Cash is King on the Island

The week was interesting last week.  I ran out of cash and at the same time the one ATM in town broke for almost 3 days.  In the USA, and many other countries as well, we do not think about two things:

PLACES THAT ONLY ACCEPT CASH

NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND AN ATM QUICKLY

Outside of town there is another ATM at the gas station... but by day 2 it had no money either.  So what are the options?  There are a few.

1.  Pay a taxi to take you to downtown Coxen Hole.  There are several there and one at the main grocery. You will have to keep driving til you find one because you have to pay the taxi driver!

2. Wait it out.  The grocery places both take cards and the more expensive restaurants do as well. You just can't eat the less expensive local food.

3.  I did not try this but I was told the ROA grocery will do cash back.  There is a fee and you cannot get much.  In a pinch it might be worth trying.

Most ATM only allow you to take out 200 for  5 dollar fee plus whatever your card charges you.  I have heard some of the other ATM allow more... I will try to verify this at some point.  

Moral of the story: bring enough to last you or plan to pay, but get $$ before you run out. If you bring US dollars, the bills cannot be damaged AT ALL.  They need to be pristine as the banks will not accept them from the locals. Look at your money before you leave.

Last Post on Baleadas (Maybe)

After several recommendations this week I stopped at Calelu's Grocery Store for Baleadas.  They are located on the west side of West End (or walk away from the bay and go down close to where the cement road ends).  At 25 Lemps for an egg and bean and cheese... it is the cheapest one I have found by far and very tasty.

You go into the grocery, order and pay, then come outside and sit down or stand until they make it... from pressing out the tortilla and grilling it, to putting on your desired topping you can watch the whole thing.  Delivered with a smile!  Don't forget to tip!!

Breakfast Near My House

I think I just love the creativeness of the name of this place!  Just say it phonetically to yourself out loud... you will get it!

Without a doubt, great baleadas.  This morning I had a simple egg one and a coffee for 55 Lempiras... just can't beat the price.

This week I also had the fruit and yogurt and granola.  Also excellent. As a land mark, at the round about in West End start walking towards Sun Downers.. keep going and Yahongreh is on the right side.  Get to Lorettas you went too far!

If you sit there at their tables and relax while you eat... you are right across from the ocean/bay... and you can also enjoy looking at flowers and plants, and the local cats and dogs who hang out there. 

They happen to have a planter full of my favorite flower. The colors here are stunning.

It is Day #8.  Off to get some chores done so I can be in the water later today.

7 Days of Beauty

One of the things that made we want to get out of Big City USA was all of the noise and light pollution.  Add to that normal air pollution and too much asphalt and cement, and it is hard to find the beauty.  It is there... you just have to work a little harder.  

I am living off of Half Moon Bay in West End, Roatan, Honduras.  Most everywhere I go, I walk along the bay to get there.  I love this.  And I constantly reach into my pocket or purse for my camera to try and capture what I am seeing at that moment to share with people.  Most of the time, the human eye discerns so much more than the camera.  So the pictures, while "pretty" do not have the wow factor I felt when I took it.

This shot is the winner for week #1.  It captured what I framed in my mind plus a little more.  Taken with my cell phone - a Samsung Galaxy A51 5G - on standard night setting at dusk. Enjoy.

Day #2 - Short Stay at Mr. Tucans

After a somewhat restless night, I finally got up and went down to breakfast at Bean Crazy..  When you stay at Mr. Tucans it comes with breakfast at Bean Crazy... a local coffee shop.

Baleadas and coffee is almost always my breakfast of choice.  Here this means two homemade tortillas filled with refried beans, scrambled eggs, and a cheese crumble.  A side of pickled onions. And they have a hot sauce they make which is the perfect amount of heat.  I usually sit at a table where I can see the ocean but I am looking at this:

It is a nice morning dose of positive affirmations.

A morning swim to visit the reef has let me get in some exercise and I am off to do a little shopping then work.  Adios.

Airport Fun - Day 1

Lesson number one: do not rely on the airline to notify you accurately of an "embargo" situation, and be armed with printed materials of weight limits of your bags for your ticket type.

Honduras, as it turns out, is under an embargo for bags allowed until Jan 10th.  For Hinduras there is a summer and a winter embargo.  So I had to eliminate a checked bag.  I had specifically purchased a first class ticket so my first two bags would be free and able to be as heavy as 70 pounds.  The desk agents told me no, only 50.  This is NOT what American is telling passengers in automated emails so I will have to do some research to get to the bottom of this.

It will all be fine as I have to leave every 90 days so I will pick the bag up in March.  I can live without its contents... "I think".  😀 no, I can.  I do not need half the stuff I have brought with me.  By the end if the year I will be able to accurately asses what I needed vs what I brought.

So plane leaves in an hour.  Going to go walk a bit and then I am off!!