the 'duras - part 2...paradise (lost?)
so, we arrived at the roatan ferry terminal at about 6pm, got a cab and headed to the "resort" where we were to spend the next week. we knew it was the rainy season, but we kept telling ourselves that despite dire iphone weather forecasts (12 days of solid rain) it was tropical - so it was bound to be rainy for part of the day, with at least some sun breaks. we're still telling ourselves that. the weather on roatan was never what i would describe as "sunny." there was sun - in fact, it looks lovely in this photo:
too bad that was the only few minutes of sunshine we saw there. fortunately, i burn to a cinder in about 10 minutes in the sun anyway, and rob gets antsy on the beach, so neither of us were too disappointed that we wouldn't be able to qualify for coppertone kids after our trip.
roatan is...interesting. it was supposed to be the lux, relaxing part of the trip, but for the first several days, i actively hated it. not that i had a bad time. rob and i could have fun together in a cardboard box (and if i remain unemployed and screwing around on facebook and blogger all the time, i might put that theory to the test.) in any case, it was fun, but the place itself...kind of sucked. it's neither unspoiled enough to be rustic and charming, nor lux enough to be a real escape worthy of the money we spent. the beach view from our (sterile) cabana was pretty, and we spent a lot of time on the porch, applying deet and reading.
the trouble is that the island is filled with people with whom i'd never choose to be, well - stuck on a desert island. there are 3.5 main groups on the island:
1) wannabe diver types - looking for cheap certification and a certain amount of youthful adventure. sadly, adventure and a bath seem to be mutually exclusive for this set.
2) desperate expats. not that the people themselves were in desperate situations, but we just kept meeting people who were too old to run away, but who had done just that. and i kept thinking - damn, you're 50 and you ran away. to a tourist beach. in honduras, where you spend all your time with people just like you. you're kind of a pathetic loser.
3) enterprising locals. it's a tourist island, i get it, and everybody's gotta eat, but we got really tired of feeling like we were being ripped off.
3.5) nearly dead animals. it was beyond insane how many stray dogs, cats and kittens we saw. when we got home, sophie
looked positively obese to me. bob barker needs to stop harassing the beauties and get his ass to roatan asap for a little spay-and-neuter lecture.
a couple of random notes...cars - all were under 5 years old. the "roads" on roatan were abysmal to be kind, and the salt and sand rot them away in no time flat. we took 3 taxis in roatan - from the ferry to the hotel, once to west bay (the real resorty part) and to the airport. each was more appalling than the last - it was funny. the first one smelled like something died in there, and to cover the smell, the owner rubbed the inside with rotten fish. the second one had no working doors, barely made it up hills and definitely had a death rattle. the final cab smelled bad, was completely out of gas, and was missing its back window. welcome to paradise!
deet. i wrestled with taking anti-malarial meds before we went to honduras - it's recommended for the island, and given the rainy season, i imagined millions of little hatchlings would love nothing more than to feast on me. some people never seem to get bitten (dad) some people are like an old country buffet for the little suckers (moi.) but i didn't like the contra-indications for any of the meds i researched. some cause a reaction in asthmatics (rob) and the last thing i wanted was to watch my husband being given a tracheotomy with a rusted pen-knife by a local healer. so we decided, simply, just *not* to get malaria. i bought copious amounts of deet (in convenient, plane-approved sizes.) i do not know what is in deet. i know it stinks. i know it's greasy. the fumes taste awful. it may cause cancer. it is certainly very very very bad - it ruined my pedicure. i'm not saying that to be prissy - i'm saying, with horror, that it removed the shine and some of the polish from my toes. what, pray tell, did it do to my liver? less damage than malaria is my hope, but only time will tell.
in summation - despite my bitching, we really did have a great time. we found out too late (bad weather) that we could gone diving with an instructor without certification. an hour in the pool and they're ready to take you 40 feet down. rob was a natural, breathing underwater, removing his regulator, flushing his mask like a cousteau in no time. i had more trouble. i gutted through it, but i have to admit, i really had to convince myself that i could breathe, not to panic and that it was worth it. we did the pool thing, which everyone says is the hard part (and i dearly hope they are right) but the weather was too choppy for the remainder of our trip to actually get to dive. even though i didn't like roatan, it has the second largest reef system in the world, and i can absolutely see going back there to learn to dive. don't worry though, i will always take shampoo.
too bad that was the only few minutes of sunshine we saw there. fortunately, i burn to a cinder in about 10 minutes in the sun anyway, and rob gets antsy on the beach, so neither of us were too disappointed that we wouldn't be able to qualify for coppertone kids after our trip.
roatan is...interesting. it was supposed to be the lux, relaxing part of the trip, but for the first several days, i actively hated it. not that i had a bad time. rob and i could have fun together in a cardboard box (and if i remain unemployed and screwing around on facebook and blogger all the time, i might put that theory to the test.) in any case, it was fun, but the place itself...kind of sucked. it's neither unspoiled enough to be rustic and charming, nor lux enough to be a real escape worthy of the money we spent. the beach view from our (sterile) cabana was pretty, and we spent a lot of time on the porch, applying deet and reading.
the trouble is that the island is filled with people with whom i'd never choose to be, well - stuck on a desert island. there are 3.5 main groups on the island:
1) wannabe diver types - looking for cheap certification and a certain amount of youthful adventure. sadly, adventure and a bath seem to be mutually exclusive for this set.
2) desperate expats. not that the people themselves were in desperate situations, but we just kept meeting people who were too old to run away, but who had done just that. and i kept thinking - damn, you're 50 and you ran away. to a tourist beach. in honduras, where you spend all your time with people just like you. you're kind of a pathetic loser.
3) enterprising locals. it's a tourist island, i get it, and everybody's gotta eat, but we got really tired of feeling like we were being ripped off.
3.5) nearly dead animals. it was beyond insane how many stray dogs, cats and kittens we saw. when we got home, sophie
looked positively obese to me. bob barker needs to stop harassing the beauties and get his ass to roatan asap for a little spay-and-neuter lecture.
a couple of random notes...cars - all were under 5 years old. the "roads" on roatan were abysmal to be kind, and the salt and sand rot them away in no time flat. we took 3 taxis in roatan - from the ferry to the hotel, once to west bay (the real resorty part) and to the airport. each was more appalling than the last - it was funny. the first one smelled like something died in there, and to cover the smell, the owner rubbed the inside with rotten fish. the second one had no working doors, barely made it up hills and definitely had a death rattle. the final cab smelled bad, was completely out of gas, and was missing its back window. welcome to paradise!
deet. i wrestled with taking anti-malarial meds before we went to honduras - it's recommended for the island, and given the rainy season, i imagined millions of little hatchlings would love nothing more than to feast on me. some people never seem to get bitten (dad) some people are like an old country buffet for the little suckers (moi.) but i didn't like the contra-indications for any of the meds i researched. some cause a reaction in asthmatics (rob) and the last thing i wanted was to watch my husband being given a tracheotomy with a rusted pen-knife by a local healer. so we decided, simply, just *not* to get malaria. i bought copious amounts of deet (in convenient, plane-approved sizes.) i do not know what is in deet. i know it stinks. i know it's greasy. the fumes taste awful. it may cause cancer. it is certainly very very very bad - it ruined my pedicure. i'm not saying that to be prissy - i'm saying, with horror, that it removed the shine and some of the polish from my toes. what, pray tell, did it do to my liver? less damage than malaria is my hope, but only time will tell.
in summation - despite my bitching, we really did have a great time. we found out too late (bad weather) that we could gone diving with an instructor without certification. an hour in the pool and they're ready to take you 40 feet down. rob was a natural, breathing underwater, removing his regulator, flushing his mask like a cousteau in no time. i had more trouble. i gutted through it, but i have to admit, i really had to convince myself that i could breathe, not to panic and that it was worth it. we did the pool thing, which everyone says is the hard part (and i dearly hope they are right) but the weather was too choppy for the remainder of our trip to actually get to dive. even though i didn't like roatan, it has the second largest reef system in the world, and i can absolutely see going back there to learn to dive. don't worry though, i will always take shampoo.
posted by the pieces @ 3:29 PM
1 Comments:
At 24 November, 2008 ,
Wendy Miller said...
Great report Reese! We've had that experience with DEET in French Polynesia so went with the malaria meds in South Africa, they did cause some strange dreams!
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