Trip to Roatan was much fun!  We stayed the first 3 nights in West End at the Arco Iris (Rainbow) hotel. on Half Moon Bay.  A pretty area and many good places to eat.  Too many good places to eat, in fact.  And I took full advantage of them all, to the point of developing a distinct waddle to my walk. There is a great place to snorkel  on the east end of the bay.  You can go in right off the rocks (nice stairs going into the water) and enjoy a small reef there with very little effort.  My kind of snorkeling these days.
We had a lucky encounter with a local man named Edgar who offered to take us on a day long island tour.  We decided to abandon our original plan to rent a car and let Edgar be our driver and guide.  An excellent decision as Edgar took us to places we would never have found on our own.  Among them were the monkey park where we got up close and personal with the wildlife, a Garifuna showplace where we listened to the drumming for which this culture is well known and watched them dance, even stomping out a few steps ourselves, and taking a canoe trip along the coast and through the mangroves.  On the way back we stopped at Cal's Cantina, an eatery we enjoyed last year with Carol and Frank.  This restaurant sits on a hill overlooking the water and, among other tasty dishes, has the best hamburger in the western hemisphere.  I want to go back to Roatan next year, if only for the food there!
WE spent the last three nights over in West Bay, the neighboring vacation area to West End.  It is slightly more upscale with a long beautiful curving stretch of beach.  Nice but West End has a more cozy and friendly feel.  There is a water taxi system between the two places (only $3) so you can stay in West End and go over to West Bsy for a day whenever you want.
Rob and Linda left for their trip back home (Goodby!!!) and Les and I spent one more night back in West End before an early morning flight on Tropic Air back to Belize City.

Belize 2014/15

We have been here for 2 and 1/2 months and, other than the few pictures of our new place, I am yet to  post anything about our  2014/15 winter trip to Belize. I have grown so lazy.  I am content to sit on this balcony and watch the world go by.  My view from here is so perfect.  Palm trees, turquoise water, water taxi boats, paddle boarders, wind surfers, kayaks, etc. all pass by (wind surfers and kayakers seldom share the same days. And if they do, it's not pretty.)
The sailboat has suffered a series of mishaps, mistakes and mis-whatevers.  It took a long time to get the engine working and then, after finding a nearby dock where we could keep it, when Les went to take friends, Rob and Dennis, for a sail he discovered that it was too shallow for the 4 foot keel to get away from the dock except at the highest tide.  We got it out one time before they came and had a beautiful sail that afternoon until the return leg during which the weather and wind turned wild and we came back heeled over on our side with me clutching  desperately onto the boat in a total panic. I believe there may also have been some crying and cursing!
I have compensated for the lack of activities by eating and the combination of abundant and outstanding food and lack of exercise has resulted in a middle so thick I soon will not have any clothes that fit.  Buttons and buttonholes are straining to remain serviceable as I speak.
We have really enjoyed our time here with Linda and Rob and new friends, Dennis and Barbara. Probably our best adventure was renting golf carts and traveling the no man's land of northern Ambergris Island.  We will be going to Roatan for a week in a few days with Rob and Linda.  Dennis and Barbara left for Gridley this morning.