Location: Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras
We're here!!!! Finally! Me and Anna booked it from Granada and spent the last 2 days on buses allll day long. Spent from 9am-9pm yesterday on buses or in bus stations, but the border from Nicaragua to Honduras was the fastest and easiest one yet! Spent last night in a sketchy hotel in a sketchy part of San Pedro Sula (Honduras' second-biggest city)- the room was 5 feet by 6 feet, and had a bed and a fan and that was it. But we got in late and didn't want to catch a cab somewhere, plus it was only $3.50 per person. I slept with my pocket knife beside my pillow, Anna slept with her cane next to her, but we both got through without incident! Haha those crazy gringos!
Today we rode the final 4 hours to La Ceiba, where we were to catch the ferry to Utila. In the ferry terminal, who do we run into buuuut...Anne! The chica Steve and I partied with in Panama! I flew at her with a big hug and we laughed hysterically.
Anna and I got to town and separated from Anne and the Scottish couple we met, in order to find our diving company. For $230 we get certified to dive (which, remember, lasts as long as you live and certifies you to dive around the world), free snorkeling, free kayak rental, and free nights at the company's hostel as long as we're learning to dive (which is packed with divers, a welcome relief from hostels packed with surfers!).
Anna and I went to a nearby restaurant to order our first meal in days, the past two days having eaten only gas station junk food and a mango purchased from a street vendor. As we munched on quesadillas (me) and tuna sandwiches (her), Anne walked by with her friend and the two joined us. Soon they were followed by the Scottish couple. I took a quick bathroom break and upon my return, sitting in my seat was another from the Panama crew! Lado, the Slovenian guy we'd spent a couple of days partying with. How perfect! Tonight, in about an hour, all of us and the super-rad waitress from the restaurant are all going to Treetanic, a happening bar in the heat of town, and hopefully tomorrow we'll begin our theory (read: boring part where we read about diving) and may venture out into the sea with a kayak.
The plan for the future: Anna and I will get certified, then proceed to Guatemala for a week of Spanish lessons and volunteering in San Pedro, a town against Lake Atitlan. Once that's over, I might fly back to Costa Rica, as bussing would require three or four days and plane tickets are only $200, and I'll volunteer with turtles where she'll volunteer in Monteverde. THEN the plan is to hopefully extend my trip by a week so that we can head down to Panama once more, as Bocas del Toro is my happy place :)
