For 9 days (May/June 2022) I lived on an island. Well, two islands, actually: Roatan and Utila, part of the chain of Bay Islands of Honduras. Honduras, for those who wonder, currently has a “reconsider travel” designation by the State Department. However, the islands are known to be safer than the mainland, mostly because they are so tourist-focused.
I traveled to Honduras with my long-time travel/adventure partner Shawn, who is an avid scuba diver. Roatan is known for its outstanding scuba diving scene, boasting one of the healthiest reefs in the world. I did try my hand at scuba diving and didn’t exactly take to it (read more about that here if you’d like), but I didn’t mind…I was there for the relaxation, the blue water, and the tropical beverages.
If you’re looking for a review of resorts to stay in, I’m not your girl. Roatan has many of these in the vaunted West Bay, and the day passes I paid for at Infinity Bay were pretty nice, I won’t lie – they included access to a beautiful pool, lounge chairs, and armed security. Yes, that was a thing, and I was grateful to be able to go snorkeling down the beach without worrying about having my bag snatched. There were also dive shops/schools in this area. West Bay was where the Caribbean beach looked like what you see in travel photos.
But West End, where we stayed, was different. It had a totally different vibe…a diving vibe, according to my diving friend. Not being a diver, I took his word for it, but it was a nice vibe, whatever it was. The whole community was built around dive tourism, with a kind of salt-and-sand-ground-into-the-floor feel to it: a little gritty, very friendly, and cheerfully delighted to help anyone strap a tank to her back and go look at fish in the depths of the ocean. If you have any interest in diving and don’t want the resort experience, West End is for you. I recommend the dive shop we used, West End Divers, unconditionally, and our first B&B, Hotel Posada Las Orquideas, was lovely, if a little lacking in storage and hangers. If you stay there, ask for the top floor, where you might get a breeze that lets you enjoy the hammock on the porch. And don’t be like us – get the AC added to your room from day one!
Breakfast was the meal that Roatan excelled at, from Cafe de Palo in our B&B to Cafe Escandido above our dive shop and Sandy Buns nearby. Our best dinner was at Loretta’s Island Cooking, where I had a divine garlic cream sauce on conch, and Shawn had some truly excellent snapper.
We also spent 3-ish days on Utila, an island about 20 miles to the west of Roatan, by ferry. Full disclosure, when we got off the ferry, I was a bag of skepticism. The street that runs through Utila’s main area (yes, there’s one street), seemed about the width of king-sized bed. It buzzed with mopeds, tuk tuk taxis, ATVs and golf carts, plus pedestrians walking in both directions. Our resort, which billed itself as a “luxury” place, was not. However, Utila grew on me. Coral View Resort, where we stayed, was sparse when it came to amenities, but the food at the restaurant was terrific, and the beach bar with a “house reef” right off the dock was pretty magical. Because the resort was a decent walk from the main town, I stayed nearby for most of the trip while Shawn went diving. By day two, this was not a hardship. Kayaks and snorkeling gear were included in our room rate, and I used them both. But it was the snorkeling that sold me.
What a riot to be able to hop in the water, paddle around communing with fish, then hop out, dry off, and lounge while a tropical breeze blows, music plays and cold drinks are nearby. We walked into town each night for dinner and did try to explore beyond the reef one afternoon, but encountered lots of closed signs (it was Sunday) as well as some vicious mosquitos. In general the food beyond our resort was fine but nothing to write home about, though Shawn tells me the smoothies at Captain Morgan’s, where he stopped on a dive interval, are worth a return trip.
All the geography and logistics aside, I will remember my visit to these islands as one of the most relaxing and thoroughly thought-provoking trips I’ve taken. See, I’m not used to a vacation where all I was expected to do was chill. I’m usually hiking, visiting friends/family, or exploring museums and whatnot. But, while it was unfamiliar, it was very wonderful, and very needed. Here are some of the revelations I had while lying about with salt in my hair and sunscreen slathered on my face.
5. Reading is actually fun
I haven’t been one of those folks who read a bunch of books during the pandemic. It was marvelous to remember what it feels like to read through a good book in a day; I’d forgotten. I finished the most recent Outlander tome, read a delightful memoir called The Unlikely Thru-Hiker, powered through the first of a YA series called Amari and the Night Brothers, and even read a book called No Magic Helicopter, written by Carol Masheter, a friend of Shawn’s who submitted Mt. Everest at the age of 61. I finished The Secret Stealers the week I got back.
4. Island time really is a thing
I lost track of how many times I had to ask Shawn what day of the week it was. I didn’t wear a watch the whole trip. Business opening/closing times seemed pretty fluid, and it wasn’t a big deal if no one was at the front desk when you showed up…you just waited. If no one was staffing the restaurant that day, no breakfast was served. You went somewhere else, and there was no angry posting on social media about it. While I felt for the resort owner on Utila who kept having staff not show up, I couldn’t help but think we hyper-aware Americans could do with a little dose of island chill.
3. Drinking tap water should not be taken for granted
The islands rely wholly on bottled water and bagged ice for drinking and chilling drinks. I came to realize pretty quickly how lucky I was to grow up where clean water just spills from the tap, and you don’t even have to think about it. Unrelated, but interesting - there was nary a plastic straw to be found on either island, which I loved because I have been trying to use fewer straws myself for a long time.
2. Relaxing is hard work
Even though it was the whole point of this trip, I found it hard, initially, to lie about lizarding while Shawn was off diving. I felt like I needed to be doing something, seeing a sight or taking a walk or just generally being in motion. On my first day of lounging, it took me almost half the day to truly embrace where I was, settle into my book, and stop checking my phone constantly for whatever the next bit of news was. But by day two, I was feeling better about it and boy, did I need it. Life has been one constant logistical event over my last year or so, with a lot of anxiety and transition to wrestle through. I think I was able to leave some of that baggage behind as I snorkeled, snoozed, and soaked up all the sun and fresh air I could.
1. Every body is a beach body
This is a cliché, but if I hadn’t figured this out on this trip, I do believe it would have been a miserable experience. You see, I’ve never enjoyed bathing suits. I’ve always found being in public in them to be, well, pretty terrible. But as I’ve written about here before, I am slowly breaking down decades of feeling ashamed of my body, and learning to enjoy what it can do. I got a kick out of seeing women and men of all shapes and sizes baring their bellies or comfortably swaddled in a cover up. It was wonderful to just celebrate that and try to absorb the confidence and carefree nature that so many had.
AND! For my fellow ladies of a certain size, this next paragraph is for you. I found the perfect set of swimwear. A pair of loose fitting swim shorts (with pockets), a swim bra, and a pretty long sleeved rash guard. This ensemble not only saved my back and arms from vicious sunburn (while also saving me money on sunscreen), it gave me the freedom to just be, comfortably, wherever I was, in the pool, in the ocean, on the dock, in my lounge chair. The swim bra was key to this; it was a like a bikini top, but covered like a sports bra, and was just enough to wear under the rash guard. I didn’t have to wear a tankini and a rash guard, which is too much fabric, but also didn’t have to try to shove my…er…assets into some tiny scrap of cloth with minimal support. The whole thing was just perfect, and made all the difference. And for those who are wondering, I bought multiple sizes of multiple swimsuits from a company called Swimsuits for All, which I highly recommend, before I landed on the solution that worked for me, and returned the rest.
Bottom line? I’m a fan of the beach vacation, and a fan of Roatan. If someone asked me to go back, I definitely would. And I’d try a Monkey LaLa, a local drink special that we didn’t discover in time for me to try one. Shawn says they are good though.