re: Roatan tomorrow...lots of time to kill.

I don't know how much it's changed since I was there in 1997, but it was the perfect idea of the old Caribbean. Back then, there were no resorts, no all-inclusives, etc. Everything was real. The people of the Honduran Bay Islands (Utila, Roatan, Guanaja) are mainly descendants of original British settlers and also Garifuna. So, until recently, the people on the islands were not Hispanic and only spoke Spanish as a second language. The English was spoken with a crazy accent, though -- just unlike any other English I've ever heard. I can remember walking down the street in Utila and seeing the Methodist Church and the Church of God -- but I didn't see a Catholic church.

But Utila then, besides the fishermen, had some dive shops and was the cheapest place in the world to get PADI certified, which is why I went. Utila lacked the great beaches of Roatan and other islands, so it never would have attracted the snowbirds who have changed so much of the Caribbean and eradicated much of the culture.

But there was a fantastic little smaller island a quick boat trip away from Utila (I'd pay someone a couple of bucks to take my on their way to or from nearby Pigeon Caye), and that island had a great beach and was the perfect place to relax, snorkel, crack open a coconut, etc.

I'd love to go back and see it now. I know that there are lot more dive resorts on the island, but I bet a lot of the culture remains. I really want to experience that feeling of the Old Caribbean again. If not Utila or Guanaja, I bet that it can still be found on the Corn Islands and on Providencia. I haven't been, but I think that Caye Caulker in Belize is now getting pretty developed.

Go and relax at Anthony's Key ... the ORIGINAL spot in Roatan.

LINK


do not know your itinerary but in the old days we would fly to San Pedro Sula and then to Roatan....
they would measure the gas tank in SPS with a broom handle.
Relax have a drink....broom handles are more reliable than gauges lol

quote:

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I’ve never wanted to dive, just not something that’s ever piqued my interest.

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I never was interested in scuba diving... until my teenagers talked me into trying it when I was 44. Turns out, I totally love it, and have been going quite a bit for the past 6 years now.

Wish I had tried it 25 years ago.

Thanks GOP for the insight. I've been to Cayy Caulker and Ambergris.

should be back by now - lol

a shame you did not experience Anthony's Key.

You have a much higher threshold of ‘uncomfortability’ or whatever I’m trying to say. I’m a terrible read of who to trust when everything is so foreign. It’s me, not Roatan.