Passage to Costa Rica 3/10, detour to Isla del Tigre

13 17 926 N, 87 38 941 W

Isla del Tigre, Honduras

This morning we went in to the port captain and immigration and checked out of Honduras. The fee was only $10 USD.

Afterwards we got a tour of the island from Tony on his three wheeled motorized something from India. Actually, it works pretty well for Isla del Tigre. We saw the sites. We got a better look at the Hostel Casa de la Gargoyles. There are several, including the ones I told you about yesterday, plus some others on the inside. I think a local artist made them. Most of the tourist that visit the island come for two weeks and rent a house or stay at one of the few hotels on the island like this one.

 

There is a new malecon and several parks, including a playground that have been built recently with money from Spain. We also saw an old casino from the 1930's, run down now but at one time it was quite the place. We saw more beaches, plus small shacks built of mud bricks or sticks with rocks in between. Some families have gardens with bananas and mango trees. The side of the island that faces Nicaraguan is a high rent district with home that have large gates and swimming pools.

Part way around the island, we got a flat tire. No problemo. Rich and I pushed on one side to lift up the vehicle while Tony changed the tire. How cool is that!

Rich tipping the vehicle and Tony changing the tire

Customs house in the background near the bridge

 

Isla del Tigre has a customs warehouse. Imported goods arrive here, clear customs before being distributed to El Salvador, Nicaragua or the rest of Honduras. The customs house is an old hotel. According to Tony, both Albert Einstein and Adolf Hitler stayed at the hotel. Since I don't have access to the internet, I can't check it out. So believe it or not.

Tourists from the mainland catch a panga back

Tomorrow morning we leave early to continue south. We are thinking of stopping at Puesta del Sol, Nicaragua, where we may fuel up and check for a weather window to Bahia Santa Elena. The windows have been short and not very frequent. So we will see how it goes.

We are glad we stopped here at Isla del Tigre for many reasons. It was a very pleasant surprise.

Cheers,
Elaine and Rich

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