Honduras, Nicuragua and Chicken buses

Weve finally managed to drag ourselves away from Utila in Honduras, one of those Islands where everyone seems to get stuck. Utila is officially the cheapest place in the world to dive so we thought wed take the opportunity and do a course which was wicked fun and stopped us being completely and utterly lazy. You dont only come here to dive though, theres a good night life and days seem to fly by doing absolutely nothing.

A P.A.D.I. open water/advanced course costs $159 which is now standard on the whole island, you get about 4-5 dives. You get the chance to see all sorts of exciting coral life such as barracuda, Caribbean squid, eagle rays and Claire was even visited by a couple of dolphins one dive. However, if you want to be a bit more active there are freshwater caves to visit and apparently the secluded Cayes off Utila are worth a visit though we never made it that far (too much effort involved!!).

Every Friday night the whole island makes their way up to The Bar in the Bush, where there is a big party, great atmosphere, excessive drinking and crazy dancing (to some quite shocking music). The one we went to last Friday ended up with us skinny dipping off the end of a pier at a bar and playing with the phosphorescence before stumbling home in day light. If your looking for something to do doing the weeknights Coco Locos Bar opposite from Munchies Restaurant is a good place for music and meeting people. We spent many a week night there but watch out for the big whole in the decking or youll end up in the sea! After diving in the morning the majority of our days were preoccupied with bike jumping of the end of the dock at Tranquillas Bar. This was thought up by two crazy Australian guys we met in Caye Caulker (Belize) and rejoined again. Larry built a ramp out of a couple of concrete blocks and a plank of wood but being a carpenter it soon evolved into a 2foot full scale ramp. He bought a bmx bike and soon it was the talking point if the whole island with people coming and trying to do bigger, better and crazier tricks.

We met so many people on Utila and it ended up that there was a massive group of about 15 of us all doing stuff together. Doing stuff like the fresh water caves is definitely more fun in a big group. They do fantastic mammoth milkshakes at Zanzibar Caf but make sure you dont order the same flavour as anyone else because then they give you the extra bit free!!!! Munchies is a great place to go for breakfast or Oreo liquados. Theres a good cheap Chinese across the bridge called Neptunes and if you want fast, cheap food then baliadas (tortilla, refried beans, cheese and onions) from the street stalls are perfect. We lived off them. A good place to stay and meet people is Tropical Guesthouse (turn left when you get off the ferry). We dived and stayed with Utila Watersports which was really friendly place that we definitely recommend. Otherwise Captain Morgans is very popular and the staff we met from there were really nice but the are hundreds to choose from.

We stopped off at Copan to visit the ruins on our way to Utila and got a bit conned with a horse riding guy who left us a the ruins and said we had to walk back. It wasnt far but hed made out that he would drop us back at our hotel. The ruins were worth seeing if your passing through but otherwise you wouldnt miss much. There were some interesting statues carved out of stone and some beautiful vibrant parrots at the entrance but it was more expensive than Tikal and not nearly as impressive. We have now arrived at Granada in Nicaragua after 3 dull and boring days of travelling from Utila. We had to pay $9 at the border which we were not very impressed about. Probably conned again but there is nothing you can do.

The local chicken buses are a lot cheaper then private bus companies and are fine for short journeys. We got a private bus from Copan to Utila and were really spoilt. Reclining chairs that almost have you lying down, movies and air conditioning. Its all really nice but your money will go a lot further if you avoid these! We are now staying in a fantastic travellers hostel called The Bearded Monkey owned by an English couple. There is everything you need here internet, pool table, hammocks, bar, TV and video, book exchange, great food and the people at the desk and bar can give you all the info you need about the local area. It is the perfect place to chill out after a long journey. We did hear that a group got mugged here a couple of days ago but so far we have encountered no problems throughout Central America (touch wood).

We are still having the time of our lives and the people weve met have made it even more special and memorable!!!!!