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Greetings from San Salvador. The gang took a much-needed break last weekend and visited Honduras, which lies to the northeast of El Salvador. After an early start and a scenic bus ride through northern El Salvador and eastern Honduras, we spent the evening in La Ceiba, eating baleadas (typical Honduran dish, consisting of folded tortillas stuffed with beans, cheese, meats, plantains, etc) and living it up in the (self-proclaimed?) party capital of the country.

 Following a rocky ferry ride the next morning, we reached our ultimate destination, the island of Roatan, which is renowned for its lovely beaches and for its amazing snorkeling and scuba diving (the second largest barrier reef in the world lies just minutes from its coast). Despite a dreary first day, the island did not disappoint. The lads took a turn at scuba diving during which they appreciated coral with bizarre-looking crustaceans interspersed within as well as various schools of fish; of note, neither was afflicted with the bends (!!). The lasses did a combo trip of snorkeling + kayaking, where they too marveled at Poseidon's kingdom.

Mike taking a sunset dip

 Later on, the group met up at beautiful West Bay beach, watched the sun set and had a nice dinner by the water. The return trip was punctuated by a stay at the Intercontinental in San Pedro Sula. Julie and Angela took advantage of literally everything the hotel had to offer (gym, sauna, pool, free food/drink, movies, though, alas, no full-body ayurvedic massage) while Mike and Steve mainly took advantage of the free food/drink. The group arrived back in San Salvador a bit fatigued but energized by our explorations of El Salvador's neighbor.