The Bay Island of Utila

For the weekend Sofie, Maya, Aviv and myself headed to the Bay Islands as we did not have school on Friday. Thus, we got to experience the Honduran bus system and things actually went very smoothly. We rode to San Pedro Sula for around three hours and then from there we caught a bus to Ceiba. This ride took around another three and a half hours. From Ceiba we boarded a ferry that took us to the small island of Utila. As we disembarked we were greeted by local dive guides offering us a myriad of deals and packages. It was a bit overwhelming but it made me feel somewhat important as all the guides converged on our little group. Utila is very different from the rest of Honduras in many ways. First, the first language spoken is English and many of the people have a Caribbean accent when they speak, think Jamaican! There were many tourists and a lot of people who had moved to Utila from other countries and were working as guides or in the local hotels, etc. We stayed in a hotel right on the beach and in the morning Aviv, Sofie, and myself went snorkeling while Maya did two dives. The water was warm and the plant and fish species under the water were brilliant! There were fish with fluorescent colors that appeared as if they were glowing under the water and the diversity of the plants under water was amazing. It was fun to swim with schools of fish and explore the mini canyons under the water. That night, we went to a restaurant called El Picante. It is owned by a man who was born in the Congo in Africa. He greeted us when we arrived and the Mexican food there was delicious. Then, we wound up talking to him for another two hours and met his wife and his father in law and his son. His was such an interesting story. His sister was killed in the war in Rwanda and his mother had recently passed away and this had occurred simultaneous to him opening his restaurant. Because of his new business and because of the cost of a plane ticket, he was unable to attend her funeral. Despite all of the tragedy in his life, he maintains a positive attitude and is so happy to be alive and operating a new business. His wife is from Utila and she had the Jamaican accent and they were quite a pair. Then, her father showed up and we sat and talked while they drank beer. The father in law invited us to go the keys the next morning but sadly, we had to leave the next morning. It was so nice to meet some locals and hear their stories! That night, we went out on the town and went to a bar that took years to create. There are numerous glass bottles, marbles, and other oddities that make up the place. It has many levels and is a work of art. I have posted some pictures of this interesting place. We also met a girl from Tegucigalpa, Karla, who is a university student and is learning English. Her English was a lot better than our Spanish and we talked with her until the wee hours of the morning. She wants to come visit us in Copan if she gets the chance. It was a quick trip but we are all so glad we we're able to visit the Bay Islands and Utila and meet the wonderful people and see one of the world's greatest underwater shows.