West End Village, Roatan, Honduras, Bay Islands Department, Honduras
It’s been windy and raining for the past three days at Half Moon Bay; this has put a bit of a damper on the diving. It’s not so bad once you’re on the sea bottom, but getting back and forth to dive sites can be cold and bumpy. Water sports aside, our nerves are frayed, spending time with the noisiest damn cat you could imagine. If you look him in the eye he screams. If you go anywhere near the refrigerator he screams louder. At bedtime he sleeps like a baby. Then two hours later, as Elenka and I sleep, he screams to go out. As dawn breaks, at six in the morning, he loudly wants back in. Then the neighbours scream. The cat’s name is Tricky, which oddly is the English translation of our cat Číslo back home. Elenka has started calling him Honey.
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We have found some interesting, well ventilated, eating spots in the village of West End. First off, there’s the Cannibal Cafe, where lionfish tacos are a big hit. Lionfish are considered a delicacy, but the idea of eating them conjures fear. Their bodies are surrounded by venomous spines so you hope and pray that the filleter knows what he/she is doing.
There’s another spot right here at Hotel Chillies, called Yahongreh? — as in Are you hungry? — which does monster sized breakfast baleadas filled with re-fried beans, scrambled egg, avocado and cheese. They’re an excellent pre-dive chow-down.
Our go-to dinner spot is Keith’s BBQ. Keith, who cooks up all the fish the Caribbean has to offer, as well as chicken, operates in an alley beside Woody’s Groceteria, just down the street from Chillies. What we like to do when it’s not raining is take a couple of platefuls of Keith’s treasures down to the beach, then eat, drink and be cat-less as the sun goes down.
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Reggae, Guns N’ Machetes
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There may not be a beach in the entire world where the tunes of Bob Marley don’t rule supreme. The love and peace vibe of Marley can be seen on the faces of both the old and the young. Even the boppers, the ones who blast mind-numbing Hip-Hop when they’re at home, groove to the Marley beat when at the beach. And none of this is new. I vividly remember listening to Marley while beach jogging, as far back at 1985. When darkness approaches though, Marley gives way to a more gritty, scary vibe.
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There’s a convenience store/ATM just outside West End, not much more than a five minute walk. The fellow who guards the place carries a sub-machine gun. And our hotel/dive shop even has a friendly security guard who clocks in at five in the afternoon. It’s hard to tell whether he’s packing heat, but he most certainly does have a big arse machete to keep him company. Without Marley, we’ve not even considered doing the five minute walk to the convenience store/ATM after dark.
Magnus Irvin
2022-02-02
Oi Jack That reminded me of visiting my son on Utila where he was a dive leader. The underwater environment had been ruined by overfishing and coral bleaching. We made an underwater adventure film instead. With regard to Bob marley, the ubiquity of his music on every tropical beach drives me mad, it should be banned. I once complained in a bar that we were fed up with B M and was told to go somewhere else. Fair comment I suppose but everywhere played the same. Why is it's all feeling a bit similar wherever you go? Perhaps I should stay at home. Keep up the good work. Love, Mr Grumpy x.
Peter
2022-02-02
Cats eh..... Those baleadas sound yummy
Patti
2022-02-02
Your writing makes me miss that little corner of the world so much. I wish I had more time to enjoy the island instead of trying to do everything in a week. I actually emailed Michele yesterday about availability in March and April. I need to go back. It's comforting to hear that Tricky is up to his usual antics (I almost said tricks). He paid a couple visits to my cabin after I shared tacos with him, but he gave up in disgust when all I had to offer him was a bit of Lara Bar and some almond butter.
Stephanie Zilinski
2022-02-03
Underwater photos are wonderful.I love the food investigative reporting! I'm somewhat hungry now.
Renate
2022-02-03
Ellen, that's so great, what do you can see under the water. I miss such a scenery. So different arts from fish. Really great.
Renate
2022-02-03
I meant different types of fish. This is my bad english.