Honduras 2
On my last trip to Honduras, I regretted not being able to travel the mainland because all my time was taken with the Spanish School. I decided to still take Spanish classes; however, I took a couple of detours. The other difference, before I traveled with 3 other folks, this time I went solo.
The flight into Sand Pedro Sula was unexciting. Upon my landing I was immediately greeted by a guy with a badge (was it real??) who wanted to help me through the airport process and money exchange. I knew the currency exchange and heard sometimes the “street guys” can give you a better deal. It wasn’t and they guy demanded $50 limp for commission. As Honduras is becoming more of a tourist destination, this is part of the process.
I caught a Hedman Alas bus to Copan. A spectacular two hour drive through small towns and rain forest. At the bus station in Copan I was greeted by another guy (with out a badge) who wanted to help me get a taxi. He would get me a deal for only $3.00 (US). I said no but he still persisted until I got my own taxi for 15 limp (.75 us). Not a good start.
I had a great room at the Iguana Azul. A small hostel type B&B with a shared bath for $8 per night.
That afternoon I went to the Parque Avos and paid $10 for an excellent tour of rare and endangered birds. They have their own coffee plantation of “shade grown” coffee. My ticket was good for 3 days. This is a great place to “hang out” a small river runs right through the property. If you come here be sure and buy the coffee—it is excellent.
I met an Israeli guy named Endron, we both wanted to see the ruins so shared a taxi. It is worth the $25. to get a guide for the ruins. What you want to do is hook up with some other folks and share the cost. We found three others and paid $5. per person. The Copan ruins are a must for anyone with any archeological interests. I took quite a few pictures.
The town of Copan with its cobblestone streets and friendly folks was a great place to spend a couple of days. There are two banks restaurants and hotels in all price ranges. The cheap ones (hotels and restaurants) were excellent.
The afternoon of my third day I took the last bus to La Ceiba which got me there around 8:00 at night. I was suppose to be picked up at the bus station by Jungle River Tours, though waiting for me was a taxi who wanted to charge me 100 limperias to take me to my location. I got him down to 20 lempira and later found out the going rate was 12 lempira.
Things weren’t going nearly as smooth as when I had Rafael from Central American Spanish School make all my arrangements. I did however; hook up with Jungle river tours at their La Ceiba hostel. Though I had been emailing his wife, Oscar, the owner, didn’t know I was arriving. They also forgot to put me on the calendar for a “pick up” at the bus station. Everything worked out fine.
The next day, I hooked up with my old river buddy Johnny; he was still wearing the “rubicon” hat I gave him last year. Johnny told me he wanted to run the class V section of the Rio Cangreal—being a “seasoned” river guide myself, I am always a go.
We put in at the confluence of the Rio Niejo (Old River) at the headwaters and began our 18 mile descent. The river is a steep; pool and drop run with only a couple of portages. Though there are some rapids that require class V technical skills, the volume (approximately 400cfs) made the consequences much less catastrophic; since we had 2 flips, I certainly appreciated that fact. However, I did cut my foot and that cut later turned to a staff infection which took several months to heal.
After spending two days rafting I was ready to head out to Utila for diving and Spanish school.
Utila
Utila is the smallest of three major islands and closest to the mainland. It can be reached by ferry or air transport from La Ceiba. Central American Spanish School has a school on both Utila and Roatan. I started my classes (4 hours per day for 5 days) on Monday. My teacher, Sole, was more than accommodating in working the classes around my diving. Spending 5-6 hours per day on a dive boat and another 4 hours in class kept me more than occupied for my stay on the island.
This trip I originally was going to dive with Utila Watersports. When I went to their office, no one would talk to me. I knew Deep Blue was good so I went there and they were great. There are over a dozen dive shops on Utila, I am sure some are better than others. I wasn’t impressed with Alton’s—too many divers. Deep Blue were nice folks. The instructors on the boats were extremely competent, informative and liberal about folks diving their own profile. All the dives were on the north side except one day when the ocean conditions were not appropriate for a 11/2 hour boat ride. Some of the sites we dived were spotted bay, west end CJs Drop off, Blackfish Point, Joshua’s Swash, Great Wall, Black Bird Point and Black Hills. The North side is interesting diving but not any better than the south side. The visibility ranged from 60 to 100ft. Depths were 40 – 90ft. Most dives are wall dives except for Black Hills which is an incredible sea mount. Corals and sea life are prolific in Utila. We saw, lobsters, big crabs, mature Spotted Drum, Blow Fish, Puffer Fish, Porcupine fish, Burr Fish, Frog Fish, lots of Jacks, Stone fish several turtles, several moreys, eagle rays, lots of interesting corals including sea fans and barrel sponges. All the dives were excellent. Three out of 5 days of diving Utila we dove with Whale Sharks. Utila is the only dive destination I know of, where you can just about be guaranteed a Whale Shark episode between mid February to April.
I would highly recommend Deep Blue
Roatan.
Roatan and Utila are only a few miles apart geographically but a world of difference. The diving is similar but everything else is different. Lots of Americans on Roatan, the cruise ships come here 2 times per week and everything gets a little crazy during that time. Lodging, food, diving are all more expensive, yet not any better than Utila. Certain people are attracted to Roatan and others to Utila. I am with Utila. There is a lot of development on Roatan and property values have skyrocketed.
Diving
I had been in contact and reserved my diving with Sureno del Mar but when I arrived, they said they had no opening for me. Subsequently, I found Coconut Tree Divers. They were very accommodating. All and all, Roatan was OK, I will probably never go there again. However, I would recommend staying at an all inclusive such as Coco View Resort, Anthonys Key, etc. Roatan has a great airport. I flew directly from Roatan to San Pedro Sula, and finely home.
The Best Link I have found is:
http://www.aboututila.com you can find all the info you want about Utila, diving, lodging, spanish school and even rafting.
Bill
http://www.rubiconadventures.com 
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