A Month in San Carlos

It all started with pickleball.  Of course it did.  The minute I heard there was a strong pickleball club in San Carlos, Mexico, 7 hours south of our home in Arizona, I knew I could trick my husband into another month at the beach in February.  The only obstacle (all in our minds) was our first drive trip south of the border.  We've lived in Arizona 12 years and we'd never driven a car into Mexico.  Big babies!!!

So here we are.  And loving it!

Craig plays pickleball every morning for three or four hours with fun people, and even plays in a four day tournament starting the end of this week.

Meanwhile, I spend my time beachcombing.  That's our condominium building on Playa los Algodones in the photo above.

My shell/seaglass collection is growing after the first few days. 

 

Even the seaweed is beautiful here.

 

I snap a few pics on every walk.

 

This particular morning, the water was like glass and it was hard to distinguish the sea from the sky. 

 

The topography of the area is outstanding.  The views are spectacular from dawn to dusk.

 

After the exploring, we return to this gorgeous seaview condo.  I could live here.

 

 

 

Here's a short video of a 360 degree view from our area.

 

 

 

Stay tuned.  I'll get back to Roatan, but February is all about San Carlos.

 

 

The Monday Lobster Special

I love lobster.  And I really love ordering lobster when the restaurant has a magical location right on the water with beautiful sunset views and a Monday night special including three tails and your choice of two sides for $18 U.S.

 

The restaurant is Beachers.  They have multiple locations on Roatan, including one on the beach in West Bay and another one on the main road in West End.

Our favorite location for a sunset dinner is Beachers on the dock in West End.  We try to arrive late afternoon and grab a table next to the water as the sun's starting to drop from the sky.

Craig usually orders a SalvaVida, his preferred beer on the island.

 

Beachers also runs a 2 for 1 all day special on other drinks, so it's a great place to hang out!  At their West Bay location, they also provide loungers on the beach if you eat and/or drink there.

 

 

Captain Brooks ties his boat up at the Beachers' dock in West End later in the day, so if you need a ride home after dinner (before dark), he can take you back to West Bay.

This year we decided to eat our Christmas dinner at Beachers in West End.  We'd forgotten it was Monday!  Instead of turkey, we celebrated Christmas with three lobster tails.

The lobster special is $18, but this ending to your day in Paradise is free!  Wish I was there right now eating a lobster dinner.  Yum!

 

We'll be back.

 

 

Love the Blues

 

Early morning West Bay Beach shoreline.

 

A cruise ship passes West Bay Beach headed to dock in Coxen Hole.

The quiet calm blue waters of West Bay before the tours arrive.  

  The leaning tower of Roatan. 

 

Late afternoon on Half Moon Bay in West End.

 

Captain Brooks' wooden boat at Beachers' West End dock as the sun begins to drop.

 

The dark pastels of Half Moon Bay at sunset.

 

Twilight blues.

 

El Paraiso

Roatan is a paradise (el paraiso) where the lush jungle meets the turquoise sea.  The flora and fauna are a large part of the charm that drew us back to the island again after our first trip in December 2015. 

The view from the patio. 

You could fill your morning breakfast bowl with fruit found on Roatan.   We walked past this papaya tree everyday on our way to West Bay.

Speaking of breakfast, we enjoyed the bounty from the local fruit stands during our month on Roatan.  Watermelon, papaya, bananas, and pineapples were a daily treat. 

This banana tree was very tempting, especially during the period when shipments from mainland Honduras were being slowed by blockades in December. 

 

This coconut stand, located on the main roundabout in West End, had a ready supply since there are plenty of coconut palms on Roatan!

 

These two guys utilize the local bounty to sell coco frios on West Bay Beach everyday.

The local neighborhoods around West Bay are lined with beautiful gardens.  Love these peach colored hibiscus!

  I'm not sure what this pink and white spotted plant is, but it looks like a variety of elephant ears. 

 

A beautiful tropical garden in West Bay behind a picket fence.

 

The path to Kismet is lined with banana trees and palms.

Beautiful Heliconia in the community where we stayed in West Bay.

The island's fauna are as exotic as the flora.  A lot of locals have parrots as pets. The parrots at Celeste's in West Bay wolf whistle and call out to pedestrians passing by. When we stayed at a rental adjacent to Gumbalimba Park in 2015, scarlet macaws would fly over from the park in the mornings and early evenings.

The local iguanas usually blend into their locations.  I've read the black iguanas that lurk on the ironshore cliffs are an endangered species on the island, primarily because they've been a food source for locals.  This one was perched on the wall at the end of West Bay Beach.  There are various animals farms and preserves on the island for tourists to visit, including the Iguana Farm and another preserve with sloths and monkeys.

 

I see these signs on a lot of Caribbean Islands urging drivers to watch out for iguanas in the road.

 

 

 

A ride in a water taxi is a great way to view Roatan, that paradise where the jungle topples down the hillside to meet the blue Caribbean Sea.  I wish I was back in the boat!

 

We're off for a week to visit family in the Pacific Northwest.  I'll be back.  Stay tuned!

 

 

A Sunset Walk

One of the joys of the tropics is watching the sun go down at the beach.  The sun sets early on Roatan, so we'd often take a late afternoon walk down the road to West Bay.

A little boy runs down the beach while the big yellow glass bottom boat makes its last run over the reef headed back to the dock.

The sun sinking behind the Infinity Bay dock on West Bay Beach.

 

Sunset marks the end of the workday for the vendors on West Bay.  Many jump in for a swim before they head home.

A tiny water taxi with a big captain unloads a lot of passengers right before sunset at the end of the work day.  Most water taxis don't run between West Bay and West End after dark since they don't have running lights. 

 

One of the vendors enjoys a quick run on a paddleboard as the sun sinks.

 

 

Love the sunset Zumba class at the Henry Morgan Resort.  I especially love the nun on the left side.

 

Cheers to more beach sunsets in all our lives!

 

Ocean Therapy

As Wyland says, The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination, and brings eternal joy to the soul.

I know nothing inspires me like the ocean.   

Most mornings in December, we walked down the hill and from one end of West Bay Beach to the other.  If you wade in the shallows at the end of the beach in front of the Grand Roatan, colorful fish will swarm your feet.  It's a wonderful feeling and a free fish pedicure!

                   

Later in the day, we'd often return to the same place to swim and snorkel.  The yellow boat in the distance is a glass-bottom boat for those who don't want to strap on a snorkel and mask.

I love to experiment with my underwater camera.  The afternoon light glimmers and reflects over the waves.

When it's flat and calm, the water takes on a milky glacial appearance.

Schools of Sergeant Majors surround snorkelers in the shallow sandy bottom areas by the cliffs.

 

This Big Kahuna's easy to photograph.

He blends right in with this huge school of funny-faced Blue Tangs!

Parrotfish are the beauties of the sea.

 

 In deeper water, the corals and fans are magnificent.

 

 

This Needlenose is true to his name.

 

 

 Barracuda are hard to spot because they're camouflaged  to blend with the turtle grass below them.

 

 

Life in the big aquarium is so peaceful.  I'm missing my daily therapy.