A Celebration with Cervesa at El Gran Carnaval de La CeibaThis story begins when I decided to visit La Ceiba (La Say-ba) on the Honduras mainland for a Saturday day trip. I thought it would be amazing to see the Copan ruins but after doing a little research I learned that trip wouldn’t be feasible in a single day. Instead, I accidentally showed up for La Ceiba’s busiest tourist season and an internationally renowned affair.

I spent most of Friday afternoon Googling tour companies in La Ceiba. I learned that La Ceiba is home to the Pico Bonito National Park and I thought a tour of the rainforest would be a great way to spend my Saturday. I called the only four tour companies I could find and they all were unable to accommodate me. Urg.

I decided taking the ferry would be entertaining enough and once I landed I would hop in a taxi to “Al centro” — the center of town, grab an authentic meal and take photos until I had to return to the terminal.

I’m On a Boat

Saturday arrived and I woke up at 5:30 AM for the 7:00 AM ferry. I was so tired that I started the coffeemaker without coffee in it, only water. Fail. I hitched a ride to the terminal and was ready for my adventure! I had stuffed $75 in my bra (no one was going to pickpocket me there!) along with my ID and a $5 in limperas I had lying around. I thought that would be plenty of dough for my day excursion. It had slipped my mind that the ferry is incredibly overpriced and costs $55 for a round trip! I had a little over $20 for the day since I didn’t bring any credit cards. This was going to be a test for my thriftiness, but I was up for the challenge.

The ferry is called The Galaxy Wave. It’s a “luxury” yacht that seats 460 and takes about an hour and a half to travel from Roatán to La Ceiba. I am the queen of motion sickness so I wasn’t thrilled about being on a boat first thing in the morning, or at all. The night before, I read in SELF magazine that eating protein can help prevent feeling queasy. Luckily, it was a calm morning, a little wind, obnoxiously humid but it didn’t look like I would be suffering too much. The Caribbean Sea is also much calmer than the ocean – phew!

I took a seat and fell in and out of sleep until we docked in La Ceiba. When I got off the boat there were over 10 different men shuffling people into taxis. I felt overwhelmed and went to the ticket booth to ask if they thought it was a good idea for me to go to the center of town. I learned that the carnaval was going on this weekend in the center of town and that’s where the action would be. Perfect! I had a plan! Screw you, expensive tours who wouldn’t fit me in! I found my own entertainment for the day! I hopped into a taxi and was on my way.

Celebrate Good Times

I imagined a carnival with rusty, rickety old rides, fried treats and children dangling colorful balloons. This event was a little different. It was the Macy’s Day Parade meets Mardi Gras — sans topless women.
stagestreet-scenebeadsThe main street was blocked off for over six blocks. Food carts and stands were set up on the side of the street. There were french-fries, plantains, doughnuts, ice cream, pupusas and more meat than you could dream of. There were over 20 different stands offering grilled meat dishes. I wish I could elaborate more, but since I don’t eat meat, I wasn’t very interested in smoked animals. I found a stand that was able to make a dish without meat. It was quesolito, two small corn tortillas with cheese in between and a pico de gallo on top with hot sauce. Whoever said the heat doesn’t make you very hungry is an absolute liar. I was famished and happily paid less than a dollar for my quesolito.
plantainsmeat-2salsa-bird
I also enjoyed an ice-cold Imperial, my favorite beer from Costa Rica. It didn’t stay cold for long, but it was less than a dollar! Incredible! The three Honduran beers (Salva Vida, Barena and Port Royal) were also available for less than a dollar. I had less than $20 on me and I felt like Ms. Moneybags!

The carnaval was quite the spectacle and a great way to spend the day. High school marching bands performed, children frolicked and people had smiles on their faces. I felt fortunate to stumble upon this annual celebration.
more-drummersdancerMake Me a Bike Clown!One of my favorite parts was the police with machine guns standing along side the street. Nothing like machine guns for a family-fun weekend!policiaI learned the event is in held in honor of Saint Isidore the Labore, the patron saint of the city. The celebration starts at least one week before the main event which is a big parade followed by an all-night party.

¡Que Bonito!

In the taxi on the way to the carnaval, I noticed we passed the entrance to the Pico Bonito national park. I left the carnaval around 1:30 PM and started walking towards the ferry terminal. I walked down the dirt road toward the mountains of Pico Bonito, my feet were aching, I was drenched in sweat and my shoulders were raw from my dinky drawstring bag but I couldn’t have been happier. I was standing before these gorgeous, green mountains full of wildlife. Dark clouds covered the tops and it was unlike anything I had ever seen.cloudy-mountainme-and-mountainsI wish had enough energy (and time) to hike the rainforest, but I’ll have to save that for another trip!

Don’t Rock the Boat

When I finally made it back to the air-conditioned (hallelujah!) ferry terminal, dark clouds had invaded the sky and the winds picked up. We boarded the Galaxy and the sky was completely gray. A man who worked on the boat was passing out small plastic bags. I thought, “Oh, it’s going to rain so these bags will protect electronics. That’s nice of them!” I was half-right. It was very nice of the crew to pass out the plastic bags, but they weren’t for rain-protection. I learned what they were really for when a woman sitting a few rows up tossed her cookies into the baggie.

The boat didn’t stop swaying side to side and up and down until we returned to Roatán. My stomach hated me. All I could think of was when I saw “Avatar” in IMAX 3-D and threw up in my popcorn bag. The sea Gods were on my side, and my lunch stayed put. If I had downed more alcohol than my single cerveza, I don’t think I would have been so lucky.

Where?
La Ceiba, Honduras

Additional Information
http://safewaymaritime.com