Sun, 27 Feb.
the alarm went off and i was up and gathering up last minute things, and the clothes off the line that were still wet from yesterday, and stuffing them in my bags. i ordered a taxi because my bag is heavy and the wheels are falling off and i didn't want to stress them dragging it to town. the taxi came a little early, so i was flying around at the last minutes. still grabbing things and hugging everyone saying goodbye. Abi was leaving today also, for Brazil. Tim was leaving for LaCeiba, then down through Honduras and then back to Roatan (so maybe i'll see him again). Chris and Nicole were going to LaCeiba with Tim. then out the door i went to the dock and got on Vern's Catamaran. Vern is from Alaska, but left there when he was about 18 and started travelling. he ended up here. Vern's Catamaran.
i got settled in there with 7 other people. it was 6:30a and most everyone found a place to sleep. i went up front for awhile, 'by the trampoline'.
... but the seas were way too rough for me to be up there. a couple were on the trampoline and were getting soaked with the waves crashing on them. i headed back for drier ground inside the cabin. as we headed out to sea, the waves kept getting higher and higher, and the swells were getting bigger and bigger. you can't really tell from the photos; but it was REALLY rough!
View to the side. Those are big swells !
...at least i thought so. i eventually asked Vern if this was typical. he hesitated a bit, then said, 'yeah, this is a bit rough for a morning'. the catamaran handled it pretty smoothly, but it was intimidating! i stayed 'down below'. View from down below, looking out the back.
another view out the back.
i stayed down below enjoying his music, old music: Cat Stevens, Van Morrison, Carole King ... good memories music. i eventually feel asleep for about an hour or so, and realized the boat wasn't heaving as much, and i looked out, i could see the island of Roatan! it was a 4hr ride, we arrived around 11am. Grazzia, the Director of Roatan Marine Park (RMP) was waiting for me on the dock. all the employees at both BICA and RMP are young .... like 22-24! we went to the office to meet someone to take me to Fort Saphrey, where i will be staying; but Nic showed up and offered to take me now, rather than wait for 'whoever'. Grazzia said to meet her at the office at 10:30 tomorrow. ...i like these hours! Nic drove to the end of the road, parked and said, we will walk the beach from here.......... Nic carried my big bag and we walked in the sand past Ronnie's Barefoot Bar. note the sign ........... in case you can't see it: "make love not war .... HELL, do both, get married".
just a short distance down the beach and i saw Fort Saphrey.
right on the water ... nice sandy beach right in front !
no one was there, but i told Nic i would just wait .... he'd been nice enough to bring me here. i walked around, and soon a girl and a guy walked up the beach. they said the 'manager' was in the back ... further back than i had looked, i thought it was a separate property and didn't want to 'snoop'. i talked to the guy, Bennie from Australia, for a minute while his girlfriend, talked to the manager, Jimmy. eventually i introduced myself to Jimmy and he showed me a couple of rooms. the rooms upstairs, right on the beach had a shared bathroom. i chose a room back about 100yds with my own private bath. :) below the rooms on the beach is a shared kitchen that he will give me a key to; but offered to get me my own small refrigerator. the sink in the bathroom was leaking and he fixed that. the windows were stuck shut and i told him i wouldn't use his electricity for the A/C if i could get the window open for a breeze, so he got them open. the screen is torn, i put some duct tape on it, and immediately put up my 'safety net' to protect me from the bugs. there is a ceiling fan ... it's a room with a small window, but if i open the door, i get more light in .... this will be fine.
i got partially settled and went for a walk. this part of Roatan is what is called the 'West End'. it's on the west side of the island ......duhhhhhh., and where most of the Dive Shops are. but, it's not the most western point ... West Bay is at the western-most end of Roatan. the main road is not paved, it is sand, ...like Caye Caulker! yeah! they do have cars, vans, trucks here ... a few motorbikes; ... but they don't drive like they are at a speed track. THANK GOD! i won't feel like my life is in danger as i walk down the road, like i did in Utila! that was my main complaint about Utila ... they REALLY need to enforce a speed limit there, it truly is dangerous!
i checked out the menus of the restaurants that were open .... most are in US$ ... that's not a good sign! ... it is quite a bit more expensive than Utila. i could eat dinner for 120-140L in Utila ... here it will cost me 240-300L (US$6-7 vs US$12-15) ...and the worst part ... my US$1.25 rum and coke will cost me US$3-4! i'll be packing my rum here! i did find a nice place for fresh fruit smoothies for 30-45L here which was the same at Utila. could i live on smoothies? i came across the Booty Bar that was roasting a huge piece of beef on the grill. they were having a Sunday Special: Roast Beef, potatoes, mac salad, fresh bread for 100L ... that's where i'll eat dinner tonight. if i can find specials like that each night, i'll be ok! while walking around i saw Bennie from Australia again. he said he was going to Booty Bar for roast beef tonight and i could join him. he also mentioned that on Sat night, they have Roast Pork, also for 100L.. this is great news! i went back to my room, put on my swimsuit, and went for a swim right out front :) i like this! went to my room to shower and change for dinner. it is hot here, and the swim cooled me off some, but i was anxious for a nice cool shower. i turned on the water .... it's HOT! what? ...a HOT shower? i was shocked at my reaction .... i didn't want a hot shower, i wanted a cool shower, and there was only one handle... no way to make it cooler. this was so funny ... all the months here, using a cool shower, thinking it would be so luxurious to have a hot shower ... and now i have one, and i don't like it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! go figure!
i went to Booty Bar and Bennie was sitting inside at the bar with a friend. this guy had just been on a dive 120' down to a wreck, and found this bottle of booze that had been down there for 7 years, so he said. he poured me a shot and said i had to try it..... i put my tongue in it, and it was pretty horrible. here is a pic of Bennie (with hat) and the other guy and the bottle.
Bennie and i ate dinner. first time i've had beef here. you couldn't cut it with a plastic fork and knife. so we at with our fingers and pulled the meat apart. it wasn't very tender, but it did have a good flavor ... all in all a good meal. after dinner Bennie wanted to get a cinnamon roll with ice cream and showed me the best place. i passed on dessert, and went home. Ronnie's Barefoot Bar, right next door to my place, had a band tonight. i stood at the beach looking at all the stars ... awesome! went to my room and could still hear the band ... boom boom boom, loud and clear. i thought i was back in Utila listening to the Bar in the Bush! they finally quit about 10pm; at which time i could now hear the TV in the room next to me, ... some loud horror movie!!! i grabbed my ear plugs and turned off the light! i'm here ... in Roatan beginning a new adventure!
i got settled in there with 7 other people. it was 6:30a and most everyone found a place to sleep. i went up front for awhile, 'by the trampoline'.
... but the seas were way too rough for me to be up there. a couple were on the trampoline and were getting soaked with the waves crashing on them. i headed back for drier ground inside the cabin. as we headed out to sea, the waves kept getting higher and higher, and the swells were getting bigger and bigger. you can't really tell from the photos; but it was REALLY rough!
View to the side. Those are big swells !
...at least i thought so. i eventually asked Vern if this was typical. he hesitated a bit, then said, 'yeah, this is a bit rough for a morning'. the catamaran handled it pretty smoothly, but it was intimidating! i stayed 'down below'. View from down below, looking out the back.
another view out the back.
i stayed down below enjoying his music, old music: Cat Stevens, Van Morrison, Carole King ... good memories music. i eventually feel asleep for about an hour or so, and realized the boat wasn't heaving as much, and i looked out, i could see the island of Roatan! it was a 4hr ride, we arrived around 11am. Grazzia, the Director of Roatan Marine Park (RMP) was waiting for me on the dock. all the employees at both BICA and RMP are young .... like 22-24! we went to the office to meet someone to take me to Fort Saphrey, where i will be staying; but Nic showed up and offered to take me now, rather than wait for 'whoever'. Grazzia said to meet her at the office at 10:30 tomorrow. ...i like these hours! Nic drove to the end of the road, parked and said, we will walk the beach from here.......... Nic carried my big bag and we walked in the sand past Ronnie's Barefoot Bar. note the sign ........... in case you can't see it: "make love not war .... HELL, do both, get married".
just a short distance down the beach and i saw Fort Saphrey.
right on the water ... nice sandy beach right in front !
no one was there, but i told Nic i would just wait .... he'd been nice enough to bring me here. i walked around, and soon a girl and a guy walked up the beach. they said the 'manager' was in the back ... further back than i had looked, i thought it was a separate property and didn't want to 'snoop'. i talked to the guy, Bennie from Australia, for a minute while his girlfriend, talked to the manager, Jimmy. eventually i introduced myself to Jimmy and he showed me a couple of rooms. the rooms upstairs, right on the beach had a shared bathroom. i chose a room back about 100yds with my own private bath. :) below the rooms on the beach is a shared kitchen that he will give me a key to; but offered to get me my own small refrigerator. the sink in the bathroom was leaking and he fixed that. the windows were stuck shut and i told him i wouldn't use his electricity for the A/C if i could get the window open for a breeze, so he got them open. the screen is torn, i put some duct tape on it, and immediately put up my 'safety net' to protect me from the bugs. there is a ceiling fan ... it's a room with a small window, but if i open the door, i get more light in .... this will be fine.
i got partially settled and went for a walk. this part of Roatan is what is called the 'West End'. it's on the west side of the island ......duhhhhhh., and where most of the Dive Shops are. but, it's not the most western point ... West Bay is at the western-most end of Roatan. the main road is not paved, it is sand, ...like Caye Caulker! yeah! they do have cars, vans, trucks here ... a few motorbikes; ... but they don't drive like they are at a speed track. THANK GOD! i won't feel like my life is in danger as i walk down the road, like i did in Utila! that was my main complaint about Utila ... they REALLY need to enforce a speed limit there, it truly is dangerous!
i checked out the menus of the restaurants that were open .... most are in US$ ... that's not a good sign! ... it is quite a bit more expensive than Utila. i could eat dinner for 120-140L in Utila ... here it will cost me 240-300L (US$6-7 vs US$12-15) ...and the worst part ... my US$1.25 rum and coke will cost me US$3-4! i'll be packing my rum here! i did find a nice place for fresh fruit smoothies for 30-45L here which was the same at Utila. could i live on smoothies? i came across the Booty Bar that was roasting a huge piece of beef on the grill. they were having a Sunday Special: Roast Beef, potatoes, mac salad, fresh bread for 100L ... that's where i'll eat dinner tonight. if i can find specials like that each night, i'll be ok! while walking around i saw Bennie from Australia again. he said he was going to Booty Bar for roast beef tonight and i could join him. he also mentioned that on Sat night, they have Roast Pork, also for 100L.. this is great news! i went back to my room, put on my swimsuit, and went for a swim right out front :) i like this! went to my room to shower and change for dinner. it is hot here, and the swim cooled me off some, but i was anxious for a nice cool shower. i turned on the water .... it's HOT! what? ...a HOT shower? i was shocked at my reaction .... i didn't want a hot shower, i wanted a cool shower, and there was only one handle... no way to make it cooler. this was so funny ... all the months here, using a cool shower, thinking it would be so luxurious to have a hot shower ... and now i have one, and i don't like it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! go figure!
i went to Booty Bar and Bennie was sitting inside at the bar with a friend. this guy had just been on a dive 120' down to a wreck, and found this bottle of booze that had been down there for 7 years, so he said. he poured me a shot and said i had to try it..... i put my tongue in it, and it was pretty horrible. here is a pic of Bennie (with hat) and the other guy and the bottle.
Bennie and i ate dinner. first time i've had beef here. you couldn't cut it with a plastic fork and knife. so we at with our fingers and pulled the meat apart. it wasn't very tender, but it did have a good flavor ... all in all a good meal. after dinner Bennie wanted to get a cinnamon roll with ice cream and showed me the best place. i passed on dessert, and went home. Ronnie's Barefoot Bar, right next door to my place, had a band tonight. i stood at the beach looking at all the stars ... awesome! went to my room and could still hear the band ... boom boom boom, loud and clear. i thought i was back in Utila listening to the Bar in the Bush! they finally quit about 10pm; at which time i could now hear the TV in the room next to me, ... some loud horror movie!!! i grabbed my ear plugs and turned off the light! i'm here ... in Roatan beginning a new adventure!
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