STRAY CAT CATAMARAN

What an amazing afternoon of sailing.  I've always dreamed of sailing on a catamaran and yesterday's adventure was more than I ever could have imagined.  On Saturday we were having dinner at Bearchers and the live entertainment was the "West End Players" with lead singer Brian James.  This guys knows how to play guitar!  He recently returned home to Roatan after a 10 month tour in Europe.  We met a couple from Red Deer and spent the evening dancing and enjoying some very good live music. Shut the place down and managed to find our way home.  During our conversation that night we learned the band was going to be playing on a sunset cruise on Thursday afternoon.  When we arrived on Roatan I signed up to a facebook group which gave you details of events going on that day.  Thursdays mornings event was the sunset cruise, so we were able to get two tickets.  Captain Dave was a cool character and promised to take good care of us as we were the first to purchase tickets.

When we arrived at the dock he called us to the front of the line and we jumped aboard to find that our new friends (who knew the drummer) had secured front row seating on beach chairs about two feet from where the band was playing.  We set sail, grabbed a beer and listened to great music as we cruised down the coast of Roatan to South beach.  We stopped for a snorkel and then set sail again.

This was our view from our seats.  The Sun came out on our way back to West Bay and we were able to enjoy a beautiful sunset as a backdrop.  

Brain James is a great player.  He played a mix of ACDC, Michael Jackson, Billy Idol, and Carlos Santana as well as some of his own music.  He has a great little tune called "West End Girls" which I'm sure there are many stories about. 

They played until the sun set and then we disembarked with plans to meet Dwight and Sharon for dinner.

 This I think was our highlight of the vacation.  It was such a hit that Captain Dave is setting up another sailing for the coming week before Brian heads back to L.A. to do some recording.  

The Meridian at Light House Point

Yesterday we were hobnobbing with the rich and famous.  We hiked up to the Meridian a short walk from our B&B to see if we could rent some kayaks and do some snorkeling.  It is a private condo resort that is not complete yet and the restaurant is open to the public.  We figured is we bought a beer or two they would let us hang out for the afternoon on their beach chairs.  We were right!  It's a perfect place to be when the cruise ships are in port.  Their were only a few people there and their beach chairs are in the shade if you want them to be.  

 The bay out front is very shallow and full of coral so we were a little nervous about doing some snorkeling.  So we decided to rent a kayak to see if we could find a safe passage out to the reef.

This is the view around the point looking back onto West Bay.  We had managed to snorkel from the beach to this rock the other day but the winds picked up so we went back in.  The winds have shifted and the bay was now calm again.

The rock looks very different from water level, it kind of blends right into the rocks on shore and you almost miss it until you have passed it and look back to shore.

The water appeared very clear today and we could see down to the coral but there did not appear to be any fish.

So we decided that we could manage a snorkel and come back and see what there was to see.

The Sun was shining so the coral was a lot brighter than it had been and viability was much better.  There were lots of fish and different formations of rock with amazing crevasses.  Today you could actually see the edge of the reef where the big drop off was.  We snorkeled almost all the way to the big rock and back.  We managed to get back to shore with Bill only getting one scrape on his calf.  It looked nasty until we cleaned it with alcohol swabs and put polysporn on it.  We spent about 5 hours here, relaxing and enjoying the cold beer.  If we had a spare 500k and nothing else to spend it on this would be a great place to relax.  But for now $40 was all we needed to enjoy a great afternoon. They even have a fresh water shower on the beach to rinse off after you get out of the saltwater.  

 The little waitress at the restaurant has a thing for Bill and is attempting to teach him how to speak Spanish.  We have learned a few more words and it's been entertaining.  His new name in Spanish is Pedro because she didn't now a translation for Bill.

Cayos Cochinos Tour

 

Tuesday we took a boat tour with Bay Island Adventures 20 miles off the shores of Roatan to an archipelago of islands called Cayos Cochinos.  We anticipated some great snorkeling and a visit to an Garfuna village.  

The waters were a bit rough to start out but the Captain did a great job and we arrived safely.

  This was the first island we were to snorkel at and it looked amazing.  However just after we arrived and got off the boat the military arrived with automatic weapons and told us we could not stay due to some sort of filming going on.  So we loaded back up and went to our second snorkeling site.  We managed to snorkel around the island but the jelly fish were stinging which was not too pleasant and the snorkeling was not fantastic.  

The Garfuna Village was very cool.  150 people live on this tiny island.  The kids take a boat every day to a neighboring island to go to school.  They fed us a wonderful red snapper meal and the kids sold us hand made necklaces.  One of the couples with us had a soccer ball to give the village.  The children all gathered around as they pumped up the ball and then quickly disappeared to go play.

 The third snorkel site was full of seaweed due to the winds we had been having so opted to just hang out on the beach.

Over all we decided that we have been very spoiled on previous snorkel trips as this one was not one of the better ones.  As my Dad used to say " The sharpies got us"  as it was not worth the huge money we paid.  Oh well you win some you loose some.  

The snorkeling right off the beach in West Bay is some of the best we have seen  and its Free!

Seafood is Amazing!

The seafood has been amazing!  We have pretty much eaten it every night, most lunches and Erna uses it in her breakfasts as well.  I think we died and gone to heaven.

 They have 3 Lobsters special every Monday night for $18 at our favorite place called Beachers.  It is located right on our beach and is a great place to hang out.  We have tried a couple other places but their motto is "we are not fine dining but we have the best food on the beach"  Lindy, their beach greater is a great guy and the place is packed every night.  I think we have tried just about every seafood dish on the menu.

This is Conch (conk) ceviche.  We also had a Garafuna Seafood soup at Infinity Bay Resort which was also amazing.  It was a variety of seafood in coconut milk with little hot spice.

Today for lunch we tried a Honduran Baleada (Bal e ada) which is a fresh made tortilla with shrimp, black beans, jack cheese fresh salsa and crema.  It was very yummy.

West Bay Beach

This is the beach we have been spending every morning on snorkeling up and down the reef.  There is amazing things to see right off the sand.  So far we have made it out past the rock on the left.  It is only about 4 feet deep near shore and then it drops to about 25 ft about half way out.  Just past the rock it drops again to about 200 ft. There are tons of different fish to see, all different shapes and sizes.  Some are very colorful and others blend into the rocks.  If you stay still and just float you get surrounded by fish.  Yesterday on our way in we saw a line of squid in the shallow water.  There is apparently a whale shark feeding near by but we haven't seen it thankfully.  So far the coral we have seen is a rust color and you have to make your way through passages until you make it to a sandy area that is deeper. Then you can swim along the edge which is where most of the fish are. The bay is marked with various buoys which indicate the passages to swim through. It's kind of like an underwater obstacle course.  The coral is very sharp so you have to be careful not to scrap your knees.  

Larry and Erna went for a dive this week and were lucky enough to see turtles.  That was almost enough to make me get my dive certification.  We were looking on the island map and there must be more than 100 dive sites around the island.

Our boat trip we had planned for last week was postponed until Tuesday due to weather conditions so hopefully we get to go.  The weather has been a mixed bag of sun, cloud and rain so far.

   

After a morning down pour we went for an Eco Tour through the jungle.  Our tour guide Lonnie explained all the different trees and how the locals use them to cure rashes, fevers etc. as well as wild bananas and papaya.  The tour took about 45 minutes as we weaved our way across 9 suspension bridges.  The only wildlife we found was a large spider and a very skinny snake both of which we would have missed if Lonnie hadn't pointed them out to us.  It was very beautiful and lush especially right after a rain.

Well we are definitely adapting to Island time and taking it easy.  The rain did stop so Sunday morning so we took a water taxi over to West end to the dive shop and to have a look around.  We were able to get Bill a new mask so we should be set for some snorkeling.  West end is very much a backpacker, dive village.  Lots of bars, restaurants and dive shops. We were there before noon so most things were still closed and the village was not quite awake yet.  There isn't much of a beach as it is mainly a marina for the dive boats etc.  West Bay is much nicer, so we didn't stay too long.

Bill was not feeling well so I spent the day lounging around the pool and reading my book. Hopefully we will both be good to go for the rest of the vacation.

Monday we took a driving tour around the entire island, our driver, Juan Carlos showed us around and was very informative.  It's a very interesting island with many little villages, bays and inlets.  There is approximately 70,000 that live on the island.  There are two main cruise ship harbors and 1 - 18 hole golf course as well as many tourist attractions and resorts.  Once we saw the entire island we have decided we are staying in the best place there is.  West Bay is definitely the nicest beach with an abundance of great places to eat and our little B&B is a lovely quiet place to relax which is only 1 block off the beach.  We have the best snorkeling on the island with the reef right off shore.

This is the beach at the Meridian Resort at the west tip of the island where we also had dinner the other night.  No live music as the weather was too windy and rainy.

The resort is not quite complete yet so the beach is very quite.

When it is complete it will be a beautiful spot.

The Black iguana is native to the island, but is very hard to spot as they blend into the black coral rocks.

The people of Honduras eat iguana, but just the green ones.  They hunt them in the jungle by climbing the trees and shaking the branches until they fall and then the dogs catch them when they hit the ground.  Apparently they taste like chicken.  Maybe if we get brave we will try them.  However we will have to go to a local restaurant to find it.

This morning we woke up to monsoon type rain so our plans for taking a water taxi to West End may have to change, oh well.

We have definitely been catching up on some well deserved rest these past few days which has been nice.  Our B&B is awesome, the pool is very clean and we have the place entirely to ourselves.  This is a bonus as the beach is very busy on Tues, Wed and Thurs with the cruise ship people.  Friday through Monday are quiet so on Thursday we took a hike around the tip of the island

 This is the view from the top of the island looking north.

The east side of the island is very rocky.  It looks like the coral that makes up the reef.  There are no beaches or sea access on this side as the water is usually very rough.  .

We found two look out points one of which had an inlet with water rushing in as the waves came in and out








On Thursday afternoon after the cruise ships left we tried our first snorkel off the beach.  It was very cool. We started out right next to the rocks which meant you were snorkeling through large coral like an underwater pathway.  The water was very shallow except in between each coral formation.  It was a little intimidating so we moved out into more open water.  The fish are very plentiful and lots of different kinds. Bill is having problems with his mask.  It is not sealing so we didn't last too long.

Last night we learned that ordering a Cesar identifies you as a Canadian just as much as the word eh.  I wasn't feeling well so we opted for pizza for dinner at the coffee/wine bar called Java Vine.  The minute Bill spoke about their authentic Cesar the owner asked us where in Canada we were from.  Turned out they were from Edmonton and had been living here full time for 3 years.

West Bay is very laid back and for the most part a quiet little community.  It's  definitely not a party spot.  We have been in bed by 9 and have been sleeping until 7.

If the rain stops we hope to take the water taxi to West End to see about a new mask for Bill and do some shopping.  Then tonight we have reservations at Kismet a restaurant on the point of the island.  We walked by it on our hike but walking there and back in the dark could prove tricky so they offer a shuttle service to and from the B&B.  They have live entertainment so maybe we will make it to 10 pm tonight.

Well we made it!  We left Kelowna on Sunday afternoon in the middle of the worst snow storm the interior has seen in a very long time.  The flight from Seattle that was to arrive just before we left was turned back and was unable to land.  This was a tad worrisome as the plane we were flying out on was coming in from San Francisco about 20 minutes later.  Luckily our plane landed, however we were 1.5 hours delayed as they had to plow the runway and de-ice the plane.  Normally this wouldn't be a big deal however we had a connecting flight to catch with a short turn around.  Needless to say we missed our flight because clearing US customs took about another 1.5 hours.

United Air was able to get us on the next flight to Houston at about 11 pm that night.  This was all good until about 5 minutes after boarding the plane the Captain came on and said they were having mechanical difficulties with the plane.  About 30 min later we were de-boarding the plane and hoping they could find a replacement.  Finally about 2 hours later we were on another plane headed for Houston.  So much for our nights sleep in a hotel.  We arrived in Houston in time for breakfast and our next connecting flight to Roatan.
This fight was uneventful and on time.  Bill was beginning to wonder if this was going to be the vacation from hell given the rough start.  I assured him things would get better, I don't know why he doubts my travel picks.

We arrived safely, our luggage arrived with us and our driver was there to meet us.  Things were looking up.  We stopped and picked up our necessities like beer, wine, snacks etc and headed to our B&B.  When we arrived I sighed a big sigh of relief.  Our B&B called Rumors was better than expected.  Erna and Larry are wonderful hosts.  We unpacked and then joined them for a rum punch on the pool deck.  They then took us for a tour of the beach and pointed out the restaurants they recommended.

Monday was Lobster Tail special night at Beachers so that's where we decided to have dinner.  I have to say that was the BEST Lobster dinner we have ever had, the bonus was it was only $18 per plate for 3 lobster tails done island style.    With no sleep the night before and very full bellies we were in bed by 9 pm and  slept until 8 this morning.

Today has been a rest day as there are 3 cruise ships in port today so the beach is full of people. Erna served a wonderful Honduras style breakfast pool side this morning after we enjoyed coffee on the deck. The freshly picked bananas were right off their tree and the pineapple was from the mainland. Then we took a short walk down the beach but decided our private pool was where we needed to be.  We have the place to ourselves until Sunday when another couple comes and rents the second room for a week.

So far we have had two different Ceviche dishes, one was made with Conch shell fish which is like squid and the second one was made with Lion fish.  Both were very good but we both liked the Conch shell fish the best.  Local beer is good and cold and I was able to find Chilean red wine so life is good.

Tomorrow is another busy cruise ship day so Bill has a message booked and I am going for a pedicure.  Larry and Erna did a dive today so it will be interesting to hear their stories.  Once the cruise ships leave and we are rested we will head out snorkeling.  There is a big bay that you can walk right off shore and snorkel all around.  Maybe we can convince Larry to give us a short tour.

The hummingbirds are entertaining.  Bill is using a coke can as an ashtray and this is really confusing them as it must still have a sweet smell until they get up close.  They fly right in on the deck about 18 inches from me if I sit really still.  They are much smaller than in Costa Rica but very colorful.