This is the remains of the jetty at Tela which is now used as a fishing point. The boys tie up their canoes to the remnants.
Well now that you know about Honduras and bananas, I can tell you about my visit to Tela which is on the North coast of Honduras. It has the Caribbean lapping at its beaches so sounds perfect. Tela made its fortune with Bananas but lost its position as the preeminent port in the fifties.
I had the Friday off as school was closed because the kids were off to do something with the "programa" which is another charity involved with the community.
I set off on the Friday morning on the seven oclock bus to San Pedro Sula. This was a nice bus with airconditioning and the trip took three hours. San Pedro Sula is the equivalent of Crewe Railway station in Honduras, all routes seem to go through this rather than the capital Tegus. So the bus station we arrived at is enormous, Victoria would fit into several times. You get off the bus and you get hustled by people wanting you to take a taxi or bus to their destination. It is a free market here and every bus company has their rep trying to get you to catch their bus even if it is not to where you want to go. The other problem that i had was that noone believed I wanted to go to Tela. Conversation went
Tela,
La Ceiba *the popular tourist resort*
No, Tela
La Ceiba
No, Tela
No intiendo
I could not find any signs for Tela as each bus company displays its name and not the route. I guess the locals know who goes where. Anyway, I eventually get a ticket and board a bus. On this bus, the air conditioning was opening the window. This bus certainly had a lot more character, I was the only gringo on it. There were many food sellers who get on the bus. I was surprised at how hygenic they applied themselves. Plastic bag on one hand for handling the food and the other for money or the food was wrapped in clingfilm. Anyway, I was given a sample of a tasty pastry.
We arrived after about two hours at a place called Entrada de Tela so I thought we would soon be there. However after a further 10 minutes, and with a quick consultation I determined that the Entrada was actually as near to Tela as the bus got. You were meant to get off there and catch a taxi into Tela! Needless to say that I did not know this. So I got off the bus and with a quick basic conversation I established that I could catch a bus back. At the moment, I discovered this, the old lady pointed and there was a chicken bus to Tela. The chicken bus is how the locals travel and is an ancient US school bus. So a quick dash and I was aboard. Twenty minutes later and I was in Tela. My hotel was on the beach so it was easy to find but I approached it via the back way so I did not see its best side, which after the hassles of the trip did not put me in a positive frame of mind.
Now this is why I find Americans irritating as a species. When I learnt Spanish from the CD, you were taught to ask for a room with shower(douche) or bath(bano). As I do not have a bath here in Copan, I wanted a bath. Over here, because Americans use the word bathroom for toilet then asking for a room with bano is asking for a room with a toilet so I was back to having a shower.
Anyway, when I finally unpacked, I began to appreciate the hotel and Tela did have some charm. The position of the hotel directly on the beach meant I could go for a run first thing in the morning. Indeed the runs were quite exciting as you also had to wade through a river as well as splashing along the wave edges. The hotel restaurant was recommended for its sea food and I had Conch as in the shell. I thought it was like snail then I remembered that the alternative options were for Conch with garlic or Conch with butter, just like snail.
I set off on the Friday morning on the seven oclock bus to San Pedro Sula. This was a nice bus with airconditioning and the trip took three hours. San Pedro Sula is the equivalent of Crewe Railway station in Honduras, all routes seem to go through this rather than the capital Tegus. So the bus station we arrived at is enormous, Victoria would fit into several times. You get off the bus and you get hustled by people wanting you to take a taxi or bus to their destination. It is a free market here and every bus company has their rep trying to get you to catch their bus even if it is not to where you want to go. The other problem that i had was that noone believed I wanted to go to Tela. Conversation went
Tela,
La Ceiba *the popular tourist resort*
No, Tela
La Ceiba
No, Tela
No intiendo
I could not find any signs for Tela as each bus company displays its name and not the route. I guess the locals know who goes where. Anyway, I eventually get a ticket and board a bus. On this bus, the air conditioning was opening the window. This bus certainly had a lot more character, I was the only gringo on it. There were many food sellers who get on the bus. I was surprised at how hygenic they applied themselves. Plastic bag on one hand for handling the food and the other for money or the food was wrapped in clingfilm. Anyway, I was given a sample of a tasty pastry.
We arrived after about two hours at a place called Entrada de Tela so I thought we would soon be there. However after a further 10 minutes, and with a quick consultation I determined that the Entrada was actually as near to Tela as the bus got. You were meant to get off there and catch a taxi into Tela! Needless to say that I did not know this. So I got off the bus and with a quick basic conversation I established that I could catch a bus back. At the moment, I discovered this, the old lady pointed and there was a chicken bus to Tela. The chicken bus is how the locals travel and is an ancient US school bus. So a quick dash and I was aboard. Twenty minutes later and I was in Tela. My hotel was on the beach so it was easy to find but I approached it via the back way so I did not see its best side, which after the hassles of the trip did not put me in a positive frame of mind.
Now this is why I find Americans irritating as a species. When I learnt Spanish from the CD, you were taught to ask for a room with shower(douche) or bath(bano). As I do not have a bath here in Copan, I wanted a bath. Over here, because Americans use the word bathroom for toilet then asking for a room with bano is asking for a room with a toilet so I was back to having a shower.
Anyway, when I finally unpacked, I began to appreciate the hotel and Tela did have some charm. The position of the hotel directly on the beach meant I could go for a run first thing in the morning. Indeed the runs were quite exciting as you also had to wade through a river as well as splashing along the wave edges. The hotel restaurant was recommended for its sea food and I had Conch as in the shell. I thought it was like snail then I remembered that the alternative options were for Conch with garlic or Conch with butter, just like snail.
I also booked for the following day to go onto a trip to Punta Sud so after the journey over, it had turned out fine in the end.
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