Got some blogging done this morning, had a breakfast of champions, and then rallied the troops for our 9 am island tour departure. It being my last weekend, I worked hard to get people together for an island tour (the more people, the less expensive). We met at the end of the road and piled in the van. Leigh, Eric, and Nick came from West End, and Trevor, Oksana, Anastasia, Claudio and I came from the hostel. 8 in total and Billy, our driver/tour guide.
We drove through Coxen Hole and surrounding neighborhoods while Billy pointed out various homes, stores, and spouted island history. He was very difficult to hear from my seat, so we started working a telephone-like relay of information to the back seat. We stopped in French Harbour at two different look-outs – this is the area of the city formerly owned by the French (Spain owned the rest and then the British came and took it all) who built a French-only bridge to the French Cay.
We drove through a deer and pig farm to a hill overlooking Mahogany Bay (where Carnival Cruises dock) and Fantasy Island. Lots of the town on the south shore are big fishing towns, harbors loaded with shrimp boats. The last big “city” directly on the main road was Los Fuertos, a big barrio of mainland immigrants. Like the Colonia, it has grown tremendously in recent years. We drove to the top of the Pristine Bay hill overlooking the golf course and ocean on one side, and down on French Harbour on the other side.
Our next stop was the Iguana farm. This was a most bizarre place. The little dinosaurs were everywhere. Big ones, little ones, molting ones, spiky ones – because they’re fed banana leaves so often, the lazy bums just loaf around the driveway. There were also two monkeys (one very affectionate one, and one that bites), turtles, some beautiful parrots (including 2 spectacular macaws), and a caged off area of the bay with some gigantic fish (including a very ugly barracuda). The iguana factor was simultaneously slightly disturbing and weirdly interesting.
We drove a ways up the island – beautiful green rolling hills with improved pavement as we went east. We stopped at Parrot Tree, a spectacular resort with a beautiful lagoon. The sun was out and the lounge beds were calling our name, but Billy was antsy to move on. Our next stop was Punta Gorda, a Garifuna town. It is spread out over a single street right on the beach. There were some mud and stick structures and some open air houses. Sunday is a big festive day in Punta Gorda. Already there was a big beach soccer game picking up.
We then drove to the opposite side of the island to Oakridge, where we met Alex for a mangrove boat tour. There were 10 of us in the skinny, tippy fishing boat. We motored through Jonesville and a neighboring town – areas only accessible by boat. Lots of shrimp boats lined the coast. Fishermen were out line fishing and various boats were motoring around. Our tour continued through a tunnel in the mangroves. It was amazing to be in the midst of these bizarre root system of trees. We motored by Hole in the Wall café (a tiny stick house on the water that is “famous”) but didn’t eat because on Sundays they only have a $25 buffet BBQ. I loved these coastal towns – everything so oriented around water. On the way back, I had to urinate badly so Alex (the driver) stopped by what we presumed was his house. A lady called me over to the house (a stilted house over the water) and showed me to the bathroom. The toilet was a box with a hole in it. I removed the plank that covered the hole and peered straight into the water. As I was using the toilet, I watched the fish through the cracks in the floor. A reminder not to swim in this area. The woman (Alex’s wife) showed me the crocheted cell phone holders that she made and then I joined the group back at the boat. I must give props to Alex’s docking skills. The man is a master. He shuts of the engine 100 feet from the dock and floats in like a glove next to the pier. There was a bit of a flare up over the price, but we all ended up paying $15 (a little pricey since we were paying Billy the same for an entire day’s tour), but I wasn’t in the mood for a price tussle.
We tempers a little cranky and tummies rumbling, we returned to Punta Gorda for lunch. Darren, Anastasia’s boyfriend had called Trevor wanting to meet us on his moto, so we went to look for him in Punta Gorda to no avail. Needing to stretch my legs, Leigh, Eric, Nick and I walked down to peek in the grocery store. We walked along the beach back to where the van was parked. The rest of the group had ordered Machuka, which is a seafood soup in coconut/curry broth (local fare). While waiting for food, I lounged in a hammock and then a little band started up and an old man started doing the punta (local dance involving feet pattering and hip shaking to drums, singing, and other rhythm sounds). We had two drummers, a singer, a maraca player at work. After some time of enjoying the scene, the old man motioned to me and I joined the punta, having no idea what I was doing (he said I was doing good, but he was probably just being nice). It was a ball. I then ate beans and rice and tried the machuka (which was a broth with a whole fish, lobster tail, and conch served with a heap of papaya mush). There was another punta session and more people got involved. It was a festive and delicious afternoon.
After leaving our lunch hut, we drove out to Paya Bay. At this point the island is more agricultural, green, and less inhabited. It’s beautiful on the east end. Paya Bay is founded by one of the Jackson women (one of the richest, longest living, powerful families on the island – McNabb being another name we heard over and over). It is spectacular. The buildings sit on a rocky cliff. It is extremely blustery on the east side (at this point in the season, the west side is protected and the east gets the wind). There are fantastic nature trails winding all over the cliffs. It was the most peaceful, serene place. One of my little hikes led to a wooden yoga studio on a hill overlooking water on both sides. There were little nooks and crannies of the paths, each with a rustic charm. After exploring all the trails, we went kayaking in the ocean. At this point it was really choppy and overcast, so we all got tossed from the kayak as we arrived on shore. It was a ball. I just wish we were at Paya longer.
At 6 we started gathering ourselves up to head back west. It was a wonderful, exhausting day. I loved seeing the different flavor of the area, and if I ever come back to Roatan, I’m headed to Paya Bay. Ate more beans and rice (and a PB/honey sandwich and lots of cookies) back at the hostel, and I was soon overcome by sleepiness. A very good day.