Februari 2022 - Honduras - Lago de Yojoa

 From the warm, sunny beaches we went to the slightly cooler mountain area by the Yojoa Lake. We ended up staying in a small village, Agua Azul Sierra, on the east side of the lake, which had about three minimarkets, three restaurants, and not much else. While we explored all of those restaurants and had some nice tortilla con quesillo and pescado frito, we made breakfast and a few dinners ourselves in the kitchen at our hostel. Staying in this small village meant we made good use of the local chicken buses for our daytrips. They were cheap, and usually convenient, though we sometimes had to wait for 30-40 minutes in between buses.

The first excursion we made was to Parque Los Naranjos, an archaeological area near the river, with a boardwalk trail through some forest and wetlands - a popular destination for birdwatching. While we're not too knowledgeable about birds, we did hear and see plenty of them, most we couldn't name of course but they were often colorful. One bird we did recognize though was the toucan - the first one we've seen on this trip - which was a highlight. Another unexpected treat was to see two agoutis (which look like large guinea pigs/small capybaras) right by the trail.

While in the area, we also stopped by the famous D&D brewery, where most tourists who pass by are staying. We had originally planned to stay there as well, but they didn't have any available rooms. At D&D they brew both coffee (which was really good) and beer (which we didn't like as much), and right down the road there is another nature area - the Finca Paradise Bioparque. The area has a few trails, as well as cacao and coffee plantations. As D&D also organizes tours, we inquired about a hike in the Santa Barbara National Park, which we would not be able to access on our own. However, there were no groups going that we could join, and we found it too expensive to do just the two of us.

Our second excursion was to the Pulhapanazak waterfall. Rumor has it that it's a popular spot for locals to go during the weekends; we went on a Friday morning and it was just a few other people there. The waterfall was beautiful, but the area was quite small so we didn't spend much time there. 

We spent a full day doing nothing as the rain was pouring down, reading and enjoying the calm atmosphere of our village, and just taking a short walk to get to a lunch restaurant a bit further up the road. Our last day, we went to Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park, also known as PANACAM. This park is one of the places where you can take a hike in a cloud forest, which is usually mossy and cool. Cloud forests make up only 1% of the global woodland, but there are a few different places in Central America where you can experience it. We walked a steep trail up the mountain and enjoyed the beautiful, thick forest. It was very quiet, and we hardly saw or heard any birds, which was quite the contrast from Los Naranjos. We did however encounter a family of coatis (näsbjörnar in Swedish) crossing the trail just ahead of us. They are very fluffy and cute, so that was a really nice treat!

On our way back to our hostel, we stopped by a small roadside "kiosk", a woman selling a few drinks and snacks and also making baleadas. These were definitely among the best baleadas we had in all of Honduras! Aside from baleadas, my favorite food was tajadas - thick slices of fried plantains which was often served as a side to the meals, kind of like fries. So good!

After we left Agua Azul Sierra and Lago de Yojoa, we had to spend two nights in the capital in order to get a PCR-test and other things ready for the Nicaraguan border. But Tegucigalpa is not a very nice city, and we mainly spent time there because we had to - so I'll just leave it at that.

Februari 2022 - Honduras - Utila

 From El Salvador we had a long journey to make in order to get to the Caribbean Coast and to Utila, one of the Islas de la Bahía. A twelve hour bus ride took us across the border and all the way to San Pedro Sula, an industrial town that we had hoped to only pass through. However, the weather gods had other plans for us. Heacy rains had flooded the roads, and as we ran around the bus station trying to find an ATM that would accept our credit card, they decided to cancel all remaining buses, and so we saw the last bus to La Ceiba (the town from where the ferries go) leave as we were still standing in line to buy tickets. Among the deep sighs of the people who had to remain at the bus station, we met a guy from Poland who was also heading to Utila. The three of us shared an overpriced taxi to a hostel, where we shared the only room they had left. As San Pedro Sula is considered an unsafe city, we only left the hostel to walk to a mall nearby where we eventually found a working ATM and some fast food for dinner. 

As we were discussing how to best get to La Ceiba the next day, it seemed that only one of the two ferries per day would depart - the one in the morning at 9am. Not knowing how early we would be able to get a bus, we decided to share a taxi. Considering the distance and the early morning, we got a pretty good price but it definitely cost us. After four hours in the taxi we were at the docks well in time for the ferry - only to find out the ferry was cancelled due to the weather. We also found out that the latest information regarding ferry departures was posted on their instagram, not their website...

Heading back to the center of La Ceiba, we checked in at a hostel where everyone seemed to be waiting for the Utila ferry. We didn't care much for La Ceiba as a city either, so we were relieved the next morning when we found out the ferries were running according to schedule again, and we could catch the early one out to the island. In the end, after all the srtess and headaches we only "lost" 24 hours and some money, which was not too bad. 

On Utila we spent one week scuba diving, reading and relaxing, usually doing two dives in the morning and spending a few hours in a hammock in the afternoon. Many of the other guests at our dive shop were young backpackers doing their dive certificates, as Utila is one of the cheapest places for that. A big portion of the fun divers seemed to be Americans in their 50s and 60s who would fly down for just a week or two of diving.

filefish

trunkfish - similar to boxfish, but triangular rather than square!

"discofish"

While we didn't find the diving spectacular, we did see plenty of things that were new to uss, such as the "discofish" (juvenile yellowtail damselfish), cryptic teardrop crab, arrow shrimp, trunkfish and more. The absolute best experience though was the night dive we did. At the end of the hour-long dive, where we had spotted a giant lobster, octopus, squid, pygmy squid, shrimps and more, we placed ourselves on the sandy ocean floor and turned off our torches. After a few seconds, small things started to light up in luminescent green - the "string of pearls" that the Honduran Bay Islands are famous for. It was truly magnificent, seeing all of these green "pearls" in the pitch black water, it felt like being in a three-dimensional starry night sky.

cryptic teardrop crab

scorpionfish

pipefish

The only downside of spending a whole week on the island was the lack of local food. While we found a few restaurants and the occasional food stand that we liked, many of the restaurants in the town felt touristy and were quite expensive. One of the evenings we cooked our own dinner in the sparsely equipped kitchen, which was quite nice. We did enjoy having baleadas, the national dish of Honduras, at least once per day. A big tortilla, usually filled with bean paste, cheese and eggs, and folded, could be served for any meal of the day. On the island, they were huge and well filled, compared to the ones on the mainland (which I think are the more traditional version) where we often had to eat three or four to feel full.

a baleada for breakfast

View from our terrace

exploring the island

A very good craft beer we enjoyed on Utila

Februari 2022 - El Salvador - Santa Ana, Ruta de las Flores (Ataco)

We arrived in Santa Ana in the evening, and the bus which was headed to San Salvador had dropped us off at the side of the road by a gas station. With no internet available, a security guard at the gas station helped us call a taxi, though the guy droves us to the wrong hostel first as he didn't know ours. Thankfully that hostel owner (and Google maps) helped guide us to the right place - La Casa Vieja. The owner, Luis, was very kind and helpful, and immediately gave us information on activities in the area and how to get there, including the restaurant where we went for dinner. 

The national dish of El Salvador is pupusas, which is like tortilla dough stuffed with some vegetable or other ingredient and cheese, and then fried, and its often served with tomato sauce and pickled vegetables. The restaurant we were directed to was a popular place called La Ceiba, which offered as many as 22 different fillings (!) and the choice of corn or rice dough. Some of our favorites were: garlic, cilantro, and carrot.

Our first full day in the country, we decided to take it easy as I was still recovering from my food poisoning as well as the gastritis that hit me after, so we took a chicken bus to Lago de Coatepeque, which is an old crater lake. It is easiest accessed by going to one of the lakefront hostels; our hostel in Santa Ana had a deal with the Captain Morgan hostel by the lake, which meant we got a free "day pass" and could spend a ocuple of hours sunbathing, swimming in the lake, and reading in a hammock with a pretty view. The only downside was the lack of food options; there was basically nothing except for the hostel unless we wanted to walk several kilometers in the mid-day heat.

Lake view

Santa Ana

Chicken bus

The next day we were up extra early to catch the chicken bus heading to the Santa Ana volcano, as there were only two buses per day going. After a long and slow ride, with the bus barely managing to climb the steep hill, we arrived at the parking lot with the other tourists. We were told that it was mandatory to go with a guide, so we all had to pay $3 per person, even though we barely saw the guide (who was at the very front) during the 1,5 hour walk to the summit. At the top we were rewarded with views of the surrounding landscape, as well as of the turqoise crater lake which smelled of sulfur. 

Our next stop in El Salvador was the small town Ataco, situated along the Ruta de las Flores. This route is, as the name suggests, supposedly famous for its many beautiful flowers. However, even though it was "in the right season", we didn't really see that many flowers. We concluded that either there is a better time of the year to see them, or the rumors are a bit exaggerated. Ataco is one of the smaller villages along the route, but it has a lot of charm with its streetart and varieties of food options. There are also the typical souvenir stands along the main roads, selling basically the same souvenirs as we have seen all throughout Central America so far.

Ataco is also the place from where you can explore the El Imposible National Park with "El Salvatours", the one tour company situated in the town. We were a bit hesitant as we found it a bit expensive, but last minute there was another couple who booked the same tour, meaning we got a better price but also some nice company. The tour started with a pretty long drive, with the four of us and our guide standing on the back of the pickup truck. The road into the national park was not very well used, steep and full of holes and we occasionally had to duck to avoid branches hitting us in the head. As we started walking into the jungle, our guide occasionally stopped to tell us about different plants and their medicinal traits. We hiked along a river and its waterfalls, and in several places got to choose between jumping into the water or taking a detour around. In one spot, where the waterfall was high, we put on a harness and were rappelled down with a rope. Eventually, we stopped near a fall where we got homemade tortillas and guacamole for lunch, and where we could rest, swim a bit and enjoy the sun, before starting the steep hike back to the car. Shortly before we reached the end of the "trail", we heard something moving around in the leaves - an armadillo! We even saw another one hurrying across the road as we were driving back. All in all, we had a great time during this hike; it was the perfect amount of adventure, at a place where probably not that many tourists go, and with a great tour guide and good company.

The next day, we decided to explore the other towns along the flower route, traveling with the very cheap local chicken buses. Our first stop was Apaneco, another small village. Apart from some street art, there wasn't too much to see. We did pass some time (and spend some money) walking around in a big maze, which initially confused us as we expected an entry and an exit, rather than having the same entry/exit point and a center. As the maze was placed on a slope, we got plenty of exercise walking up and down the hill before we realized there was a center, and finding our way there.

Our next stop was Juayua, which is perhaps the most popular village to stay in along the route - although we found that we liked Ataco much more. It is most famous for the weekly weekend "food festival", which we were of course excited to see. However, we felt that it was a bit overrated, as it was just two streets serving mostly the same type of dish - meat or fish, with rice and salad. We did manage to find another food stall which served some yuca based dough, filled with cheese and fried - very tasty! We also met up with our friends from the hike and got ourselves some piña coladas made from fresh pineapple and served in the pineapple as well. Very good, but not very strong ^^

Although we felt a bit disappointed in the food festival, we immediately got in a better mood when we returned to Ataco and saw the food market in our own village, which lasted way into the night. Here we tried riguas (also made from yuca), something they called tortas served with cheese and "cream", elote (grilled corn on the cob), chile rellenoi (stuffed peppers) and ponche (a sweet milk-based drink spiced with rum and cinnamon). It was exactly was we wanted from a food market, with lots of local treats to taste.

Yuca with cheese and "cream"

Our last day in El Salvador was spent in the capital, as we had to catch a very early bus the next day to Honduras. We didn't explore much; we stayed at a hotel near the bus terminal, and the area had mainly fast food and not much else to explore. In total we only spent a week in El Salvador, and could very well have spent another one there - doing the popular "7 waterfalls hike" from Juayua, or exploring the surf towns on the coast. However, we had to book our transportation and our acoomodation at the Dive Shop (!) in Honduras a few days in advance, so we had to guess at how many days we would want to stay. Still, we enjoyed our time in the country and felt that we got to explore several nice places and foods!

coffee!