Welcome to the Jungle - Again!

Forgot to mention in my last post that I took my first tuktuk ride. They use tuktuks as taxis in Copan so I took one up to the bird park. Damn guy wanted to overcharge me as well. I really hate taxi drivers! It's always such a negotiation. And when you don't speak much Spanish you don't have anywhere near as much bargaining power. Especially when you don't know the past tense... how can you tell the guy you only paid X amount for the same trip last week when you can only speak in the present tense!?

Wednesday was a long travel day back to La Ceiba, once again on the chicken bus to San Pedro Sula and then by what was supposed to be a three hour direct bus, but it made so many stops that it took 4 hours. I managed to get to the post office, so the few people who sent me their addresses, you will be getting postcards! Then it was back to the Spanish school to pick up my scuba gear. And once again say goodbye to my lovely friend Matthijs (for the fourth time!) . I was missing his smiling face so it was nice to see him again for a few minutes. I ended up spending an extra couple days in Copan leaving me short on time to go to Gracias and Santa Rosa de Copan which I had tentatively thought I would do.... so with just one spare day I decided to go back to the Jungle River Lodge for another day of rafting before heading to Utila. Unfortunately by the time I arrived there at about 5 PM it had started pouring rain. So I never even got in a swim. I had been looking forward to a swim all day after sweating through over 6 hours of bus travel along with all the waiting around. It was a fairly quiet night at the lodge with only myself and 3 other guests spending the night. Turns out one of them was the Swiss woman I had met at Expatriates Bar in La Ceiba a couple weeks earlier. Honduras really is a small country. I am constantly running into the same people over and over! The other two people were friends of hers.

Thursday morning a huge group of 16 people showed up to go rafting. There was also 3 people who were travelling together who also came out and were going to raft and spend the night. We ended up with 6 rafts going down the river this time, compared to two the last time I went. However, with more guides we were able to do a few different things than last time, including being pulled up rocks by rope! We also got to go down the Spicy Chili rapid (class 4) outside the boat (well I did it last time by accident as I fell out halfway through the rapid!). It was so much fun I went 3 times.

Last night the three other travellers (Ruben from the US, Emma from Australia, and Katie from England) and I played some cards and had some beers. Of course I made them try the nasty Jungle Juice! Eventually a couple of the Jungle boys joined us and we taught them knock knock poker. Today it is on to my last new destination - the island of Utila - for more diving! Ruben, Emma and Katie are also heading there on the afternoon ferry once Ruben gets some money sent to him by Western Union. He's been travelling for 5 months.. started with 12 debit/credit cards.. now has none! He has been robbed 4 times!!! That is some bad luck!