Firstly, to those who read my previous Roatan Blog, apologies for the ridiculously long delay in producing this the final episode. I would love to have some extravagant excuse, but in reality time just got away from me. I now find myself back in Canada in the midst of the Corona pandemic insanity, with most of our travel plans on hold. What better a time to sit down and jot down a few anecdotes and images of a more pleasant time.

Karen and I had booked a wonderful place on the beach, Villa Del Playa #5, and arranged for the kids and our Grandson Odin to visit for two weeks….Based on the tans and smiles at the end of the two weeks, I think it was a successful family vacation.

We returned to Sol Y Mar with them, knowing that Odin would have a wonderful time. The weather was spectacular throughout the day (which for this time of year is not always the case) The Kids visit was in early January, which as we discovered can be hit or miss with the weather. Fortunately when it did rain it did so mostly early mornings. We also noticed that as we moved into February while the rain diminished the winds increased. (a lot more seaweed would wash onto the beaches)

When planning activities and day trips on Roatan, it is important to have the cockroach (Cruise ship) schedules available. When Karen and I last visited Sol Y Mar we were uneducated in the ways of the cruise ship, and it resulted in sharing the beach with a flock of cruise ship passengers, mostly elderly German to whom it seemed that the concept of changing rooms eluded them. Now educated, Karen and I ensured it was a “No Cruise ship” day when we returned with the Kids. There was two immediate advantages I noted, firstly bar service was vastly improved, and secondly we were not subjected to the unfortunate sight of aging hanging testicles.

During the short two weeks, we managed to pack in a lot for everyone, including Fly Fishing outings, SCUBA diving certification for Ross, Spa days, ATV adventures and a lot of sun, sand and great food. Unfortunatley for the Kids, retirement is a distant thing, so while Karen and I will be (Corona virus allowing) returning next year for another three months.….The Kids will not.

Karen stayed at home with Odin, while the rest of us went on an ATV adventure. That included a visit to a wildlife sanctuary, (Eco nature park) and (then escorted to the most beautiful “private beach” of the Island to enjoy the serenity of secluded gorgeous beach) Spoiler alert – This was not the most beautiful beach of the island – (I will divulge that secret at the end)

The Eco park was an interesting experience, with the sloths being the highlight of the visit…Odin would have loved this place.

I have not ridden an ATV prior to this, so I had a lot of fun. If you are an avid ATVer, you may find the small underpowered machines to be a little underwhelming, with recent rain we had a fairly muddy course to enjoy.

Karen and I had wanted to visit Little French Key but had decided to hold off and experience it with the Kids. It was worth the wait, while it is reasonably expensive to get there (requires a short boat ride over) it was a fantastic place to bring a family. Not only does it boast one of the nicest beaches on Roatan, but it also has a mini zoo on the property

The food was excellent, they even had a pizza made with Nutella, much to Odins delight.

Time really does fly when fun is being had! before long it was time to say goodbye, and send the Kids back to the fridgid climes of Canada. It was fantastic having them here to experience this amazing place (for some the first time out of Canada) Hopefully Odin will have great memories of Roatan. We were able to celebrate Odins Birthday with a Roatan version of a Spider Man Pinata.

While one might think we would miss the kids terribly, and that Karen and I would perhaps pine for them…..amazingly the Roatan sun sand and local beer soon made us forget them…Sorry kids but we still have three more weeks here!

One of the first places we visited after the Kids had left, was the Roatan island brewing company. A great little spot that served the best hamburgers on the island, and some incredible locally brewed beers. We enjoyed it so much we went back again. The place not only has great beer, it is pet friendly so Marcus will be coming here with us next year.

Just down the road from the Brewery is the beautiful Palmetto bay resort, a small boutique style resort. Due to some heavy winds recently, the beach in front of the resort was littered with seaweed and the water was very cloudy, however a short walk dwn the beach and we discovered some incredible beaches, with free lounge chairs (as long as you bought a drink) for Roatan this was unusual, with most places charging between $5 and $20 for the use of a lounger.

with only two weeks remaining of our three months, we decided to experience the east end of the island, renting a car we rented a beach front cottage from Airbnb, adjacent to another quaint boutique resort with the apt name of “Never winter Resort“.

While there we discovered a truly amazing little resort at the far east of the island while exploring. It was here that we found what can only be described as the most incredible beach on all of Roatan. The Paya Bay Resort is a truly unique place. We returned to Paya Bay for the next five days, a day pass to this resort is only $5 a person. On returning to our apartment in West End, Karen and I realised that with only one week left, we both wanted to spend more time at Paya bay. We booked in for a four night stay.

Karen and I have booked an apartment suite at Paya Bay Resort for a three month stay next year, they welcome pets so Marcus will be joining us. As we prepared to head home to Canada, and then off on a three month camping trip throughout Florida, the first news about this strange new virus named for a Mexican beer were starting to hit the news…..little were we to know how drastically all our travel plans were going to be shortly derailed.

until our next adventure..stay safe.