Actually, not quite true. We're sitting in Denver already, killing time on a layover. Houston was a quick over nighter, with a late arrival and an early departure. Houston doesn't have free WIFI at the airport like Denver does, so here we are. What is true is that we have left the heat behind and are facing the reality of snow, cold, and dry.
We spent yesterday quite lazily, to the point that we didn't even go for that morning snorkel, choosing instead to take a hike through West End, soaking up that last bit of heat and sunshine. All this after packing a months worth back into three bags.....always a challenge. Went back to the house, finished off the beer, except for a couple of frozen ones we found, lunch in town, and then a meeting with the property manager to get back the damage deposit. She called for a van to come and pick us up, and then we were gone. Not much of a line up at the airport, which would have meant a quick check in if only Continental had people working the counter.....eventually they got three people out and the line started moving. We got the rookie, and for some reason he took our documentation to the office. We might have been at the counter 20 minutes or more. Not sure what the issue was, but we ended up with bags checked right through to Saskatoon, and all three of our boarding passes. I was skeptical of the checked bags, since we had to pick them up last night for customs, but this morning the woman looked at our bags, said they were good to go. Onto the belt and we were done at the check in counter in less than a minute.
Breakfast in Denver and here we wait for another couple of hours, then its home. How quickly a month can go by............I think It's Over........but it was a good one!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Last full day........
Another awesome weather day, not sure we even saw a cloud or felt much more than a gentle breeze. You couldn't dream of better weather for our last week here.
Went down early this morning and signed up for the 9:00 dive. I saw that we were going to do Padlo's Place, which was one dive that I haven't done and which had been recommended by a local as one that I should do. I was a great drift dive, we got off just around the corner from West Bay and drifted back. It's a spot where the current from the north side meets the current from the south side. The coral and sponges were so big and plentiful. Lots of fish life. Nothing spectacular fish wise, but there were quite a few lionfish. One guy took a spear and bucket and brought in 21 of them. Officially I'm only certified to go to 60 feet; why I haven't done the few exercises that I need to get my advanced rating, I don't know.....too lazy I guess. Fortunately, the last two days it hasn't mattered to the dive shop. They know my capabilities and they were fine with it. Today I bottomed out at 108 feet and we still did a 48 minute dive. So much better with my air consumption this year. I've now done 36 dives with this dive shop in the last two years, so I should be getting comfortable. A couple of really nice pictures to put up from a dive a couple of days ago. Gille (not sure the spelling (Israelie dive master)) took these ones on one of our dives. Now I know I need a better camera......
After the dive we went to Anthonys for chicken. We had never eaten there before but we should have. Really good smoked chicken with rice and beans and a salsa for about $8. We caught the water taxi to west Bay and hooked up with Steve Hasz, a realtor. He took us up to the Turrets area and we looked at one house. It was nice but it paled in comparison with Shawndras place. Maybe that's a bit harse, it just didn't jump out at me like her place did. It was set a bit too deep in the trees, which really cut off the views and the breeze. I still like the area, just would like a different spot. Should we come here next winter, we will look into renting one of these places. Because they're not on the beach, and are a bit out of the tourist flow, the monthly rental rates are really good. Maybe I'm just a little gun shy of getting back into mortgage country this close to retirement, a daunting thought.
Steve drove us back to West End, we did a little shopping and headed home. My rum stop, Coconut Tree was closed with a yellow tape across the door, which said something in Spanish about revenue. Found out later that the tax police had been in town and had shut them down for not paying some booze tax. Went further down the street and saw that Sundowners bar wasn't open. That's odd; that place is always open. Aaron had heard the tax man was in town and just didn't open up. He has since gone shopping for a cash register for the bar and the place is hopping tonight.
Took our leftover booze to Coco Lobo (next door) this afternoon at Happy Hour time. Ron mixed Eileen a blender full of Monkey Lala, and as of 8:00 tonight, the lala part has kicked in. She's out for the night.
Went to Besos for our last supper. Franks ranchero chicken wings for appetizer, I had lobster, and Eileen had the chicken fettucini (spelling). Fantastic meal. The table of six that was next to us included a couple that we met on the water taxi yesterday. We recommended Besos to them and they too were raving about the meal.
Tomorrow; coffee, snorkel, pay my dive bill, pack, use up my wad of little lempiras somewhere, get our damage deposit back, taxi to the airport, and head to Houston. Is it warm in Saskatchewan yet???
Went down early this morning and signed up for the 9:00 dive. I saw that we were going to do Padlo's Place, which was one dive that I haven't done and which had been recommended by a local as one that I should do. I was a great drift dive, we got off just around the corner from West Bay and drifted back. It's a spot where the current from the north side meets the current from the south side. The coral and sponges were so big and plentiful. Lots of fish life. Nothing spectacular fish wise, but there were quite a few lionfish. One guy took a spear and bucket and brought in 21 of them. Officially I'm only certified to go to 60 feet; why I haven't done the few exercises that I need to get my advanced rating, I don't know.....too lazy I guess. Fortunately, the last two days it hasn't mattered to the dive shop. They know my capabilities and they were fine with it. Today I bottomed out at 108 feet and we still did a 48 minute dive. So much better with my air consumption this year. I've now done 36 dives with this dive shop in the last two years, so I should be getting comfortable. A couple of really nice pictures to put up from a dive a couple of days ago. Gille (not sure the spelling (Israelie dive master)) took these ones on one of our dives. Now I know I need a better camera......
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| A Pipehorse, sort of a cross between a pipefish and a seahorse (rare to find one) |
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| Green Moray, I didn't move in this close for a picture...(and he wasn't the big one we saw later) |
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| From today (my camera), cute little Smooth Trunkfish |
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| House we looked at today. |
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| View of West Bay from one of the decks |
Took our leftover booze to Coco Lobo (next door) this afternoon at Happy Hour time. Ron mixed Eileen a blender full of Monkey Lala, and as of 8:00 tonight, the lala part has kicked in. She's out for the night.
Went to Besos for our last supper. Franks ranchero chicken wings for appetizer, I had lobster, and Eileen had the chicken fettucini (spelling). Fantastic meal. The table of six that was next to us included a couple that we met on the water taxi yesterday. We recommended Besos to them and they too were raving about the meal.
Tomorrow; coffee, snorkel, pay my dive bill, pack, use up my wad of little lempiras somewhere, get our damage deposit back, taxi to the airport, and head to Houston. Is it warm in Saskatchewan yet???
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Countdown is getting pretty low.....
Another gorgeous day, absolutely no wind and the temperature was pretty decent. Don't think we hit 30.....
Went on the morning dive to Spooky Channel. I did this dive last year and really enjoyed it. It's a deeper dive that is something like diving the Grand Canyon. It's an ancient river channel that has cut through the reef wall. There is not a lot of sea life to see, but the topography is impressive. Some huge groupers and a couple more spotted drums.
Had burgers for lunch and then we water taxied over to West Bay to hook up with Shawndra. Glen and Mandy; if you take the goat path behind the spa, walk up the rather large hill, her house is right at the top. She didn't bring her car, so we took the goat path, with only a couple of stops for air. We got to the top, she showed us a few of the houses around her, and then we went into her place. Wow, were we impressed. A beautiful house. They're main deck has a view of the southern shore, right down to Mahogeny Bay where you could see the cruise ship sitting at anchor. We sat on the deck, had a beer, chatted with her guests (this is sweet, as a charity auction fund raiser she donated a weeks stay at her house in Roatan, the winning bidders were her guests). We finished the visit with a nice hike back to West Bay along the road. Had an ice crean with Shawndra at the "mall" and water taxied back to West End.
Picked up a few veggies, cracked a few crab legs, and turned on the BBQ. Had a nice home cooked meal, although I was wearing a bandage after fighting with one of the legs.....We think we'll do lobster next time. Not as sweet, but a whole lot less work. Finished the night with one of those black market movies (don't be thinking dirty, just one of those 3 for $10 DVD's that they sell on the street) on the deck.
Tomorrow; early dive, a snorkel, view a couple of houses, some rum purchases, dinner at Besos, packing, star gazing on the upper deck............say no more....
Went on the morning dive to Spooky Channel. I did this dive last year and really enjoyed it. It's a deeper dive that is something like diving the Grand Canyon. It's an ancient river channel that has cut through the reef wall. There is not a lot of sea life to see, but the topography is impressive. Some huge groupers and a couple more spotted drums.
Had burgers for lunch and then we water taxied over to West Bay to hook up with Shawndra. Glen and Mandy; if you take the goat path behind the spa, walk up the rather large hill, her house is right at the top. She didn't bring her car, so we took the goat path, with only a couple of stops for air. We got to the top, she showed us a few of the houses around her, and then we went into her place. Wow, were we impressed. A beautiful house. They're main deck has a view of the southern shore, right down to Mahogeny Bay where you could see the cruise ship sitting at anchor. We sat on the deck, had a beer, chatted with her guests (this is sweet, as a charity auction fund raiser she donated a weeks stay at her house in Roatan, the winning bidders were her guests). We finished the visit with a nice hike back to West Bay along the road. Had an ice crean with Shawndra at the "mall" and water taxied back to West End.
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| View from the heights; West Bay in the foreground, West End in the distance. |
Tomorrow; early dive, a snorkel, view a couple of houses, some rum purchases, dinner at Besos, packing, star gazing on the upper deck............say no more....
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
No wind!
The steady breeze that we've seen for the last week or so faded away this morning so we had a marvelous weather day with just a few clouds to help keep the temperature reasonable. Tonight is is completely calm which is a change because the last few nights have been quite windy, quite the opposite of a typical prairie summer evening weather pattern where the wind fades away after dark.
Checked the dive board this morning and saw that there was quite a crowd going out. They were heading to do a wreck dive, which is best done at about 100 feet, which is deeper than I'm allowed, so I opted out of that one and signed up for 11:00. Since it was such a nice calm morning, I attached the video camera to my monopod and heading down the street of West End to do a bit of a walking tour. There are so many times that we read about some place in West End and then we can't place the location in our fading memory banks. Maybe this will help. At one point, I was standing on the steps at Tongs Thai, doing a sweep of the street that I'd just walked down when this old codger that we call Tree House guy came into view. He saw me with the camera pointed roughly in his direction and he lit into me with a barrage. If I pointed that thing at him again his was going to run me off the island.....I ignored him and headed out to the pier for a bit. He was still there when I came back, cursing at me the whole time.
Drift dive from Divemasters Choice, which is the mooring right in front of the house. I'd done this dive already this year, but you see different things no matter where you dive. We were still on the boat gearing up when Tony, the boat captain, said "want to see something you've never seen before". He has a very dedicated dog called Coral, and there she was at the back of the boat. She'd seen us tie up at this mooring and had swam out to the boat. It's not a real long ways out, but she got there pretty quick. He dropped the ladder down and she climbed aboard. Nothing spectacular on the dive, but I did see a nice Tiger Grouper, which isn't the normal Grouper that we see, and I got a good shot of a juvenille spotted drum. Those are really pretty, delicate looking little fish.
Checked the dive board this morning and saw that there was quite a crowd going out. They were heading to do a wreck dive, which is best done at about 100 feet, which is deeper than I'm allowed, so I opted out of that one and signed up for 11:00. Since it was such a nice calm morning, I attached the video camera to my monopod and heading down the street of West End to do a bit of a walking tour. There are so many times that we read about some place in West End and then we can't place the location in our fading memory banks. Maybe this will help. At one point, I was standing on the steps at Tongs Thai, doing a sweep of the street that I'd just walked down when this old codger that we call Tree House guy came into view. He saw me with the camera pointed roughly in his direction and he lit into me with a barrage. If I pointed that thing at him again his was going to run me off the island.....I ignored him and headed out to the pier for a bit. He was still there when I came back, cursing at me the whole time.
Drift dive from Divemasters Choice, which is the mooring right in front of the house. I'd done this dive already this year, but you see different things no matter where you dive. We were still on the boat gearing up when Tony, the boat captain, said "want to see something you've never seen before". He has a very dedicated dog called Coral, and there she was at the back of the boat. She'd seen us tie up at this mooring and had swam out to the boat. It's not a real long ways out, but she got there pretty quick. He dropped the ladder down and she climbed aboard. Nothing spectacular on the dive, but I did see a nice Tiger Grouper, which isn't the normal Grouper that we see, and I got a good shot of a juvenille spotted drum. Those are really pretty, delicate looking little fish.
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| Juvenille Spotted Drumfish. The adults have spots on their lower tail. |
Late lunch at the Noodle Shack, afternoon nap, and then a late snorkel. No seahorse to be found......quite a few lobster getting ready for the evening hunt, and the usual octopus in his little hiding spot under the pier. Sitting on the deck watching the sun go down. Eileen heard a mechanical rumble and said that the dive shop was starting up the compressor to fill tanks. I said No, that's the resort generator. We flipped on a light switch, and sure enough, the power was out. Don't know what happened, but RECO (Roatan Electric Company) was down. That's the first power outage we've had in a long time. We had planned a home cooked meal, there was a bag of crab legs ready for the BBQ and assorted other sides on the menu......a challenge in the dark with no power. The crab went to the fridge and down the road we went, with no destination in mind. We decided to stop at Besos for a Caeser while we discussed options. While we were having our drinks we ordered an appetizer of their Franks Ranchero hot wings. Glen; if you ordered these when you were here (we think you might have), we don't remeber hearing your raves. Those might be the best tasting hot wings I have ever had. Daphne (owner) was reluctant to share her Ranchero receipe.......I need to experiment now......Finished with an order of summer rolls and a plate of Pad Thai at Tongs.
Tomorrow, probably the 9:00 dive and then we're heading to West Bay, where Shawndra is meeting us. We're going to get a tour of the Turtle Crossing area and see the house that they're finishing.
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| Late morning cruise ship heading for the dock. View from the kitchen/living room. |
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The Perfect Day
Golf at Black Pearl, afternoon snorkel with the seahorse, and another evening at Tranquil Seas.
The golfing was awesome. Eileen broke 100 and I didn't. Enough said about the scores. I had a couple of bad holes, like the one where I hit from five different bunkers.....Timmy the caddy sucked right up to Eileen and really helped her game. By the end, she was ready to import him and go shopping for a set of Calaway clubs. Conner, watch for deals.... She used clubs for shots that she's never tried before, like a three wood off the fairway. He would suggest a club, she would pick it up, and smoke it. She had a blast with him. A few cool things like pelicans sitting at the edge of the fairway and the incredible ocean views with the two colours of blue and the reef not far offshore. We had lunch up at the SKY restaurant which is on the top of a very high hill with a wonderful view of both sides of the island. Picture appended. The taxi driver that brought us to the course had never been here before; when he returned to pick us up he brought his wife and young child for pictures from the top of the hill.
Came back to the house, afternoon nookie, and then off for a snorkel to cool down. Hit the dock again and found Eileens seahorse. Chased him around the pilon a few times to try and get him in the sunlight for a good picture. I haven't looked at them yet but I don't think I got a really good one. Eileen says he is just too cute.
Taxied back to Tranquil Seas for tapas night again. It was quite a party atmosphere tonight. There were so many people there that we knew. Trish from Assiniboia was there with a group of about 12, including one somewhat inhibriated american woman who was the life of the party. A couple from Chicago that we knew, Darren from Ohio (From Trip Advisor, more on him in a minute), Bonnie from next door, another couple we met at Blue Parrot last week, and on and on.....Darren had a set of harmonicas with him so he joined in with TwoCanDo and did a fantastic job. He got so into the music and it added such a nice touch. They need to import him too. Dylaina, the dance floor was pretty packed tonight, sorry you weren't there.
Got home, sat on the upper deck for a rum and watched the incredible star display......and talked about buying.......We had a great day.
The golfing was awesome. Eileen broke 100 and I didn't. Enough said about the scores. I had a couple of bad holes, like the one where I hit from five different bunkers.....Timmy the caddy sucked right up to Eileen and really helped her game. By the end, she was ready to import him and go shopping for a set of Calaway clubs. Conner, watch for deals.... She used clubs for shots that she's never tried before, like a three wood off the fairway. He would suggest a club, she would pick it up, and smoke it. She had a blast with him. A few cool things like pelicans sitting at the edge of the fairway and the incredible ocean views with the two colours of blue and the reef not far offshore. We had lunch up at the SKY restaurant which is on the top of a very high hill with a wonderful view of both sides of the island. Picture appended. The taxi driver that brought us to the course had never been here before; when he returned to pick us up he brought his wife and young child for pictures from the top of the hill.
Came back to the house, afternoon nookie, and then off for a snorkel to cool down. Hit the dock again and found Eileens seahorse. Chased him around the pilon a few times to try and get him in the sunlight for a good picture. I haven't looked at them yet but I don't think I got a really good one. Eileen says he is just too cute.
Taxied back to Tranquil Seas for tapas night again. It was quite a party atmosphere tonight. There were so many people there that we knew. Trish from Assiniboia was there with a group of about 12, including one somewhat inhibriated american woman who was the life of the party. A couple from Chicago that we knew, Darren from Ohio (From Trip Advisor, more on him in a minute), Bonnie from next door, another couple we met at Blue Parrot last week, and on and on.....Darren had a set of harmonicas with him so he joined in with TwoCanDo and did a fantastic job. He got so into the music and it added such a nice touch. They need to import him too. Dylaina, the dance floor was pretty packed tonight, sorry you weren't there.
Got home, sat on the upper deck for a rum and watched the incredible star display......and talked about buying.......We had a great day.
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| View of the golf course from the SKY restaurant |
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