Day Three - Brick Bay

Because the no-see-ums were trying to take our lives last night, we went to bed really early. 

Being up so early this morning made for lots of photos- get ready!

I'll spare you the details, but here is the list of what we did today:

• A wonderful man we've become online friends with brought our Kia Sorrento rental car to us just after 8:00 this morning. Great to finally meet in person.

• Met with our business Attorney at her office in French Harbor at 9:00.

• Went to a bank and opened two accounts- one in USD and the other in Honduran Lempira. There were armed guards at the entrance who stuck a metal detector wand in my purse. We used the required hand sanitizer and stepped on a tray of disinfectant and finally, the door to the bank was unlocked so we could go in. The girl who waited on us was very polite and spoke good English.

• Then we had lunch at a gas station. The rice & beans + vegetables were great!

• Off to the Daniel Johnson's Monkey and Sloth Hang Out. Be sure to check out our experience in the photos, especially the part about a run-in I had with another mama.....

• After all that Mike asked, "you feel like going for a ride?" and he jumped right into the Roatán way of driving. Read Here if you want to know more about that. You'll see all the photos below.

• I just asked Mike what time we got home today and after a pause, he said, "I don't know."  Island time. 

• At the very end of all these photos, there is a 5-minute YouTube you might want to check out!

Enjoy the pictures. 

I'm going to bed! 7:03 PM, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021

First Appointments of the Day were here at the Jackson Plaza

Then off to see the Monkeys, Sloths, and Birds!

Mama got a little jealous nervous when Baby left the safety of her back 

to make eyes at this human Mama. 

Mama Monkey did what she is supposed to do in protecting her Baby. 

She bit the threat!

(look through the trees- do you see what logo is on that boat?)

The photos that follow are from our first drive around the island with Mike at the wheel.

From Mike: Roatan Roadway – oddly enough ~ on this 40-mile long island, 3-miles wide at the most, with only one main road called “Carretera Principal” (CP). There is not one red light. A few stop signs, some bent yield signs, but no traffic lights. They’ve tried their hand at round-a-bouts.

There are offshoots of the main road, which include one road paralleling CP named “Hot Sparrow Highway” along the North Shores opposite Carretera Principal. They join to the East, but they do have one road that cuts North to South called Henry Jackson Hwy.  It’s really a pretty ride with ear-popping climbs over the mountain. 

Los Fuertes wins hands down as the most difficult community to motor through. There are no road rules here, just drive offensively.

Happy Driver

Note the USA Flag

Sadly, the dump

Building a road by hand.

Round-about gone wrong.

Henry Jackson Highway Shortcut from Southshore to Northshore.

Home! 

Be sure to watch the 5-minute video of our drive in through the Jungle from the main road.

https://youtu.be/xDSzvtoxEvY

Goodnight from Roatán

Day Two- Brick Bay

 

Good Morning, Roatan!

Sunrise on our first morning was at 6:18 AM. I'm glad we were out taking photos before 6:00 because the sun was quickly hidden by heavy clouds. We were in awe of the beauty.

Mike was soon in the water with his GoPro, testing it out underwater.

We had to go to the telephone store for a new phone with a number we could share with family and our petsitter, for emergencies. Our cab driver was awesome. This trip to the phone and grocery stores took nearly four hours. Island time is a real thing. Our driver got out of the cab and sat outside the phone store waiting (they only allowed Mike in so I also waited outside). then he waited right outside the grocery store for us. All that, $20. 

You can see Mike (yellow shirt, seated) inside the Claro phone store. Our cab driver is standing behind the truck, white shirt.

This is the Mall.

Shots of our current location.

Never seen a lizard quite like this one!

For all this beauty and peacefulness of nature, we've been met with a huge challenge here at Brick Bay: Constant attacks of the noseeums. If you've never dealt with them, read THIS. While we have these nasty biters in Florida, at least there is the air-conditioned refuge of a home to escape to. Here in Bamboo Cottage, there is no A/C so the windows have to remain open (yes, there are screens but noseeums are smaller). We were in bed at 6:00 last evening to escape these vicious beasts!

But first, we caught the sunset!

End of Day Two

Day One- Florida to Roatán, Honduras

 Yesterday began smoothly. We were up at 4:30 AM, double-checked those four big suitcases to be sure nothing was missing that we just couldn't live without for two weeks, said goodbye to Rocco, Leo, and Gizmo, and hit the road with our Driver at 6:30.

Starting us off on the right foot at American Airlines was Fernando. He cheerfully met us at the car and took over all that crazy 200+ lbs. of luggage. Three hours early to check-in at the airport seemed like a lot of time but we were surprised by how fast it went. 

About an hour before the scheduled take-off they started calling us to the counter to confirm our negative COVID-19 tests and our boarding passes. We departed right on time and arrived on Roatán early.

Roatán Airport

Roatán customs had to inspect one of those darned suitcases! That one was full of door handles for a friend, and flashcards for the island children. At first, they wanted to see the Amazon receipt for the handles (which our friend had ordered and shipped to our house) but they eventually stopped asking for things we didn't have and allowed us to pass.

We were met outside the airport by Will and Tina, who graciously gave us a tour of some of the island and took us grocery shopping at Eldon's. I was amazed how much it looked like Publix; however, on Roatán you do tip the packer!

Tina guarding the roadway so we could take our first photos of the Caribbean Sea.

Our first view of the Sea

Eventually, when we were so tired we could hardly stand up, we arrived at our home for the next two days, the Bamboo Cottage.

After dealing with SIM card issues, a down internet, and no way to let our family know we'd arrived safely, we took a quick dip in that beautiful Sea to cool off and revive! Then we promptly slept from 8:30 PM until 4:00 AM.

CLICK HERE FOR NOTES FROM MIKE!

T Minus Five

We have been planning our first trip to Roatán since August 2020. Almost six months. And today, nearly all of the boxes are checked. 

Mostly what is left to do is The Packing. There will be four suitcases, each with a weight limit of 70#, plus a backpack apiece. Are we really taking 300# of stuff to another country to haul around for two weeks?

We have a Google Sheet with 12 tabs, housing everything related to this trip and the future May trip. It might seem a little overboard, but it is loaded with information!  Just look at this:

During this process, we've slapped everything you can imagine upon those sheets. Images of items we were searching for. Restaurants we've read people recommend on the Roatán Group Facebook pages, people we've met online, places we want to visit, what to do, and what to take with us.

Roatán in 7,369 Minutes!

Well, that was a sneak-peak at our pre-journey mess! Look for Wednesday's post which will be written from the air as we make our way to what might be our new island home, three hundred pounds of stuff in tow.