Then I spotted Lake Yojoa, a glistening lake in the middle of Honduras, surrounded by lush forest containing one of the richest concentrations of rare birds in this part of the world. That's saying something for a region where every country has a substantial amount of jungle.
This was another opportunity to spot the elusive Quetzal. I failed again. I don't even like birds that much, but now it's getting personal. I will see a Quetzal at some point on this trip, even if I have to camp out for a week in a hut with a bearded birdwatcher named Malcolm.
Anyway, there were two reasons I'd decided to come to Lake Yojoa, and they weren't the lake or the Quetzal. One was the D&D Brewery, a microbrewery owned by an guy from the US. After eight months of travel I had finally found cold beer on tap. Somehow, I was persuaded to try them all on the first night... I spent the rest of the evening talking to the owner's dog.
The second reason was Pulhapanzak Falls - a 45 meter waterfall with a serious amount of water gushing through it. You can go into some caves behind the falls, so a few of us headed over for a look. I thought you'd be able to kinda stroll behind the water but it turned out you walk right through the waterfall!
Words cannot describe how powerful the water is. I was soaked through before I was even near the waterfall. We had to be led by a guide, but there was so much water coming from every direction it was impossible to see him, even though he was only a meter in front of us. You can recreate this experience at home - locate a pressure washer, point it at your face and turn it on to full power. It was worth it though - once inside, we looked up and were blown away by the sight of thousands of gallons of water flying overhead. Everywhere I looked there were rainbows and the water glistened in the sun. It was magical...
One aspect that was not magical was the fact that I forgot to take my money out of my pocket. That got dried out in the sun along with the rest of my clothes...
The next day I headed to The Bay Islands for some more diving. It is only 300km away from the lake, along good roads. We allowed seven hours for the trip, aiming to catch the 4pm boat. Obviously we missed it due to some of the slowest buses known to humankind. Well, things happen for a reason because I bumped into my friend Leon, who is doing a work secondment in the Cayman Islands! He was flying back from a short holiday. What are the odds!
I hate boats. And this one is known as the vomit comet. Fortunately, I'd been given some seasickness tablets by a Japanese girl I met in Peru. Unfortunately the instructions were in Japanese. I erred on the side of caution and took them all. I don't know what Japanese is for drowsy but I fell asleep about 6 minutes later. I had to be woken up to get on and off the boat - thank goodness for friends!
Utila was the island of choice. There is world-class diving and its cheap. I'd randomly met a dive instructor in La Paz while he was cycling around South America. He told me to get in touch if I was even in the area and six months later I came calling. He really sorted me out with cheap dives and free accommodation. Cheers Dave! Well, the diving was great and I'm now officially an Advanced Open Water Diver. I also had the unbelievable opportunity to swim with about 100 dolphins. When we were returning from a dive we saw a huge group of them and jumped in with snorkels and flippers. They are so graceful under the water and you can hear them squeaking away as they approach. At one point three circled around me blowing bubbles! As we headed back to land reflected on one of the best experiences of my life as the sun went down...
Other activities were scarce - I attended tequila Tuesday, got a free t-shirt for downing shots in another bar and went to a party on a deserted island.
The final highlight was a bar called Treetanic. A huge outdoor bar that looks like a shipwreck that’s been sunk in a patch of mango trees. Every surface has been covered in wacky mosaics, and the owners have been at it continuously since 1998! The objects you see making up the mosaics are from the owners' trips through Guatemala and Honduras. And the odd flea market in LA
You may have noticed that I've been a bit behind with my postings. I've almost caught up - this was 4 days ago! Next up, some Mayan ruins, which I just left yesterday. Then onto Guatemala!
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