Nice place for a rest.
A week ago we left Fantasy Island in the French Harbour and
sailed 18 miles to another part of the Roatan Island called West End. Friends,
Sandi and Patrick, aboard s/v YachtCruz sailed with us and Brian aboard s/v
Molly followed behind. Sandrine and Eric had guests from New York aboard their
vessel and left for Cayo Cachinos the day before us.
Arriving in West End, we were pleased to see three sets of
friends we’d previously gotten to know in Guana and French Harbour. So
naturally that evening we rondevued at a
local establishment. Cruisers typically
don’t need a reason for getting together for a sundowner, but we used our
arrival as an excuse anyhow.
The anchorage area is full of reefs all around. In fact
anchoring is not allowed. Visitors must use one of the many mooring balls
provided and since the town has a vested interest in protecting the reefs for
the many tourists, there is no charge for the mooring balls.
The snorkeling and diving is wonderful. Dozens upon dozens
of fish of all shapes, sizes and colors swim around. And to them we are just
another large sea creature. We spotted many lobster, conch, barracuda, an eel
and a lion fish. Jimi took a short video. You can watch it here: https://vimeo.com/101056574
The restaurant we tie our dinghies to offered to let us
girls do our yoga upstairs in the morning before they open. With a nice breeze and free from no-see-um
bugs, we loved it. After yoga we got in the habit of sitting at the bar
drinking a glass of cranberry juice or orange juice.
We heard an announcement over the radio that hundreds of
whales were spotted outside the reef. Jimi immediately jumped in the dinghy,
grabbed Eric and his guess, Kevin and headed to the sighting. Unfortunately,
they never found the whales, but fortunately they stumbled upon a sailboat, anchored and heeled
over with a bent mast. Someone made it into a floating jungle gym. A platform
was built and a rope attached to the top of the mast allows fun-doers to swing
and plunge into the water. The guys had a blast, however, quickly determined
they were much too heavy for the swing and their plunge came entirely too soon.
A floating jungle gym.
There’s a road that runs along the beach which is lined with
restaurants, bars, shops, vegetable stands and so much more. The area caters to
the large cruise ships. From our perspective, it takes away from the true
Honduran culture. Still it’s nice to enjoy the cool blue waters and an
occasional social cocktail overlooking the ocean.
Bottles found on the ocean floor covered in coral.
Hammocks over the water.
The sign screams tourist marketing - but I like the sign anyhow.
A view of serenity.
Wow - buffet by the pound. This is the lunch price. Evening it changes to $7.
Really?
We took a colectivo, which is a form of public transportation,
to the town of Coxen Hole. It’s basically what we know of as a minivan. Folks
seeking transportation will stand on the side of the road until the small bus
drives up. The driver stops, the passengers board and the driver continues. The
rule of thumb is- there’s always room for one more, no matter how full the bus
is. The cost is 25 lem per person, which is about $1.25.
Not knowing the area, we missed our drop off point and ended
up downtown at the bus station. Not to worry though, we walked a pleasant six
or seven blocks to the grocery store, which gave us a chance to see a little of
the area. We wish we’d had more time to be able to explore some of the stores
and true Honduran culture.
After getting our groceries, we waited for a colectivo to
come around. But we gave up when a taxi offered to take us back to West End for
only 100 lem ($5). Yes, it was a little more expensive, but a much quicker ride
and an entire truck for our four large bags of groceries.
YachtCruz left just a couple of days after we arrived and
Molly left the following day. Eric and Sandrine show up two days after we did.
For a short period the gang was together again. However, for us it’s time to
move on.
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