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Roatan is probably the most beautiful place I’ve been, it’s everything you’d expect a typical Caribbean island to be. A glorious last stop on my round the world trip (if you don’t count a Miami that is). I’m not much of a beachy holiday kinda girl but I can tell you that Roatan could easily change my mind.
I was staying in West Bay, reportedly the most beautiful beach on the island and maybe the best in Honduras. And it certainly looked like it to me. A wide sweeping beach, powder soft white sand and almost always pretty quiet, shady palm trees, warm crystal clear turquoise waters, blue skies, 30°+ heat, a vibrant coral reef just meters from the shoreline (at the end of the beach) alive with tropical fish and a few quiet restaurants and bars to keep me fed and watered. Bliss.
I’d booked 2 nights in West Bay intending to head to the busier West End for the rest of the stay but after seeing both, West Bay won hands down (and the fact I got an incredible deal at the lovely B&B had a little to do with it).
The diving here has a
good reputation so I signed up for a few fun dives to check it out. Diving feels so self indulgent. It’s like you’re looking at a secret world, you’re somewhere you shouldn’t be. It’s utterly fascinating and never seems to lose its mystery. The coral reef is literally just off the coast and the waters are clear and warm which makes for perfect diving conditions. Put this together with colourful coral in shades of purple, yellow and green and a multitude of different types of multicoloured fish and I was in heaven. On one of the dives I was with some Americans, Judy and Leni. After the dive Judy said, “It’s like diving in a fish tank. But if this was someone’s fish tank you’d say to them that they’d over done it.” She was right. Down on the sea bed there were so many different types, shapes and colours it seemed unreal. I felt privileged to be able to enjoy it. And just add the icing on the cake…I saw a turtle. I had been desperate to see one in Australia (especially as everyone else had seen one on the 2 day diving trip apart from me), and here,
just as we were doing our 3 minute safety stop we spotted a green turtle. I was over the moon!
I decided to be brave and go on the shark dive too. Even though I felt terrified at being in the water with sharks, I can’t explain it, I just HAD to do it. The boat took nine of us out, about one mile off shore. The plan was to descend down a line to a coral rock and stay stationary during the dive to watch the sharks. I rolled back into the water, found the line and put my face under. I could see the sea bed clearly, 70ft down. And I could see sharks, reef sharks. They cruised the sea floor and I was going down there. These sharks are known to be of little threat to humans but the familiar shape and even the word shark itself always evokes powerful emotions. A very odd thing happened next, my fear left me. I descended down the line making my way towards the designated spot for viewing. I was concentrating on equalizing my pressure and suddenly I came face to face with a shark. Our paths almost collided.
It was maybe only 2ft away when it changed course. It wasn’t interested in taking a bite, it knew there was easy food on offer. The group stood or kneeled in front of the coral rock. The diver master had brought down a sealed bucket of fish heads and rattled it to get some attention. By now there were up to 15 sharks circling over head and in front of us, a few feet away. It was compelling viewing. The dive master then made a sign to us that we could swim with the sharks. As a group we rose up a few meters and followed the dive master in a large circle around the bucket. We were swimming amongst the sharks! They paid little attention to us. We both occupied the same space but we held no interest for them. They, however, held our interest. We returned to the viewing spot and the dive master opened the bucket. The sharks fought to get their noses in the bucket for a fish head, the ones that did darted away with their prize. Maybe 4 out of the 15 got anything to eat and it was over within seconds. When the
fish were gone so were most of the sharks. They knew the easy feed was over. (Thankfully they didn’t feel cheated and thought to feed on us instead!). It was an incredible experience.
Leni invited me to come on an island tour she was giving to Judy and her husband the next day. How could I refuse? We had a lovely day exploring the island, sandy bays, secluded resorts, mangrove forests and villages off the beaten track. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful restaurant on the coast. Just outside the window was a hummingbird feeder. I had to apologize to the group as I couldn’t take my eyes off these minute birds, fluttering back and forth with incredible accuracy and dexterity. They were so incredibly delicate. I fell in love with them immediately.
The rest of my time on Roatan was spent snorkeling, sunbathing and reading. I met a lovely New Zealand girl and we would meet in the evening for drinks or dinner. I think we were the only two single travellers on this couply island. Evenings were pretty quiet. One night we had dinner and watched locals feed the baracuda and moray eels. On the
Sunday evening the bar had a charity night of fire dancing, limbo contests, live band and crab racing. I bought a crab and it won! I couldn’t believe it! The prize was a $20 bar tab which happily paid for my dinner and a few cocktails for Sarah and I.
That night Sarah told me there had been a military coup. If she hadn’t said anything I wouldn’t have known. The President of Honduras had been deported by the army to Costa Rica while still in his pajamas. No locals’ spoke of what had happened but the bars closed early from that night on as a curfew was now in place from 9pm to 6am. It was only when I left the island that I saw any effects of the coup. No buses were running. I arrived off the ferry in La Ceiba with no way to get to San Pedro Sula. Thankfully I was travelling with an American couple and we shared a 3 hour taxi ride between us. The taxi driver refused to take us into the city as he said there was trouble on the streets. He left us on the main strip of fast food
outlets on the city outskirts and we hailed a local cab. The couple decided to stay at my hostel which was further out of town. Where they had booked was one block from the main square where all the demonstrations were taking place. Why go looking for trouble? I had a quiet afternoon in my upgraded room (for bringing more guests) and we all headed off to the airport early the next morning and away from Honduras and its troubles.
I was sorry to leave the beautiful island of Roatan but I can say that I was delighted to leave San Pedro Sula.
Last stop….Miami…
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theo
non-member comment
Safe in Roatan?
My son and daughter-in-law plan to travel to Roatan in two weeks. We want to know if it is safe, whether food is available, and if there is still a curfew. They are not staying in a hotel, but rather have rented a private home with several others.