Some pictures from my underwater photography dive...

They aren't award winning...but for a first attempt, I think thy're quite good.

A turtle

Everything's OK

Me (looking a little bog eyed, if you look closely)

Coral

Coral

Shrimp

The delightful surface weather

An eel

More coral

Even more coral

My dive buddy, Mateo

Lago de Yojoa and Pulhapanzak...

I made it down to Lago de Yojoa on Friday afternoon. I’d wanted to arrive on Thursday, as I was planning on staying a night in the D&D Brewery, a microbrewery near the lake, before the others arrived, but as I’d had to stay and finish some forms for diving, I didn’t manage to leave until Friday morning. Hopefully I can make it back for another weekend before I leave!

http://www.ddbrewery.com/

We stayed at El Cortijo del Lago, which was great. It’s right on the lake and our room had a huge porch with hammocks, overlooking the lake. It has a good restaurant, which serves fresh fish and prawns and you can rent boats to row across the lake. Not to mention, hot water and free drinking water (it may not sound exciting, but I miss tap water more than anything)!

http://www.elcortijodellago.com/about.html

I spent Friday afternoon in a hammock, finishing my book. I hadn’t spent that much time reading during the week as I’d been diving, and as antisocial as it may have been, it was great to just sit and read; it’s nice to be surrounded by people, whilst quietly doing my own thing.

On Saturday, we went to Pulhapanzak, a 43m waterfall on the Rio Lindo. We hitched a ride in a truck to Peña Blanca, took the bus to San Buenaventura and then walked up to the waterfall. For about £5 you can take a guided tour behind the falls; I wasn't expecting a lot, but it was amazing! You climb down into one of the pools, then into the pool at the bottom of the waterfall, up behind the water and into a cave in the rocks. After that we jumped from some of the rocks into one of the pools and then did a 9m jump into the river below the waterfall; 9m is a long drop! I hadn’t realised it would be so full on but it was great. You can’t see a thing as you swim under the spray. We had to climb into the cave through a tiny, dark hole. As I’m claustrophobic, I was terrified, but made myself do it anyway! Once you were in the cave, it got bigger, but was still pitch black. It was surreal to be sitting inside the waterfall. I’m also not a big fan of jumping from great heights, but since I managed to jump off the dock at Alton’s, I made myself do it this time too. I jumped into the smaller pool 3 times and did the 9m jump twice. Once you hit the water, you have to swim to the bank pretty quickly, as the water flows fairly rapidly. You then have to scramble up the cliff, to get back to the path. I loved it but it was exhausting. I wish I’d had a waterproof camera, as the pictures would have been incredible.

On Sunday, we rented boats and rowed across the lake to what we thought was an island, but was actually not. It was much further than it looked and the boats had seen better days. Our paddles weighed about a tonne each and so the going was tough. It was also absolutely boiling...my back was protected by the life jacket, but my arms and knees caught the sun. By the time we all reached the ‘island’, everyone was too tired/hot to walk around it, so we sat down for a while and then started to row back. I’ve never seen anything as comical as watching Oskar, Allie and Perla attempt to row their flat bottomed, metal boat across the lake; by the time we got back, they were about 50m from the island. I wish I’d taken my camera, as the views were incredible, but I didn’t trust us not to capsize.

(Pictures to follow)

We didn’t have to wait too long for a bus back to Tegus on Sunday and the one we did catch cost about £3 (for a 4 hour journey), had air con and a TV. Ideal.

It’s now back to family life, work and reality! I miss the family whilst I’m away, but not the screaming which started about 5 minutes ago and doesn’t look to stop any time soon....the joys of small children!

I need to crack on with my initial dissertation proposal, which is due in on 26^th March. I’ve downloaded some articles onto the Kindle...but that’s about as far as I’ve got!

I’m going to start working in the office tomorrow; hopefully there will be more for me to do!

I think I’m going to go to Copán this weekend and visit the ruins. I’m already looking forward to getting out of the city.

It’s Ele’s birthday tomorrow, so Happy 21^st Birthday! I wish I was there for the Harry Potter party! I hope you have a lovely day :) Enjoy New York!

Nearly 9 weeks down...11 to go 

Utila - take 2...

So Friday finally arrived; I left home at 5.15am in order to catch the 6.15am bus to La Ceíba. Arrived in La Ceíba about 2 hours early, but it’s always better to be early than late (Mozambique couldn’t break that habit). Whilst waiting for the ferry I introduced Sam and Will to their first, of many, baleadas. The ferry was a delightful experience; it was so choppy! When one person is sick, it starts a chain reaction...people were throwing up left, right and centre. Will was a lovely shade of green for the entire journey. I’d taken one of the sea sickness pills which you can pick up when you buy your ticket, so I was fine.

I was doing my Advanced course and I had Tomas as my instructor again and a small group; Todd, Spencer, Mateo and myself, which was great. The deep dive (30m) and navigation are compulsory and on top of those I picked peak performance buoyancy, a night dive and underwater photography. I managed to combine a drift dive with the photography and got to dive the Halliburton wreck as one of my fun dives, which was lucky. The visibility wasn’t as good as it could have been for the photography, but I got a picture of a turtle, an eel, some shrimp and the coral, as well as the obligatory ‘look at me underwater’ pictures (pictures to follow). The night dive was interesting but I found it quite hard to see; although I did see a huge crab, a lobster and lots of puffer fish. I also let my mind wander...thinking about sharks when it’s pitch black under water is not a wise move. Sam did a couple of fun dives; he got the best weather and visibility, and Bicky did his Open Water course; after days of theory, he eventually made it into the water and finished just in time.

I, yet again, got eaten alive by sand flies; it looked like I had some kind of horrific skin disease. A room upgrade and prescription strength antihistamines got it under control, but I do have some delightful scars.

I had good intentions to actually see more of the island this time, but the weather put paid to these plans, although I did kayak out to the lighthouse twice, snorkel on the reef and kayak to the private beach. 

One of the highlights of the week was the discovery of the 10 lempira cinnamon rolls from Thompson’s bakery. A lot of our time was spent eating; baleadas, pastelitos, bagels etc, especially when it rained. Another great new discovery was the cinema; it shows a different film every night and costs around £1.70. We watched 'Breakaway', a Bollywood film, set in Canada, about ice-hockey...I loved it, and 'The Ides of March', which despite knowing nothing about American politics, I enjoyed. 

It was a great week and I'm really glad I bumped into the boys in Nicaragua. The world really is a village!

Post holiday blues...

This blog is a little late but here it is nonetheless. It is also a little whiny...forgive me; it was one of those weeks, just one things after another!

Coming back to Tegus after Nicaragua left me with serious post holiday blues, the worst part being that I went from being surrounded by friends to having no friends at all! I really don’t have any friends in the city...it’s quite sad. Settling back into work was difficult; I really struggle with having no set role and little or nothing to do. I taught a few children/mums to make bracelets, tidied some of the toys, downloaded cross stitch patterns and attempted to cross stitch an elephant but that was pretty much it. That leaves me with quite a few empty hours in my 7 hour day. Also, although I really like the family I live with, it can be really hard at times, with young children and sharing a room. I was exhausted and a little stressed so got a wisdom tooth infection which was excruciating. It was made worse by the fact that I’d managed to burn the entire roof of my mouth on boiling hot anafres – melted quesillo (cheese) and frijoles that you eat with tortilla chips.

The family all go to church on Sunday, so I either have to stay home alone, or find something to do, which invariably means going to the mall. I went to the cinema on my own for the first time ever and watched Hugo in 3D. For £1.90, the cinema is one of the cheapest things you can do here. They are a little behind and you have to avoid the dubbed films, but I’m catching up on some of the films I missed whilst I was in Mozambique.

I’ve never been a big internet user before, but with a lot of time to kill, I’ve started trawling through StumbleUpon, Wanelo and 8tracks, which is brilliant and my new favourite thing.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/

http://www.wanelo.com/

http://8tracks.com/

Knowing that I was going to Utila on the Friday kept me going! I think I may have snapped at various points if I hadn't had that to look forward to. 

(Moan over)

Some diving pictures...

The turtle in Útila

The following pictures are courtesy of Johnny Gaskell:

Diving in Nicaragua

Me, above the wreck

San Juan del Sur...

Part 3


We were all worried that the bus journey would be arctic, Tica Bus are known for their love of AC, so we all made sure to grab jumpers out of our bags. We needn’t have worried...the AC broke leading to an absolute sweat fest! The windows don’t open and we were not allowed to stop and change our clothes until we reached the Nicaraguan border! On reaching the border, customs and immigration were lucky enough to witness a mass striptease! So on the way back to Tegus, I thought I’d be smart and wear slightly cooler clothes, just in case...huge error. The AC was back with a vengeance and I shivered all the way home! You can’t win!

We arrived in Managua around 7pm and no one wanted to spend a night there so we decided to get a cab and split the cost; $80 between 4 of us for a 2 ½ hour journey, a deal improved by the fact that he stopped for McDonalds and rum. The frustrating thing about buses in Central America is that they don’t travel over night, which means travel time is always significantly longer, as you have to spend nights in cities you much rather wouldn’t!

Finally we got to San Juan del Sur and realised we weren’t entirely sure where the others were staying so we ended up staying one night in Casa de Oro. We eventually found the others and paid our first visit of many to Iguana Bar.

On Wednesday we moved into Casa de Olas...the best decision ever made! Genuinely the best hostel I have ever stayed in! Owned by an Australian couple, Carla and Fred/Mum and Dad, it is amazing – an infinity pool, a monkey, nice rooms, a projector/Netflix account, free pancakes for breakfast, family meals in the evening, amazing views, free WiFi and hardly any other guests. That evening we had a Nicaraguan style BBQ for supper and then went to Iguana Bar again. It was ladies night so the girls drank free from 10-12!

On Thursday, Paddy, Johnny, Luke, Jake and I went diving. I signed up without really knowing what I was in for; the Pacific is a hell of a lot colder than the Caribbean and the visibility was 7m instead of 30m! We were going to dive the wreck of a Russian shrimp boat which the boys had convinced themselves was a Russian submarine. It was perfect for me as with my open water I’d only been to 18m. I have only ever stepped off a boat, so rolling in backwards was exciting for me. The water was absolutely freezing, especially as we only had 3mm wetsuits! I am definitely a fair weather diver; warm water, blue skies and good visibility and I’m happy. I won’t be diving in the UK any time soon. On the first dive I saw some spotted Eagle rays which were great, however, I was having massive difficulties with my BCD; I couldn’t control my buoyancy in the water. I was bobbing around a few metres above our guide when suddenly my BCD self inflated and I shot to the surface! Luckily it was only about 16m, as any deeper and it could have been really dangerous! So I bobbed around on the surface until the boat came to get me, had to switch BCD’s at the surface (a PADI skill coming in useful) and then, as I didn’t have much air, waited for the boys to surface. When they did come up, they were blue! We all made it back into the water successfully for the wreck. It was great; I saw a huge jellyfish, lots of puffer fish and Johnny took my first underwater diving picture. We could have been down there for 45 minutes but after about 15, I was shivering and had to come up. At $80, for the boys, who have dived a lot in the past, it probably wasn’t worth it, but it was a good experience for me. Thursday evening lead from delicious crumbed chicken at the hostel, to another fun filled night in Iguana Bar as Codie and Emma had arrived from Granada that afternoon.

All the Aussies, minus Bree and Tim, left for Costa Rica on Friday, which was sad. On Friday evening, I had supper with Codie and Em and then Codie and I went to the Black Whale where a really good reggae band was playing.

On Saturday, we had lasagne for supper and then went to Casa de Oro to watch Bree’s friend Stu, play guitar and sing and then to a foam party. I hate foam parties. There is nothing enjoyable about them whatsoever. This one was even worse, as it was on the beach front, so it was a horrible mixture of sand and foam!

On Sunday afternoon, Sarah, Tim and I hiked to the top of the hill behind the hostel. It was worrying how much of a struggle it was! That evening, Fred made homemade burgers and we stayed in and watched films all evening. (5^th night off)

As you can see, there is not much recorded daytime activity. This is because when staying in a hostel like Casa de Olas...it is very difficult to drag yourself away from the pool. It’s a little way out of town and so it requires rather a lot of energy to get up and go somewhere! On Tuesday, we were finally persuaded to leave the hostel and go to the beach...worst decision ever! We were going to get a free lift, but ended up paying, it was so windy that there were constant sand storms and the beef tacos that Sarah and I shared gave us food poisoning as no one had told us that they have no means of refrigerating the meat! The day was made better by the fact that Fred cooked us all a full on English roast – chicken, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, roast carrots, broccoli, roast pumpkin, stuffing and gravy! Amazing! I ignored the food poisoning and just ate it anyway...perhaps not a good idea but it was delicious! As it was our last night, I tried to ignore the food poisoning yet again and go out...I made it until around 1am and then felt horrific and went home.

On Wednesday, Tim and I finally dragged ourselves out of the black hole that is San Juan and made it back to Managua, in order for me to catch a bus home and for Tim to catch the first of many flights back to Oz.

So in 19 days, I took 5 nights off...I now need a holiday to recover from the holiday! Coming back to reality is hard. I already miss being surrounded by people, one of my favourite parts of travelling. Also coming back to the daily stresses of Tegus after quiet beach towns is hard too. I don’t like big Central American cities; taxis, buses, constantly being hassled. It’s nice to be home and back with my family but I’m looking forward to my next trip...Útila at the beginning of March to do my Advanced PADI course.

Útila...

Part 2

I’d decided to stay at Alton’s Dive Centre as they offered a volunteer rate of $259 plus free accommodation and the other volunteers had done their diving there; such a good choice! I arrived and was put in a dorm with Laura, a Canadian. I ended up going out for dinner with our next door neighbours, Codie and Emma, Aussie sisters and Paul and Jason, Kiwis. (2^nd night off) From this moment on began so much laughter with the three girls that I was often in tears! Absolutely love them!

When I arrived, it was raining and I hadn’t signed up for diving in the rain, so luckily, as I started my course, the sun came out and for the rest of the course it was hot and sunny and it didn’t start to rain again until Saturday evening/Sunday morning; perfect timing!

As I went to the laundry (I’d only packed for a 5 day trip!) on Wednesday, I bumped in Amanda, Sarah and Moa, who had decided to come after all which meant a few more friendly faces on the island. Although, I don’t know what they did with their days, there isn’t a huge amount to do on Útila if you’re not diving.

I started my theory on Wednesday afternoon. I was really lucky in that I was the only one on the course and ended up with two fantastic instructors, Nina and Tom. On Thursday morning I went in the water for the first time for my confined dives...terrifying! Lots of skills; take your mask off underwater (no thanks, I like to be able to see), take your regulator out (no thanks, I like to be able to breathe). By the end of this session I was convinced I hated diving and the thought of going out on the boat in the afternoon really freaked me out! The girls and the others at Alton’s were great and it was nice having them on the same boat for support! So in the afternoon I went out on the boat and did my first 2 open water dives! The first one was slightly less terrifying than the confined but I could only look straight ahead and was much more focused on breathing than fish! By the 2^nd dive, I was starting to get the hang of it and actually managed to look around me and check out some fish. I finished my theory on Friday and did my 3^rd and 4^th open water dives, by which point I was really enjoying it. On Saturday morning, I did both my fun dives which were great. On the first dive we saw a turtle which was amazing! I also saw lobsters, a spotted moral eel, angelfish, parrotfish, and spotted drums.

Dive signals are my new favourite thing and can be useful in a multitude of situations. Although, if someone had taught me more of the fish signals, some underwater confusion would have been avoided; spotted drums = swim this way, can you see it, no but I don’t want to disappoint anyone, so just signal OK.

On Wednesday night (Johnny, Theresa, Koo and Luke hadn’t arrived at this point) we went to Tranquila and witnessed the first performance of Jake’s infectious chart topping hit, ‘Dive’ – dive, dive, drink, drink, drive, dive, dive, dive, equalise. I was walked home by Jake, Rory and Joe and on arriving home, Jake proceeded to climb into the top bunk, go to sleep and snore loudly, much to the annoyance of Laura (I’m sorry Laura!)

On Thursday we all went out for supper and ended up in Tranquila. I met Rory and Joe outside Will’s Taco, the best taco shop around, but sadly it was closing. I couldn’t persuade the owner to give me a taco, but he did give me a plain tortilla for free...and then the boys, having walked me home the night before and it being quite a long way, got in a tuk tuk with me and dropped me home.

On Friday night, we went to Tranquila and Coco’s...and this is where the picture of the tiny motorbike comes in, my ride home. The island is basically comprised of one long main road and everyone uses golf buggies, quad bikes or motorbikes to get around. Those methods of transport I can understand, but this mini bike was ridiculous. I’m just glad no one witnessed the hilarious image of me on a tiny bike!

Saturday was a big night. There was meant to be an Alton’s booze cruise but due to the lack of a captain, it became a session on the dock. By 7pm we were being loud and hilarious and/or obnoxious in the baleada shop. This was followed by Treetanic and Tranquila. Treetanic is the coolest bar/restaurant/hotel. It took the owner 20 years to make and is decorated in mosaic, bottles, shells, stones, glass, mirror and full of paths, walkways, sculptures and spiders! There are huge webs between all the trees and huge spiders! Genuinely one of the most fun nights of my life, we laughed a lot and the photos speak volumes; plenty of dive signals!

On Sunday, we tried to catch the afternoon ferry, only to be told that due to bad weather at La Ceíba, the ferry had been cancelled and it was unlikely that we would leave before Wednesday! Cue an afternoon in limbo! We had checked out of Alton’s and had to come back and check back in...We just couldn’t stay away! I was most thrown by the fact that if we were stuck, the bagel shop didn’t bake on a Monday! These aforementioned bagels got me through a lot of the early morning sessions! I was so exhausted by this point that I fell asleep fully clothed. (3^rd night off)

Luckily, we managed to catch the ferry on Monday morning. Codie and Laura had been at the dock since 5am and at 6.15am they finally announced that the ferry would be leaving! Cue panic as we tried to get hold of everyone, scattered around in various hostels, to let them know. The majority of us made it...Bree was left behind but at least she had Tim. It was pretty choppy and there were lots of sick people...what is it about people being sick; you don’t want to look, but you can’t help it!

So we were finally back on the mainland and on a mission to catch a bus to Tegucigalpa. By this point I had been persuaded, not that it took much, to head on down to Nicaragua with the others. I didn’t have my passport though so it was lucky that we all had to stop in Tegus for the night. Our bus managed to hit an accident on the way home, causing a delay as we waited for the police/tow trucks. When we finally made it back to Tegus, I had to make a mad dash to collect my passport, get home, unpack/repack and meet the others at the hostel, as our bus was supposedly leaving at 5am. The children were so excited when I got home! They had apparently been asking constantly when I was coming back. Bless them. (4^th night off)

Why are bus stations always located in the worst, most sketchy parts of town? I attempted to get a bus at 5am the next morning, only to be told that there wasn’t one. So we ended up waiting in the bus station for 4 hours, while the girls got a lie in and arrived to find preserved seats. But at last, we made it out of Tegus, towards Nicaragua.