A Caribbean Christmas and An Explosive New Years...

I know, that's quite a dreamy title to start this post with and to be honest, Christmas this year was pretty special. All of the volunteers had been talking about where we wanted to go for Christmas as we wanted to spend it together;being so far away from home has been a little difficult and a s a result we have become our own little family out here. (sorry for the cheesiness). We finally decided on Utila, one of the Bay Islands off the northern coast of Honduras, as Christmas on the beach didn't sound half bad. However, due to travelling, we were all spread out across varied Central American countries and had to somehow get ourselves from wherever we were at the time all the way to Utila. For Esther, Izzy and I, this meant taking a shuttle bus from Antigua, Guatemala to the border of Honduras, and then all the way to the port city of La Ceiba where we were to stay the night before catching the ferry to the island. Not an easy journey. So, we headed off at 4am in a very cramped shuttle, much to Esther's displeasure because she was squished up against a strange man who kept smiling at her, until we crossed the border at Copan Ruinas where he got off and I made a fool of myself as I fell out of the bus, body slammed the pavement, and busted my knee. What a way to be welcomed back home by Honduras...After another couple of hurried bus changes at La Entrada and San Pedro Sula, where we had a panic as Esther's wallet had been stolen (rip), we managed to catch our last bus to La Ceiba. We arrived in the dark, exhausted and fed up and greeted with pouring rain. Nice. Eventually we made it to our hostel which was very much the cherry on the cake - it was cold, dark as the lights didn't work, the door didn't lock and we had just reached the point where we just collapsed on the beds, defeated by our 19 hour long day of horrific bus journeys.

(A rather impressive but intense Christmas display in a cafe we stopped at during a bus break - feLiZ NaVidaDDDdddddd)

The next day wasn't much better as we had another early start because we needed to make it to the ferry terminal in time for the 9am ferry to Utila. At this point we just wanted to get to the island and be with everyone already, however the universe decided to play with us for a little longer. To put it bluntly, that ferry ride was one from hell. We had heard the weather hadn't been great recently, and that day was no different as the sky was clouded over and the sea had transformed into a grey, growling mass. Once boarded, we bumped into some of the other volunteers from the Viva Abundante projects which was lovely, but our excitement was short-lived because as soon as we got out of the harbour, the waves starting smashing against the bow of the boat, getting worse and worse the further out we went, where we ultimately ended up being thrown out of our seats - quite literally - with the sea lashing at the windows, making our stomachs churn like the water outside. Fortunately it only lasted an hour and as soon as the boat docked, we desperately scrambled down the ramp and onto dry land. Collecting our bags, a mototaxi took us to the hostel we were hoping to stay in however, as some of us weren't planning on doing any scuba diving courses, they didn't have any space so we went in search of somewhere else and eventually found a lovely guesthouse called 'Rubi's Inn' on the seafront.

Oh yea, I forgot to mention it was Christmas eve!! So after napping, unpacking, and food shopping - we did a shop so big and heavy the clerk drive us back to the house as we could only just about lift the box - we celebrated reuniting with the other volunteers by heading to the bar Tranquila for Ladies Night before ending up dancing barefoot at Bando Beach covered in neon face paint. Definitely a Christmas I won't forget :'))

Utila was gorgeous. When we first arrived, the weather wasn't great but the Gods must've have decided that the ferry ride was punishment enough and it very quickly cleared up - before long, the sky was bright blue without a cloud in sight. It's just as you'd expect a small Caribbean island to be with swaying palm trees and glittering clear waters with white sand, I mean, come onnnn. The area of the island that we were staying in consists of one main road by the waterside, lined by little shacks selling Baleadas (yesss oh how I have missed you) and shell necklaces with tourists and locals alike riding around on bikes and golf buggies. Paradise.

Utila is known worldwide for its scuba-diving as it is located at the end of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System and has more than 80 dive sites scattered around the island. Unfortunately I didn't feel up to doing one of the scuba-diving courses as I messed up my eardrums doing high diving when I was younger, but the girls who went ahead with it said it was incredible, and as Utila offers some of the cheapest courses in the world, it was worth every penny. As we were not diving, some of the other volunteers and I spent our days at Bando beach swimming and snorkelling, spotting sting rays and other colourful fish from the pier. One day we hired out bikes to explore the island, which was great fun until we all got stuck in mud and while I nearly lost my shoes, Gemma almost went in head first. It was all very traumatic, and even more frustrating when Alexander informed us that there had been an alternative route - much less muddy - that we could've taken...

FELIZ NAVIDAD!! We woke up on Christmas Day with the sun shining and went for a morning swim before giving my family in England a call. Once dressed and ready, we walked over to the hotel where the rest of volunteers were and set up Secret Santa by placing all the presents under a palm tree. We had been planning this for a few months so it was really lovely to see it all come together. Seeing everyone open their presents with Feliz Navidad playing for the nth time in the background, was good fun and I was very pleased with mine so thanks Emily, I can tell that you put a little too much thought into it... ;)) The rest of the day we spent by the beach, launching ourselves off two story piers, but only after a lot of failed run-ups and persuasion, and swimming or I should say floating as the salt content of the sea water around Utila is so high that you can just lie in the water and bob about which was very exciting. Happy dayyys :)) That evening the hostel was having a family dinner where everyone had to make something and bring it over to share, so we brought a huge batch of cooked vegetables and a couple of bottles of wine and with that, Christmas dinner commenced. The array of food on offer was very impressive, but I have to say to whoever brought the poutine - you have my heart.

Our time in Utila is most easily described as a sequence of crazy events, but at the same time we definitely adopted the slower pace of island life as well. After speaking with the rest of the volunteers, Esther and I decided meet up with some of our other friends we had met travelling in El Tunco for the New Year's celebrations. So, after a night of some questionable karaoke, dancing on piers, trips in mototaxis and motorbike rides, we said goodnight and goodbye and grabbed about two hours of sleep before we waking up for the 5am ferry back to the mainland.

It was another couple of days of intense bus journeys from La Ceiba to San Pedro Sula, then Santa Rosa, then Nueva Ocotepeque, then San Salvador and finally La Libertad and El Tunco. Wow, I think that added up to about over 24 hours of travelling which doesn't surprise me as we went from coast to coast - the width of Honduras and El Salvador combined. When we finally arrived back in our safe little beach bubble, we couldn't have been more relieved. Nothing has changed since we were last here in October so it kind of felt as though we were arriving back home, somewhere we knew well and felt at ease. After a bit of a mix up with hostels (thanks Kevin) Esther and I got a private room at La Sombra as we had friends who knew the owner. It was perfect for the time we were there as it was relaxed and close to the seafront - it's quite hard to find a hostel in El Tunco which is not - and has a cute little kitchen which I'm sure works wonderfully, although I wouldn't know as the food on offer in the cafes and restaurants is just too good to resist. As well as this, it has a little pool out the front which was a refreshing treat as the weather was so unbelievably hot, and plus Sam provided entertainment by trying to turn it into a whirlpool while we just sat back and watched him run around in circles in the water :)) The only thing I was NOT happy with was the unwelcome scorpion I found hiding out under my rucksack - they say the small ones are the most dangerous and this guy was pretty damn tiny however before I could call for Esther to rescue me, it disappeared under the bedroom door, never to be seen again...I kept an eye out from that point on wards, I wasn't taking any chances...

As we were in El Salvador, it was only right that we got pupusas for dinner, and after introducing Sam and Eleanor to the delicious traditional dish, we bumped into our friends who live there and spent the night catching up at Chamba's Bao House. I highly recommend you visit if you ever drop by; he proudly claims that his is the first Boa House in El Salvador, and I can believe it.

New Year's Eve was something else. We all got ready and after a sweet family dinner on the seafront with Eleanor, Sam and Esther, we headed off in search of fireworks. It didn't take us long, and after restocking our stash with some of the biggest ones and a test run in the side alley next to the hostel - which probably wasn't the cleverest idea - we headed to the beach. I must say, alcohol and fireworks is not the best combination, but fortunately we made it out alive with all our limbs in tact and a pretty incredible display to show for it. The whole beach was lined by people setting up smaller fire crackers as well as those who were obviously seasoned pros and gave an impressive show. The atmosphere was perfect; the bars were buzzing; Reggaeton drifting out of the open lounges and over the waves; people dancing on the beach; the sky covered with stars; and us, sitting on the boardwalk surrounded by friends, bobbing our heads along to Ricardo's DJ set and feeling very happy. Then, the countdown began and the most incredible fireworks were set off and, when the final firework fizzled out, the fiestas truly began and the night of celebration commenced, starting 2020 with a bang...

It was wonderful to see our El Tunco friends again but it wasn't long before we were heading off to our next destination of Nicaragua!! We spent most of the first day of 2020 chilling by the pool and calling family back home, and then packed up and boarded the shuttle bus the next day, sent off with a hug goodbye from Chamba.

Nos vemos pronto! x