The Locals

Utila is part of Spanish-speaking Honduras, but used to be a British colony, so the local population is an interesting mix of Honduran natives, Caribbean Caucasians, American ex-pats and descendants of black slaves. Spanish is spoken, along with a strange pidgin English with almost musical intonation and inflection. This mix gives the town its own distinct character that is dependent upon, but remains separate from its biggest industry -- tourism.

This young fellow was probably really lucky to get a good job as a bank guard. He tried to look tough, but when I started asking him if he liked carrying a gun (in Spanish, of course), he couldn't help but hide a boyish chuckle.

Utila is small enough that we would see the same people over and over. I saw the kid on the left about every second day -- sailing along through the harbour, riding on the back of a quad, walking barefoot through the streets, anywhere really. He also has an interesting look -- pale white skin that has taken a nice tan and curly, blond afro hair. He speaks a pretty mean pidgin, too.

Don't let anybody fool you -- working on a beach in the Caribbean takes a lot of tiring dedication.

I was out cruising the side streets on Grade Azul one day and came across this little girl who really wanted her picture taken with her puppy.

No Caribbean island would be complete without a Rastafari street vendor selling necklaces, pipes and Bob Marley paraphernalia.

The Jade Seahorse

There is another restaurant/bar/inn/garden called the Jade Seahorse that really is worth a visit. Over the course of 12 years, the owner built the place up with walkways through the trees and tiles and shells and glass works and whatever else he could think of covering everything. Wandering through the gardens, it was common to hear people saying, "how many drugs was this guy on...?"

This is the bar, called Treetanic. It is built up in the trees, so is literally a treehouse bar. Notice the seahorse capping the roof.

A pagoda for chilling and reading.

Another twisted pagoda for more chilling and more reading.

A set of stairs leading up to the Treetanic bar.

One of the numerous hand-made ornaments scattered about the garden.

Jenny getting jiggy with the Jade Seahorses.

This is the door to the ladies washroom.

Stairs up to a little lookout and a tunnel running underneath.