This is Roatan, Honduras.
An island just 2 miles wide and 28 miles long in the western Caribbean.
I stayed here for two weeks in August, 2012.
I will be sharing some of my experiences of my stay.
My friend picked me up at the airport after the required customs and immigration checks. He handed me a map of the island so he could point out the various spots, stops, do's and don'ts while heading eastbound on only the only paved road on Roatan. Our first stop was at a gas station where he bought some cell phone time. An attendant sells little $5.00 scratch cards that have a secret number you load into your phone for minutes. We then went around the corner to a small super market called Eldon's. Fully stocked with familiar staples and delightful unknown treasures we picked up some items for a dinner planned the next day.
About 4 miles from the store we took a right turn off on to a concrete drive about 100 feet long that transitioned to nicely graded dirt road. We then entered the life and reality of two folks living their dream. After a mile of twists and turns, up and down gullies and washboard gravels the road meanders by cattle,
chickens, iguanas, birds and jungle. The jungle forest is made up of dense oak forest and thick brush and vines.
Rounding a turn, typical island houses peak out from clearings in the forest. Wood sided and usually on posts or struts the homes look ordinary in function and placement. Front and back yards are unfenced in most places. The jungle is the border. Some homes are buried deep in the jungle where parking becomes problematic.
Many homes show modern or contemporary design, some look like cabins around a mountain lake in the States. My friend makes one last turn down a steep hill and comes to a gravel drive between two trees. This is their entrance. A heavy duty chain is stretched and padlocked between two large trees. We unlocked the chain and drive up a serpentine drive to their home.
Atop the 3 turn drive the home rises above a large knoll. Sitting on 15 foot concrete and wood posts with white top and sides is their beloved Castle. So unique and strange it looks almost circus-like. A cupcake with frosting sitting on tooth pick legs. It is a joyous sight. It beckons with festivity!
This is where I stayed.
My friends had a dream of living as close to nature as possible and they came up with this.
It's a yurt.
Modeled after the Mongolian ger and the Turkish uy,
it has sufficient strength to withstand hurricanes.
The interior has most modern conveniences but, no air conditioning.
I had hot and cold running water,
a fridge, coffee pot and stove.
The shower is the structure on the deck to the right of this picture and it is open to the sea
but blocked from the driveway.
Nature provided the many faces of weather during my stay.
As threatening as this looks,
this became a gentle steady rain lasting for several hours. A distinct line between the light colored water and blue-black nothingness. Behind the dense layer is the unseen Sun to the East so it must be a powerful pulse in the heart beat of this dynamic weather.
However, it slowly lightened and the clouds promised rain. And rain it did! That was refreshing as the
temperature cooled and the cistern topped off.
The concrete, grass topped structure below is the cistern. Rain gutters on the yurt direct the rain water here for everything except drinking.
The deck rises above the jungle canopy, affording delightful views of the Caribbean.
The yurt sits on the top of a cleared knoll about a quarter mile from beach.
When we climb the ramp with my bags and the groceries my friend's wife greets us. She was accompanied by two dogs. One greets without judgment and the other with suspicion. Tye is a 3 years old Shepard mix who is bright and instantly loving with a wagging appendage. The other is Beau, the bob tail. He is slow to like me but seeing the attention Tye is getting nuzzles up to me for an approving pat on the head. Beau is a brute of a dog. Solid in fiber and muscle.
A main reason for my stay was to care for these two loyal dogs.
Beau:
and Tye:
Tye woke me up every morning at 4:30 AM.
I didn't understand why until I went out on the deck.
Tye was telling me to get my camera gear set up, so I wouldn't miss the sunrise.
So early-on the dogs had me under their control.
I became grateful for their attention to detail.
The next morning the sunrise
was intensely beautiful.
The mainland of Honduras is 40 miles across the sea from Roatan.
Storms pop up every afternoon
giving me a great excuse not to turn on the TV.
The sky is......well, almost indescribable. With blues, turquoise and shades, many shades of each. Whites, grays and darkness to the East. It was so dark and ominous that is was frightening.
I had First Class Seating.
On Wednesdays cruise ships pass just off shore.
My hosts left for the States and I was on my own to explore and enjoy this treasured life style. The dogs and I are a team now and we took daily runs down to the beach. We found steps made by artisans from not bricks or stone. Instead they used fist sized blocks of coral found in the shallow water.
Here the dogs met doggie boy and girl friends and I had a chance to explore the water with mask and fins. The water at the middle wave (above) is only 8 inches deep. Just beyond that wave the seafloor gently slopes for about 50 yards to 30 feet. At the third wave the seafloor gives way to a vertical wall that plummets to beyond 300 feet. It plummets as in a wall. A vertical drop to a sea trench which bottoms out at around 2000 feet.
The water here is teeming with life, fish of every color and size from teeny tiny to a 4 foot long barracuda. He followed me like a canine friend. He followed as if curious about my intentions. Anemones and coral creating creatures packed in tight quarters as living apartments they tower or spread low over the floor. I can't wait to go tank diving while I am here.
Here is the Subway Dive Shop's Turquoise Bay location on the Northeast part of the island.
This is one of the boats getting ready for a dive. The boat ride takes 8 minutes to get to one of the many sites around the island.
Folks from all around the world come to Roatan to attend dive school. I met students from Italy, Australia, South Africa and the United States. An 8 week course takes the students from beginner to Dive Master and Dive Instructor. The students live together in a dormitory like setting. This is one of their classrooms.
I don't own a dive housing for my camera so I haven't included photos of my dives.
However, we have all seen beautiful photos on TV. Here, I will just let you imagine. There is a fish here that defies description. I saw them on my first day of snorkeling and on every tank dive. They are about 1 to 2 inches long. And black. Not jet black, not midnight black. India ink black will not describe this color or lack thereof. Maybe that is the best way; 'without any light', black. Interstellar black. But when one recovers from trying to understand this inconceivable feature, there is more. These fish have evenly spaced ultra-day-glow blue dots. This blue goes on the list of, "how blue?" It's a neon blue that pierces the eye; being on the black of blacks. This fish sports colors that are not duplicated elsewhere in nature. It's a world class paint job that multi-national companies would go broke trying to duplicate. I learn later that this little fish is an immature damsel fish. Stunning.
The next morning the sky put on another show for me.
The entire sky had something to offer this morning. From the this view, to overhead and to the West and the sunbeams continued.
Life on the deck afforded a connection with nature. The hummingbirds would zip around just inches from my head if their feeder was empty. When the feeder was full they put on an air show to rival the Air Force's Thunderbirds.
This little guy just got worn out after all the frivolity.
On the ground I had to really pay attention.
Iguanas lurked out of the jungle and crept into the clearing.
Here is one of his buddies.
At sunset that evening I was graced with a subtle display of nature.
Later that night the clouds vaporized and the Moon was absent.
The island is very narrow and one is never far from the water.
Boats, docks and piers peek out of the jungle.
The pier below was designed to handle large boats but the water is too shallow.
So now it sits unused as the environment reclaims the structure.
Around every turn a break in the forest will offer up views that dreams are made of.
This little guy below was so friendly that he invited me in. I declined when I notice the machetes near the porch.
The photo below was taken on the East end of the island. I only came here twice during my two week stay. It is busier as the airport and cruise ship docks are nearby.
Some docks didn't beckon as they were rather rickety.
When this day ended
I was welcomed home to the yurt with a sight that will remain in in my memory
for a long time.
The morning skies on Roatan were always a treat. On this day the clouds to the East were building so fast they actually outran the Sun's climb into the sky.
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