Day One

Day One

Woke up this morning at 3:50am, I had set 3 different alarm clocks and woke up on the last one. May have had too many beers last night. Although i normally set 3 alarms and don’t even realize I've turned 2 of them off until I finally wake up. Cab company was late, I called them and they told me somebody was on the way. Finally somebody showed up to the house. It was a difficult place to find, wasn't on GPS, so that is understandable.

Almost at Roatan - Half way between mainland Mexico and Roatan

I got to the airport, the line-up to check in was HUGE. Finally I got through, they didn't weigh my bag, which i was somewhat worried about. Went through customs without a problem, and then through security. Security was concerned about a long metal object I had in my backpack, which turned out to be my mono-pod for the GoPro. Probably should have mentioned it before trying to get through security. I'm surprised they let me keep it to be honest. 

Finally boarded my flight after an enjoyable burger king egg sandwich  and disgusting airport coffee. Said hi to the older lady and her husband sitting next to me. Found out they were headed for South Carolina for a golf trip. Very nice people. As we sat there, the captain finally told us we would have to be de-iced and it would take an extra few minutes. 30 minutes after our scheduled flight time we got pushed back for this de-icing. Took them another 15 minutes to complete. So off to a great start, flight was super late and now im worried I wont make my flight from Houston to Roatan. I only have 1.5hrs between flights. Luckily, captain came on the radio and told us we would be arriving at the normal time.... not sure if we had a good tailwind or if he likes to fly a plane the way Andrew Beaton drives..... super fast. Arrived in Houston and got to my gate with lots of time to spare. Time for a beer. Went to the Sky Tower Bar and down a quick Goose Neck IPA and a plate of Jumbo Shrimp. A couple hours later, I've landed. A tad bit worried about my luggage, I haven’t made many flights that aren't direct. Luckily it was about the tenth one through one the belt. Customs in Roatan are pretty slack. Fill out a couple cards on the plane, then give them to some girl standing there, and put your bag through an x=ray machine. They don’t say a word to you. 

Out front of my hotel - Palm tree's, calm bay, and dive shops as far as the eye can see

I found my cab driver, which I had previously arranged, directly through the airport doors after customs. We went to his car, and loaded up. I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. By the time he drove me to the grocery store, I could smell myself – It was so hot and humid. Went into the store, bought some simple food items and that was it. I decided i  better load up the deodorant for the car drive to save that poor young soul that was driving me. We went on a mini-tour of the island. It is amazing, I've been all over the Caribbean and never seen anything like it. We arrived at the hotel, made my way back to my room – up a set of stairs to a balcony, said hi to the people sitting on their deck which are now my new neighbours  Went inside, it is a nice room – for all of you all-inclusive people out there, you wouldn't call it nice. This part of the island is NOT an all-inclusive feel – it is something completely different and unique which i have never discovered in my travels, until now. I have a twin bed, a single bed, a kitchen, and small bathroom with a shower and hot water – Oh and a patio set and hammock on the deck, nice for drinking a beer or having some fresh air. Settled in a little bit, talked to my neighbours (young lawyers from Canada – probably around my age, ill find out later).

Half Moon Bay at Sunset - Took a break from Hockey Night in Canada to snap a picture. Picture does NOT do this sunset any justice. The sun was huge and bright red. 

 I then decided I’d go for a walk and see if I could find my dive shop. Walked down the main street, along with many other people out walking, eventually looked up and saw my dive shop. Went up, filled out some paperwork, and already had a plan for the next day. After that I went home, drank a beer, chilled with the neighbours and headed over to Sundowners beach bar for the Toronto HNIC game. Was great, met the owners and a few other people – my neighbours both joined me a little later (leafs fans.......). Chilled there for the game, had some Chicken Fingers (yes I know – how daring.) It was the first night there and late, I didn't want to get too crazy. I went home and attempted to study some diving theory – didn't work well and I ended up asleep before 9pm.

Picked up some Plantain and... Casava Chips for a snack - The locals grew up on these type of chips