Roatán, Honduras

Folks,

And so now it's four Caribbean islands in four weeks, given that four weeks ago I was still on Isla Mujeres.

The pic of the week shows sunset on my last evening on Caye Caulker.

Journey from Belize
---------------------
It was an early start to get the 7.30 boat to Belize City, and then the bus to Punta Gorda in the very south of Belize. I arrived about 6pm, and stayed overnight.

The next morning, I was down to the ferry to get the small boat that would take us to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. The crossing was quite rough. It was a small fast boat, so it thumped over the heavy waves, and I could see my rucksack up front going into freefall every now and then. There was a group of six American Christians, clad in Missionaries of John Paul II and pro-life t-shirts. So I figured there would be enough prayers going on to keep us all safe.

Two borders
--------------
At the dock we were met by lots of taxi and minivan drivers, offering to take us across the border. A guy on the boat had told me that I could go with him and his cousin for 75 quetzales (I can't remember the rate, but about €6.50). He told me it would be relaxed and comfortable. But when I got to the clapped out car it looked like it didn't even have springs. So I headed over to the Christians who were negotiating a 50 quetzales fare on a minivan, so I joined with them.

We had to go through Guatemalan immigration, drive 20 minutes, Guatemalan emigration, drive 10 minutes, Honduran immigration. From there we picked up a bus going to San Pedro Sula, the next big city.

From San Pedro Sula, I got another bus to La Ceiba, the port where boats go for the Bay Islands off the north coast of Honduras. That completed two days of quite hectic travel.

Currency confusion
---------------------
I didn't know the rate of the Honduran Lempira, so I asked one of the Christian group, and she told me the rate to the dollar was 18.80. I knew that the dollar was €0.68, so I calculated a rate.

When I got to La Ceiba, my hotel was €15.60 a night. But it was a dive. I tried the hotel next door, which was €38.60, and out of my price range. So I stayed in the cheaper one.

I had dinner in a fairly ordinary restaurant, and again it wasn't cheap. I was surprised, because according to my guidebook, Honduras was to be one of the cheaper countries I'm visiting.

Later, I was in an internet café (which was also a bit pricey!) and I looked up the actual euro/lempira rate. It was more than double the lempiras per euro rate I'd calculated. I had multiplied by the 0.68 euro/dollar rate, instead of divided.

So now, my hotel was only €7.15 and matched it's dive status. I moved to the more expensive one, which was now only €17.60 and was perfect.

Roatán
--------
The Bay Islands are a group of 3 islands off the north coast of Honduras. They're former pirate islands, and, like Belize, have more of a Caribbean than a latino feel to them. In fact, from Belize down to Costa Rica, the places I've been on the Caribbean seem to have much more in common with each other than with their own countries. The experience feels more like, I imagine, Jamaica than anything Spanish.

Roatán has quite an international feel. There are people of all nationalities, some of them living here. There is a huge range of restaurants, Indian, Thai, Swiss, Vietnamese and Mexican. With real Mexican food. Not like the type you get in Mexico.

It's beautiful here, and I have a really nice room in a lovely hotel right on the beach. I had come here to dive, but I've picked up a fairly nasty headcold, and you're not supposed to dive with one. I've taken the chance on it before, but I'm pretty bunged up, and if it's still the same tomorrow I'll skip the diving.

The weather this week hasn't been great. From Sunday, when I left Belize, to today, Friday, it's been overcast and rainy, with just a little bit of sun. It doesn't bother me, but some people who are on short holidays are not too happy.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I think I'm heading back to the mainland on Sunday, then heading to the Mayan ruins at Copán, before heading on down through the capital, Tegucigalpa, to Nicaragua.

So until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Prensa: Strong warning from Chavez to the United States at OPEC summit