Jaunted

Jaunted Field Trips / Honduras Field Trip / Restaurants / Food / Toilets / → All Tags

Jaunted in Honduras: Thompson's Cafe

Jaunted contributing editor Paul Brady is on tour in Honduras, the original Banana Republic. We'll be posting stories this week about his travels in the tropics. Have any burning questions?

Even though there's a lot about the Bay Islands that's very different from things in the rest of Honduras, one constant remains. It's the baleada, a sort of unofficial national dish that works as breakfast, lunch and dinner. The basic model is simple: a freshly-made thick flour tortilla is smeared with refried beans, salty farmer's cheese and cream (which the Hondurans call mantequilla, or butter). That's it. Three of these can kill your biggest hunger pangs.

At Utila's Thompson's Cafe, they do have the regular old baleada. But why order that when you can get the Super Baleada (pictured above) packed with beans, cheese, cream, scrambled eggs, lettuce and tomato? It's about the size of a football but it sells for only 30 Lempiras ($1.50). Unlike lots of places in the Islands, and despite the English name, Thompson's is staffed by Spanish speakers, so be ready for that. Oh, and one warning I wish I'd had: Thompson's bathroom is an adventure even by Honduran standards.

Jaunted Field Trips / Honduras Field Trip / Islands / Beaches / → All Tags

Jaunted in Honduras: Castaway Edition

Jaunted contributing editor Paul Brady is on tour in Honduras, the original Banana Republic. We'll be posting stories this week about his travels in the tropics. Have any burning questions?

After a couple days exploring Utila, I was ready to get out on the water myself. The thing to do is charter a boat out to Water Cay, an actual Caribbean deserted island. I sorted out my trip at Bandu Cafe, just east of the dock on Utila's main road. At the restaurant, you can hook up with Captain Hector, a salty Bay Islander whose rickety--but floating!--boat is about as old as he is. It took me about an hour to make the trip out to Water Cay where Hector dropped me off for a half day in blissful isolation.

Once we landed on the island, I saw a sign advertising the day use fee (40 Lempiras or about $2) but no one ever came to collect it. On one end of the island, a sandy beach slides into the water for optimal ocean lounging. After a couple hours watching pelicans dive for fish and swimming with them myself, I was happy to catch some shade on the other side of the cay under the almond and palm trees. Campfires are discouraged, so pack some sandwiches if you're the hungry type. A jug of water, a bucket of sunscreen and a bottle of rum might make your Crusoe fantasy complete. Just leave your Blackberry back on Utila, k?

[Photo: fuzzyyeti]

Jaunted Field Trips / Honduras Field Trip / Bars / Drinking / Diving / → All Tags

Tranquila Bar in Utila

Jaunted contributing editor Paul Brady is on tour in Honduras, the original Banana Republic. We'll be posting stories this week about his travels in the tropics. Have any burning questions?

On Utila, everything moves a bit slower than you're used to. But it only takes a day to fall right into step with everyone else. The island is famous for its diving, but I decided to give diving a pass this trip. Or so I thought. At Tranquila Bar, just west of the dock off the main road, you'll be talking about diving until your face turns blue. Tuesday's the night when everyone drops in.

It's staffed by divers and full of them, recounting tales of the deep to anyone who will listen. Drink specials--like two rum and cokes for 24 Lempiras (about $1.25)--keep the crowd lubricated. Once you've heard enough about Utila's whale sharks, head out onto Tranquila's overwater dock to count the stars while the music blasts inside. If you want to get info on which dive shops run the best trips, this is the place. Tranquila also has a bulletin board with info on trips to Water Cay, the Cayos Cochinos and elsewhere.

[Photo: Travellin' D]

Related Stories:
· Drinking in Honduras [Jaunted]

Jaunted Field Trips / Honduras Field Trip / Transportation / Boats / Islands / → All Tags

Getting to the Bay Islands

Jaunted contributing editor Paul Brady is on tour in Honduras, the original Banana Republic. We'll be posting stories this week about his travels in the tropics. Have any burning questions?

When you're a tourist in Honduras, there's one question that everyone seems to ask: Are you going to Roatan? That largest of the magical Bay Islands is probably best known for its SCUBA diving, but these days it's also known for its real estate bubble. No, I'm not going to Roatan. Utila is more my speed.

To get here, just a few miles west of Roatan, I flew on a "vintage" Fairchild turboprop operated by Atlantic Airways to La Ceiba, on Honduras's northern coast. Once in Ceiba, it was easy to grab a taxi to the ferry port, where the Utila Princess departs twice a day for the island. It's an easy one-hour cruise, but there's not much on the boat besides seats, so take provisions if you're interested in happy hour. On the other side of the cruise, the passengers and I were met by a handful of touts with SCUBA fliers. Funny thing was, with the sun beaming down and the water lapping the shore, I didn't mind.

[Photo: pnendick]