I'm in heaven!

Aaargh. Have just written loads and just rather cleverly managed to delete the lot. So you will have to have an editted version!

After having a strop in copan as my jet lagged self couldn't sort anything out and was feeling hopeless and friendless, I hotfooted it to the coast (Tela) to chill out and get in to the holiday / traveller mode. It was quite a nice place, and I met some really cool people, but its also quite odd. For a start it is meant to be one of the best beach areas in honduras but the whole place seems to shut at 8.30 and there are only 2 places to get food if you dont want the standard street fare of tortilla, guacamole, pickled cabbage and refried beans. Then there are loads of afro-carribean people around due to the Garifuna villages near by. Apparently in the 1700s some people in Jamaica revolted so the british shot loads, and those they didn't kill, dumped on a little island (roatan) of the coast of honduras. They flourished and now there are loads of Garifua all along the n coast. its really odd! the villages are meant to be really cool - amazing beaches and huts everywhere, so tried to visit them one day. But unfortunately I am not blessed with the onions sense of direction and despite simply having to follow the coast on my (really uncomfortable) rented bike, i managed to only succeed in getting a sore arse and a bag of lychees!

Next day was spent spotting monkeys on this nearly uninhabited forest island thing. The best bit though was that for lunch, one of the 2 families living there makes money by feeding the tour. So you tell them if you want to eat when you get there, then dad goes off to catch fish adn you get lun ch when enough fish are caught and you get whatever is caught. Fish doesn't get much better!

But the title of this entry relates to the island where I now am. Its called utila and I have come here as there is amazing diving and its world renown for being the cheapest place in the world to learn to dive. I am currently half way through my course with a company voted best in the world in 2003 by PADI for the bargin price of $200. And am staying in a hostel with a pool and bar for $3 a night. www.mango/inn.com. But the island itself is just gorgeous and I am seriously considering getting one of the bar jobs going and not leaving! It really beautiful with an amazing laid back, almost carribean vibe and with some fab beach bars / cafes to cater to the diving / backpacking crowd. Really touristy but doesn't feel overwhelming.

Just to make you all even more sick. Last night we went to one of the bars (all basically wooden shacks on piers going into the ocean) where rum and coke was 50p and a big chunk was cut out of the pier so we could sit there gazing at the stars then looking at the fish swimming by. It was just heavenly. promise that in the future i will have some adventures and crappy days but at the moment this is just perfect!

Anyway, have to go and do my homework (!!) looking at some charts before dinner. Think we are going out with this mad swiss couple we have met who despite them only speaking French, and me not speaking french at all i can somehow understand everything he says. Despite the lovely time i am having here I am missing you all. cant believe i was landing in Guatemala only this time last week