Honduras

We spent a wonderful time exploring the Bay Islands of Honduras. Unlike the mainland they are safe, with a easy laid back energy. We arrived in Guanaja, the most easterly of the three main islands, after a wonderful sail. Checking in was a breeze and for once free. We immediately celebrated with a cold beer at the local hang out where we met Anne and Jim, who had just arrived to spend a month at their waterfront pad on the north part of the island. They quickly became great friends and introduced us to all the local expates who have homes on the island. What fun we had.

Guanaja is only 11 miles long and three miles wide with one road; which used to be the airport runway (they now have a new one). It is stunning. Everyone gets about by boat which is wild, boats .... everywhere - a little like Venice. The main town Bonacca is based on a wee island just off the south coast, it has lots of character with thatched homes on stilts, perched on reefs and it was decorated for Easter with palms all over the place. Guanaja (we nicknamed it Ganga) suffered horrendously from Hurricane Mitch in 1998. It was the worst hit of the islands with two days of maximum sustained winds of 180 mph; which destroyed nearly all of the plants and trees on the island, uprooting or knocking down almost the entire mangrove forest and most homes. It is estimated that the hurricane produced waves of 44 ft in height and the rains caused further damage and loss of life. Our new friends had many stories to share.

We stayed in Sandy Bay opposite the Manati Bar and Restaurant where most cruisers anchor, although we were one of only four boats. The Manati is a locals hangout, Saturday being a lunchtime ritual where we made more friends including George and Ginger who own the Clearwater Paradise Resort. George invited us to join him and about 20 other locals for a day out on his diving/fishing boat. He took us around the island and we stopped at some of the best places to snorkel. It was a terrific day where we ended up at Anne and Jim's for a lobster dinner and sleepover. We were also invited to Clark's Cay, one of the private reef islands off the coast, for lunch. What a gorgeous home with six guest cabins and a main living area to die for, all rebuilt after Mitch.

We took the tender to Graham's Cay one of the reef islands off the south coast and saw the turtles, quite the resort, and very quickly got to the stage where we did not want to leave. We wanted to spend time at the other islands, so we had to move on, but we know that we will be back to spend more time with Jim and Anne one day.

Our next stop was Roatan the biggest island in the Bay Islands. We started off in French Harbour before moving around to West Bay which was much more sheltered from the high Easterly winds that were coming through. French Harbour is gorgeous and the snorkeling on the marine reef beside the boat was wild. There is a Barracuda called Fred who is huge and way too friendly, plus dozens and dozens of large lobsters fighting over fish carcases that are feed to them. Quite the sight.

We then popped around the corner to West Bay which was a perfect place to chill and we hardly felt the wind. We met lots of other cruisers and I was fortunate to link in and dive a lot with friends from s/v Expectations and s/v Emerald Sea as Russell at that time was having problems with his back. The diving in the islands is comparable to Bonaire with the reef system reported to be the second largest in the world. It certainly was beautiful and I was really upset when my underwater camera broke, so there are not many "fishie" photos on our blog.

We would have liked to have sailed around Roatan and explored it more by water, but we were stuck (again) and so jumped buses and hired cars to look around. We were able to enjoy the annual Garifuna festival; which celebrates the arrival of the first Grifuna people who founded the oldest permanent settlement, Punta Gorda on Roatan in 1797, after escaping slavery from St. Vincent. It was arge and lively with street parades, music, dancing and lots of eating. Yum.

Next stop was Utilia. Probably the smallest island and delightful, we can understand why it is so loved; especially by the younger crowd. Imagine our first night going ashore to the "Rehab" bar with loungers, swinging seats and great happy hour prices. We met three "kids" one from Oz, one from NZ and one from ... Vancouver and soon became friends whilst learning about their different travels.

Everyone who spends time in Utilia dives and for $200 you can get your PADI certification over a week with accommodation included. Can't beat it. We met some fascinating locals, two who were wonderful to us although I forget their names, dash I must write these things down, but even if I did they would be on the boat. Anyways, one guy who calls himself a nerd because he used to work with Steve Jobs, but has lived on the island for over 11 years, tried to help me fix my laptop over three days. He would take no cash, the books I donated to the library he has set up was enough. When he isn't diving, teaching and enjoying the feedback from the younger crowd he takes apart dead computers to make new ones for the locals. Part of his buzz is helping the islanders and on top of the computer services he offers he has set up a library (including kids toys, videos, etc..) a small bar/restaurant and cinema on his property.

Then there was a lovely single mum who used to work for Tony and Guy hairdressers in England who works from her apartment. She also manages one of the small boutique type hotels, the only type to be found on the island. She advertises by word of mouth and a sign that says she can help you if you are having a bad hair day. Well I certainly was and I spent a wonderful morning with her and her son. For less then a third of what I would pay in Vancouver I had a new hairdo that I am thrilled with. The average pay in Honduras is $15 a day, but she was worth a lot more than that so a bit tip was called for.

The tough thing about living onboard is sometimes having to move on, but we had an agenda and needed to get to Guatemala. The weather and moon were perfect for us to leave with our friends from Vancouver Island on s/v Emerald Seas and having a buddy boat was a good idea in the waters off Honduras. We hope one day to return to the Bay Islands as it is a very special area, having no big cruise ships, hotels, etc.. with great hiking, snorkeling and terrific island life living.