We flew out on a 6 a.m. flight in 20 degree temps with a plane that had to be de-iced. Sage was happy though because she finally got to experience business class. All three kids have experienced it so now the hope is they will be inspired to continue to make good decisions, work hard in school, attend college, and find a good job so they can experience it again because starting with our flight back it was Jack and I in the front...kids in the back...
Before our departure I had seen a weather system was working it's way towards Roatan, which I was not happy about! Sure enough, the day after we arrived we awoke to a wet, grey day but thankfully the sun still managed to come out and of course the temps were still warm! Although the snorkeling those first few days wasn't optimal by the second half of the trip we had great weather and much better snorkeling. Once again we are reminded that traveling during the "best weather" time is no guarantee for "best weather". Moving forward I think we have decided that traveling when it's convenient will trump traveling when the weather should be best. There's just no guarantee...and we could save a lot of money!
Based on my research I had decided not to rent a car for this trip. The roads in Honduras are known for being pretty bad, the cars you rent kind of iffy and between water taxis and regular taxis you had ways to get around if you wanted to. For the most part I think this was a wise choice but it did feel strange being on this island and having not spent any time touring around it. Daily schedule on vacation: swim, snorkel, eat, repeat! But here are a few more details of our week...
Within minutes of checking in to the hotel Sage was in her swimsuit heading to the pool. I have to say I love these early flights that have us on the beach by noon! Jack and the boys were also excited to head out and test the snorkeling and Connor's GoPro. He had gotten it for Christmas and had been patiently awaiting a trip to use it snorkeling. While I was watching Sage in the pool another mom was watching her daughter. As it turned out this girl was Sage's same age and this family had also just arrived at the resort. We became fast friends and as it turned out they had a son the boys' same age too! This family really became one of the highlights of our trip! Jack had an extra person to head out snorkeling with him, the kids had playmates, and I had a new friend to chat with. It's so nice when you meet a family that you have so much in common with and everyone gets along so well. They are from DC and like us love to travel. They were even able to locate us in the Atlanta airport as we were getting ready to depart to Cincy and they had just arrived from Roatan. We'll look forward to crossing paths again soon with them!
On our first morning we awoke to rain but that wasn't about to prevent the kids from hitting the pool! Of course even with the rain a few of us ended up with sunburns as the sun decided to join us in the afternoon and boy was it a blazing!!! Poor Ty got torched. Later that night we headed to a resort up the beach called Bananarama where on Sunday nights there are crab races, live music and fire dancers. We loved the idea behind the crab races. We each selected a crab from a big bucket of crabs that are id'd. The money donated for each crab goes to a local children's charity. Between the nine of us at dinner not one of ours won (clearly they got to our table after all the good crabs had been picked...lol). But in the end, the kids of the orphanage won with all the money that was raised which was a great thing!
Here's a few shots from Monday, our second full day!
By Tuesday I had my fingers crossed we'd wake up to a bright sunny day! Unfortunately the sporadic downpours of rain were still lingering around. We had to laugh on this morning because when we left to snorkel the skies were cloudy but not bad. By the time we returned we got caught in this massive rain storm! Literally the beach was totally cleared and Jack and I the only ones in the water. Then within a couple hours the skies cleared again and we did some kayaking. It was typical tropical weather and probably a good thing as we all had gotten our fair share of sun and couldn't imagine applying more sunscreen than we already were!
Before arriving in Roatan I had read about the Banana Donut Man. Supposedly this man walks up and down the beach selling homemade donuts that his wife makes daily. Everyone raves about him online. Finally I saw this man that fit the description with a plastic container full of something he was selling. I approached him and asked if he happened to be the Banana Donut Man. Of course he was. I asked him when he'd be returning to this part of the beach because I wanted to grab some money to buy some. He assured me he'd be back but insisted I take a donut to try. One donut probably weighed as much as a loaf of bread and it wasn't as sweet as I had expected but they were fresh and warm. Later that night on our way to dinner we found him on the beach. Of course the kids insisted we had to buy a bunch more for breakfast the next morning. So here is Sage with the Banana Donut Man!
On Tuesday night we hit Bite on the Beach for dinner. The food was so fresh and good and they also fed the eels after the sun went down which the kids loved watching. I could have done without the reminder though that each day when I'm snorkeling these nasty creatures are hiding in the coral...yuck! Of course we had to get a group shot with the family that had really helped to make our vacation as great as it was! They were departing to another hotel in the morning but we were hopeful we'd see them again!
After returning from dinner Tyler and Natt headed out for a night swim in the pool where apparently they played pranks on people walking by. They wanted to soak up their last bit of time together...
So by Wednesday I was certain we'd wake up to sunny skies. Even my trusted Accu weather said it would be a perfect day. It had been accurate the whole trip so why would it fail me now?!? I had booked an all day excursion with Bay Island Adventures a day earlier which was to take us out to several snorkeling spots, a beach break, and lunch on Pigeon Cay. We'd also end up circling the whole island by boat which I was excited to see. The morning started with us all huddling under cover at the pier until a massive rain storm passed. Once it passed we all loaded on the boat optimistic that the weather reports would prove accurate. At first it felt like we were heading right into another storm but after a couple snorkel spots we could see the sun, and finally we could see more blue in the sky than gray. We had a great day and thankfully that bad weather was the last bit of rain we saw on the trip! We were amazed at how clear the water was though at the snorkeling spots considering all the rain. We were especially impressed with all the beautiful sea fans! I see why Roatan is a favorite for snorkelers. The coral truly is amazing and it is so accessible.
Before booking this trip I knew that we'd be traveling during Semana Santa. This is Holy Week and apparently the biggest holiday in Central America, like even bigger than Christmas. We were told that Roatan is a favorite spot for the Hondurans on the mainland to travel to during this week and to be prepared as we would probably really start to notice the crowds by Thursday! On Thursday morning things looked peaceful still. Jack did some snorkeling while I floated on the tube. It was great because he'd pull me around as he snorkeled and I just relaxed and enjoyed the ride. Sure enough Thursday afternoon you could see the beach getting more and more crowded. It hadn't occurred to me that the reason there were so many crowds was also in part due to the fact that many businesses start to close down mid week during Semana Santa so all those people can hit the beach. Thankfully, one of the resort employees alerted me that the zip line place would be one that would close for Good Friday so she arranged for us to be picked up a couple hours later! It worked out perfectly because by the time we arrived to South Shore the cruise ship people had already come and gone so we had two guides and a whole jungle to ourselves. The guides were great, and the views out to the water were quite impressive. It wasn't as hard core as the ones in Puerto Vallarta but here they gave the kids the option of doing "Superman" and hanging upside down which they loved! It was so much fun!!! By the time we returned from zip lining Semana Santa was alive and well on West Bay Beach!!! Jack actually went out to snorkel while I people watched on the beach and although it's hard to make him out snorkeling in the sunset photo, it was him I was actually trying to photograph!
Friday was our last full day! I was certain we'd walk out to the beach and it would already be packed, especially after how busy it was yesterday afternoon but thankfully it was empty and quiet. I asked one of the security guys who works at our resort if he had any recommendations of someone we could pay to take us out to do some off shore snorkeling. He lined up a couple guys who took us out for a couple hours that morning. The stops I wanted to see were Blue Channel, Spooky Channel and Starfish Alley. I had read about them but had no idea how far away they were but that's what these guys were for! So off we went in their old water taxi. They were super nice guys. One drove and the other acted as our guide at each snorkel stop. We would have been fine without the guide but I think he felt more comfortable being in the water with us. They had taken a group out earlier in the week and apparently none of them knew how to swim. He said it was quite the experience as they both had to be in the water assisting...lol! Anyways, if I could redo this trip in any way it would have been that I would have hired more water taxis throughout the week to take us out. The water on this day was crystal clear and it's really cool to see different parts of the reef. We loved Blue Channel. There seemed to be many more barracuda and larger fish out there.
We had already made plans to get together with Chris, Caroline and the kids after we returned from our snorkel. They wanted to come back for one last hurrah and snorkel. The kids all played, we got in a snorkel and the weather was perfect. After lunch Ty and Natt went out on their own for a final snorkel. We got a little nervous as the boys were gone for quite some time but they had seen all sorts of cool stuff! Plus they were on a mission to get a cool photo of Natt snorkeling with his fencing shirt on so they could bring that back for his coach as part of a team thing they do when they travel. I'd say Ty did quite well capturing him with the sting ray in the background! Later, we all got cleaned up and met in West End for our last supper at the Roatan Oasis which btw had great food! We had hired the same guys that took us out earlier on our snorkel to taxi us to West End. They were punctual and dependable! We were absolutely shocked though to see how packed the beach was as we departed West Bay! Holy Week = Holy Moly!!! Usually when we vacation people comment on our photos wondering if we were the only ones on the island! I don't think anyone would say this on this trip! Granted there were times we had the beach to ourselves but wow!
Although Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world we felt very safe there. It's clear the locals of Roatan depend on tourism so they'll do anything to make certain their island is safe and their tourists feel safe! Whether in the water, on the beach, at the resort or roaming the streets, we felt safe. We also found the people working in Roatan to be some of the nicest people we've ever met.
I'm really glad we finally took a gamble on Roatan. The reef that surrounds the island is the second largest in the world which is why divers and snorkelers from all over come to see it. Although we did not find the fish count to be as high as other places (which could have been due to timing, weather, and even crowds) we found the coral formations to be stunning and in better shape that many places we've been to. We had a great time, made new friends and will have lasting memories.
Until next time...
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