Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

Missing my friends and family on this Thanksgiving Day.  I'm not going to write a long blog today but just share some of the beautiful things we see here each day.  We did go snorkeling again yesterday but the batteries in the camera were exhausted so I didn't get to take pictures and we saw the most amazing fish, schools of them swimming around us, touching us, it was magical. Enjoy your day together with each other and know we are thinking of you. If you want to see some pictures of West Bay Beach on Sundays, the Meridian lighthouse beach down the lane from us, or interesting places in West End,  please just click the link below.  It will take you to a slide show.

http://picasaweb.google.com/gallown/RoatanThanksgiving?authkey=Gv1sRgCI-YkoOd-LOTcw#slideshow/5543501146044070578

Lempiras, Dollars, and Credit Cards

One of the first things we learned during our stay was the value of the local currency called the lempira. Lempira are always paper money; there are no coins to deal with. However, there are multiple denominations of Lempiras: one, two, five, ten, twenty, fifty, hundreds, five hundreds. You will find these bills accumulate very rapidly, but you never have the one bill you need.....I think it has something to do with Murphy and his laws.

 One  US dollar is about a twenty lempira bill.  The ones less than twenty would by like our coins. So 10 Limperas is about 50 cents and so on.  That's why they accumulate so rapidly and they do not like to take large lempiras for a small purchase.  100 Lempiras is just 5 dollars....it was a hard concept for me...math you know.

Generally in the tourist areas on the island, your bill (la cuenta) comes to you in US dollars and if you have dollars they will take them.  However, you will receive any change in "lemps" as they are called.
Now credit cards can be used on the island as well.  Not every business takes them and even if they do, you may or may not hit a day when the credit card machines are working.  For example if the internet is down, or the power is out, or it's raining or windy or.........so the best advice is be prepared with cash either Lempiras or dollars.

Now the question becomes...how do you get more cash?  Well there are ATM's and Banks.  The ATM's generally work but they give you cash in Lempiras.  There is a charge just like in the states, it may be a little higher because of the transfer in currency. You can only get about 5000 Lempiras at a time  which is about $250 US.  We always ask if the machine is working before we insert our card because we have heard of cards getting stuck and the like.  I would advise having a duplicate card available in case that happens.  It is also advisable to inform you banks and credit card companies that you will be traveling in Honduras.  The fraud alerts may be triggered the first time you try using your credit card if you haven't given them advanced warning.

Banks are another story. There are armed guards at the doors and they generally do not speak English and they have BIG guns.  They require you to turn off and/or turn in your cell phone which you then deposit in an outdoor locker.  No worries...they do have those big guns.... Usually there is a line inside the bank and since everything goes more slowly here, you just have to be patient.

After waiting and finally getting a teller who may or may not speak any English, you can try to change your American dollars for Lempiras....but you need identification in the form of your passport....or maybe not, sometimes they will take just your drivers license. Oh and forget about Travelers checks...I don't think I've ever seen one here are generally held for thirty days.

Taxes on the island are high...as much as 16 %.  Tipping may or may not be "incluida"...not as widely practiced on the island as in the states but most servers are very friendly and work multiple jobs to support themselves and their families.  They are grateful for whatever you want to give them.  You generally should give them the money rather than try to add it to your check. Many times you can't even do that. I have read that US $2 bills are  considered lucky and make good tips. Apparently lt is important to use only the newer printed US bills and ones with no tears. Go figure.
We have been able to do much of our banking and regular bill paying online...the internet is indeed a wonderful thing!

Critters We Live With

For quite a while now, early in the evening and again as the sun rises, Michael and I heard this very loud chirping sound.  We guessed it was some type of bird but were unable to spy it.  The other evening we were sitting in the living room watching TV when the loud chirping sound came again.  It seemed very close.  I looked over to the wall and there was some type of reptile singing his song! We have since discovered they are called House Geckos and are a brownish color and they often chirrup their disapproval or whatever!

The next critter on my list is a strange little rodent.  These little guys are pretty shy but when you are out and about early in the morning you find them grazing on the lawn or hopping down the road.  They are definitely  a rodent but about the size of a rabbit, and the likeness increased when we saw them hop off, we were intrigued.  After a little investigation we found  they are called Roatan Rabbits.

Then there are the leaf cutter ants....huge trails of ants each with a little leaf on their back...we step over them.

I'll skip tarantulas....haven't seen one but my neighbor has....yikes!  There are also boa constrictors but we haven't encountered any, thank you very much!

On the porch, there are anoles which are pretty green lizards with blue heads, larger then the green chameleons we see in Florida.  They are cool, and puff out their throats to show off.

My favorite critters are the hummingbirds.  They are always out and about, and have gotten so used to us they  fly right up to your head.  We can get inches away from them.  They come in the rain, when the wind is blowing, its the most amazing show.

But at twilight if you forget to bring in the hummingbird feeder, we are visited by fruit bats which can drain the sugar water in one night! We have to remember to close the front door...it doesn't have a screen and we don't  want any strange visitors!

There are iguanas but we have only seen them as road kill...sorry!
.....and then there are the monkey lala's

........got to order that drink soon!

Under Water Pictures

We were blessed with several days of extraordinarily beautiful weather after days of rain, wind and clouds.  We were determined to take advantage of these days before the rain returns.  This morning we snorkeled off the rock shelf as the seas were especially calm and visibility better because of the sunshine. It is a great place to snorkel with lots of fish but taking pictures is a challenge because it is so deep. It was also our first try with the water proof case for our digital camera.  That worked well but the pictures weren't the best. We decided to try Half Moon Bay Resort at West End.



 I have included a picture of what it looked like last week during the rain and then today.  Quite a difference!  You wouldn't know it was the same place.

  Getting into the water is easy and the water is much shallower than where we are.  We snorkeled for a long distance and got some neat shots of fish and coral.

We want to plan a trip off of a dive boat.  We have talked to several of them and they are very  positive that they take in places where it is equally fun to snorkel or scuba. 

The reefs close to shore are subjected to so much traffic from cruise ship passengers, run off from the town and rainwater runoff that they suffer some clarity.  We also want to snorkel off the East end of the island where the water is still pristine and breathtakingly beautiful we are told.

Cruise Days on West Bay Beach

It's been raining off and on for several days and yesterday was no different.  We decided to walk into West Bay Beach for lunch and the exercise since it wasn't a good day to snorkel.  We usually avoid cruise ship days but needed to get out and about so off we went.
If you come to Roatan a good pair of walking shoes will come in handy for the pathways and roads we walk are often muddy and slippery. We passed several groups of tourists with their guides who come into our community on the Iron shore for the scenic views and access to the rock outcroppings. They all looked to be enjoying themselves in spite of the cloudy skies.
Michael and I took a different road into West Bay Beach and it was certainly beautiful.  Lush hills covered in tropical plants would give tour groups a pleasant entry to the beach resorts further away from the little village at the bottom of the hill. We stopped at Fosters for a wonderful fresh fish sandwich and enjoyed talking with the server who was convinced the sun would soon come out.  Cruise days are very important for the resorts as business is slow right now.

We took off down the beach after lunch and the sun did indeed come out, the first time for several days.  The beach was like a big party with jet skis, banana float rides, live music and lots of vendors selling everything from DVD's to mahogany ice buckets. It's a carnival.

Besides Foster's we stopped and explored the Mayan Princess which is another large, popular beach resort. Our final stop was Infinity Bay where we often stop for coffee in the morning or lunch in the afternoon.  When I told the servers I was doing a blog on cruise days on the beach they insisted I include their pictures. So here they are:  Kerby and Nigel are funny and sweet.

We finished the circle by climbing back up the hill. We were able to do it with only one stop half way this time! We passed the Meridan development by the lighthouse and noticed there were salesmen on duty and decided to stop and take a look.  This development is just down the street from us and is quite beautiful, but because of the poor economy world wide, they are pretty much at a standstill.  However, they graciously invited Michael and I to make use of their beach and chairs while we are here on the island. We plan on taking advantage of that. This is a link to some additional West End and West Bay Beach pictures taken in the last several days. http://picasaweb.google.com/gallown/20101111West?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ69_rfb487CRg#

The Mud Hole Road Ride and More

 

It’s hard to believe we have been in Roatan for a whole month now.  We have tried to make every day a day to explore or discover something new.  So we created a list of things and places to see and do while on island.  One of the items on the list was to take a trip to to the Palmetto Bay Eco Resort and Complex.  This is one of the places  that had a house we were very interested in renting but we finally decided that it was probably a bit remote, to hard to get to restaurants, grocery stores, and shops without a car. Well that turned out to be an understatement! To get there you must leave the one and only paved road in Roatan and take an aptly named dirt road called “ The Mud Hole Road”.

There is a community named Mud Hole, but the road definitely fits the name as well. Blue Bay Plantation's Hydroponic farm is also along this road and that's where they grow the best lettuces I have ever tasted.  We plan to take a tour here....it's on the list.

We traveled this bumpy coastal road to Palmetto Bay Resort which  is a beautiful ecological destination but the bugs here are enormous! The resort is based on a Balinese style architecture and the area is lush and tropical with a wide flat beach.

It was raining softly when we left and we decided to forge head rather than retrace our rather muddy bumpy ride to this resort.  However this meant we would be climbing over the mountain ridge that runs down the center of Roatan to exit on the South shore near French Harbor. The four wheel drive has been broken for several weeks on the truck and we are waiting on a part from the states, so we would have to accomplish this with just regular two wheel drive. 

I thought we had entered the movie set for Jurassic Park.  The jungle palms and trees of various types were towering over the little narrow one lane dirt road.

 Lizards that looked like miniature dragons or velociraptors dinosaurs darted in front of the truck.  They stand up on their legs and their heads are adorned with a crest.  Amazing…I think the locals call them monkey lalas.  The road was steep, slippery and narrow and I was afraid we would have to back down the mountain.  We had to try one spot several times before we were able to make the climb.  The pictures just don’t show the perspective.

At one point we even herded goats with the truck.

We finally arrived at the top of the ridge and were rewarded with a beautiful view

After our drive we stopped for a late lunch on the beach and finally home to watch the nightly cruise ship boat parade passed the house. Another beautiful day on Roatan!!