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Little French Cay. Most beautiful except for the sand flies

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March 13. Reflections. Roatan sits more or less on an east-west axis. It is very narrow so you are actually on the north side or the south side of the island. The main tourist sites are on the western end of the island (West Bay and West End) and on the south side at French Harbour. When we first came to the island we stayed at the eastern end of the island. It is much less populated by tourists although there is a lot of building by foreigners. The island is heavily populated with foreigners’ winter homes that actually look very empty right now, but the big American chains are not here. apparently it is because the price of power here is so exorbitant. They are moving into solar power in a big way so that might signal a change shortly. The resorts are, for the most part, old, in need of a refurbishment, but placed on the most incredible white sand beaches. Some of the resorts have done an update and are very busy. Paradise Beach resort has been redone and we sat on their deck/restaurant. VEry busy. Infinity Bay has also had an update. But, for example, Sea Grape has a beautiful location but hasn’t updated for 20 years. Sea Grape also is on a black coral beach. There are black coral beaches along the north side of West End. The coral is dead, but it provides a buffer zone for high water and waves. The resorts build a deck across this coral to the sand which is a bit further out. Yellow sand beaches, like Sandy Bay, are interspersed with the black coral beaches. Anthony’s Cay is the premier resort along the north side. It has wonderful cabins actually out on the water. They also have the dolphins, a big dive Center, a museum, and various other attractions. Lawson’s Rock is a huge condominium complex on the north side which sells and rents condos. It has a lovely sand beach and each condo has its own pool. Decadent.

The reef is very close to the island. It encircles the island and any boat can pop out there. A good swimmer could swim there without too much trouble. Straight out from West End is the part of the reef called the Blue Channel and it is there we saw the most beautiful coral and the most fish while snorkeling. West Bay is home to the most beautiful beaches. People walk out from the resorts to snorkel on the reef. It is an incredible place. We went on the glass submarine boat which gave us a very good view of the coral and fish out from Foster’s Resort (an old and decrepit resort on the most gorgeous beach). We drove most of the north side, all the way to Palmetto Resort on Palmetto Bay. White sand beach dotted with palms. Hardly any people.

We stayed, after escaping from the east end, in a brand new house in the jungle very near West End. I think we were maybe the first residents. It was nice and very clean but echoed because there were no rugs and a tile floor. There were original art works, mostly nudes, all over the walls. Well. Interesting. But it was all good. It was here that the Man and I were sick. Bestie and her man were sick …Bestie on the mainland, then 3 days later, her Man, then 3 days later my Man, then 3 days later me. Some sort of bug. Violently ill one night, then 2 days of lethargy and such tiredness. Then an off and on sickness. We seem to be brewing something. Not terrible, just irritating.

South side, by French Harbour. We drove through this poor village many times as the main road goes directly through it. Eventually we spent the last week at Clarion Pineapple Villas. It is a condo complex. Very North American. Large condos. We have a 1400sq ft. 2 bedroom condo. Beautiful pool with waterfalls. Great restaurant. Security at the gate. We can see the ocean and if it is clear enough we can see the mainland. Misty. But there. From our hotel we can go out to Little French Cay which they advertise as their beach. A tiny little island with the most perfect white sand beach with palms. You pay a fee to go there. Lounge chairs and hammocks are there. Restaurants, showers etc. It is apparently the number 1 excursion from the cruise ships. And I can see why. They come in for a day. We went snorkelling but it was very wavy…woah! Such swells! Honest to God. The most beautiful water. Crystal clear. Even the swells do not impede your view. The snorkelling was OK. Coral was great but we did feel the coral was perhaps not in as good shape as on the other side. Not as many fish. But still fantastic.

But here’s the down side. As we were enjoying the beach, all of a sudden we realized we were being eaten by sand flies (midges). Now we had encountered these little fiends at Placencia where they kept us from the deck in the mornings they were so vicious. Bestie’s man and I were the most tasty and I have suffered for 2 days with those little crazy itchy bites. Bestie had coconut oil on and did not get as many bites. We actually bought the oil for that purpose when we were in Placencia. Lots of antihistamines, anti itch cream, bio-freeze, you name it, we tried it. 3 days in I can now stand myself again and I slept well. I don’t know how to repel them…and I am not alone. Some say DEET, but it didn’t work for me! coconut oil is the best best so far!

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Trouble in camp. We are pretty easy going. Not too demanding of our food or our lodgings. Most are booked through Air B&B. Or booking.com. We don’t stay in 5 star North American hotels. We like small, family run places. We like 3 stars. We like places that reflect the culture. We like to be outside the heavy tourist areas. Sometimes we splurge.

Enough said. We booked a

Place on Roatan for the two weeks we are on the island. It looked exactly the type of lodging we liked. Right on the water. Besties man wanted to fish. Pictures were beautiful. At the east end of the island. Far away from the tourist hubs of West End and West Bay.

We were picked up at the airport by Leonardo, a very large black man. There is really only one main road through the island. Away we went. Half hour later We come to the place. It is on a precipitous cliff. Many many steps, all wet because it’s been raining. We think the rental is the house at the top of the hill, but no, we are I the “cabana “. The cabana is right at the waters edge. And there is a pub. And the cabana opens up right into the bar. Our outside chairs share the deck with the bar. There are cats and dogs galore. Some look pretty scruffy. Mange. The host it turns out is in the animal rescue business.

The pub serves excellent food. But it’s a pub and we are right in-the middle of it. There is no outside privacy. There is a pool but the chairs are wrecks. There’s no place to relax outside. There is no beach. It’s like a marina and there are two large boats snuggled up to the dock.

The fridge is freezing the milk. The blender doesn’t work. The air conditioner clatters. We here is no screen in our bedroom window which is not an issue except the cats come in. If you’d seen the rental ad you’d think that little cabana was the cat’s ass. “Good from far, but far from good”.

After the barflies went home we slept pretty well. But it rained torrents. Rain like I’ve never seen. We just do t get rain like that. the next day our car eventually arrives. Everyone is on island time here. We find a grocery in French Harbour a deathly poor settlement and Huck those bags down those steps. The bar is lively again. That night Bestie texts me from her bedroom. The roof is leaking in the middle of the bed. Good thing it was a king size bed so there was lots of room for the bowl. Half hour later the cat jumps through our window. I chase her through the house. The Man grabs her as she streaks by him and he thrusts her out into the torrential rain. We leave the window open about an inch but she is clawing to get in. That place was her house and she was determined. Did I tell you I’m allergic to cats?

In the morning we have a pow wow. WE’re OUT OF HERE!

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Roatan has perhaps the most beautiful beaches we’ve ever seen. Soft sand. Today we visited Gumbalimba park. Beautiful jungle park with macaws and monkeys. This park is set up for cruise ship visitors as is most of Roatan. Then we went for lunch at West Bay. So busy! Such a gorgeous beach. This beach is lined with all inclusive resorts. Of course a few steps outside the resort you see some of the worst poverty. Tomorrow we move to the other side of the island.

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Roatan Honduras

Snorkeling inRoatan. The most beautiful fish and the most incredible coral. There are mounds of dead coral along many of the beaches here which the locals say protect them from the bad water and winds. We’ve snorkelled in Thailand, Grand cayman. Costa Rica Mexico Hawaii but this was the best. And just a few yards out from the beach. These are not my photos but this is what it was like. The reef here is the second largest in the world, second after the Great Barrier in Australia. I have never seen such clear water.

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On the way to Livingston. Garífunas cooking class.

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Feb. 24. After breakfast at Boatique we boarded our boat and went downriver first to see the spectacular canyon and the water lilies (aquatic gardens) and bird island, then onward to Livingston and our Garifuna cooking class. Livingston is populated by the Garifuna people and it is very, very poor. It is the poorest place we’ve seen since coming to Guatemala. They can only come and go via boat and it is extraordinarily expensive for kids for example, to go to high school or to post secondary. So of course, they don’t. Our Garifuna cooking class was led by a young spark plug by the name of Marisol. She called me “Baby Girl”. Perhaps she was blind. When dinner was over she kissed me. WTF? Anyway, very lively. She had a school for maintenance of the culture. We made a seafood soup with shrimp, crab, peppers, yucca, fish, carrot, and spices. It was very good. Something I would make again. But we really started from the basics. I’d use crab meat instead of fighting my way through the shells! And deveining the shrimp. Geez. I always knew someone did that, but it wasn’t me. But now I know how. We are very spoiled.

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Traffic jam and then such a tranquil place.

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February 23. Bright and early we left Antigua to drive a long and torturous way to the Caribbean coast. We left for our stay with the Garifunas, a population of Mestizos who are descendants of African slaves who escaped from the Caribbean islands. On the drive we saw a lot of farmland. Melons, cantaloupe, pineapple, squash, rubber trees, and cow business. Very productive farms. Then, OMG we got stuck in the worst traffic jam we’ve ever seen. Selvyn, our guide, was passing and having to drive in the ditch. There was some minor road work being done and how it caused such a giant traffic jam we do not know. The air conditioning was not working and with the windows open we got to breathe in all the diesel fumes from the huge number of trucks that surrounded us. Often it was impossible to see where the lanes were and if Selvyn had not aggressively started to pass we’d still be there.

Rio Dulce is the town we came to and we realized that we had to take a boat to our hotel — Boatique. And we came to the hotel and it was as cute as a button. Open dining room with a thatched roof. Each room was a small, thatched building. With paths above water leading from room to room with water cabbages and ducks and water lilies lining the paths. The resort had been built by a Canadian family in an effort to employ locals. and they were the most lovely employees. Any business would be proud of those people. We adored them. They treated us like gold. The young men, the young women, the old women. All went above and beyond for us.

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A Mayan ceremony we came upon. And there were many. The Mayan religion is alive and well. Many sites where Mayan ceremonies are performed every day. Just driving down the road one day we came across a very lively festival. They were blessing the seeds before planting. Costumes are reminiscent of Spanish and Mayan history. And rock music to accompany the dancing. Tina Turner’s Rollin’ (in Spanish) rocked the crowd.

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Fire and Acatenango - volcanos close to Antigua. Quad trip. At the Shire at Hobbitenango. Above Antigua viewpoint and our Mayan cooking class with Claudia, our Mayan teacher.

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Market at Chichicastenango. Volcanos at Atitlan. Diner at a Mayan home. Town of San Juan Blessing of the seeds for plantings and weaving.

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Catch up blog. Off to Lake Atitlan. It is a beautiful lake in the Guatemalan highlands. It is 130 Km2 and is surrounded by volcanos. Huxley of Brave New World fame called it the most beautiful lake in the world. It has all the beauty of Lake Como in Italy and also has the volcanos. The Atitlan volcanos are, for the most part, dormant. But of course we could see Fire belching smoke from around Antigua. We ended up staying in Santa Catarina Polopo village, which is about 6 harrowing miles from Panajachel, which is the largest city around the lake. Mostly we see small villages, little white or coloured villages that dot the high hills around the lake. They remind me of the white villages of Andulasia, Spain. Luckily we had booked a lovely resort facing the lake with a great restaurant, a swimming pool and a hot tub (not normal in this country) . Villa Santa Catarina was a great choice — until, of course, the festival started at the church up the hill. It was a holy celebration, a grand celebration that included decorating the church with fresh flowers, a band, a sound stage, and chairs set up in rows in the square in front of the church. And then there were the Bombas. That might not be spelled properly. But the bombas were fireworks that sounded like cannon shots. First there would be a Big Bang. We would cover our ears. Then there would be an extraordinary bang. Like a cannon next door. At first I was ducking. I was thinking we were being shot at. There would be a puff of smoke in the air. This went on until 10 pm . There were also smaller fireworks, but we were obsessed with the Bombas. Crazy. No one, other than the Canadians, thought there was any problem with these loud exhalations of joy or grief.

On the way back to Antigua we stopped to pick up our Quetzal bird which a man was making for us from Jade. What an experience to have the owner create the piece for us. Back to Antigua, with a quick stop at a Mayan site the name of which I have forgotten. And off to a cooking class. And wasn't that fun! We made tostadas with guacamole, radishes, and other such goodies. And a chicken stew with a green sauce. The sauce had all green things — onions, peppers, cilantro, green tomatoes which we chopped and then blended and then added to the soup. We toasted sesame seeds and red tomatoes on the wood stove, then added to the soup. The rice had many vegetables in it. The end result was a fresh green chicken soup, thickened with rice. Delicious. What a fun night. Wine and beer and a tiny little Mayan woman directing us.

First thing in the morning we leapt out of bed and went to ride an ATV up a mountain. As is common in many countries the helmets are loose and not secured. The visors are so scratched that we cannot see out of them. But we have a wonderful guide Geo. He speaks perfect English. Bestie questioned him. He learned it from TV. He watched TV with Spanish subtitles and learned the language. He has an American accent. Visits to a modern chocolate factory and a wine store. Hadn’t seen that before! Then we climbed to a spot where we could see Agua— Water. A huge volcano that has a history of gathering water in its crater then releasing it. We could sometimes see Fire and Acatenango. They make up the 3 closest to Antigua. And also Pacaya (the volcano we scaled). Fire throws out a puff of smoke several times a day. AT the top of the trip we left our ATVs as they would go no further and jumped in a 4 wheel drive truck and crawled up a narrow little road to come to Hobbitenango. Who knew? I thought Hobbit town was in New Zealand. But no. It’s at the top of a mountain in Guatemala and little Hobbit houses dot the hillside. Lots of hobbit games — like games of axe throwing, zip lining, archery etc… we did not partake but it was as cute as a button. And big. We had a wonderful meal in the kitschy little restaurant and then jumped on our truck and headed down to the ATV’s. Dusty and dirty but very happy. So much fun! Thanks to Geo! Our tour company Heart of Travel organized all of this. Sylvan, our guide, is such a help.

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Our adventure on the volcano. Glad we weren’t there when the earthquake hit!

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Wednesday, Feb. 16. Antigua is an UNESCO site and is maintained as such. Cobblestone streets, even the chains are camouflaged as old town stores. For example, McDonald’s is the cutest we’ve ever seen. From the outside it looks like one of the old stores with a small, metal sign indicating it was McDonald’s. From the inside it looks like a fancy restaurant with tons of greenery and a central square. A statue of Ronald sits quietly among the flowers and fountains. Our hotel is one in a long line of connected buildings. Single storey, with a large, heavy door with another door cut into the large one. These doors were made for defence and a night the big door would be closed and if you were to gain admittance only the little door would be opened. The doors are often quite fancy. The Casa Antigua hotel is one story with winding hallways. There is a large central courtyard which our room fronts on. There is a bay window which looks out on it. It is filled with trees and flowers and tables with umbrellas. The courtyard is open and the shun shines in during the day. AS you move away from the central courtyard you come upon other courtyards with rooms facing them. The courtyards are absolutely beautiful. IN front of Bestie’s room the courtyard is covered in vine with flowers hanging from the ceiling in the hallway. The doors to the rooms look to be about 300 years old. But we sit jus outside the door along the courtyard and enjoy the sun and flowers. This hotel was a private home in the past and I can just imagine the wonderful parties to be had.

Last night — I guess it was about 1:00 am we were shaken awake by an earthquake. 6.2 and the epicentre was about 50 km west of Guatemala City. It carried on for several minutes and we sat up and wondered if we should get out of the room as it has a very heavy timbered ceiling. We could have gone to the courtyard! Or stood within the door jamb. But we just sat there, mouths agape, watching the chandelier swing. This morning we learned that Guatemala had experienced an “earthquake swarm” a couple of days ago. 15 tremors, which led up to this large quake. I think the damage has been minimal and here is no talk of loss of life even in the village close to the center. But it was a scary moment. Considering that yesterday the Man and I hiked the Pacaya volcano. It is spouting smoke from the top and from various places on its flanks. Or steam. I rode a horse up and down because the path was steep and very loose. At the top we had to leave the horses behind and walk over a lava field FROM 3 MONTHS AGO. Wow. I was so surprised. We could see other flows, they were slightly different colours and composition, some rough and some smoother. The one we walked over was very rough with large boulders and small boulders and tiny lava rock. We hiked to a crater which was 15 m deep and around it was seam vents puffing away. The rock around it was multi-coloured and we roasted marshmallows in the heat of the vent. Crazy. When you would pick up handfuls of lava rock it would be hot…. Really hot. I felt uneasy. This was still very active and the crater we sat beside had a lot of potential to explode. That the surrounding field had been formed only 3 months ago sort of freaked me out. Pacaya, on which we sat, and three others across the valley all spouted ash and smoke from their tops. They all seem ready to me! One of the most active is called “Fire”. Well, that is a telling name. The guide and his 8 year old son and two dogs and another man who brought his horse for me all went up with us. About 3.5 hours up and back. The guide Jorge was so good. He picked up rocks for us and explained wha was happening with them. At one time he pulled a bit of black shiny rock and asked us to identify it. Haha. It was a marshmallow. He could run up those lava beds. He said that they are used to the explosions and sometimes evacuate when advised to do so. He would like to move his family away, but he is a volcano guide, so jobs are limited. But he and his family really live in poverty . (HIs son is training to be a guide as well. He is 8. )But Jorge is knowledgeable and speaks quite a bit of English and really gave us a great tour. The man with my horse was named Jose. Horse Marima. Jose spoke little English but was really helpful with getting me on and off that horse. I am not good with trails that drop away into the distance. We were 1.5 hours back to Antigua and Selvyn showed us a couple of villages that were destroyed by lava flows. Black lava stream beds— no water, just black rock. This country has mucho volcanic action. And much earthquake action too. There are two or three plates meeting here.

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Guatemalan truck taxi.Banana store on roadside. Cicadas. Mushrooms at Yaxha. Top of Yaxha temple Laundry day at the river. Cute kids are everywhere

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Cráter Azul was a bust. Birdwatching was fun