The Trip
We were originally booked on a flight from Houston to Belize and
then to Roatan, but were upgraded to the direct flight when we
arrived at the airport in Houston. we had an extra hour to wander
around the airport (or the airport bar) and we still got to Roatan
before the flight from Belize. Very nice and Grupo Taca airline was
not nearly as scary as we had imagined.
Upon arriving in Roatan (which is part of the Bay Islands of
Honduras), we had to hang out in an un-airconditioned airport while
the different resorts sorted out immigration and baggage. We were the
last resort to get moving and we packed into an un-airconditioned bus
for the short drive to CoCoView. Of course, no drive is anything but
short on Roatan, as it pretty much just has one main road running
from one end of the island to the other.
CoCoView is on a Key that is not connected to the main island, so
we unloaded from the bus and piled into a shuttle boat. We were a
little surprised when most people in the boat immediately started
putting on insect repellent. We quickly became aware of our ignorance
as the sand fleas moved in for the kill. You can't see a sand flea,
and you don't really feel the bite, but it leaves a very itchy bump.
As you get more and more bites, the effect starts to multiply until
you're scratching for blood. Two weeks after the trip, Keith
continues to scratch the same bites.
The shuttle boat ride
The key from shuttle boat, showing
the dive boats
We pulled into the key and received a briefing before running for
our (un-airconditioned) bungalow and trying to find bug stuff. From
that point on, we would layer two different insect repellents on
before leaving the bungalow.
Overhead shot of CocoView
CoCoView resort. To the left is the
dive stations and the right is the main resort.
Our bungalow is the one on the
left
We settled in some and then went exploring. While walking on the
wooden walkways, we spotted several different types of fish,
including a small spotted eagle ray.
Spotted Eagle Ray (in 3 feet of
water)
The Cabanas
The main resort from the pier
The back of our bungalow
Taking a stroll back from from
Hawksbill Key
Us on the back patio of the
bungalow
Sunset over Hawksbill Key
The Key at night
The Diving
Please check out the Roatan section of the dive photos, located on
the left navigation menu, to see the underwater photos we took in
Roatan. We attended an orientation dive the morning after we arrived
to get familiar with our dive staff and the area. There were two boat
dives a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. On the way
back from the boat dives, we had the option of getting dropped on one
of the two house reefs, CoCoView wall or Newman's Wall and making our
way back to the resort by following a long, shallow path. Although
the visibility and temperature of the dives on the house reefs
changed dramatically with the tide and current, they were still
excellent dives, where we saw some of the most interesting marine
life. We also had the option of doing a night dove on the house reef
any night we wanted to (and hadn't been drinking).
A table at the bar shows the house
reefs. The Prince Albert and airplane wreck are the pink objects in
the center of the channel, while the Newman wall is in the lower
right corner and the CoCoView wall is above the wrecks. The CoCoView
pier and resort are at the top of the drawing.
A diver coming back to shore after
diving the house reef
The resort from the dive boat
One of the days we opted to do an all day boat trip around to the
north side of the island. The reef life was a little different and
the visibility was excellent. It was good for a day trip, but we
still liked the dive sites on the south side of the island.
Jill and Steve
One of the palatial estates on the
island
Part of the coastline was a very
ragged and sharp exposed volcanic rock or old reef
Steve and our dive master
On the way back from the north side, we stopped in French Harbor
for lunch. The bay islands supply an amazing amount of seafood to the
US market and were a whole bunch of shrimp boats in Harbor.
The shrimp boats (there were a lot
of them)
Lunch! We almost all had fish
sandwiches.
The "fun" boat crew
Out of the Water
We also had a great time getting to know the other divers at the
resort. We spent our afternoons relaxing around the resort and
hanging out at the resort bar.
4 Grease Monkeys at the bar (Keith,
Jill, Tiff and Steve)
After-dive relaxation
The resort had a couple of special nights. One was a BBQ on the
key with local dancing and one was the last night, when we had steak
and lobster for diner and rum punch all night (more on that later).
Jill posing with a local bird
Our table eating BBQ. The closest
couple were on their honeymoon (in an un-airconditioned
room?!?)
The young dancers were definitely
the real entertainment
Spectators
This was a dance move you had to see
to believe. We could get arrested for doing it here, so we can't
demonstrate
On Thursday, one of the ladies at the resort packed some of us
into a small van (driven by a preacher) and we headed to the West End
for a night at the wildest club on the island. Unfortunately it was
closed and we had to make do with a mediocre replacement. We still
had a good time and sampled more of the local beers (Salva Vida -
Life Saver). Luckily, there are no pictures from that night, or you
might have seen the adult version of the dance above...
On Friday, the last day before we returned home, Steve, Tiff and
us rented a jeep so we could explore the island. We had made
reservations at Anthony's Key for a dolphin experience, so that was
our first stop. It was raining most of the morning, so some of the
pictures are blurred from rain on the lens (and we all were a little
nervous from Jill's drive across the island).
Dolphin walking backwards
Jill holding Annie the
dolphin
Jill is all smiles
Keith and Annie
The dolphin walking forwards
Jill kissing the dolphin
The dolphin kissing back (must be
French...)
After the dolphins, we wandered the West End area and did some
shopping and then went for a relaxing lunch on the bay.
Steve and Tiff relaxing at the table
(is that a Salva Vida?)
Definitely enjoying ourselves
Lunch on the West End
After lunch, we took a long drive around the island and were
amazed that Steve's driiving was quite a bit more scary than Jill's.
We started by leaving the main road (yeah - really good idea) and
driving through some of the local and very poor towns. We had a
couple of rough spots where we weren't sure the road really would
keep going, but eventually returned to tarmac. We then headed past
CoCoView to look at a new development. The houses were gorgeous and
the view spectacular, but we decided to hold off dropping a couple of
mill until the economy stabilizes a little more ;-)
Nice place
Our new time share in paradise (with
the Bay Islands Aggressor parked at the pier)
The private beach
On the last night, we had a great steak and lobster dinner and
then the rum punch started flowing.
The Rum Punch
Just one of many
Joe and Fox Mulder
Steve and Tiff
Gary and Nicole
The whole crew
Always keeping everyone
laughing
?
We moved to the pier and filled up
the hammocks
Joe
Needless to say, we had a hard time getting moving at 5 am
Saturday morning to catch our flight. Actually it was pretty much
just Keith that had a hard time, but since he had just turned 30, he
was probably just too old for a night like that. We didn't get the
upgrade to the direct flight on the way back, so we had to spend a
couple of hours in the Belize international terminal with a bunch of
mosquitoes and a busted sewer pipe. We did run into most of dive crew
again in Houston when claiming our luggage. After our complete search
of baggage in customs (don't ever be the first ones to the baggage
claim) and a long hassle through the shuttle, parking and the long
drive, we finally made it home to a shower that wasn't follwed by a
lathering of bug stuff. |
