There's lots of fun stuff to do in Sandy Bay, including Mayan Jungle Zipline and Monkey Park.  It's located about a 30 min walk from the hostel, and they give $10 off for hostel guests, so it works out to just $35 per person, which includes the canopy tour as well as interaction with the animals, including monkeys, parrots, sloths, and deer, so it's a great value.  One of my sons said it was his favourite zipline, which is high praise, as he's tested out several.  He was allowed to hang upside down, and to do a flip- he's a total thrill seeker, so he loved it.  The staff were very attentive and friendly, and gave us lots of time to make friends with all the animals after everyone was done ziplining.
If ziplining isn't your thing, the entrance just to see the animals is $10, and hostel guests get $1 off of that (it's been my mission this year to try to line up savings for hostel guests at various businesses near us, so staying at the hostel can save you some $$ and make you feel like a VIP :) ).  
Mayan Jungle is closed on Saturdays, and any other day, you should plan to arrive before 3pm.

 Every year, a fundraiser concert is held for 2 great non-profits on the island- Clinica Esperanza, a health care clinic, and SOL Foundation, which has kids programs.  The concert is outdoors on the lawn at Lawson Rock in Sandy Bay, from 3-10 pm.  Various musicians from around the island perform, and there are food vendors with stalls set up.  You can rent out a lounge chair or bring along a blanket to relax and enjoy the afternoon and evening entertainment.  The cost is $20 per person ($5 for kids, under 6yr are free).  A free shuttle service runs from West End and West Bay.  This year, the festival will take place this Saturday, March 10, 2018.  Come out and support this great event!

A Caribbean paradise- lush tropical vegetation, palm trees, sandy beach, turquoise water, warm sunshine.  If rain isn't in your vision of your tropical vacation, it might be time to adjust your vision.  All those beautiful tropical blooms and vivid green plants need water, so the rain is bound to come from time to time, and if you've been here in the last few weeks, you'll have learned that sometimes, it comes in abundance.  We're coming to the end (hopefully!) of our rainy season, and this year has been very, very wet.   Investing in some rain gear (an umbrella or rain coat, maybe even getting some rain boots) makes rainy days way more enjoyable- yes, there can be enjoyment in the rain!  Let your inner child come out, and get out to splash in the puddles!  So other than dancing in the rain, what's there to do when it's wet outside? 
1. Tour the island.  Sometimes it's rainy in one area, and not in the other, and chances are, if you're driving around, you'll have a few lulls in the weather to get out and check out some sites (pose by the 'ROATAN' sign, sample jams at Marble Hill Farms, see the mangrove channels up by Oakridge and Jonesville)
2. Visit Carambola Botanical Gardens.  Maybe not if it's teeming down, but a light drizzle or overcast day shouldn't deter from the natural beauty of the gardens, and there's a great view at the top
3. Take a dive course- you'll be spending some time in the classroom and doing confined water training, so the rain won't interfere with that, and when it's time for your dives, if it's choppy on one side of the island, it's usually flat on the other side, so you'll still get to dive (and you're getting wet anyway, so the rain won't matter)
4. Get creative and do some art.  Sip and Dip Roatan offers paint nights at a few different spots around the island (we've done one at the hostel, it was lots of fun).  Waves of Art has been hosting stained glass workshops.  
5. Volunteer- the SOL Foundation has a community center in Sandy Bay, or help out at the Sand Castle Library or Care 4 Communities: all 3 have indoor facilities that you can help out in.
6. Enjoy some down time: read a book, catch up on your travel blog, organize photos, play a board game, do a puzzle
7. Practice making new cocktails :)

For getting out exploring short distances, a car rental isn't needed in Roatan.  We have great, efficient bus and taxi systems that are inexpensive, with one route running between West End, Sandy Bay and Coxen Hole, and another going eastwards from Coxen Hole to French Harbour (with the bus continuing as far as Oakridge), and a 3rd route going from Coxen Hole to Flowers Bay.  However, to explore the far east side of the island, on the dirt road to the beautiful beach of Camp Bay, a car rental is an excellent idea, as buses don't run that far, and taxis generally want a lot to go that distance.
Car rentals start around $35-$40/day.  If you're staying at the hostel, I have a contact that does drop offs and pick ups at the hostel included in his rate, and charges $45/day, without security deposit, rather than a freeze on a credit card.  If you're traveling on your own, the hostel's a great spot to meet other travelers to split on the cost of a rental vehicle, which can make exploring the east end very cost effective.  I also have a couple of coolers that I'm happy to lend out, if anyone wants to take a picnic lunch along.
So what's worth seeing while you're out exploring?  Definitely check out Camp Bay- you might be the only ones on the beach, so it's a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of West Bay (no one selling you massages, bracelets or hair braiding).
 While you have the car to adventure with, you might also want to check out Oakridge, with all the houses set on stilts over the water, and where the mangrove tours depart from.  Along the main road, you'll see a huge pirate ship replica, which was (very briefly) a night club, until the owner was apprehended by the DEA, he was money laundering and part of a Mexican drug cartel.
There are some beautiful views as you drive along the east side.  If you need a food stop, there are a few good restaurant choices.  At Camp Bay, a bit east of the main public beach (a bit of a walk, you might want to drive further up), there's La Sirena, right on the water at the end of a dock.  If you do the mangrove tour in Oakridge, you could ask for a stop at Hole in the Wall, a quirky bar/restaurant on the water frequented by yachties, that you can only access by boat (if you don't do the mangrove tour, drive into Jonesville to the very end, and ask someone to call them for you, and they'll send a skiff to pick you up).   The Blue Mermaid Cafe is another option that's just accessible by boat- it recently opened, so I haven't had a chance to check it out, but it's on my list the next time I'm up that direction.
On the road heading out to Camp Bay, you'll pass Marble Hill Farms, where they sell a variety of tropical jams and jellies.  If you're out exploring on a Sunday, check out Punta Gorda in the afternoon: it's the Garifuna village, and on Sundays, they do their dancing and drumming and sell some of their traditional dishes.
The Daniel Johnson Monkey and Sloth Hangout in French Cay is a fun stop (closed Sundays), and The Buccaneer in French Harbour is a great place to spend a few hours, in one of their hammocks over the water.
On the road connecting Coxen Hole to Flowers Bay (a road that runs parallel to the Sandy Bay road), there's the 'ROATAN' sign that you can pose by, as well as a cameo factory, and Steel Pan Alley is in that area, if you'd like to do a steel drum lesson.
On the road between West Bay and West End, you'll pass by the Roatan Rum Factory, and just across the road, the Lighthouse is a lookout tower with a beautiful view, costs a couple of bucks to go up and take a look.

Searching for eggs- 'Must be Easter' you must be thinking.  No, we're just having a shortage of eggs on the island.  And tomatoes.  And refills for propane tanks.  Sometimes we get shortages when the weather's been rough and boats aren't coming over to bring supplies.  At the moment, we've got some shortages due to the political situation on the mainland, where road blocks from protests regarding the presidential election are preventing the flow of commerce.  Does that mean that people who come to Roatan will starve?  Only if you're normally on a vegetable omelette diet, then you could be in rough shape.  This morning I went for a wander through 4 grocery stores in town.  I found potatoes, onions, lettuce, pineapple, strawberries, lots and lots of apples, milk, cheese, flour, rice etc.  Not available from my list were tomatoes (I bought some canned ones), broccoli (I bought frozen), green pepper and eggs, both of which I'm just doing without for now.  I guess it's good for my cholesterol :)  
Fortunately, we've got propane for cooking (most people use propane stoves here), with a back-up tank.  Others aren't so lucky and don't have a back up tank: I saw one funny conversation on Facebook.  People posting to see if there was propane anywhere, someone suggesting to cook with wood, and a reply that all the wood was wet (due to all the rain we've been having).  Another reply suggested he might auction off his spare tank, someone asked if it would come with a dozen eggs :)    I guess there will be a run on electric cooktops!  
The airport also had a different demographic than normal.  Usually, everyone is lined up checking in with their rollerbags.  Instead, today was all backpackers- travelers that would normally leave Utila and go through the mainland to their next destination were instead coming over to Roatan (as there's no international airport in Utila) to go to their next stop with a flight.
At the hostel, all is good.  Our road has been so eroded by the recent rains that I couldn't get my car out of the driveway, but I had someone out there with a pickax this morning, so I got out just fine, and now a few neighbours have chipped in together to get the digger to straighten things out, so our road will be looking a bit better.  The garbage hasn't been picked up in almost a month, so I guess we'll need to arrange that too.  Island life with its hiccups :)   The sun is shining, and the pool is looking tempting!  It's a beautiful day to head out exploring.

Sometimes when people think of hostels, they think of crowded dorms with a bunch of 20 year olds.  That may be a portrait of some hostels, but there's a wide range of styles of hostels and the accommodations they offer.  At our place, we have privates as well as dorm beds: tiny single rooms for travelers on their own, rooms for couples, and apartment-style units with their own kitchens.  The diversity of the room types gives us a greater diversity of guests, so we have guests anywhere from 18 through to guests in their 70s.  There are travelers from all over the world: at the moment, Brazil, Nicaragua, United States, England, Spain.  Occasionally a guest just spends a night (usually passing through Roatan on their way to Utila or on their way back from there), but more commonly guests spend at least a week on Roatan, sometimes a few months. Sometimes they're doing dive courses, sometimes just relaxing on the beach and checking out all the great activities that Roatan has to offer.  And sometimes, they're doing volunteer work.
I have a couple in at the moment who are in their 70s and have rented out the casita.  They're a really wonderful couple to get to know (one of the best things about owning a hostel is the people that you meet!).  Retired teacher and principal, they've been married 45 years and are a beautiful example of a loving, respectful partnership.  They travel a few months out of the year to areas where they volunteer.  While they're in Roatan, they go off every day to volunteer at a couple of the schools here. How they've chosen to spend their retirement is inspiring. 

​ I'm glad I've met you, Linda and Frank, and happy you've chosen our hostel as your home away from home!

Life has highs and lows, and the hostel industry is no exception.  There are very definitive seasons here, with our busy months running from mid-December to end of April and picking up again in July and August, and the off months being May-June, and then really, really slow in Sept-Oct, starting to get a little momentum again in November.
What does low season mean for potential visitors to Roatan?  No crowds, no needing to reserve anything well in advance, sometimes better pricing, especially if you're staying around for a few weeks.  The downside?  Water taxis that go between West End and West Bay need a few people to make it worthwhile, so if you're trying to get down to the beach, you might be waiting awhile (sometimes it's more worthwhile to negotiate an expresso taxi fare with a land taxi), some restaurants close for the slow season, and if you're looking for lots of nightlife, you might find things on the quiet side.
Weather-wise, it's still sunny and hot (very, very hot) in September and the start part of October.  Mid-October, our rainy season begins, with the rainiest months being November and December.  Rain can be just a brief, heavy dousing, or can be an all-day affair for a few days in a row.
What does low season mean for business owners?  Other than tightening up their personal budgets to get through the quiet times with greatly reduced income (some resorts shut down and lay off their employees for a few months), low season also usually is the time to get properties ready for high season, repainting rooms, doing repairs, maintenance and expansion projects.  At Roatan Backpackers' Hostel, we've opted to stay open even during the slowest weeks so that backpackers who arrive without a reservation will always find a place to stay, but we spend this period doing lots of projects.  Currently, we've been repainting rooms, exterior of the front building, deep cleaning interiors and patio furniture, and working on our latest project, the second cando jr.  Low season requires a change in gears to get used to the slower pace, but it's a good time to recharge batteries and get ready for when things go into full swing.

Roatan has been my home so long, the little quirks about living here just seem normal.  But sometimes I hear comments that make me remember the things that work a little differently here.
Many of the community here use Facebook groups to communicate- to buy and sell goods, to keep up with events, to post news, crime etc.  There's one group called Ask Anything Roatan, and sometimes there are some funny posts in there.  Recently there was a post with a pic of small little poops, asking what these were from (geckos).  
Driving on the island can require a bit of patience.  There's one main road, with one lane of traffic in either direction, so if there's a super slow backhoe going up the road, or an accident, traffic can get way backed up.  No street names, addresses are just description of where your close to (for example, we're in Sandy Bay by Solgas, turn down the side dirt road and we're the 5th house on the left).  No mail delivery to your home: the Honduran postal system is extremely slow so I never bother, but if you do get something sent here, it goes to the post office in Coxen Hole, where you just have to randomly check to see if you have anything.  Bills do get delivered to your home though: the water bill, the electric bill, cell phone bill, internet bill- the companies send someone around in a scooter dropping them off.
Banking is another thing that can require patience, especially if you don't plan well (or have something unexpected come up) and have to visit the bank at the 1st or 15th of the month when it's just been pay day- the lines can be a couple of hours!  (special line for seniors and pregnant women- good incentive to get pregnant or buy one of those baby belly strap-on pillows- though the bank would probably start to get wise on that if you were indefinitely pregnant :) ).  Most of the banks won't change US$ to lempira for you if you don't have a bank account with them.  Not sure on the theory behind that, as anyone visiting might want some local currency and obviously won't have a bank account here!  They're very fussy about the condition of US bills- so if you wonder why your server wouldn't take your ratty US bill, now you know why.  Even a small tear will make it unacceptable at the bank.  If you're getting really settled in to the island and want to arrange some financing, that's another eye opener.  Interest rates are exceedingly high here.  Want to get a credit card?  I just recently got one: it required that I 'freeze' the funds for what I wanted my limit to be (so if you want a limit of 15,000 lemp, the bank holds that in a special account for you for the whole time you have your card).  You'd maybe understand this principle if they have a lot of people not paying back their cards, but as they have your money already, what's not understandable is the interest rate for the card: it's 69%!!!  My jaw dropped when I read the conditions of my card.  I'm making super sure to pay it every month!
Living here has gotten way easier than it used to be.  For example: most people cook with propane tanks attached to their stoves (similar to what you'd use with a BBQ), and when I got here, the only place to fill your tank was way up in French Harbour.  Now, there's also fill stations in Sandy Bay and Coxen Hole, as well as a gas truck that drives around filling tanks, and guys on scooters that will come to your house to pick up your tank for you.  Phones used to be impossible to get- there were no cell phones until maybe 10-12 years ago, and there wasn't infrastructure for more land lines, there was about 1 land line for every 50 houses.  If you needed to make or receive a call, you got to know the neighbour that had the phone :)  Internet was super expensive, as it was a long-distance call to the mainland to get connected: internet is still pricey here compared to North America, and much slower, but it's infinitely more accessible than it was!
Things going off.  Sometimes the milk goes off even before it's reached its expiration date (and stores sell products with just a couple days left to go, so it's important to look at those dates).  Sometimes the power goes off for a few hours at a time.  Sometimes the water goes off.  Sometimes all the neighbourhood dogs go off, a cacophony of barking!
You get used to critters.  More types of ants than you ever thought imaginable, cockroaches, spiders (including big, hairy tarantulas), bats, mice, lots of lizards- it can be a battle keeping the 'neighbours' out of your house.
Things melt.  Don't make the mistake of leaving a chocolate in your bag, it'll be a gooey mess!  Make up will melt down your face, any attempts to beautify your hair by curling or straightening it will usually be gone within an hour.  You'll sweat in areas you didn't know produced sweat.  And then when things cool down and rainy season comes, it's the battle of mildew.  Sometimes clothes in your closet can get a fine layer of mildew growing on them!
The stars are absolutely spectacular.  Without all the lights that a city has, you can see the beautiful night array of stars.  In the day, things are also beautiful- vivid greenery, bright tropical flowers, gorgeous blending shades of the sea.  There are also great smells- pungent floral scents of lilies and blooming night jasmine, the inviting waft of freshly made tortillas, the heavenly scent of cashews being roasted.
Life is simpler, life is better, life is happy.  My island home of Roatan, no place I'd rather be.

 High season has been very busy, and I needed to recharge my batteries, so I decided to plan a little 'stay-cation' on Roatan.  We headed out yesterday to Jonesville, for a boat trip with Roatan Snorkeling Tours, and to spend the night at The Sail Inn.

Roatan Snorkeling Tours is run by a super-nice local couple, Janna and Brian.  They offer budget-friendly trips several places along Roatan's east side, including out to Pigeon Cay, departing from Jonesville. A couple weeks ago, I had noticed a posting of theirs on Facebook, and a group from the hostel went to spend the day with them.  They all had a terrific time, so I'd been waiting to have a free day to go on their trip too.  The wind had been blowing strong all week, but was looking like it would calm down on Friday.  
Friday morning, dark clouds loomed on the horizon, but we hoped that the weather would work out for our trip.  Janna greeted us as we drove into Jonesville, and we loaded up on the boat.  A few raindrops fell as we headed out, but they quickly stopped.  The wind hadn't died down as much as hoped, and picked up throughout the day, but it wasn't too bumpy a ride.
We did a snorkel stop at Cow and Calf, a couple of outcroppings on the south-east side with beautiful coral around the base.  Then we continued east, cut through the mangrove channel to the north shore, looping further east and eventually cutting through between St. Helene and Morat, then further east on the south side of Barbarete, until we got to Pigeon Cay.
It was blowing pretty hard by the time we got there, but we weren't alone.  A helicopter tour was there with a few guests.  We stayed for a short swim and then started making our way back.  Once we got into the Jonesville area, we toured through a section of mangroves, and then stopped at a protected swimming hole, and the boys played on a rope swing.  The day flew by!  
Janna and Brian gave us a lift to our overnight destination, The Sail Inn.  A unique little 3 room bed and breakfast place run by Kim and Tony, The Sail Inn really felt like a getaway from everything.  A balcony runs the length of the house, overlooking the protected waters inside of Jonesville Bight (I'm still a little confused on the whole layout of Jonesville, as there's apparently 2 Jonesvilles, but I found a Google map, below, that has the Sail Inn marked on it (our boat trip departed from Hog Pen Bight).

The rooms are lovely: the two front bedrooms each have sliding glass doors opening to the balcony.  One has its own bathroom, and the other shares with the back bedroom.  There's a large living area and kitchen that guests can use.  We got showered and changed, and I sat and chatted with Kim while the boys fished off the dock.  It was already getting late in the day, and it was dark by the time we headed to Hole in the Wall for dinner (which was just a couple minutes walk away, along a sidewalk that runs behind the waterfront homes).
We had a great dinner at Hole in the Wall, then headed back to the Sail Inn for the night.  A comfy night of sleep (a few roosters in the distance, but not close enough to disturb my rest).  It was very peaceful.  In the morning, I got up early and curled up in a hammock with a book.  Kim cooked us a delicious breakfast, and then we headed out to explore in kayaks.
Kim told us how to get to the mangrove channel, though we got very turned around and would have never found it if we hadn't seen Janna and Brian passing by in a boat, who pointed us in the right direction.  We kayaked through the channel to the same little swimming hole we had been to the day before, and the boys had fun jumping from the mangroves into the water.  As we started to head back, dark clouds loomed ominously.  Rain drops started falling when we were nearly through the mangroves, and by the time we were heading through the bight, torrential rain was teeming down- I could hardly see Deo behind me!  It was really fun :)  We made it back just before there was a clap of thunder, and Kim was waiting with dry towels (what a great host!).
We dried off and enjoyed the rain coming down.  Once it let up mid-day, Brian came to pick us up, as he and Janna had invited us to lunch with Janna's family.  
Such amazing hospitality from everyone, we felt so welcome in Jonesville, with new friendships formed.  Our stay-cation was the perfect little escape :)

Sometimes travelers are caught unaware by holidays in the country that they're traveling.  If you'll be traveling during the week leading up to Easter, this is a huge holiday in Central America, called Semana Santa.  Schools are out all week, government offices are shut, banks shut by mid-day Wednesday, and pretty much everything closes down on Good Friday (including the ferry and buses).  There are a few prime destinations in Central America that everyone heads to, and Roatan is one of them.
What does that mean for you as a traveler?  

1. Book ahead!!!  Don't just turn up expecting to find accommodations, because you'll be in for a bad surprise if you do.  Prices increase during these dates, there are minimum stays, and everything gets booked up.
2. Check into transportation schedules, and arrive earlier than you normally would- the ferry between La Ceiba and Roatan adds in a couple of extra trips each day, and the boats are always full.   Sometimes website information is not accurate- for example, I just checked, and the website for the ferry is not showing their holiday schedule, but it's been posted on Facebook.
3. Stock up on groceries near the start of the week.  As more and more people come to the island, it gets to be pretty slim pickings!
4. Be prepared for crowds, especially in West Bay.  In the rest of the island, you can find areas that aren't so crazy, but West Bay gets packed.

Doesn't sound like your scene?  If you have date flexibility, there's a mass exodus on Easter Sunday as everyone starts making their way home, so just come the next week!
​