Comments/Reviews on Salt and Pepper Whale Shark Trip

[diversteve]

Uh, you could leave the gear at AKR while you're at the West End.

And I read my "silly comments" in another thread here.

I'm done hijacking this thread and having to respond to you so I'll be ignoring you from now on...

 

[RTBDiver]

Uh, you could leave the gear at AKR while you're at the West End.

And I read my "silly comments" in another thread here.

I'm done hijacking this thread and having to respond to you so I'll be ignoring you from now on...

Yep.
So you are telling us you know that AKR And the Gallindo folks will be happy to look out for your gear for who knows how long even though your not paying to stay there and you head out to spend money elswhere and they will certainly have people available to open up wherever they store it to let you get it at any hour depending on when you get back and they will take full responsibility for anything that may go missing even if your not staying at their resort?? Come on, I am sure you will read this even if you say you will ignore it but be realistic, the more you try to suggest this is a good option the sillier it becomes. .
Oh, and by the way, Just who are you quoting when you put "silly comments" in quotes. Why is it not quoted like other posts? , Please, let us know.

what a card that guy is, The problem is anyone new may actually think that being a "super moderator" automatically means they have real knowledge of a destination

 

[RTBDiver]

I'm done hijacking this thread and having to respond to you so I'll be ignoring you from now on...

Why did you feel you HAD to respond? Considering you offer no real insight into the situation wouldn't it have been better to ignore me first rather than feeling the need to post the last word and say you will ignore it now?

 

[RTBDiver]

French Harbour near FIBR isn't much either...lol - we were through it b4 I realized what it was.

Actually now French harbor is home to THE largest shopping complex on Roatan and one of the largest in Honduras. There are the normal chain stores as well as many tourist oriented stores. It has been marked out for a few years, you must have seen it

 

[Doc]

Please try to misquote the entire line next time:

While at AKR You're only a short cab ride away from the West End also if you get tired of the food at FIBR.

No slight intended. I just read your capitalization of the word "Your" and assumed that it was hanging off the end of a run-on sentence... or you forgot a period, comma or some such after the word AKR. Your adding the underline helped, but it, in and of itself, adds to the misquote, if you will!

The point was, when you stay at any place other than AKR, IoLR or BIBR, etc., a cab ride to the West End from FIBR or CCV is something you plan-out in advance.

RTBDiver is exactly correct with his explanation of the appearance of local Police. You are not likely to have any interaction with them as a tourist visitor, but they are known to make tourist's eyes bug out of their skulls. They use the uniforms and equipment that they get for free with what is essentially another "layer" of the National Police. We North Americans are not used to seeing every day cops in camouflage toting large assault rifles. First- they won't issue them pistols because they cost too much (the G3 rifles are free as Govt Surplus) , and then- they don't trust these youngsters with such an easily mishandled weapon as a Berreta M9 pistol.

The camouflage uniforms? They are military hand-me-downs, too. Most of them you see in the US were also made in Honduras at one of those clothing factories that Cathy Lee had Frank handing out dollars at back when she caught him... well, you get the idea. They make them right there.

Be frightened if you want to, but here you see a Captain, a Sergeant, and a Patrolman: (circa 1985 on the taxiway at the RTB airport)

Notice how the Patrolman holds his finger over the barrel of the rifle? This is a European standard of politeness for law enforcement officers. The more you see of this expansive world, the less aghast you become over unfamiliar things.

Incidentally, since we're now striving for accuracy, there is no actual "law" against SCUBA with Whale Sharks... it might be a local agreement, but most know that they spook when they hear bubbles, so open circuit SCUBA would be a bad idea.

What we might well draw from all of this is that it is difficult to have an overall and encompassing perspective of the entire Island of Roatan with a handful of visits. You can be staying at one place, and a few yards away, someone can have an entirely different experience. It takes years to piece that together.

Same for the diving~ it has subtle changes, it has dramatic differences... depending on where you jump in and what you are familiar with- over a number of seasonal changes.

Roatan is many different things depending on your perspective, view and breadth of experience.

The Buddha here tells the story of a king who had six blind men gathered together to examine an elephant.

"When the blind men had each felt a part of the elephant, the king went to each of them and said to each: 'Well, blind man, have you seen the elephant? Tell me, what sort of thing is an elephant?

The six blind men assert the elephant is either like a pot (the blind man who felt the elephants' head), wicket basket (ear), ploughshare (tusk), plough (trunk), granary (body), pillar (foot), mortar (back), pestle (tail) or brush (tip of the tail).

The men cannot agree with one another and come to blows over the question of what an elephant really is like, and this delights the king. The Buddha ends the story of the king and compares the six blind men to preachers and scholars who are blind and ignorant and hold to their own views: "Just so are these preachers and scholars holding various views blind and unseeing.... In their ignorance they are by nature quarrelsome, wrangling, and disputatious, each maintaining reality is thus and thus."

The Buddha then speaks the following verse:
O how they cling and wrangle, some who claim
For preacher and monk the honored name!
For, quarreling, each to his view they cling.
Such folk see only one side of a thing

 

[diversteve]

Ok,

First of all I want to apologize to Doc. I misread his comments concerning my earlier post about going to the West End from AKR. It also didn't help that I used You're instead of you're.

I also really did plan to stay out of this thread but feel that I'm forced to respond now based on later comments posted by RTBDiver. I apologize to the OP for this later thread hijack and promise it will be my last one.

So here's my attempt to clear things up:

Uh, you could leave the gear at AKR while you're at the West End.

We were at AKR one day - not staying there, just doing the Dolphin Dive. A non-diving friend and I went to the gift-shop while waiting for the DVD to be edited. Probably the better part of an hour and a half since there was a small tour group ahead of us at the gift shop. During this time, we left all our gear, includind my $4500 worth of HD video gear on a bench in front of the compressor room.

When I asked the DM about putting it into a locker temporarily, he said not to bother that they really don't have any theft there. He offered to help me move it back onto a boat if I felt that was safer. In the end, I left it where it was until we returned from the giftshop.

Seems like the oft-mentioned theft problem on Roatan is really overstated - at least that's been my experience.

So it appears that AKR does in fact store gear sometimes for non-guests when asked...

And how do you know that the OP isn't planning to do the 9AM shark dive, have lunch in the West End, and stop back for their gear later? Don't assume that the Gallindos would have to open anything up late. btw, they probably would, the GM opened up two closed parts of the resort for us one night when a friend needed a late night chamber ride while we were waiting for the dr. to arrive.

Oh, and by the way, Just who are you quoting when you put "silly comments" in quotes. Why is it not quoted like other posts? , Please, let us know.

I meant absolutely no reference to anyone posting in this thread. I was merely quoting your prior post. I believe I did read it here just did not take the time to find the thread. It's also possible I read it on another board.

So why did you quote "home" in your previous response to me? Please, let us know.

See what happens when you jump to conclusions?

I'm done hijacking this thread and having to respond to you so I'll be ignoring you from now on...

I feel this was my right to state this. I really was done hijacking, I do feel that I'm in no way obligated to continue in this thread and I made the decision to ignore you after you seemed to belittle my status as a Moderator. It's people like you that make me question why I continue to do so given that it's an unpaid position and we seem to be constantly insulted from trolls that have nothing constructive to add but are quick to point out any mistakes made.

Could I have worded this more PC? - probably. But I show the same kindness that I'm given. And frankly you've pushed a little too far imo.

You know, I don't feel like I insulted you in my responses so I'm curious as to why you did. Until now that is, you can safely assume that the statement misquoted below is directed at you, RTBDiver.

what a card that guy is, The problem is anyone new may actually think that being a part-time resident automatically means they have real knowledge of a destination.

And it's Senior Moderator. It means I've had the pleasure of taking crap from members like you for a long time. Generally I'm able to keep from responding this way but today you've just pushed my buttons. And even if you feel in some bizarre way qualified to make that comment about me, you have no right to insult my fellow staff members in that fashion.

Actually now French harbor is home to THE largest shopping complex on Roatan and one of the largest in Honduras. There are the normal chain stores as well as many tourist oriented stores. It has been marked out for a few years, you must have seen it

We went through there in a van. Sort of a long jog in the road past Barefoot Cay and then some shops along one street. I asked the driver what it was and he pointed to a sign that said French Harbour. So that's what I based my comment on earlier. Wikipedia indicates that the population of Roatan is 30,000 so even if a third live in French Harbor...

Evidently from your response there's more there than we saw. Coxen Hole seemed so much larger from my limited perspective.

I apologize for not understanding that a prerequisite for posting here was to have my comments approved by you first...:shocked2:

What we might well draw from all of this is that it is difficult to have an overall and encompassing perspective of the entire Island of Roatan with a handful of visits. You can be staying at one place, and a few yards away, someone can have an entirely different experience. It takes years to piece that together.

That's an excellent insight and one I'll remember in the future.

I appreciate the insight about the local police also. From my perspective, just about every time I saw a member of the force, they had an assault rife of some sort slung or carried properly. Given that I live in a quiet suburban neighborhood, it does put you off a little...lol

The sad thing is that this thread has like so many others deteriorated to this level instead of answering the OP's questions in a positive manner - which was all I tried to do initially.

I really am done here now, except to read your response. Please respond as you see fit but know that this is my last word in this thread. Honest...

 

[RTBDiver]

Just curious as to why you felt the need to change a quote? I had written The problem is anyone new may actually think that being a Super moderator automatically means they have real knowledge of a destination. and it would seem your feeling were hurt and you actually put in quotes something i did not say. Again , this is just another example of someone with limited knowledge of an area trying to be credible when in fact they get less credible with every post on the subject. At least i did not have to change quotes and make stuff up. If you feel that part time for over ten years and a deep knowledge of the Island as far as distance, new shopping , police, and politics does not matter then so be it, I am sure your week visit a year or so ago more than qualifies you to be the most informed, especially if your a "Super Moderator".

 

[RTBDiver]

So why did you quote "home" in your previous response to me? Please, let us know

What are you talking about?

 

[RTBDiver]

And it's Senior Moderator. It means I've had the pleasure of taking crap from members like you for a long time. Generally I'm able to keep from responding this way but today you've just pushed my buttons. And even if you feel in some bizarre way qualified to make that comment about me, you have no right to insult my fellow staff members in that fashion.
.

How were fellow staff member insulted? Were they bothered by the fact that others were more informed than yourself? This has nothing to do with anything other than people posting information that is not accurate whether they are newbies, old timers, moderators or the god blessed super moderator, if it aint accurate you should expect to be called out and if you are OK with posting inaccurate info just because your a moderator then so be it, at least we know then that your posts are not meaningful

 

[Pembina]

Stop it please!!!
Can't we try to get along.

Just because we have differnet views/thoughts doesn't mean one is right and one is wrong. I loved the elephant story. How true is that!!!

I appreciate both views concerning French Harbour. FIBR is one of the winter time destinations that we are considering and I like the fact that it has a large shopping center but yet still maintains that blink-and-you-missed-it atmosphere. I didn't enjoy my excursion to the West End while on Roatan but that doesn't mean everyone should avoid it.

I wished I had read this post concerning the Roatan police before our last trip to Roatan.
We were driving back by taxi/van (the only way to travel Roatan in MHO) from our shark dive to our resort near AKR. The driver took a detour through Coxen Hole to show us some sights and we ended up stalled in traffic in an area that didn't seem safe at all during rush hour. Seeing police standing on every corner in camo and carrying machine guns did nothing to relieve my fears and not being able to communicate with the driver didn't help either. If I had known that was the norm maybe I wouldn't have been so anxious.

I also am grateful for the thread regarding the whale excursions and expanding my knowledge of these creatures and how they interact with boats and people. I will take Rob's advice and forego the whale expedition until I can dive with Rob in Utila (another destination we are considering).

Please let's just keep to the topic and help others gain knowledge by sharing our opinons & experiences (right or wrong).

Jacquie