Honduras 2008
Posted on September 11, 2008 by aaronredbaron
I arrived on the Island of Roatan Honduras Sunday August 31, 2008 in the early afternoon. I got myself set up at the resort and set out to explore. The resort I stayed at, the Henry Morgan, was designed to cater to the needs of Italians (a charter service provides direct flights from Milan, Italy to Roatan, Honduras). The food, activities and atmosphere at the Henry Morgan were designed to make Italians feel at home. Most of the guests at the resort were young Italian couples in large groups, and they made it clear that they did not appreciate Americans being in their presence. One man from Italy gave me a dirty look as he walked past and blew his cigarette smoke in my face. Another young Italian couple moved tables in the dining area when I sat in their general vicinity. Despite the few unfriendly people I ran into, the rest of the island was paradise.
The first day I was on the Island I explored West Bay, where the Henry Morgan is located. West Bay is a very touristy beach lined with resorts. Most of the resorts have a private beach area that extends down to within a few feet of the water. People walk up and down the beach from one resort to another, exploring the various bars, music, diving shops etc. Roatan is known for being one of the best places in the world to go snorkeling or scuba diving. The entire island is surrounded by reef, and you only need to swim directly out from the beach to find incredible underwater treasures. The water is crystal clear; you can see 30 feet or more underwater, and in many places the reef is only submerged a few feet. At the far west side of West Bay beach the reef seems to come right up out of the water and extend on shore some ways. After lathering up with “waterproof, and sweatproof” sunscreen, I walked the half mile or so down the beach from the Henry Morgan to get the best snorkeling in West Bay. The reef starts just offshore, and you can navigate around the reefs watching numerous kinds of fish less than 50 feet from the beach, in water no deeper than 10 feet. I was surprised how easy it was to find life right on the beach, even in areas with no reef. Most of the fish were rather colorful; blues, yellows, greens, and more made the underwater scenery interesting and life easy to find. After snorkeling no more than an hour and a half and despite another coating of “sunscreen” I was burned to a nice lobster red color. My forearms, face, neck and legs were fine, but as my farmer’s tan indicates, I do not often expose my midsection to the sun. By mid-day Monday I was burned so bad despite re-applying the sunscreen more often than the bottle prescribed that I decided I could no longer afford to expose myself to the sun. The remainder of my trip I swam wearing a T-shirt and did not go out without cover.
By Tuesday I felt like I had seen enough of West Bay and wanted to get out and see the rest of the Island. I rented a scooter and hit the road. Renting the scooter was easily the best thing I did, as getting mobile gave me freedom to explore. The roads on Roatan are decent, but I had to be very aware of other drivers as the double yellow line in the middle of the road does not seem to have any meaning. Drivers will pass on narrow mountain roads with blind turns looming and not think twice about it. Despite my healthy fear of other drivers, I cautiously ventured out and found my way around. I found West End, a community less than 5km from West Bay. West Bay is the kind of place you would want to go on your honeymoon, but West End is more suitable for a young bachelor like myself. Where West Bay is mostly couples and families, West End is an international mix of people who are Scuba diving, fishing, and just partying. The atmosphere is more natural and is more conducive to meeting people from around the world as well as local. Tuesday night I hung around the Henry Morgan and talked with the musician, a man who goes by Mr. Texas.
I hit the road early Wednesday to explore as much of the island as I could. I got about halfway down the island to the Iguana farm where a small piece of property is home to an estimated 4,000 Iguanas. The Iguana farm also has a small aquarium with a sea turtle, a lobster, several barracuda and tarpin. The Iguanas are very tame and allow you to pet them, but they are pretty aggressive with each other over food. On my way back from the Iguana farm I stopped in West End for lunch and a beer at one of the coolest bars I have ever been to. After eating and relaxing a while I went snorkeling. I had to swim past the breakers at the opening of the bay to get to the best area, but the swim was well worth it. I swam for a while with a sting ray, a school of zebra fish, a school of squid, and I saw all kinds of multi colored fish. I was surprised how much sound the reef made. It made a sound akin to rice crispies when you first pour the milk.
Wednesday night I went back to West End to try to meet some people. I ended up hanging out for the night with some European women, and we went to several bars in West End. The atmosphere there is really fun, laid back, and if I were to have another chance to go back to Roatan, I would definitely want to stay in West End. On Thursday morning I returned the Scooter and got on a puddle jumper headed inland. I took one flight to Le Seiba, changed planes and went to San Pedro Sula, and then changed planes again for the final flight to Tegucigalpa. Flying on TACA airlines was an experience to say the least. After flying all over Honduras in small turbo prop planes without air conditioning I was ready for an afternoon nap.
When I arrived in Tegucigalpa, I went straight to the Hotel and took a nap. A group of younger flyers including John from San Pedro Sula and Miguel and Richard showed us around and took us to some of the night clubs. I spent most of the weekend hanging out with Bobby Watts, and Garrett Morrison. Justin Chi was in attendance again, and he is a fun kid to be around. It is really weird to have an intelligent conversation about RC helicopters with a 6 year old. He has opinions about things, ideas, and he wants to touch and work on everything. I always enjoy the food, and this year did not disappoint.
For full coverage of the Iguana Cup model event, watch for coverage in RC Heli Magazine.
