Jose had been working in San Pedro Sula all week. So I flew from Tegucigalpa alone to meet him in La Ceiba. Jose's dad dropped me off at the airport. I checked in, paid my taxes, etc, etc. Then I waited. And waited. And waited. Our plane was 45 minutes late, meaning we left an hour later than scheduled. Haha. Only in Honduras. :)
I got reallllly nervous when I walked out onto the tarmac and saw this teeny plane.
I was nervous. As the plane took off, I squeezed the arms of the seat and prayed. I even did the stations of the cross. I'm not Catholic, but everyone else was doing it and I figured it couldn't hurt. ;)
At first, I imagined every possible way we could crash and die. Then I spent some time planning my escape if we did crash. After I calmed down a little I realized that it wasn't that bad. So I pulled out my Estilo and caught up on the socialites. A little while later, the pilot announced that we would be arriving in La Ceiba soon. I went back to reading, and about 10 minutes later felt a little bump when we landed.
When I went into the airport, Jose was already there. Evidently, his flight from San Pedro had been A LOT worse. He said the plane was moving around so much in the air he felt motion sickness coming on (which is funny, because we fly to Roatan now instead of taking the ferry solely because of his motion sickness). He also said that he thought his pilot was "trying out" for the job because there was a man that stood in the doorway to the cockpit with a clipboard taking notes. He also said that he thought the pilot failed the test.
So we left from La Ceiba and a few minutes later arrived in paradise.
We went to our friend's apartment, and visited for a few hours. They live in West End, so we were a short walk from everything. (And let me tell you how nice it was to be able to WALK places without the fear of being robbed/kidnapped!)
The second day, Jose and I decided that we needed to see the coral reefs for the first time. All of our friends in Roatan LOVE to scuba dive. They keep trying to get us to do it. But Jose and I don't really see the appeal. In fact, we think we would both freak out under water. Fish, coral, sea grass, jelly fish, and other unknown creatures in the unknown depths of the ocean? No thanks. :)
So Jose and I decided to see the reefs the "safe way." We took a water taxi to West Bay and rented a see-through canoe. We paddled our way out to the dark waters, and had a look for ourselves. Jose kept saying, "Hannah, I think we're going to far, it's really deep here, we should go back!" I told him to get over it and keep going, I wanted to see this coral. So we paddled and paddled. We saw a few colorful fish (think Dory and Nemo). We saw a lot of dead coral. We saw some pretty orange-colored coral. We almost got hit by a few water taxies. Then I got tired. And Jose had to paddle us all the way back. Haha.
Overall, it was a great trip. And more importantly, we came back well rested and stress free. :)
Shout out to Anibal and Sandy....thanks for letting us stay with you! We love you guys!
6 comments:
I loved reading about your flying experience, it was so fascinating! Aviation has become a new passion and I jump at every chance to go flying, but I admit that I wouldn't want to be on the flight where Jose said the pilot was "trying out" for the job. Eeeek, scary! You are having the adventure of a lifetime and I'm so proud/envious of you for taking this leap of faith. Oh and I loved the picture in the hammock, you all looked so laid back and happy :)
Now that is my idea of a relaxing weekend ~ doin' nothing by the beach. Aaaah, looks heavenly.
I laughed hysterically when I read about the pilot-in-training. Oh my goodness...I would have fainted if I had been on that plane.
Tell Jose that he needs to keep that cancer stick out of his hand/mouth or he's going to need oxygen during his old age like Nanny B.
As W. C. Fields once said, "It reminds me of my expedition into the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew and was compelled to live on food and water for several days..."
No, really, it reminds me of my very first trip to Honduras back in the early '80's. I was in San Pedro Sula and had to go visit a prospective client in La Ceiba. I arrived at the airport early in the morning for the flight. I saw the plane that appeared to be a 30-40 year old vintage propellor plane. My heart sank. Upon boarding, I noticed all the signs in plane were in Russian/English, so it was evidently a second hand Soviet aircraft of questionable reliability. It was hot and sweaty inside the plane. Once they started the engines, a little fan came on on one side giving some relief to the heat. The fan on the other side of the plane didn't work. I noted that the seat covers were old and frayed. My particular seat had been repaired many times with the tears hand-sewn together and various different patches that didn't match.
Needless to say, I was unable to concentrate on business the entire day I was in La Ceiba as I was only able to think about and dread the return trip in the afternoon.
Ashley, if you like to hear stories about flying, it looks like you should talk to my friend Don Godo (see his comment above)!!
Mom and Dad...I know, I know.
Don Godo, I wish you would start writing in your blog again. It seems like you have lots of good stories to tell!
Congrats on surviving Honduran aviation! I have to say that my grandfather is partly responsible for it, since he was the first Honduran pilot. But, no worries. If you can dodge a Tegucigalpa Taxi, you can do anything!
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