La Ceiba is the third largest city in Honduras, and it’s a pretty civilized size to my mind, meaning you can walk from the beach to the mall. Of course, that takes a while, but I like to walk and you can see a lot.

Mostly what you see is a jumble of old and new buildings. There are classic older wooden ones, but they don’t stand out because of all the other busy-ness around them. There was an Art Deco period near the waterfront. Then there’s the inevitable accretion of little ‘mixed media’ sidewalk and curbside booths. Shopping for something specific is the usual adventure into a warren of side doors and alleys; nothing is where you’d think to look for it, but compared to Fronteras, there’s a lot available here.
PHOTO DOWNTOWN WIRES
We came here to check out the La Ceiba Shipyard for some engine work we’re thinking of. They’ve been here for some time, but you wouldn’t know it by the chart.
PHOTO TRACK SCREENSHOT

Looks like we’ll be spending some time there in a couple months, uninstalling the 33-year old Westerbeke 40 and installing a new Beta 43.

Then a strong cold front came through and it began to rain, and rain. The river turned to mud, the streets in town turned to lakes. I was riding across the Rio Cangrejal with someone who showed me what a dinky little rain this was compared to Hurricane Mitch, which took out the bridge we were on, twenty feet above the present water level. In fact I’ve read that 80% of the bridges in the country had to be rebuilt.

It was Thanksgiving: I was grateful for a mere cold front and a secure mooring, among so many other things.
While others were watching turkeys in the oven, or football, we were tracking down a leak somewhere behind the headliner that was making its way into my book locker. It’s harder to think like a raindrop than you might expect!
PHOTO RAIN ON BEACH

Rain seems to have stopped. Today is Election Day in Honduras. Everyone has a different take on the immediate and future prospects. It seems a good time to leave the city for the Bay Islands and watch from the bleachers instead of the front row.