We left Guatemala for Honduras on a misty morning that turned into a shining afternoon. We overflew Belize again, struggling to understand their accent over the radio. Later, we found out that was actually a relatively light accent. We even saw some mysterious pyramids on the way. Maybe we can claim their discovery, and name them: "Disneytikalutopia". We landed in the port city of La Ceiba, Honduras. The city's main claim to fame, and probably its only one, is that you can get to the Bay Islands from here. Much as we tried to be positive about this city, it's a dump. Except for one colorful little spot - the butterfly museum. A single-room that houses one collector´s passion for all things multi-legged. The retired American school teacher, who collected the many thousands of pinned insects, gave us the tour. He proudly showed us, among critters from all over the world: The largest moth in the world (one foot wingspan), the heaviest beetle in the world (about a quarter pound), and some living things with hairs on them. Here´s a tiny teeny sample:



Still, all bad cities must be abandoned quickly, and we flew out the next morning on the shortest leg of our trip: A mere 39 miles to Roatan, one of Honduras´three Bay Islands (satellite view). Known (to some) as the cheapest spot to dive in the world, it attracts both the penny-pinching backpacker divers as well as the financially-overburdened real-estate bargain tourists. Naturally we stayed with our own kind. We bought a condo. Here it is, right here:



We spent three days at West End village, where the locals speak English, officially. Unofficially, even the English-speakers among us couldn´t really understand a word they were saying. The local Caribbean accent, like the spelling, like the schedules, is all laid-back to a halt. Look hear:



And indeed we went snorklin. At some points, the reef goes up to the shallow water, and we could spot many kinds of fish that just swam right to us, thinking we are the actual spectacle. (Some swimmers were, admittedly).  Eitan also went diving, and spotted a Spotted Eagle Ray, porcupine fish, and Ariel the little mermaid.

After three days of beaching, we sadly packed our bags and left Burke´s Place (where every welcome is "worm", but all showers are cold). We flew out on a long, challenging leg that included overflying the Nicaraguan airspace ("actually, we do have a permit, and here's the number"), navigating in the clouds to the stratosphere, dodging active volcanoes, and longing for all the water underneath—first lakes, and then the Pacific ocean. Here´s one volcano near the Nicaragua-Costa Rica border:



At the end of four scorching hours in the airplane, we've arrived in Liberia, Costa Rica (satellite view). So that we´re not deemed judgmental, we´ll reserve judgment to a later entry, but this place is a dump. However, we still hope it´s a good base to explore some of the many nature reserves in this region in the next few days. But for tonight, our plans are limited to the block around our hotel room and its TV.