Went to En La Manzana Verde in Copán. Pretty cool backpacker hostel. Dropped stuff off and went to lunch with Haley, Ginnie and Erin (another girl in our room). Pretty fun time.

Get back and meet this gray-haired (that’s uncommon in a hostel) English guy name John who biked down here starting in Alaska! He’s travelled all over the world teaching English, French and Spanish. We had an interesting talk in which he was saying he can’t understand why working class people in the U.S. vote Republican when that’s against their best interest. I tried to explain how a lot of it just that conservatie ideology in the U.S. contains the issues that many people care about for religious reasons such as abortion. Canadian guy named Chris was backing him up on this. It’s pretty simple and I think that they were just trying to prove a point. I guess it’s hard for someone like them to understand the concept of someone they disagree with being blinded by ideology when they are also blinded but with just the exact opposite one. At first they made me feel bad about having been ideologically conservative when I was younger but at some point you just have to realize that ideology is empty and feel thankful that you realize that. It took me years in which I switched from conservatism to liberalism to libertarianism to non-ism before I realized this. Sadly, I think many, if not most, people go their whole lives without ever figuring out that ideology is stupid.

Later, we all went out to Via Via Cafe for food and drink. Very hick guy from Wisconsin came too. He was kind of being the loud jackass American that people think of when they stereotype Americans which kind of embarrassed me until I realized that the Canadian guy (Chris) who was acting so critical of him was just as much of a tool for being so aloof. It’s pretty unreasonable to look down on some for acknowledging the fact that shooting guns is fun (I actually agreed with the Wisconsin guy on this). Next, some proud Canadian girl was talking down to us about how the Canadian gun control policy was so much better than in the U.S. She was one of those people who acted as if that was her accomplishment or something and that we were at fault for the United State’s policy. People frustrate me when they act like this because they aren’t bringing the world any closer to solving real problems.

Booked a trip to Finca El Cisne for tomorrow. That’s the local ranch the couple I rafted with recommended. He said that he didn’t have helmets which is nuts. I told him I wouldn’t ride a horse without one, especially after falling off a horse hitting my head (with a helmet on) last fall.

I went back to the hostel to figure out buses and such for the end of my trip. After looking at buses, I realize that I should probably just be heading to Copán today so I decided to leave.

The lady at the hotel said I couldn’t get my money back (had already paid for the night). Not sure I believe her but whatever.

Hopped on the 12:30 PM bus to San Pedro Sula since there are no direct buses from Tela to Copán. Not a big deal though since San Pedro Sula is the biggest city in the country (can get anywhere from there) and it’s on the way:

Once I got to San Pedro Sula, I went to the Tamarindo Hostel recommended in my book. I was planning on catching a bus today from San Pedro Sula but my bus from Copán got in too late. This was really frustrating because I feel like I just lost a day.

Did meet an interesting and helpful guy while buying my ticket named Aaron (worked at the counter). His family owns Hedman-Alas (major bus company in Honduras). He said San Pedro Sula isn’t too bad but take a taxi at night. Good advice.

Met a cool Peace Corps volunteer in my hostel named Elizabeth. Went out to dinner with her, her friend Jill from Peace Corps and Jessie (Jill’s girlfriend). Jessie and Jill are really nice too and, oh man, these girls have crazy stories, mainly in a bad way. Supposedly three girls from Peace Corps they know have been raped in Honduras and one guy was arrested for being a pedophile. One of the girls was actually gang-raped while the attackers made her boyfriend watch. I’m sorry if you don’t want to hear all this but it’s good to know how dangerous some of the places where Peace Corps sent are.

It was fun hanging out with the Peace Corps girls even though they were a little jaded by their experiences (see: Dengue Fever). It’s really fun to talk with people who are doing something that is worlds different than you.

Hang around for a little while (Tyler and Lesley are trying to decide what they are going to do, need to be in El Salvador by Monday).

We end up going hiking to the beautiful El Bejuco waterfall in the the Pico Bonito National Park that Omega Lodge is right on the edge of. This was really awesome. I went and took a shower under it. This was actually as much of a shower as I’ve had since heading out to Omega Lodge.

El Bejuco Waterfall

We get back around 3:30 and I quick pay then grab a taxi back into La Ceiba (to the bus station). The last bus for Tela was supposed to leave at 4:30. As I get out of the taxi I see some bus starting to leave and I overhear a guy say “Tela.” I hopped on the bus and we were off. that was a pretty close call. I really needed to catch this bus since the rest of my plan is pretty tight:

Tomorrow – Punta Sal (near Tela)
Friday – bus down to Copán through San Pedro Sula. Will likely take all day.
Saturday – Finca el Cisne ranch in Copán.
Sunday – Ruins in Copán.
Monday – Early morning bus to Tegucigalpa then fly out of Tegucigalpa in the evening.

Cool bus ride through the country to Tela. Only 60 lempiras too (~$3). Took about 2 hours. I slept during much of it. Walked quite a ways to downtown from where bus dropped me off. Kind of sketchy town.

Got to a popular backpacker hostel but it was full. It was getting dark and I wasn’t sure if this was a great place to be out at night so I just grabbed a hotel in the downtown. It’s about $25 which is far more expensive than anywhere else I’ve stayed this trip but I’d rather just get the sleeping situation on lockdown. The hotel room is amazing. It has a t.v. and hot water! Those are two firsts for this trip.

After the AMAZING food at Omega Lodge, I’m really craving something healthier than the fried chicken and fries that I see in the downtown. I took a taxi out to Hotel Maya vista which supposedly has good food. Pretty good place with an amazing view.

When I got back, I talked a little with Eduardo, the security guard. Really nice guy who was talking about how he has to work 12 hours/day but is just happy to have a job. He said there isn’t much work in Honduras.

I only talked to him for a little bit since I was trying to look stuff up on the hotel’s computer. I still need to figure out how I’m getting from Copán to Tegucigalpa on Monday.

Read about the protests going on in Wisconsin and talked to mom a little on gchat. Kind of crazy. She’s going to get involved in the protests.

Got up and did the first set of rapids (class 1-3). Really fun. the first rapid we did was like the biggest rapids I had done otherwise. Tons of fun. It was me and the Canadian couple (Tyler and Leslie). Jairo was our guide. Cool Honduran guy from the area. He’s 19, been rafting since 13.

Rafting the lower rapids (Class I-III) of the Río Cangrejal

Stopped back at the lodge for lunch. There were some people who were going to go on the upper rapids with us but they bailed. Sam (Australian guide) drove us up a windy dirt road through the jungle to the place where we would start. The drive was a little scary since it was a narrow dirt road and we’re in a tiny, at least 30-year old, jeep with two rafts on top. I can’t imagine what it was like for Allen (guide from Ireland) who was riding on top!

Get to the rapids and it’s raining moderately. Jairo is with Tyler and Leslie. Allen and I are in the other raft. Allen tells me to sit on the left edge in the middle of the raft, shows me how to jam my feet under the seat cushion thing in front of me and we are off. He is pretty hard on me about getting my paddling right, emphasizing that there are parts that we just can’t screw up. I realize we’re about to do something entirely different from the rafting I’ve done before (only two times). I’m scared shitless.

Next thing you know we’re going down drop of several feet. I fell in on a really rough one called “Double Fucker.” It was a little rough because I bumped my elbow and knee on some rocks and got pulled under the boat by the current. Allen grabbed and pulled me up just as I was running out of breath but then we hit another drop (see the name of this again) and I fell back in before I could get back on the boat. Next thing I know, Allen grabbed and yanked me out of the water. It was pretty nuts. I guess what happened is there was a little hesitation in my last forward paddle. Man, you’ve really got to get everything just right out here.

We also jumped off a 6m rock. I’m not a very brave person so I really found this scary. I almost forgot about all of this because at the end of the upper rapids, I jumped off a rock that was 11 meters high. This was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. Really, I’m not that brave. It took me three approaches. Allen really coached me through it. He said “go up there, look down quick, then up, take a deep breathe, say ‘fuck it’ and then jump.” And did it! It was amazing.

Jumping off the smaller (6m) rock

I don’t usually give tips on these kinds of things because I feel like people are just doing their job but I gave these guys a ridiculous tip each. They had such a passion for what they are doing and they get paid too much for doing it. I want these guys to keep rafting for as long as they can.

Hanging out with the crew

Sat around in bed for like two hours half-sleeping. That didn’t feel so great.

Went and got a balleada and some cash from the ATM. then went back to the hostel, packed my stuff and was going to go to the Omega Jungle Lodge once the rain cleared. Met Canadians named Tyler and Leslie who said they’d be up for going. Waited for them to go to the supermarket and then once they got back, we split a cab to the jungle lodge.

They’re nice people who just quit some cult painting franchise company and are taking a break before moving on to other things.

The Omega Jungle lodge here is really cool. We got in and then went for a short but fun hike through the the woods here. Going to go rafting tomorrow. Really excited about that. We are probably going to do the full day which sounds incredible. Tyler and Leslie also gave me a tip about a really cool ranch place you can stay at in Copán called Finca del Cisne. I’ll probably go there.

Went to dinner at the awesome bar-restaurant at the lodge. Met Sam, Allen and Jiro (the rafting guides). Also met a loud and out-spoken chain-smoking Canadian named ex-pat who lived down the road. She was really the life of the party talking about beating up guys back when she was in the military and such…very interesting. She summed up all of her life advice as “don’t put up with shit back in the states; don’t be normal and learn to say ‘no’”

I’m a little stressed about fitting everything in but here’s what I’m thinking:

Tuesday – rafting
Wednesday – bus to Punta Sal
Thursday – Tela/Punta Sal
Friday – Bus from Tel to Copán, Ruins in Copán
Saturday – Finca El Cisne
Sunday – Bus from Copán to Tegucigalpa
Monday – Tegucigalpa ✈ SFO

Oh well, PUMPED FOR RAFTING TOMORROW!

Spent most of the day just relaxing and writing a bunch. Did a lot of reflecting back on everything from the last year of my life (which was also my first year of full-time work). Thought about all the stuff that has happened and what hasn’t. I really focused almost entirely on work this last year. I didn’t keep up my Spanish. I didn’t start learning French like I thought I might want to. I didn’t go out on many dates with girls. The last couple of months since lockdown, I haven’t really haven’t even done many fun things. This needs to change.

After breakfast, I went to the supermarket and tried to do my best to correct the terrible diet of fish and fries I ate on the island. I tried to hit the on food groups I seem to be missing by eating a yogurt, an apple and a carrot. Really felt good to eat something that wasn’t greasy.

At some point I just randomly started laughing. I’m shitty tired in a shitty hostel in a shitty, dirty city and the weather is shitty. Lol. Seriously…why wouldn’t I feel shitty?! I knew there was only one person who would laugh with me about how shitty of a day I was having so I went back to the hostel and hopped on Skype from my iPhone which I brought on the trip to use as an iPod (cell phone disabled and my exchange account from work removed).

As always, talking to Sweeney cheered me up. He’s hit some pretty bum times traveling alone and both knew the feeling I was having and was able to laugh about it with me. He’s going to be doing the Peace Corp which is awesome. Maybe I’ll go visit him on whatever trip I take next winter.

After talking to Chris, a bunch of American med students and nurses rolled into the hostel. Started talking to them and immediately began to perk up a little. They were the coolest, most dynamic, down-to-earth people I’ve met the whole trip. Their names were Dan, Steve, Abby, Hannah and Mado. They are working at a clinic in Roatán for a few weeks. Dan and Stever are med students, Hannah and Abby are nurses and Mado is a pharmacy student.

Right when they got in I was about to go for a run so I went on a half-hour run or so. That felt great.

When I got back, they were leaving and asked if I was going to shower or just wanted to throw some clothes on quick and go roam around with them. I was disgusting but I opted for the later. This was a good choice.

We walked around for a little while and eventually went into some fancy hotel that had an outdoor restaurant along the beach. It was a really nice atmosphere there. Super nice meal and just a really cool place to hang out. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about more medical things. If I ever do a totally different career I think I would probably be a doctor.

Really awesome night. I don’t know why but these guys were just so much fun. Sometimes you hang out with people who just feel refreshing. Nice, funny, smart, big-thinker-type people. Three out of the five are from Ohio and know how to play Euchre! We didn’t actually play. It just makes me happy when people know how to play since it’s a game I played growing up.

Today was a day that really demonstrates the power of perspective. It started out as a pretty crappy day. Then I started writing and realized what was going on. Like I said before, I was just in a shitty hostel in a shitty city on a shitty day and I felt shitty tired and I was letting things get to me. Overall, between writing a bunch, running, talking with Sweeney and hanging out with the doctors, the day really turned around. There were also two really cool Australian-Uruguayan girls in the hostel who were fun to talk with. It was just nice to have some more people in the hostel since it was pretty bleak before.

Called Omega Rafting Tours today. There are two people going tomorrow if it rain, otherwise they’re going to go mountain biking. They said to call back later and maybe there would be more people. Called them around 10pm but no one was there. Probably just going to go there tomorrow and see what is up. The American kids I met today went rafting with them and said it was amazing. They said definitely do the full-day trip. They also did a cool hike from the jungle lodge to a waterfall so maybe I’ll do that tomorrow.

Got some food then hung out a little bit at Captain Morgan’s Dive Shop while waiting for ferry to La Ceiba. Dave (dive instructor) told me about a cool rafting trip with Jungle River Rafting Tours. You get to stay at their jungle lodge and do some fun rafting. Supposedly, this rafting company has had some controversy due to some deaths on their tours. I’m going to look into this.

The couple from Portland were on the ferry to La Ceiba so I hung out with them for a little while. They were just taking that so they could then catch a ferry to Roatán since no one would give them a ride from Útila to Roatán because they thought storms were coming.

Went to Banana Republic Hostel since Guacamaya Hostel was randomly torn down. Insanely tired at this point and took a nap for a couple of hours (this is in the evening). I must be getting sick or something because I have almost no energy.

When I work up, I went to eat dinner. There was some girl named Christie hanging out at a hostel. She had already ate but was bored so she came along. We went to a pretty decent place called Super Balleadas. There was a nice Honduran girl named Nicole who sat down and hung out with us and talked Spanish. She was nice and this was good practice. It was really nice to be able to practice Spanish since there was so much English on the Bay Islands. The conversation did get a little old after a while though since I was super tired and was sort of half-sleeping/day-dreaming during parts of the conversation and then Nicole would look at me and be like “¿entiendes?” and I would snap awak and respond “¿que?” It was then really hard to explain it wasn’t that I didn’t understand her, I just fell asleep during parts and missed those. When I’m tired, my brain doesn’t work well at all and my foreign language abilities are amongst the first of my abilities to go when I’m tired. Sometimes I’m really jealous of people who grow up learning a language.

After dinner I just relaxed. Unfortunately, I left the book I started reading (The Mosquito Coast) at the last hostel.

Fun dives today (2 free included with certification).

Took boat to Útila. Kind of a pain because we were “about to leave” for about 2 hours so I didn’t get any good food in me, just a bag of chips, until about 3pm! Ate at a restaurant in Útila with the Portland couple. Don’t remember the name.

Staying at Cross Creek Hostel (part of Cross Creek Diving School). Nice place. Only $4 for a dorm bed! Run by a pretty nice guy named Kevin from Dubuque, Iowa. They give you a towel, shampoo, soap and toilet paper to use and there is an awesome hangout area outside. It’s also about a block away from the noisy main street and also has free wifi!

Went to dinner at Munchies again for dinner and ran into a Canadian mom, daughter and her friend that I met on the original boat ride from Roatán to Útila. Absolutely dead tired. The whole “not eating for the first 8 hours of the day” thing really killed me. Also, I think I’m at one of those points where you’re kind of sick of traveling. This usually happens to me around a week in and lasts for a day or two. Kind of normal for my trips. Sometimes traveling isn’t necessarily “fun.” I wouldn’t say today was much “fun.” To me, the most important part of traveling is trying to broaden my perspective and world view in the face of growing older which seems to make a person less flexible and set in their ways.

Tomorrow I think I’m going to go to La Ceiba. There are some cool nature things there.

Funny thing that happened while walking back from restaurant with the Canadians. Some little kids started running after us as if they wanted to play tag but instead of tagging us, they started hitting us and laughing. Kind of weird. Not sure what that was all about.

Finish the Sirens of Titan this afternoon—good book. Really makes you think a lot.

Kayaked out to some of the smaller Útila Cays this afternoon with Aaron and the couple from Portland. It was pretty awesome.

There isn’t a good map anywhere online but here’s my best guess at exactly where and what the names of these islands are. Technically, I guess we’re staying on Pigeon Cay and not Jewel Cay but whatever.

Rough Map of Útila Cays

First, we stopped at Jack O’Neil cay which is a private island with a house that you can rent for about $125/night.

Jack O'Neil Key

We didn’t stop at the second island which also looks like it was a private island for rent. I think it’s called Bells Cay. (It’s hard to find good information on the names of all of these islands.)

Next was Water Cay which was the island we went to go see in the first place. It was beautiful. We went snorkeling and saw some really cool fish.

Water Key Island

Aaron had to get back for his night dive that him and Jason were doing (part of the advanced course). Megan and Steven also went back since the sun was setting. I hung around for some great photos that I knew would come with the sunset. They sure did.

Sunset near Bells Cay Island

The feeling of being alone in the middle of the ocean (well, I guess really the Caribbean Sea) off an island (Water Cay) off another island (Jewel/Pigeon Cay) off another island (Útila) off the coast of Honduras watching the sunset was incredible.

I also was able to get a cool video of a pelican close up.

Back at the hostel (Hotel Kayla), it was pizza night (some lady on the island made us pizzas). That was pretty cool.

Feeling pretty good. Starting to really relax. I still have 10 more days! Not sure exactly but I’m kind of thinking of doing my advanced certification then going to Guanaja (the most remote but supposedly most beautiful of the Honduran Bay Islands). I was going to then spend my last couple of days inland. Not sure yet though. I know I’m going to Útila tomorrow after my dives. I’ll figure things out then.

Practiced some skills during the dive too such as taking off our masks, switching to use the alternate breathing regulator, etc…

Kind of a lazy day. Scuba diving makes you really, really tired. Just sat around and read, took the final written quiz for my Open Water Certification and napped.