Island Paradise Day 36 and 37

Since I was high on pain killers yesterday, I decided I best not write a post. Our trip to La Ceiba to go to the dentist began on a high note when a group of dolphins decided to swim by our ferry. There is just something amazing about those animals. Upon arrival in La Ceiba we checked into our hotel, which was, um, how can I say, modest. It was located above a row of stores on a small side street.

I booked it because the one I had been recommended to was fully booked, and this one was located a half block to the Medicentro where my appointment was. Steph's face was priceless as the taxi pulled up to the front door, which was barred and locked. We had to ring the bell to get in, so they could come down and undo the three locks on the door, which they quickly locked again after we entered. Hmmmmm.

It was very clean and run by a Christian family who seemed overjoyed to have gringos staying in their humble place. Our room was very small, with a small double bed (not so good for Steph who is 6 foot two inches), but there was a functioning air conditioner – the most important thing – and a bathroom - secondarily important to the air conditioner). No windows. The only window was outside our room in the hallway – and it was covered by bars. Should there be a fire in that building, I suspect all the guests would be fried chicken!

Anyway, we left right away to go scout out where the periodontist office was, and to find a restaurant for supper. We decided to go to Jardin de Susana - a locally owned restaurant. When we got there, you would never know it was a restaurant as it was in the yard of a home, which had a large metal gate around it and rolls of razor wire atop the fence. We had to ring a bell to get in. Once in, we found ourselves in a lovely garden with an outdoor kitchen and bar. It was cool and quiet, and Steph ate a whole deep fried red snapper!

In the morning we went straight away to the dentist who was another young female who spoke very good English. She got to work quickly, and the whole procedure was over in 1.5 hours. She sent me on my way with a couple of prescriptions, and the total bill was under $200. My mouth around one of my molars now has 4 millimeters less bone, and is all prepped for a new crown. I have a couple of stitches in my mouth, and will have to chew only on one side for 10 days, but all in all I feel great. I did not even need my third of five doses of pain medication.

While waiting for our afternoon ferry to return to Utila, we decided to walk around La Ceiba. It is not really a very pretty town, few redeeming features from the tourists’ perspective (except for the gorgeous mountains). It reminded me of many of the places I have visited in the developing world, as they all have one thing in common: the most amazing display of wires going in and out of buildings.

We entered a small shoe shop because I had to buy some new flip flops, and while in there Stephane noticed a man paying a little too much attention to us while pretending to “shop.” Soon the store keeper came up to us and in very good English said, “You are being stalked by a man who is waiting outside the shop for you. Please do not leave the store or you will be robbed.” We hung around for a while, and eventually she came back and said, “Come with me, I will put you in a taxi.” And so she did, and all was fine. So we headed back to the better part of town and went to a sports bar where we enjoyed some lunch and a couple of beers (these went particularly well with the pain killers).

By the way, I am not usually a beer drinker, but here it is so hot and humid that you need to constantly be drinking and the idea of drinking that much juice or pop is not appealing to me. (yes, I know I can drink water - but seriously - we are always being told that we should concerve water, and if I drank water it would have to be bottled water - in yet another single use plastic bottle, whereas beer is in a recyclable glass bottle. You see? My beer habit is simply my commitment to the environment!)

As we left la Ceiba on the ferry, I was feeling a little sleepy, but before I lay down, I caught a few photos of the stormy evening sky over the La Ceiba harbour.

While laying on Steph's lap, I also took a few other pics...








When we arrived back in Utila we were surprised to see our neighbours Mike and Susan had unexpectedly come to pick us up. Bless Susan’s heart, she assumed I would be feeling wretched and insisted Mike come to get us to save us the journey home. She had also prepared a lovely supper for us all so I would not have to cook. I have said it before – good neighbours and good relationships are a prominent criteria for us in choosing where to stay, and we sure lucked out here on Jack Neal Beach.