Day Seven in Roatan

Day Seven in Roatan

Excepting Emma’s losing battle with seasickness on the ferry ride to Roatan, our time here has been great! But what is not to like about spending time on a beautiful white sand beach, lined with palm trees and jungle overlooking calm blue seas? Things got even better yesterday when we moved to a unit right next to the water. We had originally decided to stay at a unit that was advertised as 100 feet to the beach (it was cheaper) but the person doing the measuring was way over optimistic, unless by beach they meant anything with sand. Besides being a ways from the ocean, and after all, this is a beach vacation part of the trip, the unit was also handicapped by having a flock?, herd?, gaggle? of bats in the attic area. I have a bit of high frequency hearing loss, so it didn’t bother me, but everyone else was able to hear their constant squeaking. On top of that, Margit was sure that the black spots of material that constantly showed up all over was bat guanno. I didn’t agree with that, but I also preferred not to think about what I thought it likely was. At any rate, we are now in a great unit.

In additon to enjoying this beautiful setting, we have been doing a lot of diving. The kids are loving it, though today we had to cancel because Emma has a bit of a cold with some nasal congestion, and we were concerned about her ability to be able to clear her ears when we dove. (For non-divers, as one descends, the extra water pressure calls for continually needing to equalize the pressure on the ears by forcing air up from the nose). I have been impressed with the kids ability to catch on to the diving so quickly. They both look like they have been diving for years, and have been very good about not touching the coral. They have been fascinated by all of the marine life, and will spend long periods of time just hanging out and watching different creatures. Their favorites so far have been the flounders and sea turtles. Yesterday’s dive, though, was a let-down from prior days, as we had a novice diver who was still learning, and our dive master/instructor had to spend a lot of time working with him. I had been a bit spoiled with how well the kids dove, and how we could just do a normal dive with them, just a bit shallower. (Until you are certified, you are limited to a depth of 40 feet). As long as there is a reef within that depth, how deep you go doesn’t matter. Anyway, the novice should be doing a lot better the next time we dive.

Tomorrow we are going to take in a dolphin show. We also (briefly) thought about doing a dive with the dolphins, but the price was a bit steep; choices have to be made when you travel for a year. Afterwards we are going to tour an iguana farm. Someone on the island here has decided to give them a place to live unmolested, (though protected, people like to eat them) and has been very successful; they are reportedly 1000’s of them. Should be fun. The kids especially are looking forward to it.

-Mitch