Honduras - Day 4

I know I said I was going to take the day off. Well... I didn't do any diving.

After my morning activities (last post), I played some basket ball...

hunted down some hummers

went down an awesome 10-run zip line
one of the vistas from our zip-line tour
and went horseback riding.

A relaxing day.

This exemplifies how I saw Roatan today
The best part of the day was that I started to get a real sense of what Roatan is like. It's easy to get stuck in the resort mentality. Everything is easy and you're the king of the world. They try to provide everything you need. But, it's not a real place. Roatan is earthy. The people swear with equal facility in English and Spanish and they are friendly. Sadly, its a bit forced. There is a real need to be friendly with people who are responsible for virtually your entire economy. I'd rather be visiting as an equal.

As it turns out, this entire island is much like I first observed on the ride from the airport to the resort. Nothing is close together. It is an endless stream of villages that have their own names, but islanders treat it all like one city. They are proud of their identity, protect the tourists and are apprehensive of the mainland. We have been warned repeatedly to be careful. The mainland doesn't see remotely the tourist dollars that the islands do. It will be interesting to see if their warnings are warranted.

Something I've learned about myself is that I don't need my vacation to be easy and I don't need it to be far off. Both of those things are nice, to a degree, but I just need time to not be responsible for anything.

Comments

Wendy James said…
I wondered how the resort would sit with you long term - too little risk. Sounds like you had a very Mike day and your comments about the people and culture are really interesting. That is the part of travel that I find the most compelling - it is really life altering to understand other world views.

Good to see you were able to get Brad out of the ocean a bit. . .
12:25 pm
handwing said…
I, too, pondered your decision to go with a resort - but from the perspective I gained in Punta Cana. I had a great time, and there was plenty of opportunity for adventure and reflection, but I never felt I had the pulse of the place like I did when busking, reading, and eating on Toronto's streets. It's almost as if what I would crave now would be more of an exchange program. Or somehow being forced to walk too far for too long to find a stranger's hospitality and a warm beverage or soup!
7:58 pm
handwing said…
I think the closest offering to your sentiments found in tonight's Oysterhead premiere listening comes from the title track:
"In the Grand Pecking Order
Where is it you stand
Under foot of swollen bastards
Or on the neck of another man
At the grand feeding table
Are you sitting near the head
Or the corner by the bathroom
Where you're asked to pass the bread
And you pass it with a smile on your face
For to pout about would only bring disgrace
To the Grand Pecking Order"
8:07 pm
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Greece - Kaves of Kalamata

Image
Caves Were Promised! stovetop espresso (of course) brad brought the tiny camping espresso maker that we gave him more than 20 years ago. We have used it on various hikes including in Italy. Now, in Greece :) Attempted Breakfast We tried and failed to get breakfast in Stoupa. There was only one place open (VERY local) and there was only toast on offer. Could also have been a language barrier? We got coffee and set off on an exploratory hike at the beach. Shoreside cave we spent a bunch of time carefully climbing our way out through razor sharp rock formations to the entrance of a cave. It is too cold to swim in at this time of year (without wetsuits) so we had to settle for a few photos from the outside . I amused myself by utterly exhausting my arms and shredding my hands while carefully climbing the rock formations. Another Cave? After searching for over an hour, through even more dangerous rock than this morning, and based only on a single google maps post, we managed to find a beaut...
Read more

Greece - A Castle, a Good Omen, and Olympia!

Image
The Venetian Castle of Nafpaktos On the road toward Olympia, for a strangely low price of 2 euros, we were free to wander the outdoor portions of a 15th century castle. Sadly not allowed on the battlements, but very cool, nonetheless. Bananas good Bakery As we drove, I stopped on the road to try and get a picture of a hovering hawk at the seaside. Not an amazing picture, by any means...     Hawk of Good Fortune However, while stopped we checked out this nondescript shop along the roadside.     Bakery of the Gods It looks like nothing on the outside, but has every kind of greek baked good that you can imagine. The prices were also really reasonable. I'm not sure who they were selling all of this to in the middle of nowhere, but what a lucky find. Olympia!  We are staying at Hotel Pelops, a vintage hotel that feels like it is from the era of my grandmothers youth. Old, highly polished mahogany furniture with tiny wheels on the bottom, plates on the wall, ornate sh...
Read more

Greece: Diakuw of Delphi

Image
Getting out of Athens 10:30 Travelling light with no checked baggage has several drawbacks. Everything is carefully organized and it is a bit of a pain getting it back into place each time I use anything. I don't have everything I want with me. And the few things I have for clothing need to be washed several times during the trip. Honestly, I should have been okay with just washing clothes once, but it has been so cold (for Greece) that I've been wearing all of my long sleeve shirts and sweaters, so they get dirty and I don't want to wear shorts or a T-shirt. All this to say, we found a laundry mat and had coffee while we waited (twist my arm). I also too the opportunity to find the perfect photo opportunity to show you a standard street set up for Athens. I don't know if I mentioned the traffic in my last post, but it is bad. The streets can be incredibly narrow usually two cars wide, with a row of parked cars on one or both sides. Sometimes only wide enough for 1 vehi...
Read more