Ten years ago I returned to Honduras for the first time since I was six. My coworkers at the time were so excited because none of them had been and they knew it was so long since the last time I was there that they repeatedly told me they couldn’t wait to hear all about it when I got back. I said to myself that sounds like a pain to tell the same stories over and over again in the span of a couple days so I decided to start a blog and told them to read about what I did instead. Since then I’ve been to a ton of other places, and all of it is thanks to the enthusiasm of my old team. 178 stories later Travelling Fool is here to stay. This year for our family vacation my parents were looking for ideas and I said Honduras, why not celebrate my 10th year of blogging and see all my uncles and cousins again? Now we are finally here!
The journey started like any other, before the crack of dawn. Taking the first flight of the day is generally the safest choice, they’re rarely delayed or cancelled and even if they are you have plenty of other chances to still get on another flight. For me, however, I had left packing until the last minute and had video games to catch up on so an hour and a half nap was all I got before setting off. I met my family at the airport, we shuffled our way onto the first plane and then the second and 5 hours of flying later we land on this open field in the middle of the jungle.
Normally when we come to Honduras we go straight to San Pedro Sula and spend the entire week with my dad’s family. This time we are switching it up - my cousin James and aunt Mariette are alone for the ride and went to Roatán first. Roatan is an island off the coast near my favorite beach - Tele - and is known as a retirement community for well off foreigners and a diving haven. There are barely any beaches because so much of the coastal area of the island is coral. A huge reef encircles half the island. We decided to come here because my dad had never been before! He said even when he was a kid growing up here people would come here all the time but he never really had an interest in it until now.
The plane landed in a clearing in the jungle and the terminal was just as I remembered the old one in San Pedro Sula - except that it was modern and air conditioned. A small long building with customs and one belt for all the bags. The difference is when I was a kid the other airport was not air conditioned and the belt was manual. Still there was someone there to put all our bags on a cart and flag down the driver for the shuttle to our hotel. The ride was long - up one mountain, down it, then repeat. When we finally arrived at Las Rocas Resort I was just glad to be able to stretch my legs again.
Las Rocas looks like you took Billy’s Lodge in South Africa and transported it to the beach. There is the same winding path and the same cluster of small buildings that serve as the rooms and even the same tiny reception area and restaurant next to it and security guard walking the premises. The rooms aren’t quite as nice as the ones in South Africa but the feeling is definitely the same.
After checking in and sorting out some mistake with the room (my brother and I got a mini house with only one bed instead of two - now we’re in a two level house with four beds) I finally got out of my flying clothes and into my beach clothes. My brother EJ and I then took the time to spray ourselves down with sunscreen and bug repellant then met everyone at the bar/restaurant.
Everyone was already there and half way through their first drink by the time we arrived. We sat and started off with my favorite local beer - Salva Vida. Everyone ordered lobster (except for my dad) and we enjoyed the cool breeze and interesting lack of flys while watching a jungle cat prance around with a lizard it caught in its mouth. While we sat there some people came by trying to sell things - two guys had coconut drinks, a small boy was selling bracelets, and a couple of the kids didn’t even bother trying to sell anything and just had a paper that said please give me cash donations for school supplies. Each person that came through had the security guards following them like a shadow. At first we couldn’t figure out why and then I realized it was probably so no one tried to break into the poorly locked rooms.
When dinner arrived I was thrilled. I had a lobster burrito that was basically a lobster and bell pepper stew placed in a flour tortilla holder. It was so ridiculously good. Eating food made me realize how tired I was so EJ and I went to the Adirondack chairs on the edge of the restaurant to sit and relax. It turns out that they’re also at the edge of the water and from there we could watch the tiny fish in the coral and the water taxis going by. The actual patch of sandy beach nearby could fit maybe 20 people standing. All of the divers were also coming back from their expeditions and I thought maybe I was doing something wrong by not trying to spend my three and a half days on the island getting certified. The water is so warm that none of them were even wearing wet suits. EJ and I had another rum punch and James spent his time trying to figure out what soccer matches were scheduled for when we were in the city even though we told him not to worry about it. Finally I went back to the table after dozing off for a minute in the chair. I was exhausted after not sleeping at all and even though it was only six o’clock I was ready for bed. Mariette was also tired but worried that if she went to bed now then she would be up all night so she managed to talk us into going for a walk into the town area.
It turns out the secluded little resort we are in is right in between all of the commercial resorts. A two minute walk on the boardwalk brought us to a giant pool and swim up bar, and a much bigger patch of beach that could fit 50 people. It was another hotel that we had considered and of course another restaurant. Mom met a nice guy who gave her the information on what was around the area. In the part we walked to - West Bay - it was just more hotels and bars. If we walked the opposite way we would hit West End which is the town center in that area and more urban less resorts. He was super helpful and even explained how the water taxis worked as we made our way back. EJ and I had enough wandering around and headed back to our room to shower and get ready for bed. We attempted to stay up watching Netflix but I was dead by 8pm and we gave up. By the time EJ made it to bed upstairs and I got the lights off I barely made it back to the bed before falling fast asleep.
Location:Roatan,Honduras
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