Paradise Found La Ceiba

... a aprender a bucear, aunque tenáa muy poco dinero.
Parece poco, pero no nos hace falta más, ya que no estamos muy
lejos de Utila, en Honduras, el sitio más barato del mundo para
hacer un curso de buceo. Para llegar ahá nos dirigimos a Ráo
Dulce, cerca de la costa atlántica de Guatemala. En unas horas
de bus pasamos del ambiente ligeramente cosmopolita de Antigua a la ...

... it. No worries there. We sat down and started the test with Jules providing us with entertainment the whole way, luckily we all passed first time round and were now all that one step closer to completing the Open Water.

Unluckily, my usual bout of dodgy stomach came back to haunt me that day and shortly after lunch I had to make the first toilet dash. We were due to go out on the afternoon boat for the last of our training dives before starting our fun dives ...

... day of boat dives, and the first time I would go to 18m, the lowest level I could go with my certification.
It was brilliant fun to flip in off the side of the boat, and weird to be putting all the gear on outside of the water, its bloody heavy and hard to walk around the boat with it on, especially if there is some chop in the sea.
We did two dives and some more skills, I felt alot more comfortable and was able to swim around and control my level in the water ...

... Isabelle also rubbed some termites on my arm as a natural mosquito repellant. Saw some Mango trees, banana trees, tried a wild banana that was full of big black seeds and then we walked back across the river.

I stayed in the river for quite awhile (a couple hours, I think) playing with some local high school girls who went to an English speaking school and trying to have a conversation in Spanish with some of the local guys (the conversations were very, very ...

... gibt es auch in Honduras Mayaruinen die mit die groessten, schoensten, beeindruckensten und bedeutungsvollen etc. sind. Da das kleine Oertchen Copan Ruinas eh auf dem Weg lag, machten wir dort einen kleinen Zwischenstopp. Ein schoenes Dorf in den Bergen mit netten Menschen, leckeren Frappuchinos und den besten Cuba Libres und ja, auch die Ruinen waren schoen! Eine weitere Tagesreise spaeter kamen wir dann endlich auf Utila an, einer der drei Karibikinseln ...

... to sit on in the isle ways. They looked seriously uncomfortable, little did I know that I would shortly be sitting on one. An hour into the journey a very pregnant girl got on board and took the foldable chair next to me. I offered her my recliner and ended up in the isle. This was a dangerous place to be as every time the bus lurched to the right or left I would land on my neighbors as most of the arm rests were gone so there ...

... and wait.... About an hour and a half later, an official drove up and we were told to disembark. The captain gave her our passports and she called our names one by one, collected $3.50 and stamped our passports. Considering that there is no town here, no major road or other signs of border activity, it is a mystery why this all takes so long but there's nothing I could do about it so I just scanned the mangrove for ...

... I walked around a bit and checked out dive shops to get my PADI open water scuba certification.  I settled on Cross Creek dive center where I met my instructor named Biscuit from Quebec, Canada. Over the next 5 days I met and hung out with some of the most welcoming people I've met on this trip so far. My class consisted of 3 other people all from the states as well. The Island itself has away of sucking in people here for longer than planned on ...

... purposeful for me to come here. The host family that I stayed with was truly fantastic. I count myself as being quite lucky to have stayed there. From day one Maidelyn and Jeff, as well as the two boys Dante and Lestat, whole-heartedly welcomed me into their home. They included me during their intimate Christmas and New Years celebrations effortlessly. The fantastic meals that Maidelyn created made me fatter by the day. But I enjoyed ever pound. They were also instrumental in aiding me ...

... Peak Performance Buoyancy, Night Diving, and Wreck Diving as my specialty classes.

Anyway, after a week it was time to go. I´m now off to the mountains to hug trees (and monkeys if I can catch ´em). Also, I´m a little tired of the heat...I miss that chill mountain air.

So, who else has been diving and thinks it´s the coolest thing EVER and wants to go on a diving trip with me??????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!