I went to the island of Róatan this long weekend, even longer thanks to the flu, and I didn't have Internet. That didn't keep me from blogging, though! I wrote a ridiculously lenghty post on my second day there, and here it is now. Consider it posted 10:45 am, Sept. 13, 2009 (Honduras time - 12:45 pm EDT).
Well, let me just say that days off from school have helped me to more truly appreciate the new place in which I am living. The cessation of constant stress has been a Godsend, and I am once again thinking more positively about the country of Honduras. Now that I am on the Caribbean island of Róatan, it’s clear this country has a lot to offer.
Today began around 5:20am, when I was shaken awake by my roommate, Dan. I had intended to wake up around 4:00, allowing me ample time to shower, make coffee, eat some cereal, and most importantly, pack for our 4 night stay in one of the touristiest yet gorgeousest locales of all Honduras. I was to be ready for the bus around 5, as that’s when it began its rounds to all the teacher houses. It got to my house around 5:15, honked a few times, sent someone to ring the doorbell and to call my cell phone in hopes that I’d be right out. Little had I known that though I set my alarm for 4am, I neglected to turn it ON. My backup alarm in my iPod, in a similarly delightful situation, was set to 4PM. So though I was not roused, Dan was and was capable of the heretofore impossible. The bus had gone to another house and was planning on making a return, during the interval of which I threw anything I thought I could possibly need for a 4 night stay on the Caribbean. Then I got on the bus, then promptly back off because I had forgotten underwear and a bathing suit. Then back on and we began our 8 hour (including stops) busito ride to La Ceiba:
Note: Straight shot? Hardly. Look at the map: we went from Tegucigalpa, through Comayagua, SanPedro Sula, Tela, and finally arrived in La Ceiba. You can see the long island of Róatan just above the name "La Ceiba," as well.
We arrived at the ferry dock well in advance of our 4pm departure time and received a complimentary Dramamine with each ticket. Nice. We spent a good two hours in the waiting area, serenaded by the outrageous blood and gore of the movie Doom starring The Rock on the television in the front of the room.
When we finally boarded the ferry, several of our number went to the top deck in the back of the boat in hopes that the open air would prevent seasickness despite the overbearing heat of the sun, while others (myself included) stayed in the air-conditioned main level. I sat with one of the other teachers, Michelle, and we ended up talking for the entire 2-hour ferry ride. It was a bit of a choppy ride, but nothing terribly nausea-inducing (there were a few pukers, but aren’t there always?) At one point, Michelle and I headed to the top deck to see how the folks up there were faring, stopping for a good 10 minutes along the railing on the side, basking in the whipping wind, salt spray from the front of the boat, and of course the sun working its way toward the Caribbean horizon.
As we stood at the edge of the ferry, we watched the 40-mile island of Róatan loom closer through the ever-present haze. The sun tucked itself behind the serrated surface of the island just before the ferry came in to dock at the town of Coxen Hole, so twilight was rapidly becoming night as our 16-teacher group boarded the bus/taxi that took us through the twisting, wooded highway leading to our final destination of West End. West End was hosting a bit of a carnival this particular night, so there was a bit of a delay in reaching Posada Orquideas, our hotel.
The delay was worth it, let me tell you. It is a fantastic hotel, with large patios, each equipped with a hammock and a view through the trees of the Caribbean. A dock sticks into the channel behind the hotel, with a landing perfect for a group of twentysomethings to lay down on at night and gaze at the brightest stars I’ve had the privilege of seeing in about 9 years, which we did within 25 minutes of arriving.
A few of our number were rather peckish, it being 8 or so at night, so after a shower and change of clothes, we split into two groups and walked the 10 minutes into the main drag of West End (“main drag,” in this instance, describes a 1.5 lane-wide sand road along the coast with buildings on one side and buildings built on docks on the other side). The Carnival was not much other than loud, so we continued on to see what the numerous restaurants had to offer and my group finally settled on a bar/grill built over the water. ‘Twas a very nice place. Shortly after we got our drinks, the entire town lost power (a theme common to the entire country, not just Tegus, apparently). It was a very brain-screwy experience to be essentially outside and to suddenly be thrown into darkness I associate only with underground places like basements and Mammoth Cave. Not phased, the restaurateurs quickly procured battery powered fluorescent lights and continued cooking, and our burgers, chicken sandwiches, and calamari (not mine) arrived as quickly as could be expected nonetheless. As I ate my Hickery [sic] burger in the weak fluorescent light of the blackout-coping restaurant, surrounded by some great people most of whom I have not known more than 4 weeks, I felt oddly satisfied. The pineapple-and-onion combination of toppings tasted unnaturally good, and the Salva Vida beer (my first in a good long while) was simply refreshing. For some reason, despite 13 hours of travel and 3 more of wandering around and socializing (a good chunk of which was in near darkness), I couldn’t have felt more alert and aware, soaking in the experience. That said, it didn’t take long at all to drift to sleep once we returned to Orquideas and I got into bed.
The alertness and awareness returned in force this morning as soon as the 5:50 sunshine made its way onto my face through the screened window. I was immediately able to arise and make my way, camera in hand, out to the dock from the night before, now silhouetted by the newly-risen sun above the channel’s other bank. I snapped a couple dozen photos of the dock, the dawn, and the assorted foliage surrounding the hotel, basking in the already-warm-approaching-hot-6-AM-very-early morning and the simple evidences of God making himself known in numerous ways.
My day beginning without me even having to will it whatsoever, I began the same stroll from the night before and continued snapping pictures on the way to the not-yet-awake town of West End. Closed-up shops, bars, and restaurants, now in daylight, again lined the route. On the south end of town, the lone open establishment, Rudy’s, was my breakfast venue. On the recommendation of my guidebook (thanks Nate and Emily), I had sought this place out for its coffee and banana pancakes, both of which made up my desayuno. Most of my time there, I was the lone patron, until another single gringo came in for coffee and a fruit plate. I was truly relishing the isolation I’ve had a hard time feeling thus far in Honduras, but once breakfast was over and paid for, I made my way back to the hotel where others had begun rousing themselves, and here I have spent the rest of the morning thus far.
At this particular moment in time, my thoughts when I hear “Caribbean paradise” may differ from the average thoughts of someone else hearing that phrase, even though we may envision the same sort of place. Nonetheless, “Caribbean paradise” is definitely what I am currently experiencing, whatever that exactly means. I suppose it’s what I’ve just described in 2 single-spaced pages. And I have 3 more days of this to go.
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