July 6, 2007

The ferry ride from La Ceiba on Honduras’ mainland to Utila ($15/person) was the most harrowing boat ride either of us had ever been on.

For an hour of sheer hell, the boat was pummeled by waves that only sailors in the America's Cup yachting race should have to deal with. All the passengers were given barf bags; nine people filled them.

My only comfort was the knowledge that if the boat capsized, the water would at least be warm.

- - -

Utila - the closest of Honduras' three Bay Islands - is to Honduras what Caye Caulker is to Belize: a small, backpacker friendly Caribbean island about an hour off the mainland.

(The more upscale Bay Island of Roatan, we surmise, would be comparable to Belize’s San Pedro).

Once we found our land legs and let the nausea dissipate, we made our through the throng of ex-pat hotel and restaurant promoters that zero in on the new arrivals, we headed to Rubi’s Inn, a basic guesthouse with attractive wood trimmed windows and doors right on the ocean.

Utlia didn't work for us as much as Caye Caulker. It may have been because:

-of the ferry ride to the island, or
-Utila´s main claim to fame is that it is an extremely cheap place to get your scubing diving certification but we didn´t dive, or
-Adrienne never quite stopped feeling sick after the boat ride, or
-the locals weren´t as friendly as they had been on Caye Caulker, or
-there was an outbreak of dengue fever on the island, or
-the bikes we rented had rusty chains, or maybe, or
-we ran out of cash and the only ATM on the island wasn´t working and so we had to bum $15 bucks from the girl in front of us in line in order to buy our return ferry tickets.

Or maybe, after six months on the road, we are getting tired of living out of a VW van, and worn down by the low-level, but constant, heightened sense of awareness that we have, as we drive through Central America.

Side excursions to islands like Isla Mujeres, Caye Caulker, and now Utila, seem to leave us on edge, as they involve the headache of finding a secure place to leave the van, which contains our entire life, and then remembering what key items we need to stuff into our compact overnight bags.

All that said, we stayed on Utila for three nights before catching the ferry back to La Ceiba.

From La Cieba, we taxied the 15 or 20 kilometres south to the small community of La Samba. We had left our van there at Helen’s Place, a hotel and restaurant owned by a helpful Quebecois family.

Although it wasn't exactly straightforward to find Helen’s Place – which had been recommended to us by the Quebecois owner of the Maya Vista Hotel in Tela, where we had stayed a few nights previous – it was easier to find than gas in La Cieba.

Yes, our arrival in this steamy city with a large Garifuna population happened to coincide with a shortage in the gas supply; many gas stations were closed altogether while others were selling only the more expensive premium.

Key Facts & Figures:

-Maya Vista Hotel, Tela: $25/night
-Taxi ride Samba Creek to La Ceiba: $20
-Ferry from La Ceiba to Utila (one way): $15/person
-Rubi's Inn: $22/night
-Bike Rentals: $4/person