anywhereSF

Day 125: May 5, 2014: West Bay, Roatan

A somewhat unusual onshore wind left the normally glassy seas on the west end of the island pretty choppy today (and apparently blew in quite a few jellies, as well). We did a bit of snorkeling, but the rough seas and the aforementioned jellies sent us to shore earlier than planned. So, naturally, it was time for a West Bay resort pub-crawl adventure. While the resorts here are small and not quite what you’d probably picture from other tropical locales like Hawaii, most have beachfront bar/restaurants to relax and dry off after a dive/snorkel session.

For being the resort area of the island, West End was still surprisingly chill and quiet, with most visitors here for the diving rather than a high end resort experience. The only busy times come for a few hours a couple days a week when the cruise ships pull into the harbors near the main town of Coxen Hole and disgorge their passengers to flood the West Bay beaches. As quick as they come, they all disappear a couple hours later, on to the next port. It struck me as a shame that all of these tourists miss the relaxing calm, only seeing the island packed with people, and probably go home thinking that it is always this busy.

During our time on shore, we basically just took it easy, playing a game of giant Jenga and watching the beach bound water taxis and other small boats get battered by the waves, while a captain of a floating tiki bar tried to flee with his vessel around the point to calmer waters.

A guy could get used to this.

(Kodak Ektar 100 in the EOS 3)