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(NOTE: this article appeared recently in Scuba Travel UK and with the link at:

http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/scubanews86.html It is property of Tab Hauser and may be used again

at anytime.)

Roatan Getaway

by Tab Hauser

Guys Trip: 12 year for some. Brian Cohen, Michael Ehrlich, Gary Lehman, Tab Hauser (with knife in mouth) &, Ken Steinberg

After visiting the island of Roatan what I will say is that it this place will be “the” next destination with in a few years. If you visited Grand Cayman say 40 years ago or Providencial on Grand Turk 20 years ago you will know what I mean. Roatan is a tropical island 30 miles long by 3 miles wide and is situated off the coast of Honduras on the second largest barrier reef outside of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The population is 30,000 of which speak English and Spanish.

Gary Lehman Sharing Fries with Feral Parrot Pretty Parrot visited us most days at lunch

It was Christopher Columbus who discovered this island in 1502 for the Spanish. For the next 100 years it was used as a stop for provisions for galleons traveling in the area. Eventually the islands became more English with Puritans coming from Maryland in the mid 1600’s and then by other Englishmen joining them from the Cayman Islands and England in the early 1800’s. As a result of this history nearly everyone we met spoke English. An older local fishing charter captain said that when he was a boy only English was spoken. He said with the influx of Honduran’s from the main land working in the tourist or construction business, more and more Spanish is being spoken now.

After much research I picked Luna Beach Resort as our place to stay for the 6 days we were here. Luna Beach is located 20 minutes from the airport on the western end of the island. It is also a pleasant 10 minute stroll on the beach to the village of West End. This resort offers 1 and 2 room beach front suites along with what they call 3 and 4 bedroom tropical wooden houses that are up a short hill. These houses are perfect for families and couples that want to share a house and still have their own bedroom and bathrooms. There are no TV’s or phones in the rooms but there is an air conditioning to keep you comfortable if you want to escape from the heat of the day. I found the hammock on the large shaded porch more than adequate as a break from the sun for a short nap. The hotel does offer internet but only using their lap top in the lobby at $6 per hour. This was the only real flaw I found with them. Do not plan on plugging in your computer here and work. They also have a fear of going wireless for fear of viruses. There are plenty of internet cafes to plug into in the village for $5 per hour.

Walking to West End was easy an easy 10 minute stroll. Looking to Luna Beach Dock and Beach

Roatan and Luna Beach is a dive destination with 3 boats going out daily. Our routine on most days was to have a nice breakfast by the pool and head off for our 9AM dive to one of the several sights on West Bay. The ride each day to the sight was a mere 5 minutes in calm seas. The first morning’s dive was along a wall with a 40 foot bottom depth. This is what Luna Beach calls there check out for new guests so they can get acclimated to being in the water. I found this is to be a sensible policy for ones that are new divers or have not been in the water for a while. Here our guide led us past walls of different soft and hard corals and many different tropical fish.

Diving off Roatan French Angel

Lobster Hiding In Sponge

After coming back to the hotel dock we were told we had 30 minutes free before boarding back for the 11 AM dive. Coming back to the dock is nice for people who do not like to spending there safety stop floating around between dives. At 11:15 we were aboard again for the next dive and on the way to Half Moon Bay which was less than 5 minutes away. At Half Moon Bay our group of 6 had two guides, one in the front and one in the back keeping our profile at around 50 feet. Here we saw pristine walls and canyons of coral along with 3 turtles, a 50 pound grouper and two cuttle fish. Our only complaint here was that the dive ended a little early with everyone having plenty of air for another 10 minutes. Our dive master told us that the 11 AM dive was sometimes a little shorter so the staff can make the 2PM dive on time. Of the many dives in the Caribbean this was a first for me. I do want to say the dive staff and boat captain were incredibly nice and would do anything for you. They are friendly and enthusiastic about their jobs and the reeds around them and would not hesitate to use them again.

That afternoon we passed on the 2PM dive. Instead we elected to have lunch, take a quick siesta and then walk to the village of West End to see what the place looked like, get some souvenirs as well as rent a couple of cell phones. West End has plenty of places to eat and drink, buy a T shirt or trinket as well as get food at the local Mercado or fruit off the back of the truck like we did. This place is still young in the tourist business and as such no one is hocking you time sharing or trying to sell you anything while walking down the single dirt road to the end.

The main reason our group came to Roatan was to dive as well as try a little fishing. I did 10 dives during the week. Each dive was located between West Bay which the very end of Roatan and Anthony’s Key a few miles east of West End. Each dive offered coral walls and canyons to swim by. During the dive we saw the usual tropical fish that inhabit the reefs. This included giant crabs, 5 turtles, a few 30 pound groupers as well as large snappers swimming above the reef. Bottom depths for the week with the exception of the wreck dive ranged between 40 to 70 feet.

Cute Turtle at 45 feet, Roatan Honduras

Queen Angel, Roatan Honduras

The above was a synapses of the majority of our dives. There were 3 unique dives worth mentioning. The first worth mentioning was called “Hole in the Wall” Here the group started by going down to 60 feet and swimming along the wall and coral canyons. We saw tiny shrimp reef shrimp, star fish, turtles as well as giant crab with a head nearly a foot wide and a body over 2 feet around. Our group of 6 men were guided by two dive masters for safety as well as the use of there local reef knowledge. The highlight of this dive was going through 3 “swim throughs”. Our guide lead us through 3 L shaped tunnels no longer than 30 feet each with the final one ending just outside a wall.

Me (Tab Hauser) doing a "Titanic" on Bow This place is a wreck

Michael Ehrlich waving on Bridge at 90 feet Ken Steinberg giving Brian Cohen Bunny Ears during test at 105 feet

Our deepest dive of the week was called the Wreck of the Anguila. The Anguila was a 200 foot ship that was sunk off a near by island to form an artificial reef but later moved just off the coast of Anthony’s Key. The bottom of the wreck where the stern sits is in 110 feet. There is a 50 foot long by 5 foot wide swim through between the stern and bow section. The bow section has opened hatches but we were advised it is not wise to penetrate this section as it is not stable. On the bow we were told there were a few moray eels usually on the prowl but on this day they were off the ship. We did see a few 30 pound groupers in the area. What makes this wreck nice is that it was sunk near a coral reef. With a bottom time at 100 feet giving us 17 minutes we were able to swim to the near by coral reef at 40 foot for about 15 minutes and then continue with a 5 minute safety stop while diving the top of the reef at 15 feet. I always prefer to do a safety stop while swimming around instead of hanging in one place. When our 45 minute pre planned dive was up our dive master inflated his yellow sausage so the boat could see the pick up spot. Luna Beach allows divers to do a deep or wreck dive with experience of either over 100 dives or if you take the PADI awareness mini-course. This is a course that gives you an hour lecture and discussion on what deep or wreck diving would be like as well as a mini quiz while sitting on the wreck using writing slates. One of our less experienced divers took this mini course and felt much more comfortable about going down to the 100 foot level.

Night Dive: These Octopus Look Like something from a Science Fiction Movie

During the middle of the week Luna Beach does a night dive. The boat ride to the sight was less than 5 minutes so you gear up under way. This was one of the best and easiest night dives I have done. Conditions were good for our 45 foot maximum dive. We were 5 divers to a guide so we were not crowded. During the dive we saw both hard and soft coral open up as well as sleeping parrot fish and squirrel fish on the prowl. We also spotted a 2 ½ foot octopus glowing with a greenish hue when we shined our lights near it as well as a 6” baby red & white striped octopus in a crack in coral head..

On our fourth day we decided to pass on the diving at Luna Beach and rent 2 jeeps and go explore the island. We also made a reservation to do the open water dolphin dive at Anthony’s Key. After taking our jeeps over scenic northern road and repairing a couple of flat tires we headed for Gio’s for lunch at the head of French Harbor. Gio’s is a slightly upscale place directly at the head of the harbor where you can sit on the covered patio and watch the boats come and go or if you choose you can sit inside. The specialty at Gio’s is the giant garlic crab. Three in our party ordered this and really enjoyed it. The other 2 got the fresh grouper which was served with a choice of 5 sauces. If you have a car or in the area do not miss eating here.

Tab Hauser getting a kiss in Roatan Silhouetted Dolphins (photo by Gary Lehman)

Ken Steinberg dancing in "Dancing With Dolphins" Michael Ehrlich making a friend at 45 feet

From Gio’s we headed straight for Anthony’s Key Resort. Anthony’s Key as the name states in on its own little private island with small cottages all around it. This island is just opposite where the dive operations take place. The dive operation here is big. There are big boards with names of the different boats one can sign on for. Our visit here was for the dolphin dive. Normally I would be the last person to do a dolphin dive because I would not want to be with these beautiful creatures in a pen. The reason we signed up to do this was because the operation is run differently as they swim with you in open water nearby. After signing in and paying the $112 you are required to do a 2 minute check out dive just off the boat at the dock. The dive master wants to make sure you clear your mask and find your regulator incase the dolphins accidentally knock it off.

Coming at me for a visit and seeing graceful Dolphin Dancers

After the quick check out we boated over to the dolphin pen on a small island a few hundred yards from the dive center where we are introduced to the big male. Here, five divers at a time walk to a small swim platform where the trainer instructs to dolphin to stay by your feet while you pet him. He also explains the different interesting facts about dolphins. The dolphin is then is instructed to give each of diver a kiss and has it do a few tricks before the next phase of our visit.

After the dolphin lesson in the pen we boarded the boat where were given the dive briefing about meeting the dolphins in open water not far from Anthony’s Key. We were told the dolphins are trained the follow a small boat and meet the divers when we are under water if they choose to do so. Our group of 8 plus guests, videographer and two dive masters jumped over board and dropped to about 45 feet. With in 5 minutes three dolphins went straight to the dive masters putting their noses into their hands in a nuzzling sort of way. If this was on land I would say there were like puppies. From there they swam around us getting very close and at times very playful. We were told they may give a friendly nip at your arm and if you pull the arm away they will possible tease you even more. Several times the dolphins would swim amongst us circling each diver and then disappear for a few minutes. The trainer says they sometimes will chase a wild fish or go for a fast swim in the ocean before coming back. We heard about a story where the trained dolphins swam out, met wild ones and then came back with them. Toward the end of the dive one of the dive masters looked at the dolphin and with a simple hand signal it just froze in the sand so everyone can pet it or take a close look at these beautiful creatures not moving underwater. After 45 minutes when nearly every one sucked their tanks dry we surfaced. On the surface the dolphins did a few leaps for food then and headed off. One funny scene towards the end had a 30 pound grouper trying to mimic the dolphin by trying to jump out of the water for a piece of fish the trainer had. From under water you saw this grouper move its tail fin extremely fast trying to jump out only to get as far as the top of its head before sinking down. All in all I would recommend this dive as a break from the wonderful coral diving in the area and as a way to see how dolphins swim and interact with the divers and dive masters under water in an open setting.

Just The Facts:

Luna Beach Resort: This hotel can be found at www.lunabeachresort.com . The sight is quite detailed and should be tell you everything you need to know. We took the Breakfast/ Lunch Dive package. The food was good but you are on “island time” after you place your order. The dive staff is aware of this and if your breakfast or lunch takes 30 minutes to arrive you are never rushed to finish it. The boat waits for you when that happens. Our trick was to order breakfast and the go to the lockers to get our gear while it was being prepared. As for food, we did not find anything bad. We ate plenty of grilled fish sandwiches, salads, chicken and hamburgers. They also made a wonderful conch and conch and seafood soup. The omelet’s were always cooked to order. I liked the eggs wrapped in a tortilla with salsa using only the whites I requested. The fruit platter we ordered in the morning or after the dive was always fresh. The staff at Luna Beach is very pleasant and helpful. Also, you can always find Chuck the owner around or at the bar during happy hour. He is the only 78 year old man I know that can do one arm push ups. Reservations are made through the Colorado office with payment preferred via check. Visa or MasterCard has a small surcharge.

Small Pool and Dock at Luna Beach Resort

Luna Beach sells a product called Cactus Juice. It is a cream that keeps the no-see-ums off you. You need to spread it liberally on your exposed areas and this will help with these tiny bugs one can not see until after they leave a red mark half the size of a dime on your skin. Cactus Juice is also a 20 spf cream giving you decent protection from the sun.

We did not find a the no-see-ums a problem during our trip.

Picture Perfect Sunsets on most evenings

Weather: The climate is tropical with a rainy season from mid-October to late November. Temperatures are in the mid 80’s with pleasant trade winds through out most of the year. Roatan has not been effected by hurricanes very much as they tend to head north before they get to this area.

Getting There:

Flights operate through Houston on Continental and Atlanta using Delta on weekends. There is a flight direct from Newark but check with the carriers to see what is seasonal. If you go during the week you will need to fly into the capital and then take a small plane over. With layovers this can mean a very long day.

Transportation:

When we got to the airport the taxi rates started as high as $100. We found a driver with a van who agreed to do it for $25. The driver and his son went out of there way to help us so we handed him $40 and told him to come back on our pick up day of which he left. We used Aleman Transportes back and forth to the airport. The cell is 3316-9384

I recommend renting a small 4 wheel drive vehicle at least a day or 2. There are many beaches to explore on the island as well as take a ride to Punta Gorda where West African-descendent Garifuna people live.. You can also drive to Gumbalimba which is a park that has a zoo and where you can go zip lining through the forest. The reason for the 4 wheel drive is that there are some roads in the north and the east that are dirt and rutted. Please check to make sure your tires are in good shape before renting your car. We did not and had a few flats with Best Car Rental. He made up by not charging us for the ½ day we used one of the vehicles. Later that night we saw him in the West End with 4 brand new tires and an apology and a wish to buy us a round of drinks.

Dinner:

The advantage of staying near West End was that it was a pleasant walk to many good restaurants and bars. You do not need to have a car or take a taxi here. Non of the below restaurants require, take or need reservation. (There is one Indian place in the village that will only open if you make a reservation)

Out Door dining most nights and Lobster (again) w conch fritters

Lobster Pot: This place is a closest to Luna Beach. The tables are on the sand underneath the palm trees with the tables spread apart for private conversation. We ordered lobster, grouper with sautéed vegetables and a shrimp dish. We found the lobster a little inconsistent but the grouper and shrimp excellent. We also ordered a few different appetizers and were not disappointed. If you like Key Lime Pie, this is the place on the island to get it. It is slightly tart with a thin meringue topping

Eagle Rays: You can find Eagle Rays built out over the water. You have the option to dine under the stars or open air under an awning. Lobster here was very good along with the snapper and the different appetizers ordered.

Lighthouse: We found this place marginally better than Eagle Rays in food and service. This place is also built over the water with the stars over head and the lights of the bay around you. The coconut shrimp appetizer was a hit here. Main courses ordered were a shared seafood platter or lobster, crab, fish and shrimp. Other dishes were grouper, shrimp.

Thai: To break up the routine we ate at the new Thai place in West End. We found the red and green curry dishes had just the right heat to it. A chicken and cashews dish also had nice flavors.

Argentina Grill: After 4 nights of fish and seafood the carnivore urge came out in all of us. This place was packed and required a 30 minute wait. While waiting for a table we liked watching the attention owner / griller attention gave to each dish he either grilled at the entrance or came out of the kitchen. I found the tenderloin a little tough but would consider coming back to try the filet. The fish dishes from what we saw on other tables looked good as well

Roatan Ricks: We did not eat here but heard an incredible southern rock band. It was BBQ style from what I read of the menu. It is nice to listen here because the place is upstairs open air.

Pinocchio’s: Here I had one of the best seafood stir fried dishes I can remember. Another good dish was a grilled chicken breast with smothered with smoked cheese. This place got high marks from our group. The homemade desert crepe was a winner also. Dinner was $170 with tax and tip).

Putting a couple of cold ones down at Sundowner Sunset by Gary Lehman

Ending a perfect day with $3 Tres Generations Margaritas

Sundowners: This seems to be “the” bar to enjoy the sunset. The drinks were top notch and very reasonable. You can sit at the bar, the counter by the bar or even on one of the few lounge chairs near it and slowly watch the set sink below the horizon. It is also hopping at night.

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email tabh@hascorelays.com for any comments or questions. Writing and photos are property of Tab Hauser and may be used only with permission