Yo no quiero agua, Yo quiero bebida

How an Iguana celebrates Easter.

If you're a backpacker and you happen to be on the isthmus during Semana Santa (Easter) you'll probably make a beeline for the solemn, purple robed processions of Antigua, at the very least you'll probably head to the nearest village with a pretty catholic church and join in with their festivities.

If you're Honduran however you'll probably head to Utila, and if you're a backpacker who just so happens to be stuck on the island for a month you're probably going to have to join in.
So this week past my fellow iguana people and I experienced Semana Santa the young, middle class, Honduran way. Overnight it seemed the island's population had trebled in size and the usually peaceful dynamic between the Utilians and the divers was swamped by young Hondurans in tiny skirts and dresses and even tinier bikinis. Whoever said Honduras was a conservative country obviously never met any Hondurans.

Suddenly our usually tranquil Tranquilla Bar was full, the standard soundtrack of last year's hits were thrown out in favour of the Honduran Top 40 and instead of my mad Belgian Diving Instructor dancing like a lunatic to Rihanna we had cool, self possessed Honduran couples dancing the Salsa to anything with the right beat or wildly chanting their battle cry 'Yo no quiero agua, yo quiero bebida'.

In the queue for the loo, instead of chatting to Aussies and Canadians I was having discussions with boys from Tela about Honduras's best beaches. For one week Utila didn't feel like a solitary outpost in the Caribbean but the very heart of Honduras.

And then over the weekend they all went home, back to their processions and six hour church services, leaving Utila shell shocked and eerily silent.


Idyllic Water Caye



After all these people the residents of the Iguana station decided we all needed some peace and quiet and luckily Utila was willing to provide. Early Sunday morning we jumped in to the good ship 'Lady Fanny' with our captain Bobby and set sail for Water Caye.

Off the Southwest coast of Utila, still in sight of the mainland, are a collection of tiny islands known as The Cayes. Only one is properly inhabited, boasting on its tiny strip of land a dive school, cafe's, plenty of houses and even a school. However we motored past Pigeon Caye to our own private island, Water Caye.

Shut your eyes, imagine a desert island and you've pictured Water Caye. Ridiculously pretty we spent the day snorkeling in the shallows, watching the Caye's resident pelicans fish, swimming in crystal clear waters and flopping down, shaded by palm trees, exhausted by the sheer cliché of it all.

An Easter barbecue was all we need to round off a not very Holy but uniquely Utilian Holy Week.