Our New Home

Rick and Jesus had shortlisted three decent apartments for Begonia and I to take a look at the morning that we decided would be the day we find a new home. We set off with a positive feeling and we were not disappointed. We saw a total of 3 apartments that morning, but as soon as we walked into Celine’s place we just had good vibrations. Rachel, the owner was cleaning up after the group who had stayed in this 2 bedroom apartment for Semana Santa. We had met her sister while looking for a place a week earlier and immediately had a warm feeling. She was very welcoming and helpful and you could see that she was genuine. Rachel was just the same.

The apartment was messy but it had a beautiful kitchen and an amazing wood-paneled ceiling. So we put down a deposit and happily headed back to Kristina and Shane’s place to pack up and move into our new home!

We dismantled the tent and cleared up our stuff but we could only say ‘goodbye’ to Shane, as Kristina was at work. We called for a tuk tuk to meet us at the airport and we were back on our way to town. The apartment was spotless and ready for us and Rachel had all the paperwork settled.

Our apartment. Ours is the one on the top left.

By the time we had put down our bags and had a welcome shower, we felt well and truly settled. The apartment has a large living area, kitchen and bathroom with a pretty verandah and of course, that beautiful wood-paneled ceiling throughout. It is perfect.

I have to say that the following pictures of our apartment do not do it justice. The house is shaded from the midday sun by some large trees and we do not use a lot to electricity or lights (the electricity runs on a meter), so some of the photos look a bit dark, sorry!

Begonia doing some macrame on our verandah. We are on the upper floor of a 4-bedroom wooden apartment building.

Our comfy living area.

Our kitchen and dining area.

Our room. What a luxury!

The bathroom.

Begonia in our clothes-washing area downstairs.

Enjoying dinner together at home.

The apartment was a bit over our budget but since we would be staying a while, we wanted a comfortable place where we would be able to cook and hang around if we didn’t feel like venturing out.  So far, it has been great. We are in a quiet area (apart from the church music in the evenings) but close enough to walk and stock up on provisions if need be. The plan was to look for work and try to get some diving done while in Utila, but we are taking our time to just relax, take a breather and enjoy a bit of peace on this beautiful island.