Forced North

I was looking forward to the Bay Islands and diving, but the closer the bus got to La Ceiba on the coast, the wetter the weather became. By the time the bus conductor called out "La Ceiba!" it was grey and partly flooded, I was cold and not looking forward to getting off. So I stayed on. The dreary weather seemed to put me in an apathetic mood.

For two more hours I sat on the bus, watching the scenery change from coastal towns to the inner countryside, past banana plantations, farms and tiny villages. Apparently, we were bound for Olanchito, a place that wasn't mentioned in my guide book or marked on my map.

When the bus finally reached the terminal where the weather was dry though overcast, I wondered if there was a bus back to La Ceiba since the little town didn't look like it had much in ways of accommodation for travelers. As fate would have it, there was only one daily bus and it was leaving in five minutes.

The closer we got to La Ceiba, the wetter it became again and I sought shelter in a hotel that was disappointingly lacking tv. Worse, there wasn't internet nearby either. I walked out into the rain, thinking the place would actually be a pretty nice town to hang around in fine weather. It had bars and restaurants by the beach and cheap accommodation too.

In the morning, I got up early to catch the 8am ferry to Utila but learned that all ferries were suspended until the weather improved. There was no way to know for sure when that would be. Without the luxury of time to find out, I decided to cut my losses and go back to San Pedro Sula for the night before making my way north to Guatemala.