Roatan has so many fun activities to offer!  Beaches and diving are the most popular ones, but there are lot of great things to do away from the water too.  If you're up for some adventure, you should try an ATV tour.  Even if it's raining, the tours still go, and part of the fun is getting all messed up in the mud :)

ATV Jungle Tours are located just west of Los Fuertes, so about a 30-40 min drive from the hostel (you can take 2 buses, or work out a rate with a taxi, or they can arrange round trip transfers for $10).  They also do buggy tours.  There are lockers to store your things while you're out on your tour, as well as showers, bathrooms, and drinks for sale.  I'd recommend packing a change of clothes- we didn't realize how dirty we were going to get!

I'd never been on an ATV before, so I wasn't sure what to expect.   Being a mom of 2 boys has meant that I've tried a lot of stuff that I wouldn't normally have chosen on my own, and going on ATVs was no exception- Auri had been super excited to try it, so we headed out on this adventure together.  

When we arrived, we got kitted out with bandanas to cover our hair, helmets and goggles (we didn't bother to wear the googles on the ride- Auri got pretty splashed up as he was more adventurous than me, so he probably should have put his down over his eyes).  We went with 2 guides, who went through the basics of how to use the ATVs, and then we were off!

The trails go through a hilly, jungle part of the island, with lots of mud puddles (at least during rainy season!).  Soon my feet and legs were caked in mud.  Auri was pretty much covered in mud from head to tow!  The ATVs were pretty easy to drive, other than a little tricky sometimes to steer (I ran off into the bush once, so did Auri).  I just kept to the course- Auri said he looked back, and I had a look of intense concentration :)   Auri was loving it, doing donut holes and picking up some serious speed.  

The final verdict?  If you're looking for some action adventure and feeling like a kid again, ATV tours are just the thing!  Even for wimps like me, ATVing can be pretty fun, though if I'm going to do something with mud, a mud wrap and a massage at a spa are more my style :)  

There have been a few new activities that have started up in the last few years, so I thought it was about time to update my list of activities that I send out to guests to include any options that might be interesting.  I prefer to visit a place and see what it's like before suggesting it to anyone, so today I went to check out Manawakie Park.  I recruited  Sylvia to come visit with me.

Manawakie Park (named with the island pronounciation for Man of War Cay, the area near where they're located) is on the island that runs along the north side of the island between Sandy Bay and French Harbour, also known as Mud Hole road. They're open from Mon through Saturday, from 7am to 4pm, and the cost is $35 per person ($18.40 for kids 5-11).  They offer free transportation as long as there are at least 2 people.

Their super friendly staff is headed up by William.  The park offers guided tours through different sections- old school building styles, bush medicine, island history, all with lots of local knowledge provided, as well as an animal section that has macaws, monkeys and sloths.  There's a snack shop and a gift shop on property, and a professional photographer if you'd like to purchase any photos of your experience.

The monkeys are hilarious.  The guide warned us that they're pickpockets, to make sure to take anything out of our pockets, take off sunglasses, leave our purses behind before going in the monkey cage.  I thought I had followed the instructions, but in 2 seconds I realized that I had left a 20 lempira note in my pocket, because that was all the time that it took for Poncho to get over to me and rob me!  He quickly scurried away with his ill-gotten gains, and stubbornly refused to return the money, preferring to rip it to shreds.  The monkeys are also a little cheeky, they stuck their heads down both of our shirts to check out what was down there.

For me, the best part of the tour was hearing our guide explain about how various plants and trees are used medicinally.  I've been on the island for 23 years, and have learned a bit about bush medicine, but I learned some new stuff today.  Did you know that you can boil the leaves from a lemon tree and breathe in the vapour to help with headaches?  I have a little lemon tree growing in our yard, I know what I'm going to try next time, instead of reaching for a bottle of tylenol :)