Roaming the Island

Trip Start Jul 01, 2007

Trip End Jul 08, 2007

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Flag of Honduras Roatan, Honduras
Sunday, July 8, 2007

During our stay we rented a car and attempted to reconnoiter most of the island's 34 miles' length, and 3 mile width, which we actually accomplished in 1 day. Leaving the resort we drove west to its nearest neighbour French Harbour, where we encountered only a handful of restaurants including Romeo's and Gio's, both focused on seafood with a sprinkling of mundane Italian, oh mamma mia and the Lusty Lizard, serving the inconsequential hamburger and some island cuisine (nice conch chowder and mango bread). Coxen Hole, a 20 minute drive from Fantasy Island, is not yet known for any culinary standouts and features a handful of fastfood restaurants, including Pizza Hut and Bojangles. It is also where you find the island's International Airport, and the Cruise Ship Pier which is getting a total redo. Roatan's new cruise ship pier facility should be finished by February 2008, with the expectation of at least one cruise ship a day, which should be a shot in the arm for the island, with the average cruise ship passenger spending as much as $100 for souvenirs, shore excursions, food and drink, and with this in mind the area should start sprouting some more diverse eating destinations.
Driving north towards Sandy Bay a 3 mile, S curved, hilly ride we passed the Blue Parrot and Rick's American Bar and Grill, the perfect abode for a Sunset drink, but since it was only 10AM we had other fish to fry.
Entering the West End, a laid back 70's kind of place, with dirt roads, backpackers and wannabe rastafarians, we could see the appeal of the place where "manana" definitely was the motto and the clean, white, although small beach, attracted both local families and vacationers.

Monkey See Monkey Do

We stopped at Patricia's Place, a distinct hole in the wall, with an almost non- existent kitchen, but delectable smells coming from its smoking barbecue, strategically placed out front to attract the starving pedestrians. The smoker produced pound after pound of succulent, moist chicken, served with rice, beans and home made tortillas. Small menu and small kitchen, but a bargain at $6, and enough to share. I sampled a concoction called Zac's Attack at the Sundowner, Monkey Lala at the over the water Eagle Ray Bar and the ubiquitous Cuba Libre at Fosters made with local Flor de Cana rum, while most most people around us spent the day enjoying the local Salva Vida Beer. This area is home to a dozen other laid back restaurants and bars, all within a 5 block waterfront space, including the meat heavy Argentinean Grill (Arco Iris), Pura Vida featuring a blend of Italian and local seafood, Oolonthoo, specializing in Indian, the Bistro in Vietnamese and Dragonfly focusing on Thai, emphasizing this melting pot of cultures that makes West End attractive to all who visit. Going to the furthest Western part of the island, was like driving the slalom course at Le Mans, and with no speed limit it was a wonder we arrived in one piece at West Bay, having encountered along the way dozens of new projects including condos, real estate developments (like Infinity Bay), time shares and shopping centers. It is at West Bay Beach that we see where the future of Roatan is headed, with its wide beach, newly built condos, hotels, restaurants and bars, many right on the beach, including an upscale gourmet market, predominately catering to the upscale condos. We could sense that West Bay is on the cusp of becoming a mini version of Cozumel or Ambergris Caye, with beach chairs renting for $5 (the daily salary of many Hondurenos), somewhat overpriced drinks and food, locals and hippies hawking "hand-made" blankets and jewelry, but putting it all into perspective we could see the allure of the clean, white sandy beach and baby blue water.
Throughout the island you find the cute Capucin (spider ) monkeys and as long as you feed them, bananas being their favorite they are your best friend, otherwise they may just sink their sharp little teeth into your finger.