West End, I Want to Come Back

It is our last night in West End, Roatan. I want to come back and yet I have not left. 

A new club/restaurant is having its grand opening tonight. Fireworks have been coloring the dark sky for the last 30 minutes. All I can think of are the dogs. How they must be terrified of the sounds. 

There are a lot of dogs here at West End. They all belong to someone. Most of the time we just don't know who, but they do, they really do. I guess that is the other thing that I absolutely love about West End. People love dogs and dogs are allowed to have fun here. I feel like I belong here just because of that.

West End is known for being more affordable compared to other areas in Roatan. Most backpackers go here to chill and dive. Utila, the party island, is a ferry ride away, but West End is also known to have some good parties. Getting drunk seems to be on almost everyone's list that come here. Aris and I prefer to be on the downlow. He has been working on his thesis when we are not diving and I prefer to read. Alcohol is not actually cheap here so we prefer to use our money for better things.

The weather has been perfectly gorgeous these last 2 days. We have been diving because doing anything else would be a crime. 

I absolutely love diving West End. The area might not have big pelagics, but the reefs are pretty and healthy and very much alive. The dives are always relaxing and fun. The marine life is colorful and made up by interesting sea creatures. And when you jump into the water, something will bound to make you smile. 

Gosh, now I make me want to dive again. 

Creatures of Roatan

I had a staring contest with a green anole lizard today. 

It is native to Texas Gulf Coast area, but somehow the little guy was here in Roatan, Honduras. It has the ability to change colors, depending on the temperature and "mood". At one point in our staring contest, he turned from brown to bright green. I think he was intimidated by my intent stare. Or he was just being cheeky.

I woke up at 7 this morning. I brushed my teeth, grabbed my rain jacket and headed out to grab coffee. The coffee is good here. I just started drinking coffee. Good coffee is good. I decided I like coffee.

Anyway, as I was heading out, it started to pour. The first place I went to did not have to-go cups so I went to the next place and they had to-go cups. "Help yourself," the lady said. I sure did. "Coffee is free, by the way," she added. God bless people who give out free coffee. Today I am thankful for coffee and free coffee. 

We went diving again today. Diving is good here. Better than good coffee or free coffee. And today's diving was wonderful. My tank got stuck in one of the swimthroughs, but it was wonderful.

We saw beautiful creatures underwater. A big trumpetfish was the first that caught my eye, then there was a big porcupine puffer fish, a juvenile morray eel, and an adult morray eel. 

After diving, it was lunch and hanging out at one of the beachside cafes where the staring contest took place. I had Tropicana Smoothie, a concoction of delightful tropical fruits in one giant margarita glass.

Looking at the sea, the wooden docks and the beach, I saw a sight that warmed my heart. A young boy was teaching his puppy to swim. At first the pup was just watching his human from the beach, not wanting to go nearer. The boy came out of the water and carefully picked the dog up and took him into the water. The pup did not react. I guess he felt safe in the hands of the young human. The boy then let his pup go. Four little paws started to paddle. It did not take long until he understood how swimming worked and what he needed to do to get closer to its human. Once he was close enough to the boy the pup leaped and landed on the boy's right shoulder. The young boy laughed and they did everything all over again. 

God, I miss my dogs.

Back in Roatan

We came back to Roatan. This island has a magnetic charm, obviously.

It rains every single day, with no avail. And here, when it rains, it pours.

Right this very moment, invisible giant buckets are emptying their contents with pride. The Gods put some island wind also into the mixture to sway the trees. It is not raining unless everything is soaking wet. 

It also rained earlier in the day. I happily took my time walking in the rain. I wanted to dance, but it felt too much. I just skipped and hopped.

We went diving this morning before it started to rain. The boat ride to the site was choppy and the clouds were grey. It was going to rain for sure. 

We went to El Aguila. One of the most famous wrecks in all of Honduras. The massive ship was deliberately sunk, but Hurricane Mitch did all the wrecking. 

Usually a morray eel would greet divers that popped on its backyard. It is a resident of the ship and a pretty friendly host. Today it was not around. I was dissapointed, but it probably had better things to do than meeting nosy divers.

The other residents were groupers,  eels at the eel garden, puffer fish, trumpet fish, and king crabs. I had the pleasure of meeting them all. 

We came back to shore right before the rain poured. Cafe y baleada por almuerso. Perfect to fight off the cold. 

I better get back to my book now, because I am planning to take a long nap afterward, while the rain is still soaking the island. Pura vida.