Roatan Trip Report 3/22/08-3/29/08; Reviews and Impressions

[Oddsnends]

Travel

Arrived on Roatan via TACA. The airline seems to improve each time I fly. We followed RoatanMan’s suggestion on bag tags. All 12 people’s baggage arrived with us. Same success with the return flights. Don't forget about the $33.19 departure tax!

Taxi fares from airport to the West End were a fixed $15 fee.

Accommodations

Our 12-person group split up. Half of us stayed at Posada Arco Iris; the other half stayed at Casa del Sol.

Posada Arco Iris: Great location on Half Moon Bay with beach chairs and kayaks. Free Wifi. Attentive staff and maid service. Nice landscaping. The rooms were large with good beds and bathrooms. We had a bit of a mosquito problem in one where the screens were not sealed well. I loved how it was both centrally located and reasonably quiet (minus the cat in heat).

Casa del Sol: Located ¼ a km from Half Moon Bay. Feels like a really big house. Rooms were smaller but had A/C included. Staff and maid service was fine. IMHO it is less of a value than Posada.

Dive Operators

This trip included 2 snorkelers, 4 people getting their OW, 4 their AOW, and 2 advanced divers. We contacted Coconut Tree Divers before arriving, and they reserved spaces for our group. We also did a number of dives with Native Sons.

Coconut Tree Divers: CCTree should be called CCTree-house. Everyone is insane, no one has a shirt, and there are always 4 cats sleeping on top of one another (location varies). Yet - to the bafflement of the MBA's on our trip - they somehow manage to run an incredibly safe dive operation with superb customer service. At the start of the trip they conducted a checkout dive for all of our divers and made on the spot repairs to some of our malfunctioning gear. Most importantly, I feel they did an excellent job training our divers. They spent extra time when necessary and refused to charge one diver who failed to complete the course (illness).

Native Sons: This dive op had a more business-y feel, but they are certainly not Bear Sterns. I could see this appealing to divers who prefer a more "stable" atmosphere. The attached Chilies property looks like a nice spot to stay. They have smaller boats but they are still powerful and stable. I really liked the DM’s here. We had a great time discussing the fishes, and I felt very comfortable diving with them. They gave me and buddy a nice amount of autonomy after the first dive. No one took a class at Native Sons, but I got a good impression from my talks with their instructors.

Food

We ate a lot. Here were my favorites…

Argentinean Grill: Yum, but pricey ($10-$30). Save it for when you piss-off the missus.

Place behind CCTree and Up Some Stairs: Totally awesome. The mom and dad make up something wicked good for lunch each day. Also great if you like Honduran style breakfasts (<$5)

Vietnamese Place: Reasonable prices, good food.

Thai Place: Loved it. A bit pricier than Vietnamese but really tasty.

Rotisserie Chicken Place: Great food, better prices.

Cannibals: Some of our group ate there about 50% of the time. I thought it was OK.

Mavis and Dixes: Decent seafood option. They handled 2 twelve-person tables simultaneously, which impressed me.

The Bakery II: For coffee and French toast.

Rudy’s: For smoothies.

Gelato Place: For gelato.

Entertainment

Sundowners: makes sunsets 50% better.

For the younger set I recommend visiting FUBAR for Travis alone. Ask him the story about his dirt bike. Avoid the balloons.

If you hear a guy named Brian is playing, go see him. He has a band called The West End Players.

Up Next

I am going to follow-up on this post with more about our day-to-day experiences and dives...

 

[hopefulist]

Thanks for sharing - looking forward to more!

 

[SoSiouxme]

Thanks to taking the time to post. More please......

 

[Bay Island Diver]

Which story about Travis's Dirt Bike?

The one that heppened the day before yesterday is a good one!

Glad you enjoyed yourself here.

Will

 

[Oddsnends]

So begins the travel journal&#8230;

Saturday, March 22, 2008: Travel Day

Our group traveled from Los Angeles to Roatan through San Salvador via TACA. In Los Angeles, we ran into trouble with our baggage. The missus and I packed one checked bag each. Both were OK and under the weight limits (only checked bag per person is free now). The trouble arose with our carry-ons. They were within regulations on size, but the attendant informed us carry-ons now must be weighed. News to us! They were deemed overweight, being full of dive gear, photo gear, and large amounts of cheese. We begged for some time, explaining the delicacy of the items. It appears she made a spontaneous decision to let us pass (thanks TACA lady!). Baggage rules seem to be changing every month, so re-check them right before you go.

San Salvador Airport

We have now traveled through San Salvador a number of times. During transfers, security performs a search of all of your carry-ons. They can (and will) confiscate duty-free items not purchased in San Salvador. The chance of confiscation seems to correlate with the quality of the alcohol. We lost some fine Pisco from Peru and a friend lost a nice bottle of whisky traveling from the US (both were packaged and sealed with custom&#8217;s stickers). Check it or lose it. Oh, and if you&#8217;re going to lose it, dump it out or give it to a janitor.

On Roatan

TACA ran nice flights with decent F&B service. On Roatan, customs took about 20 min and baggage about 30 min - better than LAX. I took a cab to the West End ($15) and visited both Casa del Sol and Posada Arco Iris to check everyone in. Both were prepared for our parties and provided quick courteous service.

Visiting the Dive Ops

Our group had 12 people so I had contacted Coconut Tree Divers prior to the trip. They were also ready for us and had reserved spots for our 5 OW certs. and 4 AOW certs. PJ was lamenting the death of yet another keyboard to &#8220;Beer, coffee, and oh yea, some water too.&#8221; He had us enter our personal data into a diver database, gave out course materials, and we were good to go. The 4 cats were located on top of one other on the interior bench.

It was a busy week. Some of the &#8220;fun&#8221; dives had already filled, so I would advise calling ahead to reserve your spots. CCTree had one boat for the week (the other was in for service). The boats are docked very close to the shop. You bring your gear to the boat and do your prep on waiting tanks.

Went over to Native Sons next. I had heard good things, so I sighed up for a few dives for the week. Met Jack, a young Englishman and a really nice guy. Their operation uses 2 smaller but fast n stable boats. You set up your equipment on a tank at the shop, and then you or an assistant walks it to the boat.

Investigating Other Liquid Opportunities

Spent the rest of the day at Sundowners. A mixture of bar space, tables, couches, and beach chairs. Like a smaller and less annoying The Office, Cabo San Lucas. Food is served. Beer is a dollar or two. Don&#8217;t need to tell you to go, you will end up there anyways

The beer in Roatan is fair. It&#8217;s all watery lagers. Salva Vida is for emergencies only, as the label indicates. I had my hopes up that there would be Belkin (Belizian) but no luck. On the bright side, the rum is fine, and the fruit juices can be quite good. Rum + Juice =

Viva Argentina

Ate dinner at the Argentinean Place at Iris. A bit Pricy ($25). The food was great and in good sized portions. I actually got 2 meals out of my entrée. Went to bed early, excited to dive in the morning.

 

[Oddsnends]

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Woke up at 2 AM to the sound of a cat in heat outside our window. She and the gang of 4 males were producing some of the worst noises I’ve ever heard. They would continue to do so on and off for the next few days.

In the morning, we brought our gear over to CCTree's were it can be easily stored between dives. Native Son’s offered the same service.

Walking the West End

While the OW students started their class, the missus and I walked the West End. There is an unpaved road that runs the length of the West End. At the southern end we spotted Rudy’s which has killer fruit smoothies. A few hundred meters North, we saw the Purple Turtle Bar. It’s building and the one across the street are up for sale. A few more hundred meters and you are at Half Moon Bay. The bay is my favorite section of the West End. There is lots of action and a decent well-maintained beach. North of Half Moon Bay, it gets much quieter with few restaurants and no(?) stores. Past the bay you will find Seagrape Plantation and other nice small resorts. Seagrape has magnificent views and a peaceful feel to it. A considerable amount of construction is going on nearby. 3-5 story cement buildings - with the smaller windows that are the signature of A/C dwellings – are in the process of being built. To my non-local eyes, they are in stark contrast to the West End’s eclectic charm.

Grabbed food at the house behind CCTree. There was a sudden downpour as we enjoyed some fresh fried fish.

Checkout Dive at Seaquest: a near disaster

Our group took our first dip just outside of the bay at the shallow end of Seaquest. Had a nice dive for the first 20 min. We were at 35 ft or so when my buddy did an underwater yelp. Looking over I saw her in a cloud of bubbles struggling to dump air from her BC. Her power inflator had jammed open, causing air to pump continuously into her 40 lb wing. Dumping air from my BC I started to make the 10 ft between us, but to no avail, she had a one-way ticket to the surface. She was unable to disconnect her LP hose, but she did manage to keep exhaling/screaming on her way up. Boat traffic was a concern, so I ascended to 15 and popped my SMB before surfacing without a safety stop. The DM was on his game and had popped his SMB as well. At the surface, she was shaken up pretty good. Air was still dumping into her BC. Got the LP disconnected, she reported she was physically OK, and we signaled to the DM all OK. Finished the dive at the surface trailing the SMB of the group below.

Back at the shop, Tree disassembled her BC and found the spring in the assembly lacking. Tree explained what had happened and why, and offered to either let her use one of their BCs or replace the power inflator. She opted install a new one which he did on the spot. A group of experienced divers spent some time going over the incident with her. She felt a lot better after the discussion, and to her credit, was back in the water in the morning for her AOW class.

Dinner and More Cat Sex

Had dinner at a place that was unremarkable. Got 750ml Flor de Cana rum, 2 gal water, and pineapple juice for $10 at the grocer, then hung out with my friends cramming for their OW.

Cats continued their antics late into the night. Note: when throwing footwear at cats chose sneakers over sandals. The added mass improves overall accuracy.

 

[SoSiouxme]

This trip report is great. Some people hate the details, but I get a lot of gems in the details reported by others. Thanks!

 

[Oddsnends]

Monday, March 24, 2008

While the rest of our group started their classes at CCTree, my buddy and I went off to try Native Sons for the day. We were able to sign up for two dives the night before. They had us swipe a card and asked us to close our tab at the end of the week. Nice.

One of the OW divers had a medical issue that meant no diving for the week. She tagged along with us to get in some snorkeling. Native Sons and CCTree both charged a very reasonable $10 for the snorkeler to tag along.

Dive Report: Green Out-house

Set off for Green Out-house (just 5 minutes north of Half Moon Bay) for the morning dive. About six divers accompanied by a 1 DM, 1 DM trainee, and the captain. After jockeying with other operations for a mooring, we were in the water quickly. Started off on a mixture of shallow reef and open sand. A turtle was on the bottom with its head in a hole near the entry. Nice start. We followed the fingers of the reef out into deeper water. Not quite a wall at this spot but descent rate of change in grade to +100ft. We held at 60 ft, which was fine. There was good coral here, few fans, and modest sized fish populations. Spotted a sweet honeycomb cowfish; the largest I have seen. Total bottom time of 52 min. followed by the usual 3 min at 5 meters. We returned directly the dive shop for lunch.

Lunch at the Coach

Ate at the restaurant on wheels run by an English expat. His slogan: “I am a legend in my own mind.” Their greasy spoon fare was perfect post-dive food even if it made my doctor unconsciously grab for his stethoscope 1000 miles away. It took me a moment to realize that the interesting green salsa on the side was in fact mushy peas. Good prices, funny host, and tables on the beach, not too bad.

Dive Report: Seaquest

Swapped out tanks and carried my gear back to the Native Son’s boat. We headed south this time, just 5 min, to Seaquest. A nice group from Germany accompanied us. There were some younger divers so we moored in the shallows. The DM’s split up the group by skill - something I wish more DM’s would do. This was my second time to the area. Large chunks of reef separated by beautiful patches of sand. Spent some time watching a conch make its way across the sand. We then took a large square profile tour of the reef. The sub-group decent divers, so the DM let us spread out. That gave us lots of eyes to spot interesting critters. After 60 min of bottom time, the DM blew his SMB and the boat was on us promptly. I love dives that let you take your time exploring the reef instead of getting herded through some canyon like cattle.

Dinner at Cannibals

Grabbed a table for 4 at this Mexican style restaurant. They are known for rather large burritos. I had a chicken one. Not too bad. They are kind of like a Baja Fresh burrito back home. For people who like quesadillas, this is your place. The grande is a true meal. Prices were OK at about $10. Service was slow but friendly. If you can eat 3 burritos in one sitting they are free. I could get through 2 of them, to the horror of the wait staff.
:eat_arrow

 

[Oddsnends]

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

No bakery? No Problem

We had a birthday to celebrate but couldn’t find a nearby bakery. A big thanks to Nancy at Chilies / Native Sons, who on hearing we needed a birthday cake put us in touch with a lady who baked one up for us in a flash. Great custard layer!

Dive Report: The Wreck of the Prince Albert

A “northern” blew in this morning. From AKR on down, all the dive boats were moved to the other side of the island. I had a two tank trip planned for Tuesday and Wednesday and they were both scrubbed. I was bumming, but CCTree managed to get us over to the other side by car. Instead of the 2 tanker they took us to dive the Prince Albert. I had assumed I would have no chance to see it, so I cheered up.

The wreck is at 40-60 ft. Visibility is generally not great, but was good today. You can safely penetrate some of the cargo holds. They are devoid of life but good for practicing techniques. The deck of the stern has been converted into a cleaning station. It was great fun, you could just sit there munching on popcorn watching groupers and such come in for their cleanings. We spent 55 min working around the wreck gradually decreasing our depth. The marine life was great – just watch your head on the way out – as there was heavy boating traffic.

Dinner at Cannibal’s

Returned to Cannibal’s because large tables were in short supply. They managed to seat all 12 of us and served the freshly baked cake free of charge. Cake and Mexican food should be paired more often.

 

[Oddsnends]

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Lots of dives were scrubbed. The weather was just not being nice. I kicked back for most of the day reading some books.

Breakfast at The Bakery II

Mixed on this one. They are in the yellow Beach House at the center of Half Moon Bay. They serve American style breakfast (read: East Coast Diner). The coffee was great, service was brisk and friendly, and the view off the porch was great. I went for the French Toast which was fine. A lot of the other breakfast foods were a bit too greasy for my California palate.

Dive Report: Keyhole Drift Dive

With the northern winds still blowing, we headed back over to meet the boat on the leeward side of the island. The winds were expected to let up, so we were going meet the boat, dive Keyhole (near the southeast end of the island) and then ride the boat back around to the west side.

Keyhole was a great advanced dive. We rolled off into rough seas and descended quickly. Once we got to the wall, a steady current pulled us along. Starting at 70 ft the DM lead us on a tour down the wall. The animals were somewhat different than on west side. I saw great collections of wrasse on pinnacles above the wall. Fans were also more prevalent.

After the dive, we headed around the southern tip back to the West End. I saw lots of larger houses built on the east side. Spotted a lighthouse on the tip. I had hoped to dive around the tip but weather squashed that. West Bay looked like it had a nice beach. The clouds were finally opening up, the DM said that was a good sign as the front was finally moving over the island.

Dinner At Vietnamese Restaurant

A descent value for the usual Vietnamese classics. We happily ate through the large portions. We are a bit spoiled in LA with some excellent Vietnamese restaurants so keep that in mind.

FUBAR

Head south. Keep walking. Turn right at end of road. Walk to beach. Turn left. Look for bonfire. Run by a guy named Travis. He reminds me of Kurt Russell in Captain Ron. The joint is filled with an array of 20 somethings, locals, and pirates. It made me think I had stumbled onto a scene from Point Break. We had a good time listening to Jack from Native Son’s play a few sets. Stay away from the balloons, and instead meet some of the locals and enjoy some tall tales.