Island Living
Trip Start
Apr 27, 2006
1
91
110
Trip End
Apr 01, 2008
Roatan (West End),
Bay Islands,
Honduras
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Roatan, though, is way more Caribbean island than Latin American mainland. The people are ethnically much more Afro/Carribean than Spanish, Mayan or mestizo. The music is reggae, not salsa. The food is seafood and jerk chicken, not arroz and frijoles. And everyone speaks decent English with a mellifluous cadence evoking Jamaica more than Spain or Mexico. And, like most islands, it is laaaaid back
Banana Republic Airport and My Plane
. Roatan is the largest of Honduras' Bay Islands at 36 miles long and has several distinct towns and communities. I stayed at Keifitos Plantation Resort, which was few minutes walk down the beach from "West End," the nightlife center of the island, and a few more minutes walk down the beach the other way to "West Bay," a nicer beach and where many of the upscale resorts are. Rustic, but cool, bungalow cabins above its own deserted beach.Roatan is probably best known for its diving since the second largest barrier reef in the world (after Australia's) is just offshore, often as close as 300 yards or so, and the turquoise water is esquisitely clear (probably because you aren't supposed to put toilet paper in the toilet). I am not a big diver, but I did snorkel and the variety of marine life (supposedly 96% of all Caribbean marine life is present) is pretty amazing, including sea turtles and bottlenose dolphins, although I did not see either. Plus, there are iguanas, and other lizards and geckos, everywhere, and at night the land crabs cruise the beaches. Also delicious, but somewhat dangerous, are the mangos; in high winds they pelt down from the trees.
There's not all that much else to say - islands are islands, although this had the feel of being relatively unpopulated or touristed (outside of West Bay) with kilometers of deserted beaches. I wandered, read, ate conch, lobster (two huge tails for $18), shrmp, creole chicken, and a forgettable pizza, drank lots of the also forgettable local beer and the quite good Nicaraguan rum Flor de Cana, and hung out with the locals, both expats and Hondurans.
The first night - Sunday - included really, really, really bad karaoke and some stoners from San Diego
Beach Bar and Band
. The second night was basically spent at the Purple Turtle getting introduced around and trying to pick up a chick who I still cannot believe was 48. And, I hung out with her a bit the next day and - sober - she still defied belief. But her gravity-defying fake tits may have influenced my thinking. The third night was a "Lost in Translation" night. I was taken from the Purple Turtle to another bar with a live band and, more importantly, approximately 12 Norweigians between the ages of 16 and 20. And from there we went to a party at some dude's apartment. I messed around a bit with the Norweigian's chaperone, who was all of 26, but there was nowhere for it to go. The fourth night was pretty much more of the same - from the Purple Turtle to a bar called Land's End that had live music, and hanging out shooting the shit with random people.I would recommend Roatan to anyone from young singles, honeymooners, couples, seniors, etc. There are places for every budget and scene. The water is beautiful, alive and warm, and yet the place is not yet overtouristed, with highrises, knick knack shops, or overcrowded beaches. And, it is something like only 2 hours direct from parts of the U.S.
Next: Near Matagalpa, Nicaragua
Matagalpa, Nicaragua
