17 Mar--Arrival at Roatan

Sat, 17 Mar ... i really need to figure out why my alarm doesn't go off sometimes! ... it was set for 4:40am, i woke up at 5:15 ... thank you to my Guardian Angel once again .....quickly stuffed the remainder of my things into my bag .... i haven't bought anything, but i can still hardly get the bag zipped up, ... my tuc tuc was right on time ....... Vern's catamaran left as planned; but the seas were not as planned, but only slightly rougher than forecast. i wonder if they are ever going to settle down! it was only me and 5 Canadians, so there was lots room. ... there are a lot of Canadians here! i stashed my bags at the Roatan Marine Park (RMP) and went to look for a place to stay. ...i'd spent a lot of time online and also emailing several different places, so i had a list. Vern also recommended another place, Mariposa. i checked there first. they had a nice private room w/shared kitchen for US$26/night ... i was hoping to find something cheaper. Georphi's was on my list. it is associated with Rudy's Restaurant, which i knew well from last year ... they have the best smoothies in West End :) ... it is also at the south end of West End, (not as far south as last year's place), but far enough away from Half Moon Bay central where it is very noisy at night. Michelle knew my name from my emails and started walking through the trees on a nice path up to the Dorm Rooms ... it's the farthest from the street up quite a hill ... and it's a GREAT location .... with a nice porch and a hammock .. one room has 3 beds and a kitchenette and the other has 6 beds and a refrig ... i'm in the 6bed room for US$10/night ... by myself at this point ... and am hoping it stays that way .... if a couple people show up, .... it will be WAY too crowded and i'll have to find someplace else .. but for now, it's perfect ! i mentioned that it was going to be along haul with my bags... but Michelle told me that the cab can drive right up to my building ... should be no more than 20-25L. so i walked back to find a taxi .... the first taxi i asked said that i needed to ask a 'collectivo' taxi to take me there ... i am familiar with them from last year, they are mini-vans that 'collect' people, and they pass by often taking people to and from other cities on the island. ...so i waited at the entrance to the village and watched the workmen mixing and dumping cement into this huge circular pad. i was told that it was the new bathrooms for the beach, and thought that was a strange place to put them .... right at the entrance to the village .... nice first impression :( ... each time i saw a collectivo, they motioned that another one would take me ... or the next one would take me .... or another 5 min ... this is crazy ! i waited, moderately patient, for 20min, telling myself i was really in no rush. but it became apparent that no one was going to take me. there was another taxi driver sitting on the sidewalk ... i asked him why won't anyone take me ... he said because the road is too bumpy!!!!!!! ...you can see in this photo that the rear of the van is almost touching the road while going into one of the holes in the road. this is a big thing in West End right now. they have sand streets, that do get rutty. .... i was here last year for the Town Meeting with the Mayor, where it was obvious it was a done deal ... not everyone is in agreement with this decision ...including me, after seeing what a paved road did for Utila! ...so they have been in the process of paving the road for months now ... it appears it will take YEARS .... this is a whole other chapter for a later date. so, i guess the taxi and collectivo drivers are protesting by not taking anyone down the road. i asked this taxi driver if he would take me ... he laughed and said no. i said, you are just sitting here, not making any money, i would pay you for 10min work ... then you can come back here and sit again. he wanted to know how much i'd pay him. i told him 50L .... he thought about it for awhile, then stood and said ok .... i thanked him profusely. Oscar was is name, and he stopped back at the Marine Park and helped me with my luggage. on the way to Georphi's he confessed that he only is taking me because he 'loved me' ... now i'm a little concerned that he knows where i live .... but i think he really mean't he 'liked' me.... Spanish to English translation. he said he would like to have an American friend ... i think that's what he said... anyway, we had to go up a very steep hill to get to my place, and i know he was hesitant to go up there, but he did; and helped me with my luggage again ... said it was a very nice place, ... i gave him 100L ... and then he left.... and i got settled in, with my 'safety net' in place ... i laid in the hammock for a few minutes ... but that was all i could do ... i wanted to go see if i could find Jimmy and Tita, the people who managed the place where i stayed last year. ... on the walkway right by my room, i saw this friendly guy .... i am missing Valentine ... i stopped in several times to see her before i left, but she was never there .... :( when i got down to the restaurant, i found this big hunk of a cat ... what a lazy one ... reminded me of Gordo Gato i found Ft Sapphrey much like i left it last year, ...but they weren't around. i had tried emailing and had asked RMP to call them for me, but neither of us could get through to them. another woman owns it now and has the rooms ready to rent, ... for US$35-45/night ... YIKES ... i paid US$250 for a month last year. glad i found Georphi's ... i started walking towards the center ... it was really noisy that way .... when i got there, i saw why .... they were grading the bumpy road ... Oscar and the rest of the taxi drivers should be happy now.... back at home, i met this other black and white kitty ... i met Axel, from Germany, who lives in the other half of the house; ...nice guy ... alone as well in his 3person dorm. he's also hoping to keep it that way. the sunset on the beach right out front ... in the evening i walked to The SunDowner, to hopefully meet up with Ron and Patricia, from Montreal, who i met last year through Marti. they were there and i got caught up on some of the latest gossip. ...there wasn't much of a sunset, and i almost missed it completely ... ...then i went to a little rooftop restaurant that advertised Ceviche To GoGo .. i asked them if i could 'stay stay' and they said of course. nice little place with WiFi, and good Mango Ceviche for US$6 ... not too bad a price for Ceviche .... only drawback to my new place is that they don't have WiFi up the hill this far ... i can go down to Rudy's Restaurant and use it there; but it's not the same as having it in my room .... so Skype-ing will be difficult ... because in the evening i will have to be at a restaurant where it will be noisy, (which was the case tonight) .... or sitting in the dark at Rudy's (coz they're closed at night) which will be buggy .... sorry Mom and Dad ! :( on the way home, i stopped at the Rotisserie Chicken Restaurant, right next door to my place, they were here last year and well known for their chicken, which is good at a good price .... they also had Coconut Cream Pie which i took back to my room with me :) ... and called it another good day !