Honduras

Since the guidebooks had little to say about Tegucigalpa (the capital of Honduras) and San Pedro Sula (the AIDs capital of Central America); we bee-lined to the idyllic islands of Roatan and Utilla.  Flying into Roatan was affordable and saved us time which we were running low on.  We landed in Roatan only to be engulfed in smoke.  Apparently the winds can cause the smoke from the burring cane fields on the mainland to sit over the islands.  We weren’t sure we could handle it but thankfully the smoked cleared within days.

Knowing that Roatan was more laid back than Utilla, we decided to take care of our advanced diving course while in Roatan so we could just enjoy ourselves in Utila.  The dives in Roatan were absolutely gorgeous.  There is a huge problem with lionfish in the Caribbean because they are not native to the area and have no predators so dive masters are allowed to hunt them.  We convinced our guide and all headed out on a lionfish hunting expedition.  It was a successful mission with us getting two then he filleted them right on the dock (he did actually stab himself so we got to see the treatment which is just hot water as it breaks up the proteins), squeezed a little lime and a few drops of hot sauce then straight into our mouths.  It was delicious!!

Aside from the diving, the best story happened on our first night.  We decided to start our evening at a cigar bar with a beautiful view of the sunset which offered a combo mojito/cigar deal that interested both of us.  I met Towe there after finishing a few emails and found him chatting up a couple on the deck.  I was introduced to Brion James and his girlfriend as Brion and Towe were reminiscing about Hollywood.  Apparently Brion spent some time there but the story kept getting better.  A side to the story, and one only mentioned because there were a plethora of characters that made the night a weird and hilarious one, was the young girl that walked up to Towe right in the middle of the group conversation and practically tried to kiss him while telling him how beautiful he was.  I thought they had met before but Towe motioned that he had no idea who this chick was either.  She was going on and on about how her mother was from Honduras but her father was a Colombian drug lord.  At one point Towe managed to pass her off on me while Brion showed him a hotel that was recently closed and for sale next door.  With tears in her eyes she told me about how her husband, another drug lord in Colombia, is locked up for many years because he was caught transporting hundreds of kilos out of the country.  She kept offering us drugs and wanting to buy us drinks which immediately made me start questioning her motives.  We finally had an out when Brion mentioned he was going home to smoke a j and asked if we wanted to come along.  It was ridiculous prying the girl from us as she just wanted ‘our company’ but once we were away, Towe informed me that the bartender (who had become a friend of ours) said that she was always kicking that girl out of the bar for doing drugs in the bathroom.  Needless to say she was a working girl and we were both happy to be rid of her.

We jumped in the back of Brion’s pickup and met another couple characters; Brian and Sam.  Sam is a builder who has lived on the island for years and actually knows Brion from his beginnings in the music industry in their home state of Oregon (or was it Washington?).  Brian met Sam when they were kids and beat each other up.  Brian seems to be stuck with the intelligence of that same child who was beat up and dresses like he is heading to camp.  He had a camel back with the chest strap latched on the entire night along with a round hiking type hat, both of which he wore at the bar that night.  Everyone was really nice and friendly especially Brion who seemed to be excited to have an audience of new listeners.  The walls of his house are covered with gold, platinum and other records and tapes.  Yes, tapes.  This guy’s first break was a one-hit wonder group that P. Diddy produced which went gold….tape.  HA!  His story of ‘breaking through’ is a great example of always trying your best because you never know who is watching (or listening in this instance).  He was recording one of his original compositions in a studio in LA when P. Diddy himself called the sound board guy (apparently world class famous) and heard his song in the background.  Diddy bought it on the spot and that started his recording career.  Mind you, before going into writing and producing music, Brion had already toured the world several times over playing bass for various bands one of which is The Rolling Stones.  Brion is now ‘retired’.  He keeps himself busy tending bees, teaching music at a local school and playing with a band a few times a week.  We stayed to see him but that never happened.  We actually never saw him again after that night which was a bummer as he was a real firecracker.

We did decide to meet up with Sam and Brian for local food on the other side of the island that night.   Sam enticed us by mentioning the delicacies of Iguana, turtle soup and other local fare.  We were told to meet them at a bar on the other side of the island in an hour.  We showed up to The Breeze Bar and immediately felt like we were in the wrong place.  That was until we heard the only other gringo talking on his cell to someone we inferred to be Sam about meeting some people there.  This guy was another character.  He had a young hot local girl crawling all over his body and he kept being overtly blatant with his affection.  The only other person at the bar besides that couple and the staff was a giant of man who was off his rocker high on coke.  At one point he just sat down at our table outside, busted out a baggie and literally stuck his nose in it till it was gone, both in his nose and on his face.  He then tried to tell us something about his children he didn’t know, wife he never loved and property he could sell us for much less than market value.  It wasn’t until later in the night that we found out the guy ‘batted for both teams’ and was probably trying to make a pass at us the whole time.  Unfortunately the local cuisine was not open so we decided nervously to eat at the bar.   The crazy part was how amazing the food was.  We didn’t realize but they had the grandmother locked up in the kitchen making amazing dishes.  We started with conch soup then had amazing wings and shrimp. 

After several days on Roatan we headed over to Utilla for more diving and a little night life.  This island is ground zero for diving backpackers with ultra-cheap accommodation, usually at the dive shops packaged with diving and bar access.  We were recommended Alton’s and found it very welcoming.  Over the course of a week on the island we did 10 dives each and saw some amazing sea life.  Our first dive was probably our coolest in that we got to swim with a beautiful turtle, saw an amazing eagle ray and then got to swim with a pod of close to 100 spinner dolphins during our surface interval (break between dives). 

The nightlife on Utilla is an amazing thing too.  There are only a handful of bars and the crowd usually moves in packs.  We would spend the day at our bar at the dive center then head over to Skid row (billed as the best ‘dive’ in Utilla) for some drinks then to Tranquilla and/or Treetanic.  Treetanic is apparently rated in the top 5 list of bars throughout the world with just cause.  The owner has meticulously built this space over 15 years and it resembles a Gaudi vision of Alice in Wonderland.  Very cool.  We made excellent friends with the staff at Alton’s and had dinner on two nights at different people’s houses.  It was nice to enjoy a home cooked meal in a home which is something I realize I have been missing lately.

Copan has been a perfect and relaxing way to ease out of travelling and gear up for coming home.  We spent 4 days here and have enjoyed the cool weather and friendly city.  One day we spent lounging in the hammocks at our B&B then explored a local brewery we had heard about.  A very cool Bavarian was brewing in the kitchen when we arrived and pouring delicious ales and heffs.    We have the whole B&B to ourselves which is nice too as we can just lounge around outside, reading and enjoying the peace and quiet.  The ruins were another great day trip just outside of town.  We walked there, explored and did the nature hike which was all very gorgeous.  One recommendation would be to skip the tunnel experience as it is amazingly expensive for nothing.  Just trust me on that one.  On our last day we went up to the Macaw Mountain bird sanctuary and had a wonderful walk through a spectacularly laid out aviary space laced with coffee plants.  It has been so nice to slow down here and just enjoy the moment before I plunge myself back into life off the road.