honduras part two (happy birthday to me)

so, this is part two of ¨my exciting trip¨to honduras, fittingly enough on my birthday...
this has been the most vacationy vacation I have taken in years...loaded with swimming, snorkling, hiking, tropical beaches, and lots of fish, plantains, and beer

after sleeping my way back from utila in the blessedly air-conditioned compartment of a ferry back to la ceiba (opportunities to take a break from the everpresent sun are always welcome, here) and a crazy cab ride with 6 people stuffed into a less can current economy, card a cold shower felt fantastic
the combination of salt water and humidity can do incredible things to one´s hair and skin

the night contained several drinks, including some very strange herbal liquors and some seriously intense dancers and a garifuna (sp?) bar (the garifuna are african transplants to honduras who have their own unique culture and language, and live in villages along the coast as well as on micro islands off the coast)

the next day we hired a small motor boat to take us on one of, arguably, the most terifying boat rides I have been on in the ocean. Understand, the water does not scare me easily, I am a seasoned ocean swimmer. But a patched up motorboat ride (with an extra motor on board incase the motor failed...which it did) and some precariously balanced rusty anchors, in the middle of a supremely choppy ocean in the rain challenged this notion.
When we arrived at a series of amazing sandy beached islands, with huge coral reefs, small enough to walk the perimeter of in less than five minutes, it was worth it, though....
the sun cleared and the snorkling was lovely. dodging a school of jellyfish...not so much so, nor was the amazing sun tan procured on the small of my back where my bathing suit meets...but hey, zebra stripes add character, eh? Snorkling was followed by lunch on the beach made my a garifuna family and a very peaceful ride back.

Yesterday we made our way to Tela, a large coastal town with alot of old burned down railway piers and some lovely, yet trashed beaches...
It rained buckets which provided us with an opportunity to get some good card playing in in a covered bar on the beach

today it´s my birthday
so it´s a bikeride to the nature sanctuary for some birds and trees and swimming holes...and...?