West End, Bay Islands (3/2/11-3/7)



early morning quiet on Half Moon,
in front of the Arco Iris

my reality

From my hotel in La Ceiba it's a $5 taxi ride to the airport, and then it's 17 minutes from takeoff to landing, and another $5 to get to the west end of the main island of Roatan, which just happens to be called West End. The picture to the left is from West Bay, about a 40 minute walk south along a mostly under-developed stretch of coastline. Both West End and Bay are quite developed at this point, however. And when I arrive - it's a Wednesday - there are, I am told, 3 cruise ships docked somewhere on the island. They all seem to have disgorged and bussed over most of their human cargo to West End as it's a fucking zoo along the main beach road for the next two days. Not exactly what I was hoping for. But, my hotel room at the Posada Arco Iris is more or less at a quieter end of town with a small beach in front which looks over Half Moon Bay, and it's home for the first 3 days. The last two days are at their new sister hotel, the Orquideas, which is a 5 minute walk to an even quieter location.



the lobster dude

swimming buddies

Looking at the Half Moon picture you can see the land come to a point on either side and in between that is some pretty good snorkeling. This is where I spent my time with the fishies. And one very large lobster. A woman snorkeling nearby saw it, too, and we agreed it was the biggest we'd ever seen. The picture may not do it justice, but I'd say the body was at least 2' long. I'm thinking it was two-sticks-of-butter big. The water is clear and warm and the weather is darn near perfect every day; I think it got a little cloudy once.

feeling relaxed in Roatan

a view of West Bay

When I started reading about the Bay Islands it was said they were like the Caribbean of old, less developed, less people, cheaper. Paradise. So that is what I was hoping to find. Instead, this area, at least, is right up there with crowds and prices. I spent $40/day on food here, compared to $29 on Little Corn and only $14 on Bocas del Toro. That's too much for someone who's traveling for 8 months. But, as long as you have to eat, the better places I tried in West End were Besos, Tongs and Earth Mama's, for breakfast. I think the Bay Islands I was dreaming of left the building about 8-10 years ago. Getting that out of the way, though, this is a beautiful spot and for anyone who likes the Caribbean it's probably a must-visit at some point. Plus, I only saw one tiny part of one of three main islands, so a person could spend several vacations here and still not see it all. At least there aren't any highrises. Yet. And, Roatan was t-shirt worthy.


between West End and
West Bay: the taint

When I got back to La Ceiba I had to make a pitstop at the big supermarket. They play disco music here, and I gotta tell ya, it's near impossible not to try to bust a move making your way down the cereal aisle. They also sell Bounty Select-a-Size paper towels, the first store I've seen those on sale anywhere south of the Rio Grande on either of my trips, and that's worth a move or two right there. I love those paper towels!