Tela
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| the pretty drive to Tela |
From La Ceiba to Tela it's about 1-1/2 hours along good paved road. I went through one checkpoint where the policeman kinda leaned into my car asking questions, only half of which I understood. He waves me on, another clueless gringo.
Since the bulk of this trip and the major expense of the island trips is now behind me (only a cay, or two, in Belize yet to come), I'm not as focused on "the budget" as I was, and besides, I'm a little worn out trying to find places to camp down here. I know I'll camp quite a bit in Mexico and the U.S. and I'm ok with that.
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| view off the Maya Vista |
I located the Hotel Maya Vista built on a hill a few blocks off the beach in the smallish town of Tela. Tela is on the bay of the same name and the entire cresent of the bay is lined with white sand beaches. This town is rumored to be developed by the government as a major resort destination and there are a few all-inclusive resorts already here. Someday this could be a big deal, but for now it's a pretty quiet, relaxing location. The hotel was built by a French-Canadian back in 1994 and is now run by his son Daniel. Only 10-12 rooms stacked over 5 floors and integrated into the hill and the trees, this is a unique spot with the best views and breezes, and a good restaurant. I splurged on a top floor room for $40, but you can get one for $25. Thumbs up. There is another couple staying here, Liz and James. They are, remarkably, more folks from Colorado (Twin Lakes - way up in the mountains) where they run a small B & B called A Wolf Den.
Omoa
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north from San Pedro Sula
to Omoa |
Next comes Omoa, just shy of the Guatemala border and also on a bay. This town has had some bad luck lately with an earthquake a couple of years ago and the construction of a liquid gas facility that has caused the erosion of some of their beach. The concensus here is that the government was paid off sufficiently to ignore the loss of beach and local business. Sounds about right.
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| at the Suenos de Mar |
San Pedro Sula is a major city an hour south of Omoa and a lot of people travel from there to here as a weekend getaway. There are also a number of expats here, the majority seeming to be from Canada. Probably the best place to stay in town is the Suenos de Mar, run by Karen and Mark from Canada. It has the look and feel of a small lodge in the north woods, I really like it.
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Carib. coast of Honduras
click to enlarge |
At the end of a sand road, this is a comfortable, peaceful stop (with a/c!) and I'm the only guest for my first two days here. The major activity is to drink beer, b.s. with whoever drops by, and to watch the sea and the great sunsets. I stayed a third day as some serious rains pelted us for most of the day, keeping us inside where there was only one thing to do. Guess what that was (see above)? Next I head south and west into the mountains before crossing back into Guatemala in a week, or so. p.s. Mark makes some killer hash browns.
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