Utila Island, Honduras
April 12 - 17
What turned out to be the last major destination of our trip was the smallest of Honduras' Bay Islands, Utila. You may be able to picture this Caribe island if you can imagine what the entire Caribbean was like 60 years ago before "club meds" and cruise ships took over. We arrived by ferry into the one small harbor, and found our way to the one main street. The majority of the buildings we found here are ramshakle wooden things up on stilts. In recent years Utila has become famous for its incredibly cheap scuba diving courses and thriving corral reefs. We had an amazing time soaking up the natural beauty and intriguing local culture.
If you have time definitely check out the bizarre history of the Bay Islanders. Utilians are primarily descendants of English and Spanish pirates. They speak a rhythmic English creole almost impossible to understand. Yet most people speak Creole, Spanish, and often English. As you can imagine the pace of life here was ultimate chill. Shirts and shoes were optional, and even road construction, beer delivery, and cycling was done in flip flops. Most things close at lunch, and or between 2 - 6 pm, which drove us crazy a few times. We ate Baleada's, the Honduran typical food, at least twice a day, although one night splurged on fresh grilled tuna and maji maji.
Nearly everyday we swam in the warm clear waters close to shore, and 3 times snorkeled around the reefs. We could literally jump in or swim to the reef in a matter of seconds! We even did a night snorkel with a small group off of Corral View point. Being novice reef ecologists I won't bore you with our findings other than to say it was full of life, day and night. We were definitely bit with scuba fever and almost took the three day license course. Theres just so much under water, who knew!
The main highlights were the octopus, squid, phosphorescence, moray eel, puffer, and flounder that we saw. Not to mention the scores of vibrant fish and corral too numerous to recount. On land we loved chasing the blue crabs and iguanas that line the roads and paths there. Plan your trip soon as of course over-fishing and over-development are ruining both the corral reefs and the islands unique forests.
April 12 - 17
What turned out to be the last major destination of our trip was the smallest of Honduras' Bay Islands, Utila. You may be able to picture this Caribe island if you can imagine what the entire Caribbean was like 60 years ago before "club meds" and cruise ships took over. We arrived by ferry into the one small harbor, and found our way to the one main street. The majority of the buildings we found here are ramshakle wooden things up on stilts. In recent years Utila has become famous for its incredibly cheap scuba diving courses and thriving corral reefs. We had an amazing time soaking up the natural beauty and intriguing local culture.
If you have time definitely check out the bizarre history of the Bay Islanders. Utilians are primarily descendants of English and Spanish pirates. They speak a rhythmic English creole almost impossible to understand. Yet most people speak Creole, Spanish, and often English. As you can imagine the pace of life here was ultimate chill. Shirts and shoes were optional, and even road construction, beer delivery, and cycling was done in flip flops. Most things close at lunch, and or between 2 - 6 pm, which drove us crazy a few times. We ate Baleada's, the Honduran typical food, at least twice a day, although one night splurged on fresh grilled tuna and maji maji.
Nearly everyday we swam in the warm clear waters close to shore, and 3 times snorkeled around the reefs. We could literally jump in or swim to the reef in a matter of seconds! We even did a night snorkel with a small group off of Corral View point. Being novice reef ecologists I won't bore you with our findings other than to say it was full of life, day and night. We were definitely bit with scuba fever and almost took the three day license course. Theres just so much under water, who knew!
The main highlights were the octopus, squid, phosphorescence, moray eel, puffer, and flounder that we saw. Not to mention the scores of vibrant fish and corral too numerous to recount. On land we loved chasing the blue crabs and iguanas that line the roads and paths there. Plan your trip soon as of course over-fishing and over-development are ruining both the corral reefs and the islands unique forests.
posted by Luke & Andrea at 3:43 PM
6 Comments:
I have needed a new computer backdrop picture..and the snorkel one works great thanks amigo!
great pictures!!!
Waterfire you may be twisted, but clearly you appreciate fine art...
*sigh*
looks so lovely.
Wow! Great place. Thanks for the update...we're still holding out all hope for the NW as your next destination. :)
I sure wish that I could also enjoy a vacation like this! Maybe soon once I already have the money. Hope you share more pictures and experiences about your trips!
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