Leaving Flores

Behind on posts again. Need to reach back a few weeks. 

By the time Jeff split for Belize, I was getting comfortable in Flores and also in need of a new plan. I had my go-to spot around the corner for a hearty plate of chili rellenos, Sky Bar for cigars, my miniature hostel pet turtles,

and a couple new partners in crime for the rest of the time, Eric and Josh. 

Eric was frequently called Jesus or Tarzan while we roamed the streets barefoot, for obvious reasons. 

We learned the small island pretty quickly and ended up lingering a couple days. Eric was trying to sort out a bicycle purchase in Belize so he could embark on his ambitious bike trip between Belize and there, Josh had worked a week across the lake in the jungle at a nature conservation site and was lining up his next moves, and I was trying to sort out the best route to do all the things I wanted to try to do next-- go to the bay islands in Honduras to check out the diving (while avoiding San Pedro Sula, murder capital of the world), visit a friend in Antigua, and contact and visit a relative in Guatemala City I'd never met before for an undetermined length of stay. 

Meanwhile, we roamed the streets and always seemed to find something new to check out. 

We were hanging out by the water thinking about hiring a boat when none other than Eric, a rich Norwegian fellow I met at Lake Atitlan, came striding up to say hello. In our conversation, he added one piece that essentially solved the puzzle of how I was going to string all my destinations together: Copán, Honduras. The addition of that stop enabled me to swing down to Antigua to visit my friend, buy time to establish contact with my second cousin's husband's aunt, visit her, and then stop in Copán, which would split up the trip between Guatemala City and Utila so that I wouldn't have to spend the night in sketchier places like San Pedro Sula or La Ceiba, and also give me a chance to see more Mayan ruins that I hadn't known about. He even suggested a preferred cheap hostel to stay at, and a bus line to use. Norwegian Eric also had some helpful suggestions for Josh and Eric's plans. It was a constructive and definitely fortunate chance meeting. 

Our already good spirits were a bit lighter for having a better idea of the immediate future, and we decided to go ahead and hire a boat to tour us around as sunset approached. We bought the captain a beer, drank a few ourselves, and I was able to snap this shot before all of our cameras/phones died. 

It was a really enjoyable sunset, and the island was exceptionally beautiful from the water - sadly, no pictures. Great decision though. We tipped the guy and headed off to finish sorting out our plans.

As it turns out, Eric ended up acquiring a mountain bike locally for his trip, Josh and I figured out we might head to Ecuador around the same time in a couple weeks, and I booked and boarded a middle-of-the-night bus back to Antigua. 

But before I left, I was able to use Eric's phone to contact who I will now refer to as my Guatemalan aunt, Mara Rosal. All in all, things were working out perfectly. 

The extra few days in Flores had been a bit of a gift, and I left it renewed with a much better plan for the next couple weeks.