Friday, Feb. 20th

Dear All,

Another couple of busy days that did not leave time for posting until tonight. Yesterday we had a full day with our trusty driver, Enrique of RoatanTravelAdvenures.com
Then back in the car for an amazing drive through incredibly scenic and winding roads through the tropical and mountainous terrain. We stopped several times to look at shipwrecks that are visible above the water (some were drug boats, others just boring cargo)and many incredible views that allowed you to see the ocean on both sides of the island with that dreamy turquoise water that is between the reef and the beach.

We then went to one of the typical villages that historically is a fishing town with all the houses built on stilts hanging over the water and the mode of transportation for everybody is via boat, just like Venice! So we passed all the locals going grocery shopping in boats to stores that have docks rather than front doors and the schools have ¨school boats¨rather than buses to take kids to class and they are even yellow just like the buses at home! All the kids were so darling in their school uniforms standing all along the piers waiting for the ¨bus¨! The best part of the boat tour was our water taxi driver who was named Everal and had really long dreadlocks and was using the wildest boat (water taxi) on the island. The boat had a thatched roof that opened up for coming and going and the inside of the boat (the floor, ceiling, sides and seats) were completely covered in hand written historical facts and every imaginable plastic toy and stuffed animal was hanging from every surface. We knew it was wild when we first saw it, but that was confirmed to us when every boat carrying other tourists or people on sailboats in the marina rushed to grab their cameras and take pictures of us in this wild and crazy boat with this driver with dreadlocks halfway down his back.

We had lunch at a completely crazy place called ¨Hole In The Wall¨that looked like it had been decorated by our driver. The ceiling was covered with T-shirts from around the world and every other kind of junk was hanging everyplace else including a life sized, naked inflatable plastic female doll that was hanging over the bar!!! But it lived up to its reputation as a great place to eat and we gobbled every single bite of our lobster and shrimp sandwiches. The other clients were some very salty dog sailor types who were pretty much öff the grid¨in more ways than one.

Everal also gave us a great tour of the mangrove area that is nearby these couple of fishing villages. Pretty amazing gliding through the water in narrow lanes of mangroves that form a complete canopy overhead. There were also many huge and creepy termites´ nests the size of dressers and lots of herons, etc... nesting in the mangroves.

Back in the car again with Enrique where we continued the tour and drove through a traditional Garifuna village where the population is descended from former escaped slaves who mixed in with other native Caribe tribes and speak a different language and have many unique traditions totally unlike other islanders. Our final stop was back in Coxen HOLE where we made quick stops to pick up more fresh fruits and vegetables at the market, more fish and seafood at the fish market and stamps at the post office. We were successful at all attempts except the Post Office had NO stamps available. At all. Of any price. They thought maybe they would have some more on Monday. Four days later. Yup, that is what they mean by Ïsland Time.¨

This morning, Friday, we got up a little early and headed over to Anthony´s Key Resort so that Maria and Britta could fulfill their lifetime dreams of being mermaids and swimming with dolphins. We were not disappointed. The resort has a huge area (think football field) that is penned up and there are about 20 dolphins who live there and are part of the Roatan Institute for Marine Science. So they allow small groups of people to interact with the dolphins and even swim and snorkel in the area. It sounds corny but it was just great and more fun than I imagined. First there was half an hour where a trainer and 4 people are able to spend time with a single dolphin who is right there for touching and seeing them right up close. Of course there is the obligatory picture taking of being ¨kissed¨by a dolphin but they were amazing, huge but gentle animals that just swam and glided past us the whole time. Then those who wanted could put on their snorkel gear and spend another half hour in the deep part of the pens while 20 dolphins literaly swam and chased and jumped around us and each other the whole time. It was fabulous! I really did feel like a mermaid! Just try to imagine being underwater swimming and then 4 dolphins just glide right alongside you and you can reach out and touch them!!

Then back to the resort where the electricity was out so we just quickly opened the refrig to grab a bit of lunch and then ate lots of fruit and spent the afternoon reading at the pool until the electricity came back on. Another gourmet meal a la Pamela and now it is time for a DVD. The DVD remote cannot be located so everytiume we pùt in a movie we find out if it will be in English or Spanish and the Closed Captioning is stuck ÖN¨so it is potluck if the subtitles are in English or Spanish. Kind of confusing but all part of the adventure. But last night we gave up on watching ¨The Namesake¨when we realized that BOTH the audio and subtitles were in Spanish.

Hasta Luego to all our loved ones!! Maria