We’d pretty quickly fallen head over heels for Guatemala, so were both a bit sad to be leaving such a beautiful country and our longstanding travel crew. Thankfully we were embarking on a week that was to mix up some incredible weather, action packed scuba diving and an encounter with a couple of monster sized mammals’.
The travels started with our first real long journey using the wide range of Central America’s public transport, putting our newly acquired Spanish skills to the test. A combination of boats, shuttles, collectivo’s and buses brought us across the border to the coastal town of La Ceiba, the gateway to The Bay Islands. As soon as we arrived into Honduras we were struck by the immediate increase in the wealth and westernisation of the country when compared to their Guatemalan neighbours. We’d been given some fairly serious warnings about the safety levels in Honduras so after skipping straight through San Pedro Sula we saw little of La Ceiba before picking our hostel for the night.
Utila is a diving meca in this part of the world and it didn’t take us long to see why. Getting off the ferry the following morning we were greeted by people from about 10 different dive shops all giving you the Brad Pitt treatment as they try to coerce you into choosing their shop. Several shop inspections and a couple of boat tours later we settled on our choices, ending up with a hotel on the beach as I signed up for an advanced diving course and Cush locked into her beginners. The step up in wealth meant motorbikes were replaced with golf carts as the main form of transport on the island. While lacking any real beaches, the entire town is set along the water, with the majority of bars and hostels overlooking the ocean.
Temperatures in the mid 30’s which lasted all week, meant we were straight into the water off the jetty of our hotel for some snorkelling. I unfortunately came out on the wrong side of a skirmish with a Jellyfish which left a fairly scummy rash on my ribcage but minimal other effects.
Scuba Diving
Day 1 of my course meant a 6am start as we headed to the North side of the Island for our deep water (30m) dive at The Maze. This was the most spectacular dive in my pretty limited previous experience, as we navigated off the edge of a shelf that drops down like a cliff over 200m underwater. While boating to our next dive site we were treated to the highlight of the week. Our boat suddenly came to a stop as we were informed that our captain had spotted some whale sharks. For a small fee ($10) he’d lead us to them and we could get in the water with our snorkelling gear. Whale Sharks are a bit like the holy grail for divers and incredibly rare to sight even in these parts, so to get the chance on my first day was more than I could’ve dreamed of. We snorkeled above the 7 metre shark for about 2 full minutes, as all around us thousands of tuna
were leaping like crazy. The whole boat was full of adrenaline on the journey home, with even some of the most seasoned Dive Instructors buzzing like school kids at Christmas. It was a hugely surreal experience swimming with the largest animal I’ve ever laid eyes on and one that will not quickly be wiped from the memory bank.
The week gave me the chance to experience some diving I’d been dreaming about since getting my Open Water Cert way back in the Nayland College days and 30 degree water, beautiful coastline and crystal clear water provided the perfect backdrop. As well as a number of reef dives I did my first ever wreck
dive, investigating a 30 metre sunken cargo carrier just off the coast. I also did my first night dive, another adrenalin inducing encounter. The whole experience of being in the water gets amplified in the dark and rising to the surface to be greeted to a sky full of stars and some lightning to boot was amazing. Despite being less than comfortable in the Ocean, Cush decided to take the plunge and begin her open water certificate but soon decided it was better to leave breathing underwater to the fishies. This left her free to enjoy some serious relaxing in the hammock and exploring the town.
The Island is perfectly set up for backpackers and despite being low season we spent some great nights exploring some local watering holes and taking advantage of a never ending supply of fresh seafood. A quiz night at the dive shop also gave us a great chance to realise how pitiful our international general knowledge is while we plied ourselves with free rum.
After a long travel day we spent our final night in Honduras in the capital Tegucigalpa. If we needed confirmation of the legitimacy of the safety warnings we’d received, Tegucigalpa provided it in spades. This was our least favourite destination on our trip by some distance, with our hostel locking its gates at 10pm. If you’re not in by then you’re left to fight with the dogs and drunks on the street. Unfortunately as well as an increase in wealth the Hondurans have also picked up the Western traits of alcoholism and obesity. The Capital City in particular was awful, full of rubbish, canines and drunks. While the rest of the country is a non stop low light, the Island of Utila was an absolute paradise and a must do destination. If you’re keen on Scuba Diving, Utila is what heaven looks like.
Nights stayed: La Ceiba 1, Utila 6, Tegucigalpa 1
We got to Utilia – from Livingston, boat to Puerto Barrios, Shuttle to Puerto Cortes, collectivo to San Pedro Sula, Bus to La Ceiba all for about $22 each
A Collectivo – Is a large version of a minibus that drives along the road picking people up as they go. A guy hangs on the outside whistling and shouting the destination of the bus to anyone standing at a bus stop, walking down the street or looking even slightly interested in what’s going on. A surprisingly comfortable and very affordable way to get about.
The Diving – We went with Parrots Dive Centre, which give you your advanced diving course plus 2 fun dives (7 dives in total) for $250 which is ridiculously cheap. If you stay in a dorm your accommodation is free while you dive, Cush even got a free trial before deciding not to proceed. Most of the shops offered similar deals.
It will cost you – very little. As well as the cheap diving there’s plenty of cheap eating and the location means there’s no end of great seafood choices. RJ’s provided the best quality of the week with their garlic shrimp dish for 120 limpera’s ($6). As far as value for money goes, the Baleadas (huge toasted tortilla filled with meat and salad goodies then folded) for 30 limpera’s ($1.50) so far take the prize for best value for money of the entire trip so far. I had 4 in my first 24 hours on the Island.
Quote of the week – “Whale Sharks!!!!”
What grinds my gears – I appreciate their are people in this world you feel the need to push their beliefs onto others. In which case grab a soap box, hit the streets and do your thing. But standing up and preaching the bible while people are stuck on a 5 hour bus ride is not the way to win people over.