viaje a tela

this past weekend we took a huge step and traveled with Ilona for the first time. jason's friend eric is in town visiting and working at a local hospital, so we wanted to show him a nicer view than the cement wall out his bedroom window ;) tela is one of the northern coastal towns and very popular for sampedranos and our teacher friends. the city is small and safe, right on the bay with picturesque views of the lush, tropical mountain ranges to the east, south and west, and the crystal clear tela bay fed by the beautiful caribbean sea.

we started our trip at Lancetilla Botanical Gardens, just outside of Tela off the main highway between San Pedro and La Ceiba. It is the second largest tropical botanical garden in the world! We didn't think it through in terms of the best season to visit, and realized part way through the tour that our experience would be much different during the "summer" months. It was still an incredible experience, but after a few explanations from our tour guide Eduardo that went something like this, "IF you were here in September then you would be able to sample the fruit from this tree", or "IF it were September you'd be able to smell the sweet scent of the flowering ornamental tree from Brazil". Get my point? Winter is much different here than in Chicago and there was still a lot of beautiful green to look at, but the trees were lacking both their fruit and their flowers. Still a good experience and we're proud to say we're the first foreign hires (that we know of) who've taken the trek out there.

next, we headed to a highly regarded hotel, maya vista, at the top of a hill in downtown tela. it certainly lived up to all the recommendations. it's a tower designed hotel, with only 9 rooms that spiral up the building, one room per floor. the hotel offers an incredible bay view and access to a private balcony. there is also a restaurant that serves delicious food and a tranquil setting. we stayed in their apartment/suite, with more than enough room for the four of us. we'll definitely stay again and would recommend it if you're in the area!

sunday morning we headed to honduran shores plantation for a relaxing day at the beach. it's a very nice resort (a little out of our price range), but it's the perfect choice for a day trip. they have a pool, well-maintained private beach, covered picnic table areas called "champas" and a delicious menu! jason and i have only ordered one item each from their extensive menu each time we've visited since we love the conch soup (J) and chicken fajitas (S) so much! it felt good to be able to travel independently and with our car so that we could come and go as we please. jason drove both ways of the 1.5 trip along winding roads covered in potholes the size of truck tire and amidst what can only be described as race car-like driving conditions. he rocked! ilona did a wonderful job sleeping in the car and playing in the water. i'm more and more convinced we have a sun-tan loving, beach babe, swimmer on our hands. i couldn't be prouder ;)

all strapped in and ready for her first road trip

can you believe how much "stuff" we now need for an overnight trip?!1

playing with daddy before bedtime

enjoying dinner overlooking the water

the view from the top floor "mirador" of maya vista at sunrise

loving the beach and my new hat

and of course the pool!