la isla de roatan

i have had many "half ideas" for more thoughtful-type blog posts lately, but i'm going to start with updating you on our most recent adventure to Honduras' island of paradise, Roatan. Last Wednesday, September 14th we had a half day of school, in honor of Honduras (and most of the rest of CA's) Independence Day, which was September 15th. A group of about 21 foreign hire teachers reserved the EIS school bus (not a yellow bus. actually, more like an older more "used" version of a coach/shuttle bus sportin' a HUGE American Flag decal on the front windshield. i think it's there to provide some relief from the sun, but it also serves as an ever present reminder that 20 something "american"/canadian teachers are aboard and going somewhere pretty fancy). awesome. we boarded the bus at 12 from school, and drove all along the northern coast of Honduras, to a port city, La Ceiba, where we hoping to catch a 4:30 ferry to the island. at this point we were parting ways with some of our bus-mates who were heading to the "other" island, Utila :) and had to take a different ferry. if we missed the ferry, we'd have to stay overnight in Ceiba and try again in the morning. not such a poor deal after all since i've heard it said that: "in san pedro we work and in la ceiba we play". we couldn't find out whether or not that description proved true, since we (along with hundreds of other expectant hondurans) boarded the ferry on time and left for Roatan exactly at 4:30....actually we may have left late, since time is relative here. i hardly ever check my watch anymore. even scheduled events, like a school wide Independence Day parade, clearly communicated to begin at 8:20 am, will easily start 10 or more minutes early (or late), all you can do is be flexible :)

the ferry was pretty uneventful. thankfully. we heard HORROR stories of people getting "sick" all over the ferry, inside the main closed compartment, and outside off the balcony ledges. i was super nervous, as i frequently experience motion sickness. but, three dramamine tablets later i was passed out like a baby on that ferry. i woke up totally disoriented and remained that way the rest of the night. good thing we didn't have to think very much :) we did however have to call the resort that confirmed with us they'd pick us up from the ferry, only 9 of us at this point, since half of the roatan group rented the "mansion". after we waited a half an hour, and the ferry depot had completely evacuated except for a few confused crewmen, we knew we were in trouble. some cabbies approached us and promised that if we took their cab to Foster's Bay Resort, they would be compensated by the resort. we weren't so sure. thanks to my Moon Honduras guidebook, we had a few different numbers to try and call. none worked. then we used a friends "BB" to look up their phone number from the website. no luck. then a very kind ferry crewman pulled out a directory of the island and called that number instead. no answer. i must have called a half a dozen times before we realized: it was dark, we had no idea where we were (or where we were going), the ferry terminal was shutting down, and we had no other option than the cabbies patiently watching the whole situation unfold, ready to take action. so...we bartered to the best of our ability, not even understanding how long the taxi trip should take, and prayed that Foster's was waiting for us at the other end of that long, winding ride across the island. we made it, don't worry. :)

Foster's Bay Resort was a wonderful place to stay! Mr. Foster was extremely welcoming and accommodating. you would frequently hear him greeting newcomers with a kind, "welcome home". the morning after our first night in our beach front cabana, we realized that we were sharing our accommodations with dozens of bees and even more bats. i could hardly walk across the deck and down the flight of stairs without dodging several flying and swooping bats coming or going. needless to say, that was not going to work for me. Mr. Foster was wonderful. we "upgraded", free of charge, to another newer and more modern cabana, only about 20 more steps away from the beach front. This cabana had a large master bedroom with a california king sized bed, modern bathroom, decent living room and kitchen, loft second bedroom with balcony, and a wrap around porch set up with hammocks for swinging in the lazy afternoon sun. we enjoyed a couple of card nights with our roommates, sara and mike, playing "up and down the river". they couldn't get enough of it! we lounged in the hammocks, thanks to larm for our sweet wedding present, we had our own! mike made us a delicious tuna and salmon salad for sandwiches, so we could enjoy a nice home cooked lunch each day. staying at Foster's was almost story-less, but leave it to our next door neighbors to give us some late night "entertainment", better yet, the hibbie jibbies as we lived in such close proximity to them for 4 long nights. enough said on that. :)

our hotel was in the West Bay of Honduras, home to the most premiere beaches on the island, and the second largest barrier reef in the world! we had plenty of time to lay in the sun, swim in the crystal clear, turquoise, warm waters of the caribbean, snorkel amidst a literal maze of intricate coral and multi colored fish, jump off two-story docks, take leisurely walks down the beach front, and sample delicious meal after delicious meal during our four days in paradise. happy hour ran daily from 4-6 pm, and my favorite by far was the "monkey lala", recommended by our neighbor in SPS, Jackie. it's like the island's equivalent to a mudslide, but world's better! thursday night was lobster night, so jason and i both tried lobster tails for the first time. delicious! we loved the island's version of rice and beans. wish i would have asked for the recipe. soooo yummy!! each morning we savored every bite of a breakfast baleada with eggs and bacon. tocino, rather. mmm!!! man have i missed bacon! and we ended the week in style, half off shrimp night. as you may have guessed, jason looked forward to this meal all week! coconut shrimp made from fresh coconut based batter is indescribable (or so he let me know) :) gluten free was hardly an option. another night we ate yummy, but very, very rare, tuna caught by some of our friends earlier that day.

don't worry... we did far more than just eat. :) our co-workers and bus-mates, who rented "the mansion", hosted a bbq/pool party one night. they had a large infinity pool, equipped with waterfalls and overlooking another gorgeous bay on the island. i compared it in my mind to a destination from "the bachelor". :) don't judge. we also rented scooters for 24 hours, and were able to explore more of the island that way. we drove down the main highway through a couple of other towns, spending most of our time in the West End. this is likely where we'd stay if we ever returned to roatan, it's significantly cheaper, has a greater variety of restaurants and things to do. there was an international fishing tournament going on when we were there, and we were able to see the 50 lb tuna caught by the contestants. incredible! we had delicious pad thai, reviewed as the best thai in honduras, at "Tong's", and breakfast one morning at Rudy's: cheese and bacon omelet, and banana pancakes, respectfully. i'll let you guess who ate what :) both of us were well-fed! back to the scootin' though. it was crazy fun to have the wind blowing through your hair, and taking the curves of the road in stride. don't worry mom, we both wore helmets. the helmet didn't do much good though, when i took a spill in the mud. the mud provided the best cushion of all :) remember it's rainy season here? and if you've ever been to latin america, you understand the quality of the roads. well, we were scootin' through a very hilly neighborhood, on the hunt for the best monkey lala in all of honduras, at Luna Beach, when we came upon one long stretch of thick, brown, gooey mud. the bike wobbled like crazy. it's extremely heavy and difficult to maneuver. as long as you're maintaining speed, balance is okay, but enter mud in to the equation and i didn't stand a chance. fortunately, i had asked jason to get off the bike a few minutes earlier, thinking it would make it easier for me to control, not easy enough :) a local passerby, kind enough to help me up, felt it necessary to remind me to "conduce mas depacio y cuidadate!" thanks, got that. :) don't worry, no broken bones this time (i don't think).. just some crazy bruises and hurt pride. i got back on the horse later though, and battled my fears of falling again. truthfully, i was MUCH more comfortable as the driver, than as the passenger :) surprised?

okay, i think that about covers the highlights... sunday we had some final beach time, before returning to the ferry and then bussing from la ceiba to san pedro. we showered and literally fell in to bed. monday morning was rough, this morning a little easier. if only we didn't have to work so much, there are so many opportunities to play :)