Day 16: Roatan, Honduras

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Beautiful blue sky day today!

I was up in time to watch our arrival at Roatan. This is a very lush tropical island, approximately 50 kilometers long and 2 to 4 kilometers wide. Although Honduras is a very poor country, tremendous improvements have been witnessed in the past ten years as they’ve developed their tourism industry in a mainly sustainable way. The people of Roatan are particularly concerned that nothing be done to cause damage to the coral reefs. We were told that all the underwater grasses surrounding the island really help to minimize damage from tropical storms and hurricanes. They suggest that the reason Florida had so much damage in recent hurricanes is that they had removed most of those grasses. Now Florida is trying to establish them, and it’s not easy. I get that sense that in Roatan, the people feel a little smug about that.

We were greeted by a group of Hondurans singing and dancing - nothing like a little atmosphere! Then we headed out on a ½ hour drive towards the west end of the Island to a little town called (surprise, surprise) West End.

This whole place is truly a tropical paradise; the palm trees, the azure blue of the sea, white sandy beaches, the coral, the tropical fish, - we couldn’t have enjoyed ourselves more. The highlight was the trip out over the coral reef. Our boat was called a half-submarine, because you descend into it, then look out windows to the side. Next trip here will definitely include some snorkling! We had time to wander about the town and sip on an iced tea in a restaurant built over the water, before we drove up to the highest point on the island, from which you can see - everything! We drove back to the ship via some small picturesque coastal communities - small children playing in the water, old men and women resting in the shade of their verandas, children in their blue and white uniforms coming home from school, etc. We really enjoyed our guide, a young black woman who was very knowledgeable, and spoke with a charming Jamaican patois.

Tonight we opted for dinner out on the deck. It was dark - the sun pops up about 5:30 a.m., and disappears quickly around 6:30 p.m. - and that’s pretty much the way it stays all year. But it was so warm - we’d departed by that time, so it was just the warm breezes, the sound of the waves, the night sky, and strawberry ice-cream - my favourite!

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Comments

[Karen]

Wow!
Sounds like a fabulous day... so glad you had good weather for this one, as that really made it perfect. A day in paradise! (It's going to be hard to come home!)