The tourist's tour

Jonathan:
After we moved on from Copán, the rest of our time in Honduras seemed to go by in a flash. We made our way north to the popular diving destination of Roatán where we were pleasantly greeted by my dad's former business partner, Don, who moved down to Roatán to pioneer their expat community about 15 years ago. Don was a tremendous host during our time there. Right off the boat we were treated to a thorough tour of the hard-to-reach corners of the island, and a fantastic lunch. His hotel recommendation was perfect, and our last night in town he took us out for Thai food and karaoke. We were tremendously grateful for Don's company and generosity.

Of course the main reason for our visit to Roatán was to wrap up our open water diving certification, and catch a glimpse of the island's more than famous barrier reef. The certification classes could not have gone more smoothly, a truly admirable accomplish for Megan in particular who had...let's say, mixed feelings about diving. In addition to the underwater course, we were treated to a fantastic array of chiseled reef canyons and exotic sea life-- enough to leave us both pretty excited to find more opportunities to dive on this trip. In addition to the diving we had our fill of Roatán's gringo amenities (and prices), like daily happy hours on the beach, umbrella-laden drinks called "monkey la las," and a tour of the southern coast of the island on a rented Vespa.

After making our way back to the mainland we worked our way south by way of Lago Yojoa in central Honduras. There happens to be a microbrewery there run by a guy from Oregon, whose raspberry ale was (in his own words) a welcome break from the "mosquito-piss" beers available in the rest of the country. The brewery's guest house was the base camp for our time at the lake, during which we were given a private tour of the brewery's medicinal plant garden where we sampled a number of tasty natural remedies (including a mouthful of termites, which are evidently a highly effective natural anti-histamine). We also enjoyed an early morning rowboat bird-watching tour run by a quirky British migrant named Malcom.

Our entire trip through Honduras was brightened by the company of our new friends Rose & Jochem, a Dutch couple who we met on our sailing trip in Belize. Our paths have been strikingly similar ever since we hit dry land. We have them to thank for the great beachside pictures of our diving course.

From the lake we broke for the border, and after two long days on the road we've made it to the lovely city of Leon in southwestern Nicaragua. At first glance this town (and country) seem like they are going to be a pleasure. We'll cool our heels here for a few days, and next week we are on our way further east to Granada for some more Spanish school, and another family home stay-- a nice break from the fast-paced, activity-driven, lifestyle that has us both feeling a little... well, like tourists.