was pitch black by 5:30pm. Thankfully, it was fairly warm so and extra blanket kept us cozy. We ate some oranges that fell off the trees – fresh and yummy!
The next morning, the rain had let up a lot. When we went down for breakfast (included) we were told that the rain was supposed to be even harder this day. While we were trying to decide whether to stick it out or depart, the little stream that had been trickling near the swimming pool broke free and flooded the pool with muddy water. OK, this was looking bad. Even the white water rafting guide called off her trip. (The cabin was half price if we had booked a rafting trip.) Then the receptionist - who was from St. Albert, AB!! - said the road was washed out. OK, now it is really time to leave!
ROAD TO COPAN
She arranged for a taxi to come as far as he could up the mountain, while the Lodge truck took us down as far as it could. We had to walk about a half hour to meet the taxi. There was barely space to walk, in some places, the road was washed out so badly. The receptionist also told us that there were no ferries, planes or buses leaving La Ceiba due to the heavy rains. The taxi driver confirmed this. We could see from the trail of rubbish (mostly plastic, the scourge of poorer countries) how high the water had been the night before. Evidence of the flooding was everywhere. It reminded us of Hurricane Bertha in Scotland just this past summer. The taxi driver told us that the bridge leaving town was actually closed last night. We were told that the last time it rained this hard the guests were stuck at the Lodge for 5 days with no electricity for three days. They didn't offer a discount. We asked the taxi how much he would charge to take us to San Pedro Sula, as the weather was supposed to be better inland. A price was negotiated. We were leaving town before it got even worse.
The countryside was the same as every other Latin American countryside. Skinny brahma cows, brick red soil, windy roads, people idling by houses and on the roadside, some houses no better than shacks with only a curtain over the door and some elaborate houses with wrought iron fences. We passed lots of pineapple fields and African Palm which they harvest the oil for cooking. We must have crossed a hundred rivers and creeks. The mountains are very peaked, like a child would draw. Petro was 22.50 Lempira (roughly 20 Lempira per Canadian dollar).
RETURN TO LA CEIBA
We spent the night at a lovely hotel called The Rainbow Hotel. Each unit was a small apartment, and each was a different color. We stayed in the green room – everything was green, right down to the sheets on the bed. It was reasonably priced at $73, which included two taxi rides as well as supper and breakfast. A nice German lady was the owner, so you know the food was good!
Then it was a ferry back to Roatan. We stayed at the Sea Breeze again. I got in a three more dives in the following two days. We boarded the plane on the 7th for the 25 hour return flight home.
We didn't pack in as much as we normally would have as Ed had had a heart incident in September which required them putting 4 stints into his heart. He had been off work for 6 weeks and had only been back at work for one week prior to us departing. We toned our trip down considerably, but it was still very nice.
