Wow! I cannot believe that I have already been in Honduras for almost 2 weeks...the time has flown by and the trip has been nothing short of amazing already, and packed full of fun.

Last Sunday our scuba instructor had a fabulous party at her house. Her house is only accessible via boat, so 3 boats of people from the dive shop went to the party.

on our way to the party

 The house was beautiful, and the view of the ocean from her deck was breath taking, and she even had a pool!! The pool was tiny, but i'm fairly certain that there were about 30 of us in it at one point, and by the end of the day the pool was filthy.
The food was amazing, more food than at most parties in the US, and probably about 30 or more crates of beer, and several coolers of rum punch.  Also, much deck dancing took place, as there was a DJ...it was definitely not the kind of party I expected to attend in Honduras.  Just before dark everything shut down, and we hopped back in the boats and headed back to the Dive Shop, stumbled back to the hotel, and were asleep before 7...it was a perfect day.

the pool party

Erin and I completed our open water diving course/certification on Monday afternoon. The water was much choppier, than our first two dives, but you can't feel any of that once you are under the water.  I definitely felt like I had come a long way in my comfort under water in comparison to the first day, when I thought that scuba may not be for me...now, I am looking forward to getting my advanced certification in Roatan.  Also, if anyone is ever looking to get dive certified, become an instructor, or anything in between, I would highly recommend UDC...it was a fantastic experience...plus, you can't beat scuba diving in the 2nd largest reef in the world, and I would be more than happy to be your travel buddy!!

recovering from the party the only way i know how...
drinking coffee with my toes in the water...

On Tuesday, our last day in Utila, we go to do two free fun dives with the shop, which means diving with a dive master and no instructor..the dive master is just a guide, and will help if you have problems, but other than that you are pretty much on your own...that was by far my most enjoyable two days of diving..

Early Wednesday morning we hopped back on the Utila Princess and headed for the mainland, where we hopped on a bus to a secret spot for a birthday surprise.  After about 3 or 4 hours on the bus we arrived in Trujillo, a little town on the coast.  We took a cab to a little place called "Banana Beach Resort" and it was nothing short of amazing.  We had our own fancy beach house, on white sandy beaches with a pool, and we were the only ones staying there, so our own personal chef as well...everything about it was absolutely perfect.

Banana Beach Resort

On my birthday evening the chef made me a german chocolate cake with a strawberry sorbet like filling and coconut frosting..it was to die for! And, apparently it is a Honduran tradition that the birthday person take a bite directly from the cake, and then they smash your face into the cake..and Erin could not let me pass up this cultural experience! I could not ask for a more perfect start to my 27th year!!

pre cake face stuffing...

This morning we had to leave our little slice of paradise and begin our journey to Copan Ruinas, where I will be taking my Spanish classes...we took a 6 hour bus trip to San Pedro Sula...luckily Honduran's hop on the bus quite frequently and sell a variety of fruit, baked goods and soda, so we did not go hungry or thirsty!

pretending like i journal

Just a little bit ago we arrived at a very nice hostel in San Pedro Sula, La Hamaca, and we will hop on a bus tomorrow morning to go the rest of the way to Copan.  I am very excited and ready to start my Spanish courses...I feel so lost here most of the time..I have really developed a new respect and appreciation for those who travel or migrate to the US and do not know the language. This experience will make me a much more patient, understanding and accepting person when it comes to language and cultural differences.  I am hoping that I can actually manage to grasp the language, or at least learn enough to understand snippets of what people are saying to me, and know how to respond appropriately.

I will try to update more regularly..the internet, like most things in honduras, has not been super consistent lately, but I should have semi-regular access while in Copan...

Buenas noches!