Walking Around Roatan

I mentioned that Michael and I had given up our truck “The Trooper” for the last month of our living here on Roatan. 

We were inspired to try life without a vehicle after observing numerous visitors in the villas functioning quite well without a car or truck.  We also wanted to see how much using taxis (both land and water) compared with the cost of a monthly rental.  We are keeping a log of our transportation expenses.  Everyone in the neighborhood seems to miss our comings and goings now.  We always announced our arrival and departures with very loud squeaks and groans from the truck.  At first everyone thought we were just gone all the time and were leaving us notes on the porch when we were just on the upper deck!

We have found that most locations in the West End of the Island are easy to get to just by walking.  We can carry our sand chairs and snorkel gear with no problem.  We can also grab a water taxi in West Bay Beach to go to West End for restaurants and sightseeing. In fact tomorrow we are going with friends to eat lunch at the Blue Bahia in Sandy Bay.  To get there we will walk into West Bay Beach, catch a water taxi to West End then catch a local van/bus to Sandy Bay.  Total cost one way would be $3.50. 

There is also a nice deli in West Bay Beach where we can get simple things like milk, juice, deli meats and other things and the local vegetable truck comes through the neighborhood offering a variety of things.

There are also lots of folks we know that want to share the cost of a taxi to go out, or they have transportation and offer us a ride for groceries or rides up the hill.  So in general, it seems that a vehicle is great for exploring the island , but is awfully expensive to just have sitting in the parking lot. The other positive is all that wonderful exercise we get from walking up and down the hills.

We have just less than three weeks before we head home.  I am trying to enjoy every second and to impress my memory with all the wonderful sights and smells we see every day.  Life on Roatan is special. For example, on Sunday some of the local men had a soccer match on the beach. They play hard and fast and you best move your chair out of the way or you may find yourself in the middle of the game.

Roatan has a way of grabbing you and folding you into the island way.  I love it here.