Port Royal in Roatan and the Pigeon Keys

Just the other day we were able to take an excursion to the East end of the island to visit Port Royal and Pigeon Keys. Our wonderful property managers from Viva Properties for Island Breeze were able to arrange this exciting day.  We were concerned that the weather might not cooperate, but we decided to take a chance and forge ahead.  It took an hour to drive to Oak Ridge where we met our guide from Mango Creek Lodge in Port Royal. You can drive to Port Royal but it is a long drive on a dirt road, while the trip by boat is only fifteen minutes over beautiful clear water.

Dock at BJ's Restaurant in Oak Ridge

 We met at BJ's restaurant. BJ is a long time resident of Roatan and a wonderful source of information on how the island used to be. She is also an important figure in the book "Roatan Odyssey" by Anne Jennings Brown which we have recently read.  It was a real treat to meet her.

Terry from Mango Creek Lodge

Terry from Mango Creek Lodge soon arrived and started us on our trip further East.  He entertained us with information and historical perspective on Oak Ridge and Port Royal.

 After reading Anne Jennings Brown's book, we were eager to see the areas where she lived, where the privateers careened their ships and buried their treasure.  At one point around 5000 people lived in this area supporting the privateers. The evidence of their presence can still be found in old rum bottles, sunken ships, and pottery. We passed by an old fort which had been destroyed by an overenthusiastic treasure hunter who detonated explosives in his search for gold.  He was unsuccessful.

Old Fort Destroyed by Treasure Hunters

Lodging at Mango Creek Lodge

I was hoping to be able to visit the home of Anne Jennings Brown, but was disappointed to learn the path was overgrown with vegetation.  If I have a chance to visit again, I will wear jeans and bring my own machete!! We spent some time visiting Mango Creek Lodge which specializes in Eco-tourism and fly fishing for permit, tarpon and bone fish.

Walter Our Boat Driver

Soon we were ready to travel by boat to our snorkeling destination. Walter the boat guide for our trip loaded the boat with a picnic tent, coolers with drinks and lunch, and us.Walter speaks an island style of English that is very reminiscent of Elizabethan English, somewhat difficult to understand but enchanting.  He explained the names of the islands as we passed by: Morat, Santa Elena, Barbareta and Guanja in the distance. Morat is uninhabited. No islander will spend the night there because of evil spirits called duppies. One house is on the island ---owned but unoccupied.  They say the owners won't stay there overnight either.  In fact from Port Royal on, islanders claim to see the blue lights of  duppies at night-- said to be spirits of privateers guarding their pirate treasure!

Barbareta Island

After a magical boat ride through the canals and mangrove cuts and across pristine turquoise water,  we spied the Pigeon Keys in the distance.  There are two tiny little cays sticking up and out of the water. Walter informed us that the larger cay had suffered a large loss of sand because of Hurricane Richard  in October which hit this end of the islands hardest.

Pigeon Cay

 We landed on a sandy beach and were able to walk around Pigeon Key in less than 5 minutes! The guys set up the cover for shade and Walter set out the coolers.  We enjoyed a special island meal of pasta salad and chicken with corn.  After lunch in this idyllic setting, we donned our snorkel gear and headed off to explore the reef. It was truly amazing with beautiful stag horn corals, brightly colored tropical fish and clear, clean water. We found conch shells, sea glass, and intricate broken coral washed  in close to the beach.

Steve and Jenny

Finally we had to leave the cay (key) to head back to Mango Creek Resort and the end of our day. Walter made one last stop on Fort George Cay to allow Jenny and I to beachcomb one last time.

Immediately she found a perfect babies ear!! (known here as a mermaid's ear) In just a few minutes we were able to find an abundance of tiny seashells. As we pulled up to the dock at the resort, Patrice's head popped up from the water where she had been herding the conchs.  Their resort is a sanctuary for the conchs and they try to keep them from leaving the area to protect them. It is a daily chore! If the conchs escape the bay, they are fair game for the islanders who harvest them for their meat.

BJ

As it was getting later in the afternoon and darkness comes quickly here, we traveled  back to Oak Ridge and our awaiting truck.  We took a few minutes to talk to BJ, buy a couple of books and have her autograph her picture.  It was an awesome day out on the beautiful waters of Roatan.  I hope to return and spend another magical day exploring this less visited area of  Roatan.


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