Roatan
Roatan was a breath of fresh air after Tela. We were driven by taxi to our hotel in the West End. It was a great hotel right on the rocks with a sea view.
We had a group meal then had some time to wander around. There were loads of bars and restaurants along the one road through the West End.
I was up bright and early next morning to go swimming with dolphins. We grabbed some snorkels and fins then went for breakfast at the bakery - strange place they didn't have a menu and just asked you what you fancied then they'd tell you the closest thing they had to it!
There was two parts to the day the first bit was the dolphin encounter. Some people think that holding dolphins in any type of enclosure or allowing them contact with humans is cruel - I was in two minds before I arrived but was convinced it was OK when I saw the dolphins and spoke to the trainers.
The dolphins had a huge swimming area and although it was fenced the dolphins could have easily jumped out, and apparently regularly did but always came back. The trainers used fish as an incentive each time the dolphin did something right, however they said that sometimes the dolphins didn't want to do anything and no amount of fish would pursude them.
We got in the sea and waded in waist deep then the trainer introduced us to the dolphin - there was a mother and baby - the baby was just starting to be trained so we had to be careful not to scare it with sudden movements. The instructor showed us how fast the dolphin could swim and how far it could jump he then got it to swim up right next to us so we could pet it. I hadn't realised but the squeaking sound they make comes from the blow hole not the mouth. You are not suposed to touch the blow hole as they don't like it (quite understandable!). We could then pose for some pictures.
For the second part we put on our snorkels and flippers and swam out to much deeper water where there were a lot more dolphins - they would coming swimming right past you. It was amazing how fast they swim - you'd here squeaking, but see nothing, then they'd be right in front of you.
You could also play fetch with them - they would bring you a piece of sea grass and you could throw it for them and they'd bring it back to you - quality. Sometimes if there was a big group swimming and the male dolphin thought you'd be in the way he'd prod you in the side to get you to move. I got a shock when they first did this - although they are friendly sometimes they can turn nasty and attack - there teeth are qauite sharp too.
Swimming with the dolphins was definately one of the highlights of the trip so far - we got a CD with photos at the end of the morning.
(Whilst on the subject of Dolphins - someone told me a story about the American Navy who had secretly trained a team of killer dolphins who were trained to swim around their battleships to sink any small boats (it was assumed these boats would be terorists planting explosives)and kill the crew. Unfortunately though the dolphins swam off and they had to confess there were killer dolphins on the loose!! Fortunately the dolphins returned to the ships without killing).
That afternoon we took a water taxi over to West Beach. The beach was nice but we still had the snorkels and you could snorkel out to the reef - there was absolutely loads of fish including some swimming in huge shoals.
We headed back to the hotel and showered before heading down to the Sundowners bar. I randomly bumped into a girl there who'd been on the caving trip in Belize. We caught a nice sunset but then the weather change and we were caught in one of the worst storms yet - absolutely torrential rain. We took shelter for a while but then made a dash to the nearest restaurant which fortunately did some Pizzas for us even though must other places looked closed. We did find another bar though for a few more drinks.
Next morning after a bit of a lie in we found that our dolphin CD didn't work so we went back there - luckily they still had the photos but the guy was a computer retard - so much so that the taxi we had waiting for us decided to design his own fare when he waited 30 minutes instead of the twenty we'd agreed - well with our (very expensive) dolphin photo CDs we headed back to the hotel.
I decided to snorkel in front of the hotel - not the best idea as the sea was a bit rough and it was hard to get in and out without gettin scratched on the sharp coral. We then headed back to West Beach for more snorkelling and to top up the tan. Had a nice meal and bottle of red wine in the Argentinian Steak house with Caroline and Liz to end the day and our stay in Roatan.
We were up at the crack of dawn to catch the 7am ferry. An absolutely terrible crossing - I had taken my tablets and made sure I was standing on deck - loads of people didn't want to stand up there though as the water was crashing over the top. So many people got sick including those who swore they never get sea sick! I enjoyed the view up top and even saw a flying fish which was cool. When we arrived back I was glad to get off but not to catch a whiff of the vomit from below deck!
We had a group meal then had some time to wander around. There were loads of bars and restaurants along the one road through the West End.
I was up bright and early next morning to go swimming with dolphins. We grabbed some snorkels and fins then went for breakfast at the bakery - strange place they didn't have a menu and just asked you what you fancied then they'd tell you the closest thing they had to it!
There was two parts to the day the first bit was the dolphin encounter. Some people think that holding dolphins in any type of enclosure or allowing them contact with humans is cruel - I was in two minds before I arrived but was convinced it was OK when I saw the dolphins and spoke to the trainers.
The dolphins had a huge swimming area and although it was fenced the dolphins could have easily jumped out, and apparently regularly did but always came back. The trainers used fish as an incentive each time the dolphin did something right, however they said that sometimes the dolphins didn't want to do anything and no amount of fish would pursude them.
We got in the sea and waded in waist deep then the trainer introduced us to the dolphin - there was a mother and baby - the baby was just starting to be trained so we had to be careful not to scare it with sudden movements. The instructor showed us how fast the dolphin could swim and how far it could jump he then got it to swim up right next to us so we could pet it. I hadn't realised but the squeaking sound they make comes from the blow hole not the mouth. You are not suposed to touch the blow hole as they don't like it (quite understandable!). We could then pose for some pictures.
For the second part we put on our snorkels and flippers and swam out to much deeper water where there were a lot more dolphins - they would coming swimming right past you. It was amazing how fast they swim - you'd here squeaking, but see nothing, then they'd be right in front of you.
You could also play fetch with them - they would bring you a piece of sea grass and you could throw it for them and they'd bring it back to you - quality. Sometimes if there was a big group swimming and the male dolphin thought you'd be in the way he'd prod you in the side to get you to move. I got a shock when they first did this - although they are friendly sometimes they can turn nasty and attack - there teeth are qauite sharp too.
Swimming with the dolphins was definately one of the highlights of the trip so far - we got a CD with photos at the end of the morning.
(Whilst on the subject of Dolphins - someone told me a story about the American Navy who had secretly trained a team of killer dolphins who were trained to swim around their battleships to sink any small boats (it was assumed these boats would be terorists planting explosives)and kill the crew. Unfortunately though the dolphins swam off and they had to confess there were killer dolphins on the loose!! Fortunately the dolphins returned to the ships without killing).
That afternoon we took a water taxi over to West Beach. The beach was nice but we still had the snorkels and you could snorkel out to the reef - there was absolutely loads of fish including some swimming in huge shoals.
We headed back to the hotel and showered before heading down to the Sundowners bar. I randomly bumped into a girl there who'd been on the caving trip in Belize. We caught a nice sunset but then the weather change and we were caught in one of the worst storms yet - absolutely torrential rain. We took shelter for a while but then made a dash to the nearest restaurant which fortunately did some Pizzas for us even though must other places looked closed. We did find another bar though for a few more drinks.
Next morning after a bit of a lie in we found that our dolphin CD didn't work so we went back there - luckily they still had the photos but the guy was a computer retard - so much so that the taxi we had waiting for us decided to design his own fare when he waited 30 minutes instead of the twenty we'd agreed - well with our (very expensive) dolphin photo CDs we headed back to the hotel.
I decided to snorkel in front of the hotel - not the best idea as the sea was a bit rough and it was hard to get in and out without gettin scratched on the sharp coral. We then headed back to West Beach for more snorkelling and to top up the tan. Had a nice meal and bottle of red wine in the Argentinian Steak house with Caroline and Liz to end the day and our stay in Roatan.
We were up at the crack of dawn to catch the 7am ferry. An absolutely terrible crossing - I had taken my tablets and made sure I was standing on deck - loads of people didn't want to stand up there though as the water was crashing over the top. So many people got sick including those who swore they never get sea sick! I enjoyed the view up top and even saw a flying fish which was cool. When we arrived back I was glad to get off but not to catch a whiff of the vomit from below deck!
posted by Phil at 8:17 AM
1 Comments:
Great pic with you getting a kiss of a dolphin. Plus what eventually happened to the Killer Dolphins?
Jen
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