WRITTEN by JOHN MORRIS
If home is where the heart is, my home is Roatan
People who are brave enough, or let me rephrase that… smart enough… to investigate Roatan as a second home or a retirement location are seldom disappointed.
Often we are grouped into the trials and tribulations of the mainland but in reality, Roatan is a Caribbean island that in 1860 – at the strong suggestion of the USA – Honduras reluctantly took back from the UK.
It seems that the USA had plans to build a canal on the Honduras/Nicaragua border – and the US did not want any meddling.
‘Give the Bay Islands back to Honduras and you can have what is now Belize.’ The offer was accepted.
Back then, Roatan was an unknown bug-infested island with no hope for anything worthwhile. Oh boy, were they wrong.
If the UK had thought ahead and argued with the USA, we would be living on Grand Cayman Part II.
Would that be good? I don’t think so.
Roatan is… Roatan.
Still one of the most affordable places to live in the Caribbean but with just about every creature comfort you could want.
Developing internet thanks to competition… grocery stores to find most everything you need… this hemisphere’s largest barrier reef… and of course, some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
Sure, we have our challenges and frustrations, that’s island living anywhere, but one learns patience and that’s a good thing because it seems to be disappearing in the first world.
Here we move slower and come to appreciate the small things in life. For example, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. is a sacred hour on the island. It is lunchtime. It is a break and so it should be. Relax, sit back and have lunch yourself.
When driving, expect to get slowed down behind a back hoe, cement truck, dump truck, trash truck or the eternally slow local “bus”, stopping randomly to pick up or discharge passengers. Bus stops have not quite caught on here!
And be prepared for the ever-growing fleet of taxis that will suddenly stop in the middle of the road and put on their four-way flashers, even if it’s just to run into a store for a “quick” errand or lunch.
If you are walking along the side of the road, every passing taxi will beep at you, hoping to pick up another fare. I am always amazed when I park my car, and as I’m getting out, passing taxis assault me with their horns and calls of “taxi?”
Banking takes longer here. These venerable institutions still use carbon paper and put the requisite a stamp on everything – with authority – after counting your deposit or withdrawal cash a minimum of three times.
If you happen to be 60 years or older, or are pregnant, you get a “get out of jail free” card to go to the front of the line.
Then there is the US dollar. Yes, the Lempira is the official currency, but dollars are preferred. Future visitors always ask if they should exchange their dollars to Lempira prior to arrival.
Don’t do it!
Even if you find an accommodating bank. You will spend the last day of your vacation trying to get rid of your “monopoly money” as Lempiras are useless anywhere outside of Honduras.
But, be sure that the dollar bills you bring are new, clean, no writing on them and no rips or tears or they will not be accepted. We expats on the island spend half our time getting rid of these dreaded “damaged” bills.
I suggest that you spend some time here prior to relocating. Get to know the island and let it get to know you. Some people stay… some people leave. Some go back and forth.
Roatan certainly isn’t for everyone but it has been an excellent choice for my wife and me. We live here because we love it.
Some call it ‘Paradise with a Price’, but we call it home…
Because, after all, it is what it is.
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