Roatan Honduras............An Island Adventure

Road Rash · 03-12-2011, 02:56 PM

Roatan is very popular for scuba and snorkeling, but I'm not much into that. I went to Roatan to visit an old friend (Vern) who is living there, running his Catamaran from Roatan to Utila. Vern and I had not seen each other for over 10 years, and it's been longer than that since we have rode together.

Vern no longer has a bike as he spends most of his time on his boat. And since I flew in - I was bike-less............................so we rented the biggest bikes on the Island that we could...........................a couple of Honda XR200's

Before we take off the guy at the rental place does a little PM on our little steeds.

And of course we need a good breakfast............very tasty and only 100 lempiras ($5)

Roatan is aprox 35 miles long and 3 miles wide and Vern lives in West End Roatan. So we headed east, but took a dirt route for as much as we could.
Nice helmet huh?

Then this dood seemed to want us to stop and take his picture.

His cousins.

At this spot we also were approached by a couple of locals that were obviously very poor. They were talking to Vern in spanish, and the only thing I understood is that Vern told then all he had was a 500 lempira bill and he wasn't going to give them that. They nodded, smiled, turned and started to walk away. I asked Vern what they wanted. Vern said they they were looking for change to buy some rice and asked if I had any change. I pulled a dollar bill out of my wallet and called the guys back, they were very grateful, thanked us and went on their way.

Above French Harbour, Vern was always turning around for me since I wanted to stop and take lots of pics

Next stop was the little town of Jonesville to visit some friends of Vern's, this is the view from their back yard looking towards the Ocean

Looking inland.

Still in Jonesville we stop at Miss Lilly's store.

Vern goes in to say Hi, then steps outside and makes a phone call............................................"hey, I need a ride"

I'm thinking ride?

we have bikes.

Road Rash · 03-12-2011, 03:21 PM

Next thing I know a little boat pulls up to take us to the other side of the bay.

Looking toward our destination

We pull up to "Hole In The Wall".........it is only accessible by boat http://www.roatanonline.com/moreroat..._east/hole.htm

Vern hanging with some of his friends.

At the Bar

This boat in the background belongs to Vern and one of his friends..................can't remember how long he said it's been sitting there.

Island life is rough.

Vern goes on shore to hang with a couple more friends he has not seen in awhile.

There was writing all over the place, so I asked if I could sign my name..................the guy I was sitting next to said go for it and handed me a sharpie.

After a great burger and fries (sorry no pics) we asked for a ride back.

Self portrait.

The "street" (there is just one) of Jonesville.

All along the ride I saw things that I wanted to take pictures of, like cute little kids at work or play, old timers sitting in the shade,... but did not want to make anyone uncomfortable so I did not get the camera out.

One of those times was along this street, where a family had a little pet monkey under their carport.

freeflow · 03-12-2011, 03:48 PM

cool. Hole in the wall...some great lobster cevechi there

...so good trip?

Road Rash · 03-12-2011, 04:00 PM

From Oak Ridge looking down to Bodden Bight

Getting closer to the East side of the Island we stop at Camp Bay......................you may notice that Vern is on his cell in a lot of the pics, every time we stopped he had, or would get a call from someone looking to hop a ride on his Catamaran to Utila.

As I look for shells for TG, Vern is writing in the sand.....................

................for his girlfriend Zuni.

One more shot before we hit the road again.

Back on the bikes we start gaining in elevation, then the road starts heading back downhill, we can see we are getting closer to the end of the Island.

At this point I thought we might be at the end of the road as it dead ended here with a big puddle in front of a dirt wall. I got off my bike and told Vern to "go for it"...............and I'll take a picture.

He goes ripping down the road, slams on the brakes just before the puddle and starts cussing at me..........................hey what are friends for?

Coming back up...............good thing we only had 200cc bikes, cause I know he would have roasted me if he could

Looking at the end of the Island before we drop down to the beach on another road that we found.

The road does not go to the very end of the Island as the last couple of miles is the Saint Helene Wildlife Refuge.

Down on the beach we went a little ways but there was so much trash on this remote beach I was worried about getting a flat with no tools and miles from anyone, prep aired?...........................I'm on vacation with a rental bike, although I did have my trustee Leatherman with me

Collecting more shells and rocks.............lots of conch shells on this beach.

On the way out we did find one more road...but again I thought about how far away we were from anything... I decided I would pass on this puddle since I had no idea how deep it was.........................this didn't stop Vern.................."about 2 feet" he said

Sorry for the blurry pic, and I thought I had a good one of him coming back across, but it didn't even come out.

One more view of the West side before we head back...............notice Vern is wearing my backpack....................I had it loaded down with conch shells and rocks it slipped out of the bungee straps.

Heading back to West End, we only made one stop at this little place for a little refreshment before "racing" back to the other side of the Island.

Road Rash · 03-12-2011, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freeflow

cool. Hole in the wall...some great lobster cevechi there

...so good trip?

Very good trip.....................didn't know if you would see this report or not so I was going to send you a link to it when I was done

Not sure what I enjoyed most, driving or riding with very little rules, the food, the views, the eye candy, the rum punch.....................it was all good

I would have loved to have my KLX400 there for riding around the Island

freeflow · 03-12-2011, 04:07 PM

you're killing me....camp bay beach is where we spend most of our time there....glad you got there...

Road Rash · 03-12-2011, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freeflow

you're killing me....camp bay beach is where we spend most of our time there....glad you got there...

Yes, Camp Bay Beach is a (one of many) beautiful place.

I want to and will go back, as small as that Island is, and I did see most of it, I want to be able to spend more tiime at a lot of the places that I visited.

OK, I need to finish this report

Road Rash · 03-12-2011, 05:02 PM

Riding on the Island was a blast once I got used to how people drive, the only rules of the road are.............if you're in a cage, wear your seat belt................if you're on a bike wear your helmet, and don't hit anyone (pedestrians do not have the right of way here).

I wish I could have had a helmet cam on the ride back................yeah we were just on little 200cc bikes, but we wound them out for all they were worth, passing every car, truck and bike that we came up to. When you pass you just give a little 'toot-toot' with your horn to warn the driver/rider that you are passing. At one point we came up behind a big truck with a Policia car in front of it, both were going quite slow and I asked Vern (who looked like he was going to make a pass) "you do see what is in front of the truck don't you?" he looked at me and said "yeah, so?" and went around the truck................shit! OK, the truck is going slow so I make the pass. Then Vern passes the Policia car!.................damn Vern, don't do this to me....so I hang back to see what the Policia is going to do (oh, BTW...there is no plate on the bike that Vern is riding!). So as I see Vern riding away I decided to make my move (something I would never do here in the States) 'beep!beep!' ... and I make my pass, catch up to Vern and we are off to West End passing more trucks, cars and bikes reaching speeds up to 100km.

This ride would have been funner on little bit bigger of a bike, but I still had a blast

The next day I still had a couple of hours before I had to return the bike, and Vern had to prep for his next trip to Utila, so I just rode around the West side of the Island for a bit.

On the beach.

Self portrait.

Above the beach.

The Policia station in West End.

They ride around 2 up on this little DRZ200.............with assault rifles

Somebody started to develop here.

Wolfgang55 · 03-12-2011, 06:25 PM

Neat to see an out of the way place.
Well done.

Road Rash · 03-13-2011, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolfgang55

Neat to see an out of the way place.
Well done.

Thanks, I've done much longer rides on bigger/better bikes..................but this was a ride I will never forget.

5150esses · 03-13-2011, 10:26 PM

Did you hit up the iguana farm?

Inquiring minds. . .

Nice pics.

Road Rash · 03-15-2011, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5150esses

Did you hit up the iguana farm?

Inquiring minds. . .

Nice pics.

Thanks, and yes I did..................but I enjoyed the monkey's that were at the Jungle Top Zip Lines better

Motojournalism · 03-16-2011, 12:57 PM

Cool man, Gotta love kickin' back like that!

I missed that side of Honduras, I'm gonna have to go back to check it out!

tricepilot · 03-16-2011, 01:24 PM

Very timely. Going back to Honduras in 3 weeks. Utila first (have not been), then Anthony's Key on Roatan (been 4 or 5 times).

I do love the funky West End of Roatan.

Live2Ride · 03-16-2011, 02:17 PM

Cool report Tom. Hope to see you this summer sometime.

03-12-2011, 02:56 PM	#1
Road Rash ^OP Infamous Joined: Oct 2003 Location: The Original OC, in Oregon Oddometer: 17,511	Roatan Honduras............An Island Adventure Roatan is very popular for scuba and snorkeling, but I'm not much into that. I went to Roatan to visit an old friend (Vern) who is living there, running his Catamaran from Roatan to Utila. Vern and I had not seen each other for over 10 years, and it's been longer than that since we have rode together. Vern no longer has a bike as he spends most of his time on his boat. And since I flew in - I was bike-less............................so we rented the biggest bikes on the Island that we could...........................a couple of Honda XR200's Before we take off the guy at the rental place does a little PM on our little steeds. And of course we need a good breakfast............very tasty and only 100 lempiras ($5) Roatan is aprox 35 miles long and 3 miles wide and Vern lives in West End Roatan. So we headed east, but took a dirt route for as much as we could. Nice helmet huh? Then this dood seemed to want us to stop and take his picture. His cousins. At this spot we also were approached by a couple of locals that were obviously very poor. They were talking to Vern in spanish, and the only thing I understood is that Vern told then all he had was a 500 lempira bill and he wasn't going to give them that. They nodded, smiled, turned and started to walk away. I asked Vern what they wanted. Vern said they they were looking for change to buy some rice and asked if I had any change. I pulled a dollar bill out of my wallet and called the guys back, they were very grateful, thanked us and went on their way. Above French Harbour, Vern was always turning around for me since I wanted to stop and take lots of pics Next stop was the little town of Jonesville to visit some friends of Vern's, this is the view from their back yard looking towards the Ocean Looking inland. Still in Jonesville we stop at Miss Lilly's store. Vern goes in to say Hi, then steps outside and makes a phone call............................................"hey, I need a ride" I'm thinking ride? we have bikes. __________________ "A man can never have too many motorcycles, like any good craftsman you need the proper tool for the job at hand. A man needs more tools than a hammer, the same goes for bikes." ~Mr. Cob~ My Ride Through Roatan

03-12-2011, 03:21 PM	#2
Road Rash ^OP Infamous Joined: Oct 2003 Location: The Original OC, in Oregon Oddometer: 17,511	Next thing I know a little boat pulls up to take us to the other side of the bay. Looking toward our destination We pull up to "Hole In The Wall".........it is only accessible by boat http://www.roatanonline.com/moreroat..._east/hole.htm Vern hanging with some of his friends. At the Bar This boat in the background belongs to Vern and one of his friends..................can't remember how long he said it's been sitting there. Island life is rough. Vern goes on shore to hang with a couple more friends he has not seen in awhile. There was writing all over the place, so I asked if I could sign my name..................the guy I was sitting next to said go for it and handed me a sharpie. After a great burger and fries (sorry no pics) we asked for a ride back. Self portrait. The "street" (there is just one) of Jonesville. All along the ride I saw things that I wanted to take pictures of, like cute little kids at work or play, old timers sitting in the shade,... but did not want to make anyone uncomfortable so I did not get the camera out. One of those times was along this street, where a family had a little pet monkey under their carport. __________________ "A man can never have too many motorcycles, like any good craftsman you need the proper tool for the job at hand. A man needs more tools than a hammer, the same goes for bikes." ~Mr. Cob~ My Ride Through Roatan

03-12-2011, 03:48 PM	#3
freeflow get in or go in Joined: Dec 2004 Location: GB-Wisconsin Oddometer: 12,916	cool. Hole in the wall...some great lobster cevechi there ...so good trip? __________________ .... wait til you get younger to chase your dreams......

03-12-2011, 04:00 PM	#4
Road Rash ^OP Infamous Joined: Oct 2003 Location: The Original OC, in Oregon Oddometer: 17,511	Back on the Main Road From Oak Ridge looking down to Bodden Bight Getting closer to the East side of the Island we stop at Camp Bay......................you may notice that Vern is on his cell in a lot of the pics, every time we stopped he had, or would get a call from someone looking to hop a ride on his Catamaran to Utila. As I look for shells for TG, Vern is writing in the sand..................... ................for his girlfriend Zuni. One more shot before we hit the road again. Back on the bikes we start gaining in elevation, then the road starts heading back downhill, we can see we are getting closer to the end of the Island. At this point I thought we might be at the end of the road as it dead ended here with a big puddle in front of a dirt wall. I got off my bike and told Vern to "go for it"...............and I'll take a picture. He goes ripping down the road, slams on the brakes just before the puddle and starts cussing at me..........................hey what are friends for? Coming back up...............good thing we only had 200cc bikes, cause I know he would have roasted me if he could Looking at the end of the Island before we drop down to the beach on another road that we found. The road does not go to the very end of the Island as the last couple of miles is the Saint Helene Wildlife Refuge. Down on the beach we went a little ways but there was so much trash on this remote beach I was worried about getting a flat with no tools and miles from anyone, prep aired?...........................I'm on vacation with a rental bike, although I did have my trustee Leatherman with me Collecting more shells and rocks.............lots of conch shells on this beach. On the way out we did find one more road...but again I thought about how far away we were from anything... I decided I would pass on this puddle since I had no idea how deep it was.........................this didn't stop Vern.................."about 2 feet" he said Sorry for the blurry pic, and I thought I had a good one of him coming back across, but it didn't even come out. One more view of the West side before we head back...............notice Vern is wearing my backpack....................I had it loaded down with conch shells and rocks it slipped out of the bungee straps. Heading back to West End, we only made one stop at this little place for a little refreshment before "racing" back to the other side of the Island. __________________ "A man can never have too many motorcycles, like any good craftsman you need the proper tool for the job at hand. A man needs more tools than a hammer, the same goes for bikes." ~Mr. Cob~ My Ride Through Roatan

03-12-2011, 04:07 PM	#6
freeflow get in or go in Joined: Dec 2004 Location: GB-Wisconsin Oddometer: 12,916	you're killing me....camp bay beach is where we spend most of our time there....glad you got there... __________________ .... wait til you get younger to chase your dreams......

03-12-2011, 05:02 PM	#8
Road Rash ^OP Infamous Joined: Oct 2003 Location: The Original OC, in Oregon Oddometer: 17,511	Riding on the Island was a blast once I got used to how people drive, the only rules of the road are.............if you're in a cage, wear your seat belt................if you're on a bike wear your helmet, and don't hit anyone (pedestrians do not have the right of way here). I wish I could have had a helmet cam on the ride back................yeah we were just on little 200cc bikes, but we wound them out for all they were worth, passing every car, truck and bike that we came up to. When you pass you just give a little 'toot-toot' with your horn to warn the driver/rider that you are passing. At one point we came up behind a big truck with a Policia car in front of it, both were going quite slow and I asked Vern (who looked like he was going to make a pass) "you do see what is in front of the truck don't you?" he looked at me and said "yeah, so?" and went around the truck................shit! OK, the truck is going slow so I make the pass. Then Vern passes the Policia car!.................damn Vern, don't do this to me....so I hang back to see what the Policia is going to do (oh, BTW...there is no plate on the bike that Vern is riding!). So as I see Vern riding away I decided to make my move (something I would never do here in the States) 'beep!beep!' ... and I make my pass, catch up to Vern and we are off to West End passing more trucks, cars and bikes reaching speeds up to 100km. This ride would have been funner on little bit bigger of a bike, but I still had a blast The next day I still had a couple of hours before I had to return the bike, and Vern had to prep for his next trip to Utila, so I just rode around the West side of the Island for a bit. On the beach. Self portrait. Above the beach. The Policia station in West End. They ride around 2 up on this little DRZ200.............with assault rifles Somebody started to develop here. __________________ "A man can never have too many motorcycles, like any good craftsman you need the proper tool for the job at hand. A man needs more tools than a hammer, the same goes for bikes." ~Mr. Cob~ My Ride Through Roatan

03-12-2011, 06:25 PM	#9
Wolfgang55 Beastly Adventurer Joined: Dec 2006 Location: Next to Rio Bravo Oddometer: 2,958	Neat to see an out of the way place. Well done.

03-13-2011, 10:26 PM	#11
5150esses leotarded Joined: Jul 2010 Location: The Lair Oddometer: 35	I was there 10 years ago Did you hit up the iguana farm? Inquiring minds. . . Nice pics. __________________ "I had to have that broccoli and cheese. Then one day I didn't want any more broccoli and cheese." -- Chris Rock

03-16-2011, 12:57 PM	#13
Motojournalism motojournalism.com Joined: Apr 2006 Location: Montreal via BC Oddometer: 1,579	Cool man, Gotta love kickin' back like that! I missed that side of Honduras, I'm gonna have to go back to check it out! __________________ "Absorb what is useful, Discard what is useless, Add what is uniquely your own" - Bruce Lee Moto documentary Fifty Years of Kicks at motojournalism.com Way Out West - Canada to the Darien Gap Follow me on Twitter

03-16-2011, 01:24 PM	#14
tricepilot El Gran Payaso Joined: Apr 2006 Location: San Antonio Oddometer: 5,922	Very timely. Going back to Honduras in 3 weeks. Utila first (have not been), then Anthony's Key on Roatan (been 4 or 5 times). I do love the funky West End of Roatan. __________________ Oaxaca The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Into the Blue at Quintana Roo Vaquero On Mexican Time Copper Canyon and Batopilas

03-16-2011, 02:17 PM	#15
Live2Ride Not Famous Joined: Mar 2005 Location: Spoklahoma, Wa. Oddometer: 3,562	Cool report Tom. Hope to see you this summer sometime. __________________ *94 KLR 650* *04 650 B Strom* And a Chopper, hardley link below for the whole story http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=384456 74 Hodaka Dirt Squirt 82 Kawasaki KLT 200 New to the stable, a DRZ 400 SM

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