Honduras

We got picked up at the ferry terminal by a driver organised by the Jungle River Lodge in Pico Bonito National Park where we were going to stay that night. The lodge is located in a beautiful setting next to the river Cangrejal, so we enjoyed the views for a bit until it got dark.

Pico Bonito

Pico Bonito

The next morning we had planned on doing the hike the lodge organises in the National Park. But it turned out not to be a normal hike at all. First we had to cross a river. The guide told us to take off our shoes because the water was knee deep. He should have told us to change into our swimsuits though because the water was actually chest deep. The current was also very strong (not surprising for a river in which people go rafting as well...) and I would never have made it across without getting carried away by the water if the guide had not come back to help me. So I started the actual hike soaking wet and not very happy at all.

Pico Bonito

The hike then led us through the jungle to some waterfalls. Very soon we realised it would be hard work getting up there though. Not only was the mountain very steep, the path also led us over some very slippery rocks, over very narrow parts with dangerously steep drops on the side and it involved actual rock climbing in some parts. This could all be fun and adventurous I guess, but it would be nice to know about these kinds of things in advance. The activity was advertised as a pretty simple hike through the jungle. It did not help either that the guide walked quite fast most of the time and did not stop very often to check whether everybody was still there and doing alright. On a difficult 'hike' like this, that should really be the case. It was a beautiful area, the guide gave us a lot of interesting information on the plants we saw and I even ate a couple of termites (which are not bad at all, they have very little taste but are very crunchy), but I was very happy when we got back to the lodge where we got a big fruit platter for lunch.

Pico Bonito

Pico Bonito

We then got brought back into La Ceiba where we spent the rest of the day not doing much.

We got a boat from Utila to Roatán on the 23rd to be there on time for Christmas. After checking into our hostel, we went down to the beach at Half Moon Bay, lay in the sun for a while, then had a walk around the West End area and the souvenirs shops. After this, we went to a huge supermarket where we stocked up on food for Christmas. We cooked something in the hostel, met some of the other people staying there and then went out in West End with them. We went to a couple of bars and then to a club for some dancing. A good night out!

When I woke up the next morning, I couldn't believe it was Christmas Eve! At home it was already pretty late too so that after breakfast I started talking to the first people at home. Wishing friends and family a happy Christmas, it was strange imagining everybody at home having their Christmas dinners while I was on a Caribbean island.

The weather was not very nice that day, so even after I had finished talking to everyone I could not go to the beach. I stayed at the hostel and used the afternoon to catch up on my blog entries. Then it was time to make myself a Christmas dinner too! Since I could not make a fancy meal like at home, I decided to at least make something Luxembourgish. I went for something easy, but very tasty, Kniddelen After eating, we prepared some mulled wine to get into the Christmas mood. A few of us then went into West End for drinks and to listen to a live band in one of the bars. When we got back, others were still sitting in front of the hostel. We joined them and stayed out there with them for quite some more time. It was a very nice Christmas Eve!

Shots and beer on Christmas Eve

Christmas Day was even better. First, we opened Christmas presents! My English travelling companion and I had decided to buy each other a present so that we at least got something on Christmas. I got a nice blue bag, perfect for the beach!

Opening my one Christmas present

Chritsmas morning at the hostel

Then we went with all our new friends to the nicest beach on the island, West Bay. We first had some sparkling wine on the beach :-) After sunbathing for a while, we went snorkelling. The reef and fish were very nice. Then we smoked one of the cigars we got at the Santa Rosa de Copán factory. The first cigar of our lives, how exciting! Although the boys helped us a bit too, it took a long time to smoke it. We had no idea how long these things last... As we had an Argentinean with us, it was unavoidable that he would get the maté out as well at some point

West Bay

Sparkling wine and a cigar on the beach

Then it was finally time for dinner! We went to a resort on the beach which offered a Christmas dinner buffet. The food was great! Ham, turkey, stuffing, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, salad, pumpkin mash, tamales and a lot of different cakes for dessert including two amazing cheese cakes! I was completely stuffed afterwards!

Christmas Dinner

After dinner, someone had the great idea to spin a bottle to make one of us drink a chili shot. Unfortunately, I was the unlucky one... So I had to drink a shot of vodka mixed with chili sauce :-S I did it though and it could have been worse... We stayed at the restaurant a bit longer, watched a fire dancer show and later some fireworks. Afterwards, we squeezed into a taxi with 6 people (very comfortable as you can imagine) and went back to West End.

4 guys squeezed into the back of a taxi...

and 2 girls in front

We went to one of the few bars open, had some more drinks and danced a bit. On Sunday, even when it is Christmas, the bars are supposed to close at 10pm, so at around 10.30, the police came and made the bar shut down.

Even the dog is out drinking on Christmas Day

We had no choice but to go back home to the hostel and continue our party there. Like you do so often on Christmas, we decided to play a card game, but of course this time as a drinking game... A few hours later everybody slowly started going to bed and the end of a great Christmas Day had come.

On Boxing Day, most people got up very late and we only left the hostel once, to go get a late chicken lunch at West End. Other than that we had a quiet day and night at the hostel.

On 27th, we had to leave to get back to La Ceiba. So after a morning spent at the hostel, mainly packing and reading, we said goodbye to everybody and went to get the ferry back to the mainland.

We are very happy with our choice as to where to spend Christmas! And we are hoping that New Year's Eve in Antigua will be just as much fun!

I am spending Christmas on Roatán, a Honduran island in the Caribbean sea, this year. It is very strange to be in a hot country and stay in a hostel for Christmas. And without Chritsmas markets and the typical pre-Christmas foods, such as the cookies, marzipan and mulled wine, there just is not really a Christmas feeling in the air... Although the Central Americans are doing their best at making it look a lot like Christmas, with all their Christmas trees and lights and - sometimes a bit exaggerated - decorations.
So from over here, I wish you all a very happy Christmas!! I hope you all have a good time over the holidays, eat a lot of nice food and get a lot of pretty presents
And here a few examples of what the Latin American Christmas looks like:

Christmas tree in San Salvador

Christmas tree in San Salvador

Santa in shopping centre in San Salvador

Christmas decorations in shopping centre in San Salvador

Christmas decorations in shopping centre in San Salvador

Christmas tree in San Salvador

Christmas tree and nativity scene in Izalco

Santa Claus piñata

Christmas tree in Juayúa

Christmas tree in Nahuizalco

Santa and Mrs Claus

Christmas tree in Copán Ruinas

Christmas tree in La Ceiba

Decorated golf cart

Crazy Christmas decorations on Utila

Christmas tree hanging upside down from the ceiling of a bar on Roatán

On Wednesday morning, we took the ferry from La Ceiba to Utila, one of the Bay Islands on the Caribbean coast of Honduras. I wanted to go diving because it is cheap and good there. On the day we arrived, I sorted out my dive for the next day and then we hung out on the dive centre's dock and enjoyed the sunny day.

Utila

Utila

The dive the next day was great! At first it was strange being back in the water with all the dive gear for the first time after my course. But then, when I was used to it again, it was so much fun! We did not see anything as exciting as a shark or a ray, but the reef was beautiful and we saw many colourful fish, a moraine, a trumpet fish, porcupine fish and lionfish.

It then went to the beach, which was very small and not really nice, but it served the purpose of enabling me to lie in the sun for a while. I then went to have a look at a bar called Treetanic. We were there the night before and it looked really interesting, so we wanted to go back in the daylight to see more and take some photos. It really is a crazy place with really cool decorations.

Treetanic

Treetanic

Treetanic

Treetanic

Treetanic

From the lake, we travelled North to La Ceiba, a city on the Caribbean coast. After dinner in a shopping centre (for the first time on this trip I ate at Burger King, I should be ashamed ) we went to the cinema! We had wanted to go see a movie for a while, but there was never anything on that we wanted to see and that was showing in the original English version. So we went to see New Year's Eve, a nice movie for this time of the year

The next morning, we went to the Cuero y Salado Wildlife Reserve where we took a 2-hour boat tour along the river to spot animals. We saw many birds and monkeys, a lizards, some caimans and a crocodile! It was a nice tour, beautiful surroundings and interesting animals.

Train from La Unión to the Cuero y Salado Wildlife Reserve

Cuero y Salado Wildlife Reserve

Turkey vulture in the Cuero y Salado Wildlife Reserve

Cuero y Salado Wildlife Reserve

Crocodile in the Cuero y Salado Wildlife Reserve

Monkey in the Cuero y Salado Wildlife Reserve

Cuero y Salado Wildlife Reserve

When we got back into La Ceiba, we decided we still had time to quickly visit one of the small villages along the coast where the indigenous Caribbean people, the Garífuna live. We went to a place called Sambo Creek. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived we only had 1 hour until the last bus back was leaving. This gave us just enough time for a short walk around the village and to get a seashell soup to take away. It was a really good soup, typically Caribbean with coconut and spices! The village was typically Caribbean too. It was small, but it had a certain nice feel to it. The men were on the beach with their fishing boats and families and friends were gathering on the streets outside their houses. We saw some very unusual advertisements painted on some walls as well, such as the one you can see below.

Men meeting on the beach in Sambo Creek

Beach in Sambo Creek

House front painting warning that children should not drink alcohol