16 hours on the bus

I had been warned by several people about not walking around alone at night near the Tica bus station in Managua and since I was on my own and my bus to Honduras required checking in at 4am, I didnt see how I could avoid walking on my own at night. The alternative was to stay at the Tica bus station itself which provides very basic accommodations but in the end my private room with fan wasn't too bad (although in retrospect I think one of the hostels right next door would have been fine).

The bus rolled out at 5am and took us up to the border with Honduras, then through Tegucigalpa and on to San Pedro Sula where we hopped on another bus to La Ceiba arriving, exhausted at 9pm. Our group of travellers (all heading to the Bay Islands) headed out through the sketchy streets of La Ceiba from our decidedly skanky hostel (Hotel Amsterdam) for dinner and stumbled over a gem of a place called Le Rustique. Owned by a charming frenchman (Mathias) who presides graciously over his guests and prepares much of the food. The setting is perfect: perched on a rooftop with a view over the rest of the city with a good breeze and the food is fantastic.