Roatan - Days 1-3

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We have arrived and settled into the Blue Bahia on Roatan. We are staying in Sandy Bay on the North side of the island, about a 20 ride from the airport. The beach has docks going out into the water and you can see small waves lightly breaking over the reef a hundred yards or so out. Sandy Bay has some sea grass but the clear spots are a pretty light blue. Flying in on the plane we could see some really pretty water on the island.

The weather is warm, around 90 each day so far, and very humid. There is generally a breeze coming through off the water but it sure gets hot when the breeze stops for a few minutes. Our room at the Blue Bahia is very large (the "Starry Nights") and we have a big bedroom, living room, full kitchen, bathroom and private deck/balcony. And A/C, which is a very valuable resource here. The resort has about 8 different rooms (4 buildings with lower/upper unit) surrounding an infinity pool that looks out to the path down to the dive shop, restaurant, and beach. There is also an enclosure with a couple toucans, a parrot couple, this jittery little bird with a big green bill that flies around a lot, and a parrot that is very talkative. As we walked down to dinner Monday night it said hello and is perfecting its cat-call whistle. We are taking pictures but accidentally brought the i-phone cord instead of the camera's computer cord so photos will have to wait to get updated until we get back. That's what happens I suppose when you pack the day after your wedding. [ed note: photos have been added now that we're back in Portland]

When we arrived Monday afternoon, there was a path of flower petals going from the front door to the bedroom and hibiscus blooms making a heart with leaves spelling "LOVE". Very sweet touch and a nice welcome after plenty of traveling the day before (and the wedding the day before that).

The restaurant was very good and the staff are friendly here. We had garlic fish Monday night and decided to cook on Tuesday so we got directions and took a taxi to the island's grocery store (12min to Coxen Hole). The poor guy who agreed to drive us probably didn't expect us to get so many groceries but he stuck around to give us a ride back and helped carry stuff into the room. Taxis seem to be pretty easy to flag down on the road and only cost $1-2/person to nearby destinations. We got a package with two big red fish (red snapper? labeling seems to be fairly optional here) and made delicious fish tacos last night. Have the other fish in the freezer so we'll see what we come up with later this week.

Sandy Bay is rather loosely defined because there doesn't seem to be much of a town. In fact, the whole island is pretty rustic and less developed than we expected or feared. (far less than Key Caulker or Placencia in Belize - the houses we passed on the way here remind us of Guatamala more than a small beach resort island, though it shares the very slow pace). Also surprised that everyone speaks Spanish and there is limited pigeon or English heard unless it is spoken to tourists (book suggested it is an english speaking island going back to the pirate roots).

Today we caught a taxi into West End, which is just a few km to the west and supposed to be the big tourist town and happenin' night life spot. It is very mellow as well, with a short strip of cafes/bars, a few memento shops, and a lot of dive shops. We checked it out and headed to the beach to read and relax. Very mellow, slow-paced town that may pick up a bit later but likely not by much. Sunset is about 6pm so things end earlier anyway. The Caribbean reggae restaurant noted in our travel book appears to have gone out of business so we tried Sundowners and 360 for a cooldown and late lunch before heading back on a local bus (10-12 passenger vans running along the only paved road, about $1/ea). We'll plan to go back for dinner at Besos, but otherwise will keep going and check out West Bay and Gumbalina Park another day.

Pretty extensive update, but we will try to keep most adventures blogged during our trip. Hope to snorkel on the reef this week and will talk with dive shop tomorrow to see what options we have during our stay. Likely more on that in our next post...

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