Finding Adventure with Ryan and Brandy

La Ceiba and Utila, Honduras

2010-10-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

The bus ride from Copan to La Ceiba was uneventful and we were glad when we made it to the Utila ferry. One problem: the next ferry didn't leave for hours! You'd think some young entrepreneur would have set up a food stand or entertainment or something at the ferry station, but aside from some questionable sandwiches at the neighboring Roatan ferry station, there was nothing. I guess that's why we chose Utila instead of Cancun,it's not your ordinary souvenir shop/Senor Frog's combo...but they still could have had a burrito stand or something :)

Once the ferry arrived, we were elated! We all got on board and prepared ourselves for a lovely ride to Utila. One more problem: we weren't going anywhere and the enclosed seating area was starting to suffocate it's passengers. It felt like there was no oxygen and the walls were closing in. Ryan would tell you that I'm exaggerating, but I still say I only had minutes left before I decided to wait outside for the crew to do their thing.

Eventually, we were on our way and falling asleep on the rocking ferry was pretty easy after another full day of traveling. You'd think a nap on a hard plastic booth would be uncomfortable, and it was, but aside from that minor detail, it was still sleep and it was wonderful.

When we arrived in Utila, the dock was filled with passengers trying to get their luggage from the ferry crew who decided that the most efficient and orderly way to unload our luggage was onto a giant pile. After spotting a dock spider the side of my head, I gently nudged Ryan towards the pile and casually ran as fast as I could to the other side of the dock.

The friend that Che was meeting in Utila, Dana, walked us to a hostel that he described as a "sweatbox but cheap", which is what all ladies dream of when they imagine romantic getaways, and we were formally introduced to Parrot's Dive Center/Hostel. (I wanted to include a link but they do not seem to have a website. If you're interested: from the ferry, turn left and walk about a block. Parrot's is on your left..Utila isn't very complicated!)The people who work at Parrot's are all extremely friendly and make you envious of their sweet island life.

We hadn't really considered going diving on our trip to Honduras, but after hearing about the elusive Whale Shark and how they were currently visiting Utila, we changed our mind. (Plus, diving in Honduras is super inexpensive compared to most places)
We had a room to ourselves for about $10/night and although it didn't have a/c, it did have a fan that we pointed directly at our bodies while sleeping and this worked pretty well. (On the days you dive, you stay at the hostel for free)

After a day in Utila, you pretty much know or recognize everyone on the island. It's amazing how quickly you feel like you've always been in Utila and you always will be. There are more than a few expats that have come for a few days and find that a few years later, they've become permanent residents. At the charming Cafe Mariposa(Mariposa is Spanish for butterfly)the owner informed us that she had come from Sweden (Or the Netherlands?) and loved it so much she decided to make it her permanent home and now raises her children there. (By the way, the Cafe Mariposa has an amazing breakfast, with an amazing view of the ocean...get there early and you'll have the place to yourself like we did. Excellent beignets and coffee!)

If you have some time between dives, I suggest renting a bicycle or walking, less than a mile away from the busy street by the dock, to a peaceful beach that is usually only populated by a handful of people. The water is so clear and beautiful that you could relax there all day. If you grow restless though, you can walk a bit further to The Coral View Beach Resort's bar. The bar is at the end of a dock that leads to the ocean and if you buy a drink for a few dollars, you can snorkel there and enjoy the drink when you've finished. (You can rent snorkels from the Coral View or if you're diving with Parrot's, they'll let you borrow fins and a mask) There is a huge drop off not far from the shore and plenty of coral and wildlife to keep you entertained. (Be careful not to touch the coral, as it is very sensitive and you may damage it by accident)

Between diving, snorkeling, biking, exploring and eating at the many unique restaurants, we had a blast. Parrot's dive shop is located in front of Tranquila Bar which overlooks the ocean and is a great way to unwind at the end of the day. One of the dive instructors from Parrot's befriended us and told us about how he had made it from Canada to Utila to become one of the many people who fell in love with the island and couldn't leave.

We ended up staying in Utila longer than we planned and after 3 days we decided to get back on the ferry before we too fell under the island's spell. Unfortunately, we didn't see any whale sharks while we were diving, but we still had an amazing time and I would love to make it back there some day.

San Pedro Sula and Copan Ruinas, Honduras

2010-04-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

Hola! That's about the extent of my Spanish, but I managed to get by in Honduras with Ryan as my interpreter :) Being in this lovely country encouraged me to improve my Spanish but I don't know if I'll ever get past the basics unless we move to Central or South America! Pointing to things you want and saying "Quiero" may be adorable for a 3 year old, but for a 25 year old married woman, it doesn't quite have the same effect.

We started off our journey flying into San Pedro Sula at 1 am in the morning. Lucky for us La Posada B&B has a car to pick up guests from the airport(1 am in a developing country is an intimidating first impression). La Posada was by far the nicest place we stayed on our trip and the a/c in our room was a nice transition into the steamy sauna that is Honduras! The Cafe Maya coffee in the morning, along with the home cooked breakfast by the pool was very luxurious as well :)

The kind gentleman who picked us up from the airport was also our complimentary ride to the bus station, where for a few dollars we hopped on a "chicken bus" (old U.S. school bus) to Copan Ruinas. (We forgot to tip our lovely chaffeur and felt like terrible tourists, but we were able to redeem ourselves in La Ceiba when we saw him picking up La Posada guests from the ferry station...I like to think that took us off the "American jerks" list)

**IMPORTANT TIP** make sure you eat and drink water on long bus rides with no a/c. It is true that you won't have a bathroom break for a few hours, but you'll be sweating out all of your H2O, so bathroom breaks really aren't as much of an issue as you might think. I didn't know this important tip before our day started, so once we made it to Copan Ruinas, checked into Hostal La Manzana Verde and promptly took a moped taxi (known as tuk-tuks in Thailand, not sure what they're called in Central America) to the ruins that Copan Ruinas are named for....I discovered the hard way that a day in the heat, without adequate hydration and feeding, leads to dizziness and the distinct notion that one's death is near. Other than the brief time I spent thinking I wouldn't live out the week, I really enjoyed the ruins! It's amazing to imagine these ruins as the bustling cities they once were. Just try to picture people walking around, gossiping about their Mayan leaders and worrying about the quinoa harvest...

After the ruins, we decided to check out Twisted Tanya's for their "Backpacker's Special". The food was amazing and it was a great deal! The view from Twisted Tanya's is breathtaking and I highly recommend this as a must-see.

After we ate, we were both exhausted from the travel, heat and long day and decided to nap before heading out for drinks with our hostelmates.
At La Manzana Verde, we made friends with the 3 other people staying in our room as well as a few others from adjoining rooms. There was the very liberal and informative Hillary from Arizona who was making her way through Central America on the "Gringo Trail",Che, the dancer/charming Aussie from Vancouver on his way to visit a friend in Utila, and Michael from the UK, who was also making his way on the Gringo Trail and had some hilarious/disturbing jokes. We actually ended up traveling with Hillary and Che to Utila the next morning at 6 am to catch the cheapest bus to La Ceiba, from where we would catch the ferry to Utila.

Ryan and I were planning on staying in Copan for a few days, but after a few hours, we had pretty much had our fill and were anxious to see more! Having only 7 days to explore an entire country definitely gives you the itch to keep moving. On to La Ceiba!!

Cheap Eats in NYC

2009-07-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

Before we left for the Big Apple, we Googled for some cheap places to eat since we were trying to keep our spending to a minimum. Here are the ones that we tried and loved:

Mamoun's Falafel Restaurant:
119 MacDougal St (Bleecker & West 3rd)
Subway: A, C, E, F, V to West 4th
Neighborhood: Greenwich Village

This place is open from 11a-5a, so basically anytime you're there, they're open! I had never had a falafel before and I was not disappointed that I tried this one :) For under $10 we got 2 falafels and some baklava. There were only 2 tables and we were lucky to grab one of them as a couple was leaving but the food is worth standing for! There is usually a line out the door, but it moves pretty quickly since most everyone is there for the same thing...delicious falafel sandwiches.

Cafe Edison:
228 West 47th St.
Subway: N, Q, R, W, S, 7, 1, 2, 3 to times Square

Right near Times Square, this place is delightful! It has the feel of a diner, but one look to the ceiling reveals it's true past as the former ballroom of the Edison Hotel. Also known as the Polish Tea Room, this place is reasonably priced and serves a great hamburger and coke. You can get a burger and drink for around $10.

Gray's Papaya:
539 Eighth Ave. (37th St.)
Neighborhood: Garment District
Subway: A, C, E to 34th Street

402 Sixth Ave. (8th St.)
Neighborhood: Greenwich Village
Subway: A, C, E, F, V to West 4th

Delicious hot dogs and papaya drink for less than $5! It was really good and I'd love to go back next time I'm there!

Crocodile Lounge
Neighborhood: East Village
325 E 14th St (Between 1st and 2nd Ave)

This place had an extremely cool feel and the best part? For every drink that you buy, you get a free pizza! How great is that? The pizza was pretty good and the bartender was friendly. They have beers for $5-6 or you could try what I had: Absolut Pear with soda and a splash of cranberry for $7.

Flying to New York for the 4th!

2009-07-06T08:09:00.000-07:00

Getting to NYC can be less expensive if you're willing to take public transportation!

Tickets directly into NYC from Orlando, FL were more than $300 but Ryan and I found pretty cheap tickets flying into White Plains, NY for $243. Instead of taking a cab to the train station ($25) we opted for the Airlink shuttle($2.25/person) which saved us $20.
We took the train ($7/person) to Grand Central Station overall saving at least $50-$100/each in travel.

The shuttle and train ride to Grand Central took about an hour in total, but it was worth the savings to us.

From Grand Central, we took the Subway ($2.25) to our hotel on 53rd and 7th. The next day, we realized we could save money by buying the one-day fun pass ($8). If you're going to be there for 4-7 days, I would recommend the 7-day fun pass (I think this was around $28).

We made the mistake of not getting the day fun pass on the first day and ended up walking until our ankles felt like they were going to grind into the ground! It was brutal. Thank God for the sauna and steam rooms in our hotel or else we may have never recovered :)
After the first day though, we mastered the subway system and saved ourselves a lot of unnecessary blisters!

Happy Valentine's Day Part 3

2009-02-14T11:58:00.000-08:00

How could we end Valentine's Day without our good friend Andre??? This is the "romantic" dinner we shared with Andre, and what happens when your friend tries to make you drink Patron tequila.

Happy Valentine's Day Part 2

2009-02-14T11:55:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day Part 1

2009-02-14T11:53:00.000-08:00

Quail Egg SAKE BOMB

2008-10-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

Taken with my new camera!! Yay. Ryan was convinced to try a "real" sake bomb at Daisen Sushi in Merritt Island, FL and here are the results....the quail egg looks so nasty as it floats towards his mouth

Life on the High Seas

2008-10-20T11:46:00.000-07:00

Here is video I took after surviving a 4 hour long boat ride. It was a lil scary once it got super choppy b/c of a storm, but mostly just fun and cool to see a different side of Brevard County...

PS. Ryan wanted me to mention that he was an excellent captain and kept us from capsizing or dying in the storm. So, there ya go Ryan, you are the MAN

Tropical Storm Fay is LAME, you hear me Fay?! LAME

2008-08-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

So Ryan didn't have to work yesterday or today, so we've just been hanging out, eating and watching movies...and getting cabin fever. He went surfing earlier, and just left a little while ago to surf some more...in a tropical storm....that's ma boy!
I just posted a video of me and the storm from yesterday before we walked to the beach to check out the waves, and here's the one I took after, I look a lot less dry in this one.

Tropical Storm Fay

2008-08-20T11:32:00.000-07:00

This is what Tropical Storm Fay looked like at our apartment in Cocoa Beach, FL. It's also what I looked like before we decided to walk down to the beach and get soaking wet. We're smart.

The Poop Deck

2008-08-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

Lunch at the Poop Deck in Nassau.

Finally! The ocean!

2008-08-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

After riding a scooter around the island of Nassau, we finally found the ocean. A smarter duo may have been able to find it in minutes, but we had to take the hard way.

On the deck of the ghetto ship

2008-08-06T11:41:00.000-07:00

The dungeon...I mean room in our ghetto cruise ship

2008-08-06T11:29:00.000-07:00

All in all, the cruise was a fun experience, but I think we should have just shelled out the extra couple hundred dollars to go on a cruise that was a little more...um...polite words escape me....a little more not so ancient.

Night out in Boca Raton/Delray Beach

2008-08-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I stayed with his friend Andre in Boca Raton the night before we went on a cruise to Nassau, Bahamas. In this video, Andre keeps sticking his tongue out and it's really creepy. I don't think he realized I was video taping.

Lakeridge Winery, Clermont, FL

2008-07-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago, Ryan and I ventured on over to Lakeridge Winery in Clermont, FL to see if our local winery was any good! While most of the wines were too sweet for my taste, it was still an interesting and FREE adventure. They take you on a tour of the winery and you are able to sample several of their wines. I had fun, and I think we'll go back again in August because they have several jazz concerts and festivals going on which would be kinda cool. If you're looking to get out of Orlando on the cheap, it's a good day trip and a nice way to support our local economy!