Isla de la Bahia

Hola!

So Friday was quite an adventurous day. Unfortunately, Julien, my partner, became ill during the night so he couldn´t go to work that day. Normally, we would ride with Rigo, our homestay dad and technician, to work in his car, but because it was only me and him, we took the moped. Needless to say, I became quite close with Rigo during the 15 minute journey to work. Once there, I was by myself working on translating a fetal monitor manual and taking inventory in the lab. Our supervisor made a stop at our hospital so I was able to show her around. At lunch, we left to go back to my homestay so she could see the place and meet everyone.

On Saturday, I ventured to Roatan, one of the Bay Islands. The only way to get there is to take an hour and a half ferry which costs fifty dollars round trip (a little pricey). Julien was still sick so I went with my supervisor and other students who came from their cities for the trip. Once on the island, we needed to find a place to stay. We knew we wanted to go to West End, so we tried to find a ride there (we had previously spoken to our friends who work on Roatan to see how much it would cost, and they quoted about 20 Lempira a person). Of course, nobody wanted to give us that price, it was more like double that, so we walked away to see if we could find something cheaper. After a while of walking and getting followed by several taxi men and causing a traffic jam, one of the students found a man in a truck and asked if we could jump in. So we hitchhiked to West End, the entire way. It only took us an hour and three trucks later to make it, but it was all based on principle, don´t try to rip us off. The last truck driver actually owned a hotel and offered us scuba diving at a very affordable rate (if we dived with him twice, the room was free, he would take us to the ferry the next morning, and breakfast and equipment were included). We ended up staying with him and the hotel was very nice. The rooms had hot water and AC (can you really ask for more in Honduras). Since I wasn´t a certified diver, I had to run through a DSD course (it´s like half of a certification). After that, I went to dive. The experience was absolutely amazing. Just being able to breathe underwater was fascinating enough but to see all the wildlife and underwater vegetation was just spectacular. We went to a depth of around 35 ft and stayed for around an hour or so. Once back, we showered and waited for the other group to get done with their night dive so we could go for dinner. In the meantime, the hotel owner´s wife made us a Cuban dish for us to try (these people were some of the nicest people I´ve met). Once the others came back, we walked to West End. I now know that there are no streetlights and one cannot see giant mud puddles along the way. So after the half hour hike to West End and about 5 puddles later, we found a pizza place (there might have been some confusion about the location so we might have been lost for about 20 minutes but in the end we made it). After a long day and a long hike back, we all crashed.

The next morning, we woke up, had some breakfast, and went back out for some more scuba diving. This time we got down to a depth of around 45 ft, another amazing experience. We headed back into West End to go get some lunch while the other group went out for their dive. And that is where the problems started to happen. The ferry has two times of departure, 7am and 2 pm. Therefore, we had to leave the hotel by 1 pm (Caesar, the hotel owner, said). However, by the time we got to our lunch spot, got the food, and finished eating, it was 12:52. Needless to say, I ran back to the hotel and didn´t make it until 1:12. I manged to find the others, grab my stuff, pay for the trip, and then speed back to the ferry with minutes to spare (otherwise I would have been stuck on the island and would have been late for work, a big no no especially when you live with your boss). Once on the mainland, we had to find a taxi to take us back to my place and to the bus station. Like Costa Rica, the streets don´t have names, so I have written directions from my homestay to give to taxi drivers. Most of the time, they still don´t know where the place is, which is why I always ask before I get in the cab if they know the location. I found a driver who said he knew where it was and got in. Of course, he really didn´t know where the place was, so he dropped the others at the bus stop first, continued picking up random people on the way, and finally asked someone where the place was. After a forty minute ride that should have taken 10 minutes, we find the house. Taxi´s in Honduras have a set rate of 30 lempira. So I made sure it was 30, and he said it was a 100 because it took so long to get here. I was infuriated that he was trying to charge me over double because he didn´t know where I lived after I asked him before I got in the car. I gave him thirty lempira and got out of the car; he wasn´t very happy but I was definately not going to give him a hundred. People always try to rip you off, you just have to be aware and don´t be afraid to question them.

Now back, I´m getting ready for another week of work. Apparently while I was gone, Zelaya was supposed to return to Honduras. I have not heard anything about the situation yet but as soon as I can confirm what has happened in the last couple of days, I´ll post it (I know for a fact something was going on because the other students from different hospitals ran into some blockades on the way to La Ceiba!). Hopefully the weather cools down a bit, but I´m not holding my breath on it. Hasta luego!