Greetings from La Ceiba again,

When you last heard from this intrepid wanderer I had just decided to quit the island of Utila in Honduras and head north to Belize. Flights from Utila island to Belize City left three times a week at 06:00. I'm sure there must have been some form of motorized transportation from the hotel area to the airstrip at that hour, but I never found it. I did manage to walk the four kilometers in about a half hour, but it seemed impractical to repeat that trek carrying a pack at such an early pre-dawn hour. With uncomfortable accommodations, mediocre dining discoveries and being totally uninterested in the SCUBA diving schools that attract so many young people to the island, I made a snap decision to end my exploration of Utila early.

Heading back to La Ceiba I expected more civilized connections out of the "big city." The airport sits next to the tiny village of Uno de Mayo where I had earlier checked out a convenient $35 hotel. In addition to being walking distance to the airport it also offered guests all the free beer and soda they cared to drink while registered. On an unpaved road the newly constructed building featured most modern conveniences including an Internet terminal... plus armed guards inside a high fence/wall topped with barbed wire. Unfortunately, the Internet server remained down with no prospects for arising anytime in the near future and the generator equipment and bathroom fan made so much noise they woke me several times during the night. So, I abandoned my plans to hang out near the airport until the next scheduled flight to Belize in several days and grabbed the Hedman Alas bus back to San Pedro Sula to examine more options. There I learned about a small boat service up to Dangriga Belize from nearby Puerto Cortez on the Caribbean coast , a trip of four hours and considerably cheaper than air fare ($35 verses $180).

 

Peace,

Fred L Bellomy

 

  

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