Lietuviskas aprasymas zemiau
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Days 31-33: Landlocked
March 10-12, 2006
Well, since we are stuck in La Ceiba until Monday, it's time to start looking for a nice place on the beach! To our greatest surprise, this turned out to be a rather complicated task. We kept checking the Garifuna villages and beaches around La Ceiba for half a day, but none of them looked like a place where we'd want to linger for three days; until late in the afternoon we finally arrived at Helen's Hotel in Sambo Creek, 21 km/ 13 miles east of La Ceiba. Helen's place was exactly what we had been looking for: simple but clean and spacious rooms with private bathrooms and a little private fridge, a good sandy beach just steps from the room, and an enjoyable beachfront restaurant. The standard price is USD 18, but you can get a little discount if you stay there for several days. We paid USD 15 per day.
Recommendation: Nobody wants to stay in La Ceiba longer than it takes to get on a boat to Roatan, but if it happens so that you have to, Helen's Hotel in Sambo Creek, 21 km/ 13 miles east of La Ceiba, is probably the nicest available low budget option. You can find Helen's place right off the highway to Trujillo (there is only one road from La Ceiba to Trujillo). Take the next turn-off past the sign to Sambo Creak and continue all the way through the Garifuna village toward the beach. The hotel is right on the beach. Helen's is also a good place to leave your car, in case you decide to go to the islands on Galaxy II. They have plenty of shaded parking and will "hide" your vehicle under the lush trees for a small fee for as long as you wish to travel car-less.
Sorry folks, but nothing more exiting or eventful happened to us throughout the remaining two days at Helen's (hard to believe, but we really managed to have several normal days!! :)). We stayed busy being lazy, soaking up the sun, swimming in the Caribbean Sea, drinking margaritas, celebrating Lithuania's Independence Day (yes, we have another one on March 11 :)), spending some time with Michelle and Gianluca (they found another place on the beach in the neighboring village), catching up on reading and writing… in other words, sitting there and waiting for Captain Berto :)
Tip #1: According to the locals, La Ceiba is not a particularly safe place at night, and leaving your car parked on the street overnight is not a good idea. If you have to stay in La Ceiba (try to avoid that if you can - it is nothing more than a busy and rather ugly port town with barely anything to see or do), try to find a hotel further from the center. Although most of the budget hotels are located in the center, they do not have parking and you would have to leave your car on the street.
Tip #2: While looking for a place on the beach, we came across a quite nice camping area not mentioned in any travel book. You can find it a few kilometers further west of Cabanas del Caribe Dantillo (see Tip #3). On the road to Tela from La Ceiba, look for a small handmade sign that says "CAMPING PLAYA" and take a detour towards the beach. Past the Garifuna village, you will see a huge grassy garden turned into a camp site. There are bathrooms and electricity, the beach is just right in front, the owners are very friendly, and it only costs USD 4 per day.
Tip #3: In a small well-hidden fishing village of Dantillo, about
6 km/ 4 miles west of La Ceiba toward Tela, there are Cabanas del Caribe Dantillo,
a place that looked simply ideal from the description in the book: right on
the beach, gated, cheap, separate cabins with private bathrooms… would
have been perfect if it had been open! :) The place has not been closed down,
we just got there at a wrong time - the owner of the cabanas had been gone
"to town" and was supposed to be back "in half an hour".
After waiting for more than an hour, we finally gave up :) Providing the owner
is back from the town, we think this place is worth a try. When looking for
the Cabanas, keep in mind that the turn-off to the village of Dantillo is
not indicated, therefore you will have to use natural navigation. On the road
to Tela from La Ceiba, you will pass a Pepsi Cola bottling plant (easily noticeable
due to many big Pepsi signs). Cross the little bridge past the plant and take
an immediate right. Continue through the Garifuna village toward the beach,
and ask the locals for directions to Cabanas del Caribe Dantillo - everybody
knows the place.
Cick on the pictures to enlarge
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Too late! The best spot has been taken!
Geriausios vietos pliaze visada buna uzimtos! |
Heard about those happy cows that come from California? It's a myth!!
Kitame gyvenime noriu buti Honduro karve! |
At Helen's, couldn't complain about the view either
Trys dienos pas senjora Helena tarp kalnu ir karibu juros - galejo buti ir blogiau :) |
Nuvesk pelyte virs paveiksliuko, spustelk jos kaire ausele, ir paveiksliukas padides
31 - 33-oji dienos: Kapitono Berto belaukiant
2006 m. kovo 10-12
Jeigu imtumem skustis, kad buvome priversti iskesti tris ilgas, nuobodzias dienas ant Karibu juros kranto, kad puikusis baltasis smelis sonus nuspaude, nuo braskiniu margaritu sirdis apsalo, idomiu knygu skaityt neberadom, nuo reportazu rasymo akys isvarvejo, o mirkti siltam kaip arbata vandeny paprasciausiai atsibodo; didzioji dauguma beskaitanciuju tikriausiai pasukiotu pirsta prie smilkinio ir pareikstu, kad mums mazu maziausiai po pora varzteliu tikrai kazkur pakeliui iskrito :) Ir, ko gero, butu teisus… tik iskrito ne siaip eiliniai: vienas is varzteliu buvo vardu Kapitonas Berto, o kitas, pats svarbiausias, vadinosi Roatanas. Pastarojo netekimas musu jutimo receptoriams padare ypac daug zalos - jie visiskai nustojo veikti… Leiskit I Roatana!!!
Na gerai jau, prisipazinsim - su tokiu aprasymu smarkiai prisimelavom :) Nebuvo viskas taip blogai: ir jura, ir saule, ir margaritos buvo nuostabios; ir tos trys laukimo dienos prabego gana greitai; juolab kad tada dar net nezinojom, kas is tikruju yra tas Roatanas, ir kaip ten mums patiks. Bet sventa teisybe yra tai (sito nei vienas negalesit paneigt!), kad, kuomet kazko labai labai lauki, ir ypac kada nezinai ar sulaukus planas gerai pasiseks (musu atveju - laimingai I sala perkelti masina) viskas, ko laukimo metu besiimtum, praranda tikrasias spalvas ir skoni. Ko gero, teisybe, kad jeigu kazkur labai labai nori buti, is tirkuju ten jau esi :)
O realybe buvo tokia: puse pirmosios dienos pravazinejom ieskodami grazios
vietos toms trims laukimo dienoms praleisti. Apie pacia La Ceiba nebuvo net
kalbos - ypatingai nepatrauklus ir nesaugus miestas - net patys viesbuciu
darbuotojai patare masinos per nakti gatveje nepalikti. Be to, kam mums tas
miestas - norim prie juros! Kad ir kaip keista, susirasti vieta prie vandens
uztrunko ilgai. Patikrinom kiekviena Garifuna kaimeli ir kiekviena keliuka
link juros 20 km atstumu I rytus ir I vakarus nuo Ceibos - nieko panaus I
tai, kur galetumem saugiai ir smagiai praleisti laika iki pirmadienio: arba
baisus siukslynas, arba geriausias vietas pliaze jau uzsiemusios kaimelio
karves ir kiaules… (ispudis toks, kad joms siose salyse galima vaikscioti
ir guleti kur tik jos panori). Be to, mes gi labai islepinti! - jei jau strigom
trims dienoms, tai mums butinai reikia prabangos: duso, elektros, ir veikianciu
rozeciu kompiuteriui prisijungti… :)
Vakarop pagaliau pasiseke - apie 21 km I rytus nuo La Ceibos radom nediduka viesbutuka "Helen's Hotel", idealiai atitinkanti (net virsijanti!) musu poreikius: svarus, tvarkingi kambariai, kiekvienas - su saldytuvu; iki Karibu juros - vos 20 metru nuo kambario ir vos 2-3 metrai nuo skaniasiu braskiniu margaritu saltinio - estorano; ir netgi pati senjora Helena nuolatos sukasi aplinkui, rupindamasi, kad niekam nieko nepritruktu. Visa tai - uz 15 doleriu per para. Tik sunkiasvoriai driezai cia visiskai pasiute - besigainiodami vienas kita, sokineja nuo medziu ant viesbucio stogo, nuo kurio, aisku, nuslysta slumsteli zemyn tokiu garsu, lyg kas butu bulviu maisa ant stogo atrises ir paleides :)
Norit tikekit, norit ne, bet ir mums kartais "atsitinka" kelios
normalios dienos - isskyrus tai, kad, be jokios abejones, visas viesbutis
su mumis atsvente Kovo 11-aja - Lietuvos Nepriklausomybes diena (panasu, kad
po musu keliones bent jau du trecdaliai Centrines Amerikos pagaliau zinos,
kur ir kas yra Lietuva :)), likusi laika uzsiemem laiko svaistymu (kaip kitaip
pavadinti tris dienas vienoj vietoj??! :)) ir vizijomis apie nardyma. Leiskit
I Roatana!.. :)
