Wednesday 9 July 2014

Double booked and hanging out...

We have now been on Utila for four days and at last we have found somewhere to settle. You see, upon our arrival, we discovered that our pre-arranged rental apartment at Sandstone had been double-booked. We spend our first night on the island at ‘Rubi’s Rooms’ which was a clean but very basic room. The second and third nights we stayed at ‘Old Tom’s Apartments’ and, although we could have rented here for longer, it was right in the center of town and we found it too noisy at night.

Rubi's Rooms - clean and with a great view but very small and basic
 
We had this upper floor apartment for two nights but it is in town and it was too noisy at night for us

Then finally, with the help of real estate adviser Mike at Utila Apartment Finders, we found the perfect place with The Little Yellow House. It is just across the sandy track road from our original choice at Sandstone but we think it is much better. The Little Yellow House has two porches – front and back – and a great sea breeze blowing through the house all day, which is, believe me, absolutely essential, as the electricity here is so expensive (the second most expensive in the world apparently) that no one uses air-con. The heat and humidity here is pretty intense both day and night – and I have to admit to you that I’m drenched in sweat while typing this post!

The Little Yellow House and it's sea view from the front porch. Our home from home for the next three months!

While we were waiting for Mike to get back to us yesterday with news of somewhere to rent, we waited patiently by hanging out at the beach. Coral Beach is a short (complimentary) boat taxi away and the beach there is idyllic. There are sun loungers, hammocks between the palm trees, and a fabulous restaurant and a bar called ‘Neptune’s’. We tried ‘Long Island Iced Teas’ (recipe below – and it doesn’t contain tea!). From the menu, Trav ordered skewered shrimp and I had jambalaya. It was amazing. While we were at Coral Beach we met a really lovely couple from San Pedro Sula who have invited us to stay with them at their home for a couple of days before we fly home. Trav and I have accepted their generous hospitality.

Hanging out at the beach while we waited for Mike at Utila Apartment Finders to find us a place to stay!

The recipe for Long Island Iced Tea:
Rum, gin, vodka, tequila, triple sec, lime & coke

Today was Trav’s first day at work. His new office is the Caribbean Sea. He is working as a Dive Master Intern at Ecomarine Dive Center and this is him at 7.30 this morning as I waved him off from the Little Yellow House front porch. He looks pretty excited to be doing something he has dreamed of doing for a long long time!

Scuba diver Trav's new office is the Caribbean Sea...
My jobs for today are to unpack our stuff, to wait in for the internet engineer to connect us, and then to go into town to get us a few provisions for the fridge. The cost of living here is very inexpensive and all the prices at the bars and restaurants (of which there are many) are wonderfully affordable. The currency here, in case you were wondering, is the Honduras Limpera.

Next time I post, I hope to have settled into the laid back island lifestyle and into a routine of writing my new novel ‘Castaway in the Caribbean’….



So come back soon...!