26 Mar--Travel to Omoa

Sat, 26 Mar i got a good nights sleep without any bites. had a quick breakfast, said more goodbyes, and was on the boat by about 7:15am. Another Journey begins ... and i'm not looking forward to it. it's going to be a rough 2 days to get back to Belize. the fact that i travelled this way to get here, isn't much comfort. in fact, it's worse, because i know how grueling it will be. and the timing is different going the other way, so i'll be staying in different towns/villages. Cayos to LaCeiba: it looked like it was going to be a smooth ride it, but it was not; crashing and banging all the way. my taxi was waiting for me and i asked him to stop so i could get a bottle of rum ... i've come to really like this Flora de Cana rum of Honduras :) i made sure that this time i took the really nice luxury bus, ...somehow i missed that step of the directions on my way here. it's called Hedman Alas and they are really luxury buses. it left at 10am, and it was a comfortable air conditioned (and not even too cold) ride from LaCeiba to Honduras of about 3.5hrs. LaCeiba to Puerto Cortes-Omoa: the chaos began when we reached the bus terminal. i asked about the Impala Bus Line from LaCeiba to Puerto Cortes. of course i got fingers pointing directions. up those stairs, 5 flights ... and with my luggage. i look around, of course there's no elevator or escalator :) so i started hauling ... almost to the top, a young girl helped me drag my bag up the last 3 steps. once in the terminal, i started walking and hauling ... note to self: do NOT pack so much shit next year. this Terminal is HUGE and serves as their Crossroads Mall, with lots of stores, and loud music playing. stopped and asked some girls at a bus counter ..... they laughed and giggled, and pointed. back outside where a nice young man came up and started hauling my luggage down the sidewalk as i kept asking, 'Impala?' 'Puerto Cortes?' ... he just kept hauling until we got to the bus. i tell you, those kids who 'hawk' the tourists for the bus lines work their asses off! basically they go up and down the streets, determining who needs to go where, puts their luggage on the bus, and then makes sure you AND your luggage get off where you want to get off. they are amazing! this was a small mini-bus and also air conditioned. it's the only bus line from LaCeiba to Puerto Cortes, so there are a lot of locals, but it was a 'directo' bus. this means it doesn't stop to pick anyone up; but it does stop to let people off. i made sure the nice guy knew that i wanted to get off at Omoa .. which is BEFORE the bus stops at Puerto Cortes. i could have gone to PCortes, but my directions said that Omoa is a nicer, quieter, safer place to spend the night. it was about 1.5hr trip, so when the time got close, i kept watching the nice guy. he glances at me and motions that this is the place. fights his way to the back of the bus where he put my large bag, and got me and it off the bus. now i'm on the side of a VERY BUSY divided highway, and i need to get to the other side; quickly, between traffic, dragging my bags :) not pretty nor graceful, but successfully done; where i waited for the next bus to take me to Omoa. it's about 3:30 now and several buses come and go, and i keep asking; eventually another nice man motioned to the approaching bus, it said 'Omoa' on the front. another nice hard-working bus guy, hoisted my bag on the back of the bus, and i climbed in behind it ... why use the door at this point? so this is a local bus, no A/C, and packed; stopping, people getting on and getting off. there were no seats available, so i stand. after a few minutes, a mother sitting tells her daughter to get up and let me have her seat. WoW! i recognized the nice man from the bus stop on my same bus. after about 45min, he motions for me to get off the bus now ... ok, i had no idea. off i go with my bags. Thank God for all the kind people of this world! PLEASE if you are on the streets and see someone who looks like they don't know what the hell they are doing ... do me a favor, please see if you can help them! unless you've been there, you have no idea how bewildering it can be in a strange place, with few language skills..... when i get off the bus, there is a little Tuc-Tuc there (red golf cart taxi) ...and i ask him to take me to Roli's Hostel. the girl working there doesn't speak English; but we work it out, and i stay in a dormitory with 8 beds ... but no one is in there but me :) i get my 'safety net' up. and take a few photos, ....camera is still working, but making humming noises :( this Hostel has a lot of flowers all around. i noticed they had bikes to use for free, so i took one and rode towards the beach. Omoa is where a lot of locals come for a holiday weekend, and guess what ........ it's Saturday! .... there isn't really a 'beach', but a lot of restaurants, and there is swimming and it is packed with families, all enjoying the sea. most of them WITH their clothes on! it's a pretty little village right on the water with the mountains in the background. it's a festive site, ... but their loud music drives me nuts! but i find a quieter place down the road a little. i return the bike before 6pm as specified then walk back to the beach to catch the sunset. as i'm leaving my room .... what do i see????????? a rabbit ???? huh???? yep, a bunny rabbit ... here in Honduras ... the last thing i expected to see! the sun was just setting. i heard they have good Ceviche here, so i found a place to try it out. ...strange Ceviche .... it was served warm in a kind of ketchup-y sauce ... more like warm shrimp cocktail ... but, there were a lot of shrimp and it was good. i order a coke and put some rum in it :) then home to bed. unfortuantely, tomorrow will be worse than today. time schedules will be crucial coz i'm going to try to make it all the way to Belize City before the last water taxi leaves for Caye Caulker. it will be tight and i'll need a lot of 'luck'. also, i'm going to have to do the 'once every hour Mac announcement' again tonight ... i need to catch the 6:45am bus from Omoa to the Frontera. before i fall asleep, i see this little gecko and wonder ... why do we think it is so cute and that tarantulas and cockroaches are so gross .... something to ponder as i fall asleep.