As Julia mentioned last post, we found a few cockroaches in our room the first couple nights. I managed to usher them out of the room and we didn't think much of it. On the 3rd night, Julia awoke around 2am, frantically brushing herself and rolling toward me, saying she had one on her. I turned the lights on, and after a brief chase was able to trap the intruder in a bowl and decided to leave it imprissoned on the front patio. The next morning, we released it, hoping the dog would finish it off, but it flew away. Now we were on full alert and on the 4th night, decided to do a thorough sweep of the room before bedtime. I flipped on the bathroom light to find 5 roaches scattered around. Then the fun began... our neighbor Klaus joined me in grabbing bowls and cups and we proceeded to trap the critters and slide them outside where they 1 by 1 would be given a slight breath of freedom, before the sandal of death would be dropped multiple times. A total of 7 would be executed that night, 1 escaped to an unoccupied adjoining room, 1 flew off into the night, 1 taunted us from outside the bathroom window, and a final 1 is still believed to be trapped in the door frame by a wad of toilet paper. That is an army of 11 cockroaches seen during a war that lasted almost 2 hours. We drugged ourselves with allergy medicine that night to sleep, and when the sun came up on our 5th day on Roatán, Julia and I requested new chambers. Thanks to Alanis Morissette, my understanding of the word "irony" is a little messed up, but I think it is ironic that possibly our favorite accommodations on this trip had the biggest bug issue and are the only ones where we asked to change rooms.
Other than the critters, life here has been splendid. Similiar to Caye Caulker, the accommodations are a big reason we ended up sticking around for 8 nights. Colorful rooms with refrigerators and gas stoves; patios with chairs and tables that look out into a dense garden with bright flowers and palm trees; hummingbirds fly around and very little street noise is heard. The hotel caretaker has a cat and 3 friendly dogs (although the 6 month old puppy pees on our porch every time she is excited to see us). Plus we have our new Danish friends to explore the island with during the day and drink and play cards with at night. Meals are shared and the days blend together. These times feel more like a vacation with very little stress.
The days have not all been just lying around and enjoying our place. The snorkeling in Half Moon Bay, just a 5 minute walk away, is spectacular. The reef runs the length of the small bay and around the sides. There are some great deep spots and a variety of fish. One day Julia and I swam around to the outer side of the reef and the water was clear and cool, with the bright blue sea illuminating the colors of the coral. I might be addicted to underwater photography now so please excuse the numerous pics. The snorkeling is exhausting and serves as our only real form of exercise in this lifestyle.
The Reef
For a change of scenery, one day we strolled further west with the Danes, 3 kms down the beach to the prettier but more expensive West Bay. There you have your typical Caribbean beach with palm trees, soft white sand, turquoise waters, and resorts with weekly tourists lining the shoreline. They have inflatable slides setup and even a jet pack thing for your feet that propels you into the air. We snorkeled along the far western end where the reef is a little beat up but still managed to see some new things and more amazing depths. I tend to feel clostrophobic when floating just a few feet above the sharp coral, so I really enjoy when we find the walls that drop almost 30 ft, making me feel small and even a little afraid.
Julia enjoying the beach in West Bay
Not sure what this is
Me swimming in the depths
With the island being quite large, on Saturday we rented scooters to get out and explore. Julia has been wanting to do this for a while but I have generally been reluctant due to my inexperience on motorized 2-wheelers. Under the tutelage of Klaus, I had confidence and honed my skills on the flat main drag in town (with one small trip onto the curb) before we hit the hilly roads. Luckily it was smooth surfaces for most of the way and we covered a lot of ground. The open air feeling was amazing and I especially enjoyed the opportunity to use my weak horn to get back at Central Americans for all of their honking at us. Julia held on tight and took some pictures as we rose up and down the ridge line that encompasses the middle of the island. We had partly hoped to find some secluded beach on the outskirts, but that didn't happen. We ended up cruising down to West Bay again to do some swimming before rolling back into our town of West End as the sun was setting. A great experience despite the toll it takes on the backside. I can see us doing this again in the near future.
Scooter cruising
The Danes rolling through Punta Gorda on the east side of island
View from the top of one of the hills, looking west.
Feeding ourselves is another major part of our island life. With the Danes, we alternate cooking meals, and multiple pastas and stir-frys were created. We pampered ourselves with eggs, banana pancakes, and french toast in the mornings and have gained back some of the lost weight. On other nights we head to the beach to try the street food. At $1.40 for a filled tortilla, Baleadas are the cheapest food in town and are quite tasty. From another small spot on the strip, $4.60 will get you a good sized plate of food with your choice of grilled meat. We had some really good tacos from a cart, but as we were leaving, he taunted our senses by cooking up some lobster tails and shrimp for a special event next door. We gaze and ask how much, he pauses and says $100 for the 4 of us, we say maybe some other trip.
Expensive street lobster
The only other real activity that takes up our time is socializing late into the night. Like us, the Danes prefer a relaxed evening on the patio with a $5 bottle of rum and some mixers instead of $7 cocktails at the beach side bars or semi-cheap drinks surrounded by booty videos. We play card games like "Presidents" and "500" (similar to gin rummy). Mix drinks contain rum, ice, juice, ginger ale or coke, and lime. Travel stories are exchanged and future destinations are dreamt about. We learn a Danish phrase or two and try to decide whether free education and outstanding benefits are worth the astonishingly high tax rates. I would say "yes" but realize that it also makes it more profitable for people to abuse the system. Just one of the many topics that can be discussed when socializing with fellow travelers from around the globe.
Socializing
Now it is early Tuesday morning, our bags are packed and we are not really sure how 8 days have already passed. We think all of the above has been good for us. We are either reenergized and ready for almost anything that Honduras has to throw at us, or we are already mentally back "home" in Nicaragua and done backpacking. In 2 weeks we will be reunited with family at their house at Gran Pacifica, where bags can be unpacked and clothes thoroughly washed. But we have more ground to cover and after a big travel day, tonight we will hopefully sleep in Copán Ruinas, a town next to some more Mayan ruins for Julia to write about.
Love love love your blogs! Only 2 more months till we will be there. Leaving tomorrow to get our Cougar. Keep taking your wonderful pictures. Mom
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