So, still in Honduras. I thought all night, I think I might have debated what to do in my dreams, I laid in bed considering what to do this morning, and I mulled things over while I visited the Mayan ruins. I think I have a plan.
Before I get into that, I went to see the ruins this morning here at Copan. They were quite beautiful. I wound up going with a group of six missionaries who were working in Honduras, but their mission just closed down on Tuesday because of the political situation. Since there were so many of us together, we elected to hire a guide. Antonio was an awesome guide with impeccable English. He used to work in journalism, and is part Mayan, part Spanish. He told us that the ruins at Copan are the second-largest Mayan ruins after Tikal, in Guatemala. That seems surprising to me because I thought there were other bigger ones, but the guide probably knows best. In any case, it was great; I got to see macaws there, the national bird of Honduras. I might be missing out on bird-watching at the Lago de Yojoa, but at least I´ve seen some macaws.
Now the plans. I´m staying here in Copan Ruinas for one more night. It´s a beautiful, quiet town, and it´s right next to the Guatemalan border (which opened again at midnight last night). Tomorrow morning, I´ll be taking a shuttle directly from here to Antigua at 6:00 am. That should be a six-hour trip, and the border should still be open tomorrow so I can cross. I understand there are concerns about swine flu in Guatemala, but I will be extremely cautious.
I don´t mean to have everyone worrying about me, and I am considering returning early to Canada. As it stands, I´m meant to fly out of San Pedro Sula on August 31. Right now, I am absolutely not returning to that city. I intend to leave Honduras, and if I fly home it will probably be from Guatemala City or somewhere else depending on when I leave. I am being careful and taking the political situation very seriously. However, I know there´s a small possibility this will be smoothed over, and travel in neighboring countries will go back to normal. Keeping that in mind, I´m hesitant to jump ship right now. There´s a chance, though possibly a slim one, that Zelaya will be reinstated on Saturday. So I am going to stay on for a couple of days to see what happens, and then make a decision. Right now, if I wanted to hop on a plane, Saturday would be the soonest I´d be able to. I would need one day to travel to the city of departure, and another day to allow for the necessary hours spent trying to get through the airport (in San Pedro Sula, at least). I also don´t really want to plan major travel on this upcoming day of great interest. So I head to Antigua, I climb a volcano and read the news, and I figure out what to do.
Now I have eight and a half hours before curfew, and I´m not quite sure what to do with myself. Maybe I´ll see about visiting coffee plantations, or maybe... I don´t even know what else I can do here. I think it´s time to read my guidebook some more. Take care, know that I´m safe, and keep in touch!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
From Utila to Copan Ruinas
After a boat, a minivan, two buses, a pick up, a local bus, and a chartered minivan, I´ve arrived in Copan Ruinas. The goal for the day was to get to Guatemala, and I´ve made it to the border. Not bad, I don´t think. The second bus was supposed to get me here, but the road was blocked. So I and seven other Canadians and Americans navigated our way through the country together.
Since I´m here next to Mayan ruins, I figure I´ll take tomorrow to visit them (the border is, after all, closed to all but pedestrian traffic). After that, I´ll figure out what I´m doing. Honestly, I don´t know. The situation here on the ground is not as it seems in the news. Yes, there is serious stuff going on, but since the majority of Hondurans are fairly poorly educated, no one knows what´s happening. Everyone I have met is just sitting back, waiting for the situation to resolve itself. While I see good reason to leave Honduras right now, I don´t feel the need to flee Central America. However, it´s something near impossible for me to do what my parents disapprove of, and my mother´s frantic emails are getting to me.
My time here on the internet is up. I´ll keep thinking about this tomorrow while I wander the ruins, and see if I can come up with a reasonable solution.
Since I´m here next to Mayan ruins, I figure I´ll take tomorrow to visit them (the border is, after all, closed to all but pedestrian traffic). After that, I´ll figure out what I´m doing. Honestly, I don´t know. The situation here on the ground is not as it seems in the news. Yes, there is serious stuff going on, but since the majority of Hondurans are fairly poorly educated, no one knows what´s happening. Everyone I have met is just sitting back, waiting for the situation to resolve itself. While I see good reason to leave Honduras right now, I don´t feel the need to flee Central America. However, it´s something near impossible for me to do what my parents disapprove of, and my mother´s frantic emails are getting to me.
My time here on the internet is up. I´ll keep thinking about this tomorrow while I wander the ruins, and see if I can come up with a reasonable solution.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Hoping to Sneak Across a Border
Well, Honduras is in a very interesting state right now. It's quite exciting, and I'm rather enjoying seeing how it evolves from within. I kind of like being in the middle of the action (sorry Mom and Dad, I know you don't appreciate that). In any case, as I understand, the ex-President wanted to make the country communist, he's currently in Nicaragua, and the Honduran-Nicaraguan border is closed to keep one country's military from storming into the other.
I was going to travel across Honduras, but now that there's a country-wide curfew of 9:00 pm and a bunch of roads have been blocked, that seems like more trouble than it's worth. So I'm thinking of darting up to Guatemala ASAP (tomorrow), and spending at least the next month out of Honduras. However, is it possible for me to cross that border or not? I can find no information about it online, and everyone seems to have a different opinion. I already purchased my boat ticket to leave Utila tomorrow morning, but I have no idea if I'm going to be able to go anywhere once I leave. Of course, it's also not possible to do much of anything on the island with the curfew. So... wish me luck in going to Guatemala tomorrow?
No other news here (I think that's about enough!). The mosquitoes have returned, so I'm ridiculously chewed up. I had forgotten how much more annoying they are than sand flies. Going to the Iguana Station and looking at the swamp lizards also didn't exactly help. Well, off I go to investigate the border situation. Aaaahhhh!
I was going to travel across Honduras, but now that there's a country-wide curfew of 9:00 pm and a bunch of roads have been blocked, that seems like more trouble than it's worth. So I'm thinking of darting up to Guatemala ASAP (tomorrow), and spending at least the next month out of Honduras. However, is it possible for me to cross that border or not? I can find no information about it online, and everyone seems to have a different opinion. I already purchased my boat ticket to leave Utila tomorrow morning, but I have no idea if I'm going to be able to go anywhere once I leave. Of course, it's also not possible to do much of anything on the island with the curfew. So... wish me luck in going to Guatemala tomorrow?
No other news here (I think that's about enough!). The mosquitoes have returned, so I'm ridiculously chewed up. I had forgotten how much more annoying they are than sand flies. Going to the Iguana Station and looking at the swamp lizards also didn't exactly help. Well, off I go to investigate the border situation. Aaaahhhh!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
A Less-Stable Honduras
So many days in a row I find myself in an internet cafe. At least it's much cooler today AND the air conditioning in this place has been fixed. Yesterday I just sat here mopping up my sweat for an hour.
Nothing new to report in my life, but Honduras certainly has a lot going on. I had a couple of lovely dives this morning, took a long nap this afternoon, and now I'm here checking up on the news about Honduras. Yes, there's been a military coup that the UN, the EU, and many countries disagree with. And yes, this certainly leaves room for riots. My intention is still to travel across Honduras, but I promise to be wary, to keep up with current affairs, and to change my plans as necessary. I intend to go only to small, out-of-the-way places, and nowhere near Tegucigalpa. No worries!
Time for me to plan how I'm going to get off this island, and where to stay at the Lago de Yojoa. I think birdwatching is next on my list... Birds don't have riots, do they?
Nothing new to report in my life, but Honduras certainly has a lot going on. I had a couple of lovely dives this morning, took a long nap this afternoon, and now I'm here checking up on the news about Honduras. Yes, there's been a military coup that the UN, the EU, and many countries disagree with. And yes, this certainly leaves room for riots. My intention is still to travel across Honduras, but I promise to be wary, to keep up with current affairs, and to change my plans as necessary. I intend to go only to small, out-of-the-way places, and nowhere near Tegucigalpa. No worries!
Time for me to plan how I'm going to get off this island, and where to stay at the Lago de Yojoa. I think birdwatching is next on my list... Birds don't have riots, do they?
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Status quo
It hasn't been long at all since my last post, but since I'm on the internet I figure I should write something more. I have done just about nothing since my last post. Honestly. I went for a bike ride as far as I could around the island (there's a big canal you can't get over, so really it's not that far), ate some food, had a pain in my stomach (presumably from eating too fast), took a nap, went to the weekly UDC barbeque to watch some snorkel tests, went to sleep, and woke up with a very bad stomach. Boo. After a day of convalescing, drinking pepto bismol, and somehow dragging myself out for a golf-cart tour of the island (Sara rented one), I'm now good as new. I don't really know what it was all about, just that many people here have been complaining of stomach cramps lately, so it seems something is going around. Alas, it's over with now.
I rode my bike to the other end of town to meet Sara yesterday, and then left it locked up on the side of the road when we took off in the golf cart. So this afternoon I wandered through town finally taking pictures of the place, and retrieved my bike. Picture taking has finally commenced! I know you would all love for me to add pictures to my blog, but I'm afraid I can never remember to bring the patch cord with me when I use the internet. Perhaps I'll get it right sometime soon. In the meanwhile, know that I'm taking pictures (even if I'm not in enough of them).
My plan was to leave Utila and head straight for Belize on either June 30 or July 1. However, the ferry to Belize runs only on Mondays, and I'm not prepared to leave the island tomorrow in order to catch it. So I think I'll be heading through Honduras over to Gracias and Celaque National Park first, and then probably doubling back to catch the ferry to Belize on the following Monday. Otherwise I'll just wander into Guatemala from Honduras and see about Belize later. I promise that whatever I do, you'll all be posted.
Lynn Anne, I miss your well-thought-out itineraries. I will manage on my own, as I have done in the past, but travelling with you really was such a pleasure. It takes me forever to figure out an itinerary for myself. I just want to have someone to bounce ideas off of, but no one else could care less about which way I circle Central America (understandably).
I'm off now to continue mopping up my sweat, and work my last shift at the UDC bar. All the best, and keep in touch.
I rode my bike to the other end of town to meet Sara yesterday, and then left it locked up on the side of the road when we took off in the golf cart. So this afternoon I wandered through town finally taking pictures of the place, and retrieved my bike. Picture taking has finally commenced! I know you would all love for me to add pictures to my blog, but I'm afraid I can never remember to bring the patch cord with me when I use the internet. Perhaps I'll get it right sometime soon. In the meanwhile, know that I'm taking pictures (even if I'm not in enough of them).
My plan was to leave Utila and head straight for Belize on either June 30 or July 1. However, the ferry to Belize runs only on Mondays, and I'm not prepared to leave the island tomorrow in order to catch it. So I think I'll be heading through Honduras over to Gracias and Celaque National Park first, and then probably doubling back to catch the ferry to Belize on the following Monday. Otherwise I'll just wander into Guatemala from Honduras and see about Belize later. I promise that whatever I do, you'll all be posted.
Lynn Anne, I miss your well-thought-out itineraries. I will manage on my own, as I have done in the past, but travelling with you really was such a pleasure. It takes me forever to figure out an itinerary for myself. I just want to have someone to bounce ideas off of, but no one else could care less about which way I circle Central America (understandably).
I'm off now to continue mopping up my sweat, and work my last shift at the UDC bar. All the best, and keep in touch.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Two Right Feet?
I discovered a strange thing last night. I've been through a few pairs of flip-flops since I got here. The ones that I brought with me (all the way from Malaysia!) eventually deteriorated and fell apart. After a few busy and barefoot days, I bought myself a new fabric-covered pair. They were lovely, but not meant to get wet, and quickly fell apart. Not surprisingly, they actually got caught on my bicycle when I was trying to dismount one day last week, and that's when one of them ripped in two. Uninterested in walking barefoot again, I discovered an open store while walking [barefoot] to dinner, and bought myself new rubber flip-flops. This was about a week ago.
I was pleased with the new flip-flops, but my left foot was getting badly rubbed by the strap and was pretty nicely ripped open by the next day. In an effort to let my foot heal, I gave up wearing any shoes for the following week. I would just carry them around with me in case I should feel the need to wear them at some point. Last night, I felt my scabs had turned into nice enough calluses that I should be ready to wear the sandals. They were alright for a while, but eventually started rubbing on my foot a bit, so I kicked them off at the bar. My roommates were there, and Gord asked, "What, are you going to try wearing them on the opposite feet to see if they fit better?" Not a bad idea!
So I slipped the uncomfortable left flip-flop onto my right foot, and discovered that the strap fit perfectly. Naturally, the sandal is cut to the shape of the left foot, but the strap is meant for a right foot. So my sandals are 3/4 right and 1/4 left. Brilliant. Only in a developing country would you get stuck with flip-flops like these. I did go back to the store today to hint around about asking for a new shoe, but the woman working there wasn't going to budge. She pretty much just barked at me. Alas, I will survive until I get to the mainland, and then I will find myself a properly comfortable pair.
Off now for a bike ride. Take care!
I was pleased with the new flip-flops, but my left foot was getting badly rubbed by the strap and was pretty nicely ripped open by the next day. In an effort to let my foot heal, I gave up wearing any shoes for the following week. I would just carry them around with me in case I should feel the need to wear them at some point. Last night, I felt my scabs had turned into nice enough calluses that I should be ready to wear the sandals. They were alright for a while, but eventually started rubbing on my foot a bit, so I kicked them off at the bar. My roommates were there, and Gord asked, "What, are you going to try wearing them on the opposite feet to see if they fit better?" Not a bad idea!
So I slipped the uncomfortable left flip-flop onto my right foot, and discovered that the strap fit perfectly. Naturally, the sandal is cut to the shape of the left foot, but the strap is meant for a right foot. So my sandals are 3/4 right and 1/4 left. Brilliant. Only in a developing country would you get stuck with flip-flops like these. I did go back to the store today to hint around about asking for a new shoe, but the woman working there wasn't going to budge. She pretty much just barked at me. Alas, I will survive until I get to the mainland, and then I will find myself a properly comfortable pair.
Off now for a bike ride. Take care!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Celebrating the 100th Dive
Today I went on my 100th dive. Divers in tropical climates have a particular way of celebrating this event. It is done naked. (Cold-water divers drink champagne after every hundredth dive.) So, I strapped on my fins, weight belt, scuba unit, and mask, and hopped in the water in my bikini. After descending, I went to a sandy patch, slipped out of my bikini under all the gear as gracefully as I could, and stuffed the swimsuit in my pocket. I must say, it was very liberating to dive in the nude, and about as chilly as expected. Swimming over the bubbles of other divers wasn't too bad either...
At the end of the dive, I went back to my sandy patch, slipped into my bikini bottoms, and removed my scuba unit in an attempt to tie my top back on without tying any hoses to myself. However, when I removed the unit, I had just breathed out and my regulator got twisted out of my mouth. I had a little scramble, retrieved the reg, and proceded to try and figure out how to get my suit back on with a tank that was trying to float away. Thankfully, Melanie (my fully-clad partner in crime) came to the rescue and held my tank so I could tie my top back on. All in all, it was a lovely dive, and I fortunately did not run into any divers who didn't know what I was up to.
Other news from here, not so much. And to be honest, I'm beginning to wonder if I should keep sharing since none of you will tell me what you're up to or let me know you're still alive. Are you ousting me for wanting to leave [safe?] Utila and go backpacking? Is silence your way of telling me not to do that? If so, it isn't working. And anyway, I'll have much better stories when I'm on the road. You all want that, don't you? Siobhan climbing volcanoes, Siobhan visiting Mayan ruins, Siobhan horseback riding or white-water rafting?
Well, planning for my upcoming travels is going along well. I've gotten lots of help with places I should visit, but I'm still trying to figure out a rough itinerary. Anyone who knows how I travel knows I'm essentially incapable of creating an itinerary. But good or bad, I'm trying. The question is, do I go from here into Guatemala, head south, and see the sights I want to see in Honduras on the way back? Or do I cover Honduras first to make sure I see what I know I want to see and then continue on? I'll be here until the end of June, so I still have a while to figure it out.
Now I'm off to the Iguana Station, unless I fall asleep first. There are lots of iguanas here on Utila, and that's a centre to learn more about them. People say it's fairly basic, but I like lizards so I'm quite excited to check it out. Actually, no one here can believe how excited I get every time I see an iguana. Lynn Anne would understand though. ¡Adios!
At the end of the dive, I went back to my sandy patch, slipped into my bikini bottoms, and removed my scuba unit in an attempt to tie my top back on without tying any hoses to myself. However, when I removed the unit, I had just breathed out and my regulator got twisted out of my mouth. I had a little scramble, retrieved the reg, and proceded to try and figure out how to get my suit back on with a tank that was trying to float away. Thankfully, Melanie (my fully-clad partner in crime) came to the rescue and held my tank so I could tie my top back on. All in all, it was a lovely dive, and I fortunately did not run into any divers who didn't know what I was up to.
Other news from here, not so much. And to be honest, I'm beginning to wonder if I should keep sharing since none of you will tell me what you're up to or let me know you're still alive. Are you ousting me for wanting to leave [safe?] Utila and go backpacking? Is silence your way of telling me not to do that? If so, it isn't working. And anyway, I'll have much better stories when I'm on the road. You all want that, don't you? Siobhan climbing volcanoes, Siobhan visiting Mayan ruins, Siobhan horseback riding or white-water rafting?
Well, planning for my upcoming travels is going along well. I've gotten lots of help with places I should visit, but I'm still trying to figure out a rough itinerary. Anyone who knows how I travel knows I'm essentially incapable of creating an itinerary. But good or bad, I'm trying. The question is, do I go from here into Guatemala, head south, and see the sights I want to see in Honduras on the way back? Or do I cover Honduras first to make sure I see what I know I want to see and then continue on? I'll be here until the end of June, so I still have a while to figure it out.
Now I'm off to the Iguana Station, unless I fall asleep first. There are lots of iguanas here on Utila, and that's a centre to learn more about them. People say it's fairly basic, but I like lizards so I'm quite excited to check it out. Actually, no one here can believe how excited I get every time I see an iguana. Lynn Anne would understand though. ¡Adios!
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