Roatan Blog #3 West Bay And Other Interesting Things

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We've had another great week on Roatan. Each brings new discoveries and experiences!

Early on in the week we took a water taxi to West Bay which is the next beach south of where we are living. The area is one of the loviest beaches we have seen with pure white sand and crystal clear water. The only down side is that it's very touristy with lots of resorts and hoards of people from the cruise ships spending the day. In saying that, you can't beat the superb snoreklling with the reef only 100 meters from the shore. The coral and fish were amazing. We enjoyed a lunch of conch ceviche and fries and taxied back around 5.

It is interesting to watch the construction going on the main sand road in West End. They are putting in new sewer lines, water lines and lift stations. Everyday we look down the big hole to see the work in progress. We watch the local Honduran workers trudging home at sun down with their wheel barrows and shovels.

Sundays are a fun day on Roatan. It appears to be family day and you can see the local people on the beach enjoying the water and picnic. They will often set up food stands serving up tacos, baletas, chicken, beans and rice and even chop suey!! One thing we have noticed is that there area a lot of Canadians and Americans who have established businesses here which somewhat spoits the Hondurian authenticity. But at the same time is good for their economy.

On Tuesday Lisa took us into Coxion Hole for grocery essentials (like cheerios, beer and wine!!!) and to visit the local seafood market where we purchased huge lobster tials and shrimp for a reasonable price. Apparently 90% of the lobster here is sold to The Red Lobster Restaurants! We have a barbecue at our condo to cook up our seafood.

Tuesday night we were invited to a cocktail party on the beach to recognize the Canadian Ambassador to Honduras. He is originally from P.E.I. and his dad's family is from the Moosaman area. We were surprised at how young he was. We were entertained with complementary drinks, appetisors and life music. Lisa made a Canadian cake and we were all given Canada pins and magnets! A fun evening!

On Thursday we took a long hike over to the next bight called Sandy Bay. It is a collection of weather beaten wooden houses built on stilts among patches of shady trees. Mostly private houses and a couple of low key resorts. However, swimming out to the reef to snorkel was fantastic! The highlight for me was spotting a gigantic star fish!!

I've gathered a few bits of information you might find interesting about Roatan

 • Size - 2-4 km wide, 45 km. long
 • Language - English, Spanish, Garifuna
 • Culture - Afro Caribbean, English Settlers, Garifuna, Latino
 • Currency - lempura; 20 lemps = 1 dollar
 • Flora - tropical forests, mangroves, sandy beaches
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 • Thanks again for reading our blog. Hope you enjoy hearing about Roatan
 • Mallory and Warren
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