Paradise Found

Well, it's been a few days since I've posted. This is because I've been without electricity, running water, a toilet, and floors. In other words, I've been living in tropical paradise.

To make what is in itself an epic adventure short, from Copan Ruinas we took a bus to San Pedro Sula, then to La Ceiba and finally to Nueva Armenia. The latter is a small coastal village and we had no map, just the name of an island and the promise that there was a man who could take us there. Well wouldn't you know it but we happened to sit right by a relative of his on the bus ride there! She also rented rooms and cooked dinner, so we spent the night and made ample use of our mosquito nets for the first time. At 4am we were awoken and carried over the open ocean in a tiny motorized canoe. As the sun rose we arrived at the tiny island of Cayo Chachahuate, crescent shaped and not more than one-hundred yards long. It is home to a Garifuna village (African/Caribbean Indian mix), and all palm trees, wooden huts with palm-leaf thatched roofs, and sand floors. No electricity, no running water, and no toilet (well, except the world's biggest toilet, namely the ocean). Surrounded by crystal-clear waters and the second largest barrier reef in the world, the snorkelling is phenomenal. It's actually one of thirteen keys and two larger islands that make up the National Martine Monument of Cayos Cochinos. The best part is that these islands are virtually unknown and ignored by tourists. It's completely authentic; never have I felt more a part of real island life. We played with the kids, ate home-cooked meals of freshly caught lobster and fish, and when a massive storm arrived we helped the locals haul the boats up on shore.I could also go on and on about the coral reefs and all the fish we saw but what's the point? You get the picture. The one drawback was the thousands upon thousand of jellyfish inhabiting the waters. I mean, there were literal walls of them! This distracted from the snorkelling a bit (except for one day when they had been blown away by the storm), but eventually we began to swim straight through the masses and endure the stings. One day we swam all the way to the main island, site of the one and only small resort here, and had to cross over a mile of open ocean, which took more than two hours. Once at the island we had to cross over to the other side and on the way up a dry creek bed passed within inches of a pink boa hanging from a branch. I thought it was part of the plant at first and nearly put my hand on it! Besides these many adventures my favorite thing perhaps was simply relaxing in the hammock with a book, or contemplating the unparalled sunsets or super-abundant night sky; in general just enjoying the slow pace of island life.

We left this morning and are back in La Ceiba. I have never disliked cities more.