TOO MANY PEEPUL ON DA I-LAN OF UTILA

On my third or fourth day on Utila in Honduas, there was a massive bang as I was walking down the main street on the island, and when I looked up, there were sparks shooting from an electricity pole and a smoking electricity cable lying in the street.

- 'D'ere too many peepul on da i-lan.' I overheard one of the locals shake his head in rueful explanation.

D'ere could have been one less peepul on da i-lan if I had been directly under that cable whet it fell to the ground, I remember thinking to myself at the time.

Then last night, there was a power surge in the Mango Inn where I am staying. The lights started dimming and brightening erratically, followed by smoke starting to come from one of the electric fans in my dorm room. A couple of televisions in the private rooms had also apparently exploded I soon found out.

There are too may peepul on da i-lan.' the receptionist shook her head at me when I went down to tell her about the fan and check out the hotel in advance of my early start the next morning to catch the 6AM ferry back to the Honduran mainland.

- I'm leaving tomorrow if it helps.' I waved my dorm key at her helpfully. 

Judging from the look on her face, it wasn´t going to help. Or perhaps it was because of the smell of burning rubber from her computer hard-drive, and the long queue of other guests standing around her desk complaining about exploding televisions and smoking fans.