My First Week In Utila

Although I was exhausted from traveling the entire previous day, I was up before the sun rose on my first full day in Utila.  After unpacking my luggage, I showered, dressed, and Monice and I started out on our first walk to town.  It was early yet, and not too hot. 

Jan had told us the night before which stores were the best for price, fresh produce, delicious meals, the best coffee.  We stopped at a bakery(above)...with a very unusual name...that she had recommended for excellent coffee and bacon-broccoli quiche.  She was spot-on with her assessment.  The meal cost $3.50.

At 10:00 AM, Jan picked us up in her golf cart and drove us, first, to the bank, where two armed guards checked our bags prior to knocking on the window, signaling the guard inside to unlock the door and let us in.  Crime is minimal in Utila...occasionally someone has a laptop stolen...but Honduras is a poor country and having armed guards in front of the bank acts as a deterrent.  Monice and I both exchanged our U.S. dollars for lempiras (or lemps, as the locals call them).  The U.S. dollars are accepted everywhere, but the exchange rate varies by store, so it's the better deal to do it at the bank.

We were gone all day, as Jan drove us over almost every inch of the island.  We visited many shops, with Jan introducing me to everyone.  Chris, an American from Oregon, owns a book/video store.  They can be bought, rented or swapped, and the rental fee is twenty lemps per week, or one U.S. dollar. 

Chepes Beach was a favorite spot during our tour.  It's a beautiful vista of blue/green water and white sand, without a speck of litter seen anywhere, and no seaweed washed onto the shore.  I'm not sure if the lack of seaweed has to do with the warm water, or if there's another reason.  Palms and coconuts sprinkled the beach, and a lovely bar/restaurant, The Driftwood, was where we enjoyed seafood for lunch and margaritas to cool us off.

Jan showed us both of her homes.  The first one she built is for sale, a one-room all-inclusive beach cottage with gazebo and plenty of land to build a larger home or add on to the existing one.  Her new house is across the street, much larger with two stories and a huge deck off the bedroom which overlooks the bay.  The house operates on solar power, so the lucky lady is not affected by storms and power outages.

The flora and fauna are magnificent on the island.  Hibiscus bloom everywhere, along with many varieties I've never seen.  The colors are brilliant and, thanks to tropical rains which blow in and out in record time, everything is lush and green.  The island is littered with tiny hermit crabs (see below) and larger crabs with one gigantic claw which makes them look off-balance.  Tiny geckos are scattered everywhere.  They frequently visit in my apartment and, sadly, I accidentally smooshed my first visitor in the window.  Larger iguanas, called wishie willies by the locals, also can be seen crossing the road or scaling the side of a building or wall.

The days flew quickly.  We walked into town twice a day....once in the morning for breakfast or coffee and maybe a little shopping, and again in the late afternoon for dinner and pictures of the sunset.  We found a wonderful place for coffee that just opened recently, and it's not very far from my apartment...maybe a 10-minute walk.  Rio Coco Beans is owned by Michael & Laura Bagby, missionaries who came to Honduras to help the Miskito Indian refugees who fled to Honduras from Nicaragua during the war.  The cafe is staffed by volunteers, including two of their daughters, Arielle and Moselle, and their profits go towards helping the schools.

There are many things on the island that are quite different from the life I left behind in the states.  The locals do whatever they can to make money.  They don't beg or pester the tourists for money or services, but sprinkled here and there throughout the streets of town are tables or lean-to's with everything from mangoes to baked goods to hand-crafted jewelry for sale. 

Some locals find very unique ways to earn money, such as the master craftsman who builds coffins fashioned as coffee tables.  Although slightly macabre, they are a hot commodity here on the island. Locals and tourists alike buy them for their dual purposes: a useful piece of furniture while they live, and a resting place after death.

A final day on Utila for my daughter was spent mostly at the various beaches.  She collected rocks, shells and pieces of coral for her son, even finding some larger pieces for me to decorate my apartment.  I was sad at the thought of her leaving, and I felt strangely vulnerable at being left alone to experience life on Utila.  "This is what you wanted, Carolyn", I reminded myself.  "You can do this."

  

On the morning she left, I cried and held tight to her.  I didn't wait for the ferry to leave.  That would be prolonging the agony.  Instead I returned home to my cute little apartment, intent on scrubbing, cleaning and organizing...both to keep my mind busy and to also make the place my own.  It will be a mental adjustment, but I will make Utila my home.  I will find my purpose here.