Our trip to Roatan, Honduras made an impact on me that I wasn't quite prepared for. Bhrett and I shared so many awesome experiences while visiting this tiny, beautiful Bay Island, but what really struck me most was the day-to-day life of the locals: the poverty, the “accidents,” the political unrest, etc. All that, and yet the people of Roatan are still warm, friendly and hopeful for a better future. So, in the spirit of Roatan and all things positive, I’m going to stick to the fun stuff... Oh, and we took too many pictures to post here. If you want to see the rest, email me and I'll send you the link!
Our first impression upon exiting the plane at the ocean-side Aeropuerto de Roatan was that it was hot, really hot. Oh, and our ride didn’t show. Not the best start, but after waiting 45 minutes I decided to ask the car rental guy if he could call our hotel for us. We had no watch, no phone, no number and no clue where we were headed! (I tried to think of this as an Amazing Race-type adventure so I wouldn’t completely panic and jump on the plane headed back to Atlanta!). Coincidentally, car-rental-guy used to work for our hotel, so he pulled out his cell phone and called one of its employees direct. This was my first indication of how small Roatan really is – and what great service! After two very confused phone calls, 10 laps around the airport and a verbal spat between two taxi drivers who wanted our fare, the “winner,” Alejandro, got us safely to West Bay Lodge where we were greeted by our hosts, Celeste and Milos. This small property includes just seven or eight bungalows, a pool and an open-air restaurant that is home to five parrots, Malibu, Cleo, Pancho a.k.a. Grandpa, and the two love birds.
Milos showed us to our newly-built bungalow which included a fully stocked kitchenette, two A/C units, two beds, two hammocks and a sitting area! The linens left something to be desired, but I’ll save that for Trip Advisor. Water and electricity are limited and expensive, so in an effort to conserve, we were instructed to turn off the air conditioner while it wasn’t in use. As a result, we topped out at about 98 degrees in our room during the day! It’s funny to look back because my initial concern was that there wasn’t a hair dryer in the room. As it turned out, no amount of hot air was going to keep my hair cute and dry – as you can tell by some of our pictures!
So, as soon as we got unpacked and settled in, we were off to the beach! Needless to say, it was absolutely gorgeous. With the exception of the cruise ship crowds on Wednesday and Friday, Bhrett and I practically had the beach to ourselves. We didn’t do much of the sitting around/reading/fruity-drink-sipping as I originally planned. It happened on occasion, but the heat really kept us from lounging – even in the shade. Fortunately, the water was so calm and clear that on most days we set up shop in the ocean for hours on end. We took to sitting in the wet sand, Salva Vidas in hand, chatting with whoever was floating around us. It was usually the family from New Jersey who purchased land in Roatan and planned on retiring there – yeah, it’s that good – or our new-found bizarros. More on that later…
Our daily routine quickly fell into place…eat breakfast at Celeste’s where only one item is served, but it changed daily. My favorite had to be the waffles with the caramelized pineapple sauce (I’ve since learned how to make at home!).
After breakfast, we’d head down to the beach to snorkel for a few hours. Whenever we got hungry, we’d head back to Celeste’s for gourmet baleadas. I think Bhrett tried them all, but (surprise, surprise) I stuck to the vegetarian version which was oh, so delicious: pepperjack cheese, red onion, crema, black beans, and the occasional squash, fresh from Celeste’s garden. After lunch, we’d usually go back down to the beach and enjoy the ocean until our skin was burned and prune-y. I eventually had to buy a baseball cap to protect my face and scalp, which both felt like they had made direct contact with the sun. At some point in the late afternoon, we’d walk back to our bungalow, shower and get dressed for a big night out on the town. This usually consisted of pre-dinner drinks and dinner at a different restaurant each night. I didn’t have a problem finding vegetarian dishes and there was no lack of fresh seafood, so Bhrett and I were happy campers!
Here’s the rundown of the restaurants we visited in case any of you ever find yourself in Roatan:
On Saturday, we took a water taxi to West End where we discovered Sundowner’s. It quickly became our favorite bar. We had dinner at Pura Vida with our new friends, Katie and Eric, a.k.a. our bizarros. Katie commented early on that we had way too much in common (we did. it was creepy.) and made reference to the Seinfeld episode about the bizarros. Needless to say, it stuck.
On Sunday, we had dinner and drinks at Bananarama with Tim and Melinda from Canada. There was a fire dancer performance that night. Paul and Joanna put on quite a show. We later discovered that they were former lovers which explains why it was so ooh, la, la! We also watched our first of many crab races that night benefitting Familias Saludables.
On Monday, we ate an Italian dinner at Las Rocas, where we talked at length with our waiter, Marlon, who makes $7/day. My fingers are still crossed that he gets that cruise ship job!
Tuesday was a huge day for us. We hired Juan Carlos Rodriguez, owner of Islander Tours, who gave us a first-class tour of Roatan. We started off by shopping at a grocery store in Coxen Hole where we bought fresh fruit and veggies, peanut butter and jelly, milk and cereal, etc. for the orphanage. From there, we went to the Arnaldo Auld School to visit the children and drop off cookies and school supplies. Children’s Day was coming up so the cookies were a huge help. We toured around the small school, where it was explained that each grade has one classroom with up to 60 kids!
After our short visit, we went to the Majken Broby Children's Home where we met Elsa, the house mother, who was busy preparing lunch for the orphans who were arriving home from school. I started to put away the groceries only to find an empty fridge. I don’t know how Elsa pulls together three meals a day, but somehow she makes it work. One of the kids, Dennis, came home and told Bhrett that he remembered seeing him at school. Bhrett had brought along a soccer ball and Dennis was eager to play. He was quite the ham! After our tour of the orphanage, Juan Carlos took us to a little place on the water for lunch where we ate typical rice, beans, a small salad and tamarind juice. From there, we went to Jonesville and a bar called the Hole in the Wall. This place was something else – there’s no car access, so you have to call a guy that picks you up in a dingy. A five-minute ride later, we were docking and unloading onto a floating bar. Portions of the floor were underwater, but the beers were cold and the view was great.
This is also where we met Clyde, an 80-something-year-old seaman/Braves fan/smoker/cougher. We took a chance by accepting his offer to snorkel and check out the mangroves on his little wooden boat and it was definitely worth the experience! Well, except for the part when he helpfully cleared my snorkel mask by hocking two huge, brown loogies into the lens. THAT was gross! LOL After that, Juan Carlos announced that his wife had just given birth to his second child, a healthy baby girl who we helped name, Angelina Jasmine. Oddly, he had never heard of Angelina Jolie, but we assured him that it was a very suitable namesake. The last stop on our tour was a monkey habitat where Juan Carlos told us to leave anything loose in the car and to simply “hurry.” What happened next is hard to explain, but I think the fear/shock/nervous laughter on my face in the pictures pretty much sums it up. The monkeys jumped on our shoulders without warning. They curiously picked through my hair like I was one of their own. And they were WET…that’s all I got. Dinner that night was at Half Moon Bay.
On Wednesday, we had dinner at Cannibal Café and then “Chased the Ace” at Sundowner’s. I’m not positive, but this may have been the day that Bhrett and I got ion foot cleanse baths which was nasty (I’m apparently very yeasty). The lady that performed the cleanse, Victoria, told us that she quit smoking by staying drunk for three weeks. There are a lot of characters in Roatan!
On Thursday, we took a glass bottom boat tour with our captain, Richard Hyde, who was super cute and an awesome snorkeling guide. Even though we eventually decided against the Discover SCUBA class, I think we made the most of our snorkeling experiences. Dinner that night included a pig roast and crab races at the Bay Island Beach Resort benefitting Clinica Esperanza.
Cousin Bruce donated his winnings to the clinic, we got to see a traditional Garifuna dance, and help Jacob, Celeste and Milos’ son, study for his spelling exam. He passed with flying colors I might add (“i before e, except after c; except when it’s not!”).
On Friday, we did some shopping in West End after breakfast. We bought t-shirts from the marine park for our siblings, pretty wooden bowls for my mom and myself, and a flip flop key chain that I plan on fashioning into a Christmas ornament. After lunch we went to the beach and made it our mission to sit in the water until it was nearly dark.
We enjoyed a candle- light dinner at the Lighthouse restaurant where Bhrett ate Wahoo for the first time. After dinner we walked up and down the main road through West End. It was the first night of carnival and the transformation was amazing... there were lots of people everywhere, a new music stage had been built, streamers hung from the trees and beverage vendors lined the streets. All of this was in preparation for the big fishing tournament, and more importantly, Honduras’ Independence Day. I'm glad we got a taste of that festivity before we left.
Before leaving on Saturday morning, I was invited into Celeste’s kitchen to watch the "the girl that doesn't smile" make baleadas. She didn't speak a lick of English so my lesson consisted mostly of sweating, watching and nervous laughter, but it was a cool experience none the less! On our way to the airport that afternoon, I commented that I wanted my picture taken in front of the pink building in Coxen Hole that read, "Welcome. This is the place to be." I thought of it as symbolic of all we had seen on our short…Roatan really was the place to be! Well, according to Juan Carlos, that's the whorehouse. Ha!
I owe my wonderful husband a huge thank you for planning another awesome trip. Even though our time in Roatan came to end faster than we would've liked, I think we left knowing that we had made the most of our time in paradise. And without contracting malaria I might add! Thanks, Malarone!
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