For my birthday, Josh and I went to the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras. Despite the geographic proximity it is actually quite difficult to get there because TACA the evil monopoly usually charges an arm and a leg. This time it was just an arm so we seized the opportunity.
Due to the islands' history, there is a mix of English and Spanish spoken, and a plethora of accents within those groups. The islands have been controlled by the British, Spanish and Dutch for periods before becoming part of Honduras. In recent years, a lot more mainlanders have been coming to the Bay Islands for work opportunities, making for a continually changing dynamic. I was really impressed by the relaxed relationship we witnessed between locals, expats and tourists.
We flew into Roatan and stayed in the West End. The town's main road is basically a continuation of the beach and is bordered by bars, hotels, restaurants, dive shops and of course pulperias (corner stores). We stayed at this great place called Posada Arco Iris which is run by an Argentinian couple and is part hotel, part delicious Argentinian Grill. The weather was not great the first day but we were content because we discovered THAI FOOD. After a 4 month separation from one of my favorite cuisines, even just OK thai made me blissfully happy.
The next day we set sail from Roatan to Utila with Captain Vernon on his 39' catamaran. It was about 4 hours and great to be on the water. We met a bunch of nice people on the boat who we then saw about 20 times over the course of our stay in Utila (to give a sense of scale). Utila is much smaller than Roatan and we found it to be really charming. It's known as one of the most affordable places to dive/learn to dive and attracts a backpacker crowd. It was super friendly and laid-back. We had a lot of fun biking around the island on our decrepit rental bikes!
We sailed back to Roatan after 2 nights on Utila. Highlight of our last day was definitely snorkeling. The reef is very close to shore, huge and full of life. Because most people dive there we pretty much had it all to ourselves! The lowlight was seeing what happens to West End when cruise ships come to Roatan - very scary. Luckily, it's not an everyday event but still...I hate cruise ships!
An important observation: Honduran beer is better than Nicaraguan beer.
Breakfast at Cafe Mariposa (beignets, cappuccinos)
Bike ride to the Utila airport. If you look closely, you will see Lily, her bicycle, a herd of cattle, and the one airplane resting on the strip.
Dinner.
Sunset at Halfmoon Bay, West End, Roatan.
beautiful bday vacation!
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