I arrived in Roatan on Monday, Mar 28 after an extra long Canadian winter. This was the first time that I had seen a tropical jungle island. It is very green here with tall palm trees and dense forest. Much greener than other Caribbean islands that I have seen.
On Monday we went for a walk on the West End beaches, past some resorts and over the public beaches. At night Karen, Cheryl and I went with a group of other cruisers to do a night snorkel on the reef. With our under water flashlights we could see squid, shrimp and lobster.
Karen and Cheryl have become fearless Lion (fish) hunters. We did some dives on Tuesday and Wednesday from the dingy. Karen and Cheryl both caught several Lionfish. (I think that Cheryl is ahead by a few.) We also saw turtles, Spotted Eagle rays, many Parrot fish and others including a rare Sargassum Pipe fish. The town at West End looks very authentic and not manufactured for wealthy tourists.
Thursday we did two drift dives from a boat with 6 other cruisers. The current was very strong in the first dive. In 30 to 40 feet we only had to float as we moved over the ocean bottom for 50 minutes. At the end of the drift, we floated over a steep wall and then lost site of the bottom. Only the blue of the ocean for as for as we could see. That night many of the people whose boats are moored at the west end met at an empty dock and had a birthday party for one cruiser. The cruisers here are very friendly, people on boats here know their neighbours far better than I know the people on my street at home.
On Friday I got to help polish the stainless steel on the boat. (It gets rust spots, looks bad) On Saturday I helped clean the hull of Interlude. (All part of the cruising experience) We also did some more dives those days and on Saturday afternoon we did a zip line ride. That was fun to see the jungle while hanging from a cable. The zip lines took about 40 minutes and there were no other tourists around. A great time. We also went out to a restaurant near the beach on Saturday night. Good dinner, but too much food.
On Sunday we went to a brunch at a restaurant with some other cruisers, it was very good. We also had a rental car for 11:00 AM which finally arrived at 1:00 PM. We went to a grocery store, a big one by Roatan standards and then for a drive to the east end and the higher points on the island. Some good views from the lookout points. We also went to a resort called Fantasy Island where we saw some monkeys and other wildlife.
Overall, a very good trip. Warm weather, good diving, a good boat and great hosts. Winter should be over when I get home.
