Just visited the place, but it sure is pretty.That said, I told myself I shouldn't complain. I could be in Afghanistan with Marie working dawn-to-dusk shifts as mean scary men increasingly attack my base. So yeah, I'll shut up.
Where did we leave off? My second night in Tela was also spent at an all-inclusive resort, where I lamented having unlimited cocktails and no one to drink with. I did have a caipirinha by myself at noon, but it just made me a little loopy for the bus ride to La Ceiba. I mostly just covered the neighborhood of El Naranjo in La Ceiba, which is tucked away from downtown in the jungle and facing the Pico Bonito National Park. It is absolutely beautiful out there. The first luxury lodge I stayed in was incredible...you'll have to read my later description about it, but my room faced a gentle waterfall, and a private trail on the grounds led to a bigger fall with a swimming hole. I was a little disconcerted when the manager told me to watch out for poisonous snakes. My only encounters have been with wimpy garter snakes, and even those made me feel like Indiana Jones (in the crippling way).
The next morning, I woke up early and moved down the road to an adventure lodge. I joined in on a rafting trip down the Río Cangrejal with two girls from California, and despite my concerns that I would die, it was a lot of fun. Exceptionally better than my first and only other rafting trip, which was down a lake-like, chocolatey brown river in Mexico. One of the girls and I then rented bikes and rode up and down the dirt path visiting lodges and sweating profusely. My jeans and tank top were completely soaked from all the beads of sweat dripping down my...everything. In the evening, the owner of a yoga retreat lodge invited us to dinner for some raw food sushi, which was amazingly delicious. The meat/seafood/cream cheese replacement was a nut paté made from blended almonds, onions and other stuff. Dessert was some kind of vegany raw food pudding, that was also delicious. I have to say, I felt great afterward. Stuffed, but not painful. But I practically drink olive oil for lunch and dinner, so maybe it's only a short-lived love affair.
On Saturday, I took a ferry from La Ceiba to Roatán. It had been pouring down rain since the time I'd gone to bed (courtesy of Tropical Storm Alex, that jerk), and so the ride was pretty rocky...although one of the rafting guides who happened to be going at the same time said that he had seen it far worse. I put on my sunglasses, closed my eyes and inhaled/exhaled deeply for an hour. I didn't puke, but I did have a raging headache for the entire day. Can't wait to ride again for 4-6 hours! My first day on the island was kind of a waste. It took me two hours to rent a car, and when I did, it was a giant red 4x4 Nissan pickup truck that was $30 more than a sedan (since they were out). I did a little driving at night to the West End, but since there are no streetlights and the hills are super curvy with steep grades, I counted my blessings that I didn't die on my first go and retired for the evening.
Yesterday, I spent about 9 hours driving all the way around the island, and I still didn't finish my work. But I had to turn in the car (I may/may not have damaged the bumper, but the inspector didn't see it. Fine, I backed up into a barbed wire fence...twice...I admit it), and the next resort had sent someone to pick me up at the same time. So here I am, sweating inside my air conditioned room and looking out at the pristine waters I have yet to touch. In an hour, I'm being shuttled back to the West End where I'll await that damn catamaran ride. I can't believe I have 2 more weeks left. Dios mio.
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