roatan, copan ruinas.

Roatan was awesome...I liked it much better than I had anticipated, so I ended up staying two nights. I spent most of my time in West End, which is where most backpackers and divers stay...my hostel was a bit run-down, not too practical or well-kept, but it definitely had character...it felt very pirate-like somehow, the whole town did to me when I first got there...West End is a very short strip of hotels, bars, restaurants and dive shops, so you don't need to walk very far...the street is unpaved and muddy and full of potholes, but it's right on the water, with tons of little docks for all sorts of boats...one can hear music blaring out of a lot of bars, so the atmosphere is lively...there are a lot of tourists, but it didn't feel too touristy...most people are there to dive, since Roatan is by the second largest coral reef in the world, and it's hands down the cheapest place to dive in the whole world! The only other chap thing on the island is snorkeling...everything else is expensive! The food and the Internet being the most expensive ones...my hostel was cheap, but I never got online and brought food from the mainland to cut down on costs...it was love at first sight with West End, although I am usually never fond of a place I get to after sunset...but when I woke up the next morning I was in for a treat! I could finally see the water, 2 meters from the main drag...it was very very clear!!! I could only imagine what West Bay Beach, only 4 km from there and considered the best beach in all Roatan, could look like! I started going up and down West End taking pictures of all the colorful boats by the water, all the little docks and huts/bars...then I took a water taxi over to West Bay Beach and I was immediately blown away! It definitely looks like a Caribbean picture-perfect paradise, or at least just like how I imagine one to be...crystal-clear water, white sand beach, and corals everywhere underwater! I could not help but walk up and down the whole stretch a million times taking picture over picture of the same spot over and over again...I was in awe...I could not believe my eyes! I got there early in the morning when the sun was shining and not many tourists were out yet, so I could appreciate it better...since the beach is lined by a bunch of all-inclusive 4/5 star resorts...many of which are full of Italians, which is pretty funny! haha I even heard some ladies speak, and their accent was similar to mine, but I was too busy lying in the water to bother asking them where they were from! I heard that there are direct flights from Italy to Roatan! Crazy...I was also told that the next day, and consecutively for the following 3 days, it was cruise ship day...which means that a bunch of cruise ships arrive and hordes of tourists take over the beach...so I was lucky to have gotten there on the right day! I found my little unspoiled, deserted corner of Caribbean paradise and got in the water for 30-40 minutes at a time...then I would get out to lie on the beach for 10-15 minutes, then get back in the water for another 30 or so minutes...then I would walk over to another pretty, deserted spot and do the same...and that's how I spent my day! It was awesome!
My only hope is that I didn't get neither malaria nor dengue fever...there have been cases of both on the island, but I didn't take malaria tablets, and I don't think there's a cure for dengue fever...sand flies didn't bother me much, but I definitely got bit over and over and over again! My mosquito net at the hostel seemed to hold out well the first night, but the second night I definitely spotted some holes...oh well, I hope all goes well...if I get sick once I get home, then I know why!
I loved going back to my wooden pile of rooms called hostel, where I could sit on the patio up top for hours...and I would wake up in the middle of the night time and time again because of the very loud and intense storms...but then I would fall right back asleep!
Leaving Roatan was hard, both because I had grown to love it, even though it had been such a short time, both because my alarm went off at 4:45! I decided I needed to make the 7am boat back to La Ceiba, and I wanted to play it safe...I got a ride somehow, and was at the dock over an hour before departure! The day from Roatan to La Ceiba, and then through two buses, first to San Pedro Sula, and then to Copan Ruinas, went very very well! I needed such a smooth travel day, and I was impressed at myself for managing once in a while not to get onto any chicken buses...traveling on direct buses seemed such a luxury for once!
I got here in Copan Ruinas last night, found the hostel very easily since it's such a small town...it's got 6600 people, it's 10km from the Guatemalan border, and it's touristy because it's by the famous Mayan ruins of Copan...the hostel is nice, small and clean, and although I had to wait for water to cook and for hot water to shower, and nowhere in town did they have electricity to get online last night, I still loved it here! It's a nice little colonial village, everything is close by, I was finally able to get a good shower and cook a whole lot of pasta last night, watch CNN and sleep soundly for almost 10 hours! What else could I ask for??!
This morning I got up, ate some more, then walked over to the ruins...I visited the museum first, then the actual ruins...these are my first Mayan ruins, also known as the Paris of the Mayas for its hieroglyphs and details in general, and although I haven't seen Tikal or Palenque, I was amazed at the hieroglyphs staircase!
Once back in town, I went on a quest for vegetables and fruit, and I found the town market with all sorts of fruits and vegetables I had not seen in a long time! So my lunch was a nice melon, and I will have spaghetti with broccoli for dinner, plus a nice little salad! I also want to take time to get some good pictures of Copan before I leave tomorrow...destination: Guatemala! It will be either Guatemala City or Antigua, I haven't decided yet...Guatemala City would be only to sort out a few travel arrangements to make sure I got back to Texas on the 19th...yes, I know, not too much time left! But I have to be back on the 20th...for a new semester, and for Obama's inauguration!!!