La Ceiba – Day 3: Pink Boas and Pizza
LA CEIBA
Day 3: Pink Boas & Pizza
November 12, 2022
Gustavo and I… It was definitely a match. So much so that I invited him to join me on my boat trip to Cayos Cochinos the following day.
He agreed, albeit with some hesitation, saying he doesn’t quite like visiting the usually-crowded islands but somehow ends up there at least once a year cause his friends drag him along. I could empathise – we’ve got the same version back in Malta: the Blue Lagoon, a bay found on a tiny island called Comino. While it truly is a beautiful beach with the most turquoise water you’ll ever see, it’s also so incredibly overcrowded that I practically roll my eyes whenever tourists say it’s on their bucket list.
But somehow, he agreed to join. And so, early in the morning, with two cups of coffee a bag of rambutans, and a baleada in hand, he was waiting for me in front of my hostel. While happy to see me, he was miserable at the thought of an hour-long boat ride over the usually choppy seas with “annoying locals” – as he himself, a local, put it. Turns out, the sea was as flat as my singing voice, and the ride was super pleasant – save for one thing: everyone on the boat going “Oh!” or “Ah!” every time we’d catch a sizeable wave – just as if they hadn’t felt the previous one that was exactly as inconsequential as the present one. As annoying as people who clap when planes land. Grrr.
Paradise Lost
The captain told us we’d be making a few stops, with the two main islands of Cayo Menor and Cayo Grande being the highlights, along with a few smaller cays.
On the first island, it was all I could do not to run away from our group and just live out the rest of my days as a cast away on such a tropical paradise. Instead, we were told to sit in a musty old office for a PowerPoint presentation on the islands. Not gonna lie, my more-than-audible groan did attract some attention. This wasn’t meant to be an educational trip. I’m usually all for learning about new places and cultures and nature, but this was supposed to be a beach-hopping day – nothing more, nothing less.
As a compromise, Gustavo gave me the summary, having seen the presentation more times than he could count. He said the area was part of the second-largest coral reef – the very same Mesoamerican Barrier Reef I had the honour of experiencing back in Mexico and Belize. Because of this, commercial fishing and hunting are prohibited. The Garifuna, with around forty families living on the islands, are exempt from these laws and mostly live off fishing and tourism.
From then on, the day seemed promising. We got back on the boat, which dropped us off a few minutes away from the second island, where we did some snorkelling. While we saw many fish – most of which I’d already encountered in Belize – what really stole the show were the hundreds of harmless, gorgeous comb jellyfish that surrounded us. I’d never seen them before but had always marvelled at pictures of those tiny, translucent beauties.
Of Snakes and Felines
Afterwards, we swam back to shore and headed to a nature reserve for a short hike. Gustavo, being averse to nature, insisted on skipping it, but with me being a junkie for these kinds of things, my insistence won. And luckily, it was the right call. A few minutes into the tropical forest trail, we stumbled upon a couple of boa rosada – an endemic snake species with a greyish-pink hue. Even Gustavo couldn’t hide his fascination!
Then came the relaxing part. We spent the rest of the afternoon at Cayos Chachahuate – two twin cays connected by a narrow sandbar usually covered in a thin layer of water. There, we had lunch surrounded by a litter of super needy cats, then swam to our hearts’ content – our skin looking like a KitKat wrapper by the end of the day.
Dinner, A Movie, and Unexpected Pizza Redemption
All red and worn out yet super satisfied with our experience, we headed back to La Ceiba. With it being my last night there, Gus suggested we go out for dinner and a movie.
Would you look at that? Dinner and a movie – a classic date! Little did I imagine I’d end up going on proper dates while backpacking in Central America when I was back home planning everything. And so, I found myself wondering what’s next… A drive into the sunset with a nice bottle of wine? Honestly, I probably would’ve gone along with anything at that point. And I gotta give it to him – he has good taste. After I complained about crappy Italian food in Latin America, he took me to this fancy restaurant where I had one of the best pizzas I’ve ever eaten – completely proving me wrong about my “Italian food outside Europe always sucks” theory.
Then we headed to the cinema to watch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Can’t say I was thrilled – I don’t really watch Marvel movies (or any movies, really) and I hadn’t even seen the first one. But to be honest, it was a decent film. And Gustavo’s company would’ve made it worthwhile either way. Did I mention how much I liked the guy? In another life…