Roatan

Spring Break – one of the perks to being a teacher. A whole week off without having to ask for it or lose pay for going, yes please! Rather than the week of vacation varying state-by-state as it does back home, in Central and South American countries everyone gets the same week off. Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is the week leading up to Easter and no one has to work so it makes for one crowded vacation. I had been anticipating this week since August because it would be the first time seeing my dad, since January since Lori had a daily countdown going, and since February since I was losing steam and needed a break from school.

Almost all of us teachers – Kara, Lenny, Lori, Cassidy, and Beth – were going so it was sure to be a fantastic trip! We left at 3 in the morning from La Unión because we all decided it was worth the money to fly to Roatan instead of spending all day traveling there by bus and ferry. (Our flight left at 8 in the morning and since we live in the middle of nowhere, it takes a while to get to the airport.) I didn’t mind waking up that early because I could hardly sleep anyways out of anticipation. We had no traveling problems (God obviously was just as excited as we were to send us off on a week’s vacation) and made it to Roatan before breakfast!

The thrill of seeing my dad was inexplicable. His embrace is what I had been longing for ever since I left the country back in August. He wasn’t just a voice over the phone or a picture on the computer screen. I got to hold his hand and hug him every hour. I didn’t have to wait for an email, I could just sit down across from him and have a genuine conversation with him. There is no greater joy that I could possibly describe or think of than getting to spend a week with my Dad after being away from him for too long.

We spent the week in a beautiful vacation home, Casa de Paradise, right on the beach. There are two major tourist spots on the island: West End attracts a younger crowd of backpackers and partiers, and West Bay has a stunning beach lined with resorts. We stayed in West Bay but not at one of the major resorts; instead the house was tucked in between two resorts so we did not have to share our beach with anyone. The owner even roped off the beach at one point to ensure that we maintained our privacy. The security guard for one of the resorts next to us was very friendly and would watch over my things or give me advice on what to do. I thoroughly enjoyed the private beach – no tourists from the cruise ships (there was only enough room for one glowing white person on that beach) and no obnoxious locals walking around like they owned the place. Some special features of the house included a life-sized fridge, a tv with cable and channels streaming in English, air conditioning, hammocks, free coffee from the owner’s farm on the mainland, and a double shower. I was more than comfortable all week, whether on the beach or cozy inside.

Normally when I am on vacation, I am busy figuring out what all the activities are to do and then organizing my schedule to fit them all in. However, on this trip, my only wish was to relax. I have never been more relaxed or lazy on any sort of vacation like I was in Roatan. I spent the vast majority of each day on a beach chair with my feet buried in the sand or splashing in the water while reading a book or magazine. Did I care one bit? Not at all. I literally thought or worried about nothing all week. School, what’s school? I have students? What are their names? I was not concerned in the slightest bit about my reality back in La Unión. The only thoughts I was occupying myself was with were when was the last time I put on sunscreen and what has happened back in the States ever since I’ve been away? I felt so carefree! I did not entirely transform into a beach bum, I did get my butt out of the sand to experience life on the island. It was just the perfect mixture of fun and rest to make my week in Roatan the most relaxing vacation I could plan for myself.

Scuba Diving: You cannot put me that close to the ocean without me inquiring if there is diving. It is my favorite hobby and I am addicted. Dad was equally as eager and excited to explore the ocean-life of Roatan so we did not hesitate to book our dives. This was probably some of the best scuba I have ever done – the water was absolutely beautiful which made the clarity amazing, and we got to experience some cool dives. We were able to see so many things under the waves: fish of every color and size, turtles, squid, eels popping out their heads to say hello or even swimming around, brightly colored coral, and lobster. We had the opportunity to go on some unique dives as well: one day we did a wall dive that dropped down to about 100feet as we just drifted along the cliffs and found ourselves eye-to-eye with all the critters tucked into the coral; we also did a wreck dive (my first one!) that dropped us down even further to 115ft while we floated around the ship’s ruins and then swam through a cave on our way back to the top. Every dive was incredible and I was never disappointed!

An odd thing did happen to us on our very first dive. Of course, even on this paradise island, we were still in Honduras and the country’s dysfunctionality found us. While we were down on our first tank, bees suddenly swarmed the boat. Apparently in that kind of heat they seek refuge out on the ocean and land on whatever they can (who knew?). We could not get back on the boat as soon as we surfaced because of these little guys and our dive master was allergic which would have been disastrous if he had been stung. The captain decided to try to ditch the bees and drive in circles until it was safe to quickly load us on, but… the boat wouldn’t start. The engine was broken. So there we were, in the middle of the ocean with a broken down boat that was covered with bees (but still not too far from the shore if we were desperate and needed to swim back). I know what you’re thinking... Brooke must have gotten toasted. I was already very concerned for my face and my pale skin being prone to burn. I did get burnt since there was just, unfortunately, nothing I could do about it. But eventually another boat from the diving company came out to rescue our poor souls and towed us back into shore!

Canopy Tour: This just seems to be the thing to do in Honduras – go zip lining! I went in La Ceiba with my sister, in La Campa with my coworkers, and now in Roatan. This time was my favorite of them all because our guides were huge goofballs just hamming it up with us. It was just Dad, Susan, and I so we didn’t have to fight anyone for attention or wait long in between lines. We zipped, flipped, flew, screamed, and laughed the whole time. My favorite parts were getting to zip upside down and then ending the journey by zipping on to the beach. What fun!

Afterwards we went into the nature park on the grounds and met a few critters. They had a Macaw sanctuary. Have you ever heard that bird screech? It is a terrible, ear-shattering sound! They are not peaceful or calming birds. Lucky for them they are beautiful so we found it in ourselves to tolerate them long enough to marvel at their stunning colors, snap pictures, and let a few crawl on our shoulders and heads. Further into the park we found monkeys! They were also just roaming around and we could get very close to them for more pictures and letting them crawl around our bodies. We all have a little Steve Irwin in us and we were just embracing ours to the fullest in this park! I liked getting to actually interact with the animals instead of staring at them from behind the bars of their cages.

Fun with Friends: Don’t get me wrong, I loved being on vacation with my parents and enjoyed every minute with them. However, my vacation was that much better because all my friends were there. Lori was also staying in West Bay with her family at the Infinity Bay Resort so I frequently found myself wandering down there and soaking in her beautiful pool. Beth was traveling alone – no family or friends visiting her – so we offered our hotels for her to couch surf between. She bounced between Lori and me for most of the week so all three of us spent a lot of time together. We went on a few adventures together…

Banana boats. We fell in love with them when we all went to Tela and when we saw them here, we could hear them calling our names and begging us to go for another ride. We climbed on and were ready to be dazzled. We were concerned once we started going because we thought they were taking us for just a normal water taxi ride; the boat driver just moseyed over to West End to get gas before the real fun started. Our boat flew over the waves and whipped back and forth. Unfortunately, banana boating is not like tubing where it’s survival of the fittest, if one person falls off, well the rest of the boat is going down too. We wiped out hard twice. The first time someone’s knee drilled into my back as I skidded across the water. The second time my whole chest cavity was drowned in salt water as I rolled over two other people. Despite getting the wind completely knocked out of us, we were thrilled and ready to get back on for another ride.

We wanted to do something unique on our trip and originally were planning on renting scooters to explore the island. However, multiple locals warned us against getting those because the roads were dangerous from pot holes and traffic from people coming to and from the beach. We were disappointed but found something else to do – paddle boards! I had done some wimpy, child paddle boards at summer camp on a current-less and wave-less lake, so naturally I considered myself a seasoned pro. I was not fully prepared for paddle boarding on the ocean, but I took on the challenge with grace! I can proudly say that I never fell off and I started to get the hang of it by the end. The hardest part us turning around against the current and keeping my balance when other boats drove sending direct waves in my direction. Everyone else got tired and pooped out early so we didn’t do it for long but I fully enjoyed it and wish I lived on the ocean to do it more!

I made friends with a local guy (just friends, I promise), Maikol, and he showed me around that side of the island a little bit. We took me to one of the docks for jumping off the pier. That was a blast! We spent a few hours just climbing up to the top, standing on the railing, and then braving a jump into the ocean, and then doing it all over again. I felt like such a kid doing it and I just did not want to stop! Of course my dad played his role as a father quite well and showed up unexpectedly to take pictures, but Maikol had a good humor and just laughed it off with me. We also did the walk between West Bay and West End (which tourists are discouraged from doing alone or after dark) to go play volleyball. It turned into me watching him and some guys place two-on-two beach volleyball, but I liked getting to see the really fancy, hidden resorts along the way.

FOOD!: A common theme in my blogs is the delicious food that I eat on my trips. Well, here I am again to brag about the amazing food that filled my belly all week. Maybe it’s because I have been deprived for so long, or maybe it’s because the food was actually that good, but this trip included some of the most mouth-watering, delectable meals of my entire life! If you ever go to Roatan I strongly suggest dining at the Argentinean Grill because their food was by far the best and we ate there at least once every day. I cannot remember each individual meal because they all just start to blend together and I’m sure you don’t want to be bored with those details. But, I ate an abundance of shrimp, fresh veggies and fruit, homemade bread, amazing desserts (one night Beth and I did a dessert crawl from restaurant to restaurant satisfying our sweet tooth), juicy steaks and burgers, and tropical cocktails galore. I was on cloud nine in every single restaurant and could have never stopped eating. We had been drooling through day dreams for weeks up to our spring break about the restaurants that we read about in brochures and on travel websites and we were certainly not disappointed in any way.

I consider any day to be excellent if I get to spend it entirely in my swimsuit. So considering my time in Roatan, I would say that it was the most fantastic week possible. As I said, I spent every day sitting on the beach reading in between snorkeling or diving and playing in the sun. Sometimes I feel like I am made for the Caribbean under the sun and in the ocean every day, and I would be lying if I said I did not consider leaving my job in La Unión and moving to this beautiful island to become a teacher during the week and a diver master on weekends. If I’m going to live in Honduras, it might as well be on the beach, right? I loved every aspect of the trip and I am so thankful for Dad and Susan for coming to enjoy it with me. It was so nice to just be with my dad for the whole week; I would have gladly spent it with him anywhere, but being in Roatan made it exceptional. I am already planning spring break back in Roatan for next year!

Coming back to La Unión was a weird transition – probably the biggest reverse culture shock I have experienced so far. I did not realize how desperately I missed my family until I finally got to see them; it’s easy to ignore missing them when I do not get to see them or talk to them frequently – their absence just becomes normal – but all the emotional strength I had built up instantly collapsed as soon as I saw my dad. It was hard to be back and to find myself comfortable in my life here again. So please be praying for me that I stay strong enough to the end. I am now getting closer and closer to seeing my mom and that anticipation is killing me daily. The end is so close that some days I find myself very impatient because I just want the end of school to be here! Pray that the Lord continues to give me the daily strength to keep teaching for the next 5 weeks. It has been an incredible year and I want to finish it with as much energy and joy as possible. With God guiding me and at my side, surely I can do it!