Northern Guatemala and the Honduras - Flowers Bay, Honduras
Flowers Bay, Honduras
Once again, the last few weeks have blown my expectations far out of the water. After spending some intoxicating few days on Lake Atitlan, I headed north to the pools of Semuc Champey. These are bright blue pools located in the middle of the jungle. After spending a miserable 9 hours on a shuttle with barley enough leg room for a landline amputee, I arrived a lodge overlooking endless jungle. This lodge had all the amenities of a high end resort with an infinity pool and jacuzzi and even one kick ass dorm in the trees. I then booked a tour to explore the pools but hit way more than I was expecting. We started the day caving with candles and swimming down an underground river. After that we tubed down a river and jumped from bridges. Finally we begun a grueling trek into the jungle to find the hidden pools. Finally, after being drenched in sweat from the insane temperatures, we found one of the most incredible sights I'd ever seen. The color of the water appeared unnatural as the bright blue stood out from the surrounding green of the jungle. Then after finishing a relaxing few days in the jungle, I headed to the top of the country to the small island town of Flores. My reason for coming so far north was to explore the ancient Mayan city of Tikal. Tikal is the largest Mayan city and remains largely unrestored. Of the estimated 4000 buildings on site, only about 200 are uncovered. After wandering around the ruins in complete solitude, I caught one of the best sunsets from the top of one of the largest temples. Peaking out of the surrounding jungle, you could see toucans flying past and here the jungle floor coming alive as the sun set. Walking back to my tent in the dark, my headlight picked up reflecting eyes of creatures watching me from the trees above. After spending a nerve racking night in my tent, I was awaken by the thundering calls of the howler monkey at 4am. There is no way to describe the loud sound these monkeys make but they are one of the loudest animals on the planet. Since my bus was not supposed to pick me up till 6 that evening, I made friends with the park rangers and shuttle drivers waiting for the tourists to come out of the jungle. The store owner whose store we were outside gave us free beers for the entire afternoon. After a few hours of drinking, we all had a nice buzz on, including the bus drivers who were supposed to be driving me home. Needless to say, this made for an interesting ride back to my hostel. Having done everything I had planned for Guatemala, I spent a few days getting to my next county of Honduras. To get to the island of Utila, an island renowned for diving, I had to pass through the mainland of Honduras. I had a stop in the murder capital, San Pedro Sula (average 9 murders a day) before making my way to the Caribbean coast. About 2km from my lodge were I was to spend the night, the road was blocked by protesters burning tires in the street. After spending 2 hours stopped in the bus, me and 3 Scottish guys decided to walk the rest of the way. Passing through the protest, everybody started chanting "Gringos!" but not in a threatening tone. After finally making it to the lodge in the pitch black, I hit the sack after one of my most intense days of the trip. The following day I boarded a ferry to the island of Utila. A combination of food poisoning, ruff seas and engine fumes meant I was feeding the fish pretty quickly. But my sickness was soon cured by a cooling dip in the ocean and some relaxing time in a hammock beside the sea. My sole purpose for being on the island was to dive. I signed up for my open water certification to begin my first of hopefully many dives. After completing skills in shallow water, my group was taken out to a few reefs to explore the underwater world. After having a few dives around different reefs, the amount of fish I'd seen was incredible. And with 30ft+ of visibility, I was in underwater heaven. Diving had allowed my to explore environments previously off limits to me. As my time on the island comes to an end, I've discovered a new hobby that I can't wait to continue. My next destination is the coast of El Salvador to try my hand at surfing for a while. Adios!