DAY 55
Week 8
ROATÁN (Islas de la Bahía, HND)
Wednesday May 8th, 2019
TODAYS MILEAGE – 65 miles / 105 kilometres
TRIP MILEAGE – 20,715 miles / 33,338 kilometres
FYI, if you’re not in to scuba diving, snorkelling, sun bathing or trinket/souvenir shopping, which pretty much makes up 75% of the 59 kilometre (38 mile) by 8 kilometre (5 mile) island with 154 kilometres (98 miles) of coastline that is Roatán ….. pretty much makes a visit as much fun as javelin catching.
With 4 of the “Avocados” deciding to go snorkelling for the day, it was on to Plan B for me. Never been one to shirk a challenge, after picking at a pretty awful complimentary breakfast, I got a load of laundry sorted for $10 USD and then looked to hire a rental car for the day, which as it turns out, was one of those “island time” experiences.
I asked the hotel reception about hiring a car and they organized ol’ mate to come get me in an hour. An hour and a half later Jaime Alvarenga, the owner/manager of Racing Car Wash & Rent A Car delivers a 3-year-old white automatic Kia Rio with 90k on the clock to my door. I pull out my licence, credit card and passport in preparation for the paperwork. He pulls out a couple of A4 sheets of paper, a sheet of carbon paper, asks me my name, hands me back all the offered identification, then requests the $50 USD hire fee upfront and in cash. After a walk around and close inspection of the vehicle, he makes note of the dings/scratches/road rash, decrees Hasta Mañana and leaves me with the keys and drives off. No credit card swipe or imprint, no insurance details, no cash deposit or anything.
Lila and I decided that I would pilot, she would navigate and we’re off like the starter at Race 4 at Flemington. We spent the day simply exploring the island with stops at places like Daniel Johnson's Monkey & Sloth Hang Out, Kristi’s Overlook for lunch, La Sirena De Camp Bay for afternoon “tea” at the best beach bar, Isery Bar & Discoteca in a purpose built pirate ship, Moon Bay and all the towns, villages and settlements along the way. Essentially it was one big 110 kilometre (69 mile) lap of the island, from one tip to the other, on paved or heavily corrugated unpaved roads, which included both the Northern and Southern coasts.
Speaking of Moon Bay, we pulled up at the guard shack, where a well-armed security officer comes up to the car. I wind the window down and asked what was in Moon Bay and pointed my finger around, indicating that we’d like to take a look around. The guard simply says “yes yes”, drops the chain blocking our way and lets us through. You know you’re in an exclusive neighbourhood when all blocks are at least a ½ acre and are filled to the easements with various style of large abodes, there are a dozen yardies tending to the streets, footpaths and gardens and the For Sale signs have Sotherby’s written on them.
I spotted a yardie watering a garden in a cul-de-sac and with the rental car being covered in a shit tonne of dust, I pulled up, left the vehicle running with Lila in it and asked the fella if I could borrow his hose. I said I need to rinse the wife’s car off as she’ll kill me if I take it back to her all dirty. The fella looks at Lila, gives me a knowing look, hands me the hose and then starts pointing out spots that needed extra attention. I get back in the car and let Lila know what happened, which was a good laugh. 
We got back to our hotel just on dusk to hear 3 “Avocados” were going to go for a night snorkel and we’d all meet up at Sundowners Beach Bar for a feed & water. The three of us remaining headed over there at 6:30 PM for “Happy Hour” where 2 Margarita’s, a Vodka tonic and a local beer ran $26 USD. I queried the barmaid on the price and she says “Yes, the drinks are on the Happy Hour menu and it is not a 2 for 1 deal”.
With the bitter taste of the drinks “deal” lingering, Leila, Patricia and myself upped stumps and decided to dine as I did last night i.e. grab a six pack of Barley Pops from the corner store and head over to the local cholera cart for Tacos, Tortas and Quesadillas, which had replaced the Gringas from last night’s offerings. The feed was just as great as last night and both the accompanying “Avocados” agreed with my sentiments as well. All in all, it was a great day in which no plans and a tourist map were actually the makings of a fun day.
• ROATÁN ~ West End - Seagrape Plantation Resort (Islas de la Bahía, HND)
• ROATÁN ~ West Bay - El Faro (Islas de la Bahía, HND)
• ROATÁN ~ Flowers Bay - Methodist Church (Islas de la Bahía, HND)
• ROATÁN ~ French Cay - Daniel Johnson's Monkey & Sloth Hang Out (Islas de la Bahía, HND)
• ROATÁN ~ Parrot Tree - Kristi’s Overlook (Islas de la Bahía, HND)
• ROATÁN ~ Camp Bay - La Sirena De Camp Bay (Islas de la Bahía, HND)
• ROATÁN ~ Punta Gorda - Isery Bar & Discoteca (Islas de la Bahía, HND)
• ROATÁN ~ Mud Hole - Moon Bay (Islas de la Bahía, HND)