RalphJr
Registered
Roatan, Honduras Trip Report 2015
August 7 2015 through August 16 2015, we traveled from Fresno CA. to Roatan Honduras and back. We drove from Fresno to Los Angeles International Airport via Highways 99, I-5 and the infamous I-405. The I-405, known as the San Diego Freeway in Southern California is a nerve testing 16 lane concrete symphony of metal in motion or not. We traversed the 28.6 mile distance from I-5 to the airport at the times of the day we hoped would be in off rush hour traffic (11:00 am Friday morning going south and 11:00 am Sunday morning traveling north) and I suppose it was good timing. It only took about 45 minutes to get off that stretch of adrenaline laced roadway in either direction. During one of the several stop and go sessions heading South I noticed that the Big Rig Truck in front of me had only about 1 foot of combined space (6 or 8 inches on each side) between its tire edges and the white lines at any given point. The maximum width for any standard vehicle in California is 8.5 feet so we are looking at a lane width of about 10 feet that is 2 feet less than the standard lane size of 12 feet! I am sure this is a contributing factor in that white knuckle zero to 80 to zero mph experience. We parked at Joes Airport Parking and flew Delta Airlines first to Atlanta Georgia and then on to Roatan. We spent a night in Atlanta at the Holiday Inn Airport South traveling in in each direction. I like to plan these 10 to 12 hour layovers to break up the plane rides and allow for delayed flights without causing an issue in our overall travel plans. All of our traveling went smooth and on time with no wayward luggage. Thank you Delta Airlines!
Anthony's Key Resort, Roatan Honduras
The short story:
The staff is well trained and actually glad to wait on you. Tropical island weather is the norm - hot, humid, sunny, cloudy, passing showers with a trade breeze in the evening if your cabin is in the right location. The resort is very well run with meticulously maintained boats and facility, good food, a great place for divers with family members and children that do not dive yet. You and your children can get certified here. There was good Caribbean Reef diving with 60 to 100 foot visibility at 82 degrees water temperature. It is a super short boat ride to most dive sites and many surface intervals can be done in your room. This is truly a family orientated resort but dont worry if you do not like children around you; they seem to hide them well from the adult attractions.
The long story:
Transportation from the airport on Saturday to AKR is somewhat like a cattle drive. Luggage (and there is a lot of it) is gathered curbside in front of the airport and loaded onto a flatbed truck. The next time you see it will be in your room. The 20 minute ride to the resort is accomplished in a small bus to the AKR entrance where you will climb the well-designed wooden steps up the manicured jungle hill to the reception desk, bar and dining areas. I counted the steps a couple of times but cannot seem to remember the number. It seems like a lot of them at first but after a couple of days I just did not really notice them anymore. We were given an orientation (sales pitch for the many activities available for the land and dolphin lovers) on the resort, a rum drink and our room keys. It is most helpful if you have all of your paperwork filled out before you arrive. I missed some and had to scramble to keep up with the others. It comes in the resort portfolio package sent to you when you book your vacation.
Be sure to go to the restroom area up the stone stairway behind the kitchen and reception area to view the Banyan Tree; it is really magnificent.
Ok down the stairs to the first (of many) small shuttle boat rides across the 100 yard channel to the island key where our air conditioned key deluxe bungalow was located. We stayed in room 13 and the trade winds blew gracefully across our covered deck and hammocks every afternoon and evening. The room was spacious, clean and comfortable. I loved the cedar-like smell of the native woods used to build the structure. See the AKR website for a complete description of the room and other levels available. Our room was cleaned and made-up every day while we were out diving; only once did we run into the maid.
Insects were not really much of a problem for us since we did not spend time on the beach. We did however see other guests who seem to have been nearly eaten alive by sand flies. Not a pretty sight. Bring insect repellent. We also took a malaria prophylactic on the advice of our local travel nurse given when we updated our other immunizations. We did not get bitten by any mosquitos as far as we know. They did fog the key with some kind of insecticide one day. I was afraid to ask what it was and we avoided any drift.
The first day of diving was Sunday. After signing in at the dive shop (dont forget your C-cards they actually check them), getting your weights and locker keys, all divers are required to do a mandatory buoyancy and basic skill test. You will do the test with your DM off the back of the boat at the dock in 10 feet of water. The test consisted of getting down to the bottom and up again, flooding and clearing your mask and spitting out and replacing your second stage regulator. This certainly is not going to weed out the newbies. On most dive trips we had 12 or 13 divers on the Andre (our boat) with Leo the Captain and Jeffery the Dive Master. Since you only have one DM on the boat newbies can be problematic on your dive profiles as well as the dive sites scheduled by the dive shop. The dive shop determines your dive sites in advance and the Skipper has very little control over where you go. We were able to lobby for a trip to Marys Place which is a long hour ride to the other side of the Island. I did not see any other AKR boats in the area so you may have to lobby hard, have good weather and all advanced divers on your boat to get this site approved. Our personal group consisted of 8 divers that ranged from Instructor/ Dive Masters to the least skilled diver at AOW with 400+ dives. We really did not want to have to deal with unskilled divers. Dont hesitate to express this to the dive shop operator; they cannot accommodate you if they are not aware of your desires. AKR did a pretty good job of placing only advanced divers on our boat. I would highly recommend using ScubaBoard and other social media sites to form a group of like divers ahead of your trip. Try to dominate a boat. This method has worked well for me and it just makes your diving more enjoyable. We chose to dive Nitrox for the week and the price for the 32% (which consistently ran at 33% to 34%) of $120.00 for 17 tanks was very reasonable. We did make a couple of air dives to the wrecks which were in 110 feet of water. The Nitrox shack was a bit of a bottle neck on the first day as all Nitrox divers tested, documented and labeled there tanks at one of the two available analyzers. One of the analyzers was very slow. The procedure got better on the succeeding days as the divers staggered the times that they readied their tanks for upcoming dives.
I have seen complaints that AKR boats do not offer snacks after your dives and this is true but it really is a non-issue since most surface intervals are completed back at the resort after a very short ride. Many times I could not even finish getting out of my gear before we were back at the dock. I either went back to my room where we had fruit or nuts or I bought something (Pringles like potato chips, I have a weakness for them.) at the snack shack located on the dock next to the dive shop. There was ample fresh drinking water onboard.
I mentioned before that the boats were well maintained and this may be an understatement. I was able to get a look into the engine hold on our boat early one morning as the assistant mechanic was checking the fluids; it was absolutely the cleanest engine hold I have ever seen other than on a showroom new boat! They even have their own dry dock where they can haul their boats. The Master Mechanic gets my applause for a job well done.
The boat was comfortable and not overcrowded at 13 divers. The ladder design made it easy to get out of the water when it was calm but became a bit dangerous in rougher water as they slapped out rapidly from the boat with the waves. I miss judged this slapping action and got whacked in the shin leaving a pretty good ladder bite. So here is the deal with the ladders and how to use them: Stay to the sides not in front of them, be expecting them to slap out with the wave action and time your exit as the ladder is moving down. Place your foot on the first actual step and rise up quickly putting your weight on the ladder. Do not step on the ladder frame tubing that loops down below the first step it is easy to miss and slip off - Whack. It does not provide enough leverage to hold the ladder in place with your weight on it - Whack. After I learned this procedure I did not receive any further ladder bites or bruises.
The diving was good Caribbean Reef diving. The visibility was 60 to 100 feet with warm water at 82 degrees. An exception to the good visibility was Waynes Place also known as Spooky Chanel, where the visibility was 12 to 15 feet. I think spooky is Roatan for poor vis. I am a California Coast diver and I did not find it spooky it was just like being home diving in Monterey Bay CA without the benefit of the cold water sea life. For me it was a waste of a warm water dive! Overall the coral and fish seemed healthy with lots of little fry fish living on the reefs. It is my understanding that the locals as well as predators are eating the Lion Fish and this is a good thing for the tropical fish populations. AKR did not allow hunting the Lion Fish probably due to liability issues with their insurers. This was too bad for our group of experienced hunters. We could have eliminated many of the 6 to 10 or more large Lion Fish spotted on every dive. Not to mention having them for dinner.
The sites we dove:
#24 Barrys Reef
#14 Overheat Reef
#22 White Hole
Odyssey Wreck @ Mud Hole**
#1 Marys Place ***
#6 Herbies Place
El Aguila Wreck near #5 Mandys Eel Garden**
#28 Stovalls Serenity
#20 Peters Place
#33 Melissas Reef (night)
#10 Hole in the Wall
#13 Gibson Bight
#15 Greenout House Wall
#23 Waynes Place Spooky Chanel (poor vis)
#35 Butchers Bank
#12 Fish Den
#16 Pillar Coral (night)
#4 West End Wall ***
#11 Canyon Reef ***
*** My favorite dives
** Wreck Dives
I am not really a wreck kind of guy but there were some really big groupers that hangout around the El Aguila Wreck.
We saw all of the usual suspects including Turtles, Moray Eels and a menagerie of reef fishes, countless corals and sponges. There were some big Barracuda and Yellow Fin Tuna. I identified and photographed a Mahogany Snapper that I do not remember ever seeing before. Maybe I just dont remember. I still think that Palau has the greatest diversity of sea life in warm water diving and they all lag behind the cold water creatures of Point lobos California.
The food at AKR was better than anticipated after reading many marginal reviews posted on the internet. The breakfast buffet always had some fresh fruits, muffins, croissant, cinnamon rolls, and other pastries. Bacon or sausage was available on alternating days with eggs prepared the way you wanted including omelets along with potatoes. Lunch was soup or salad and various sandwiches and wraps with fries and other choices. The lettuce used in all of the meals was as fresh as if I had just picked it from my garden at home. Cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, carrots and peppers were all garden fresh. All of the dressings I tried were well balanced and flavorful. Dinner always had soup or salad and a choice from 3 entrees. I love fish and seafood so I chose these most often. The fish was always cooked to perfection (not overcooked) and well-seasoned not to overpower the delicate flavor of the fresh fish. The pork chop I had one evening was really good. Only some of the deserts missed the mark but if you consider the safe ingredients demanded by the high heat and humidity the desert chef did an admirable job. The only complaint by anyone in our group was really over the choices they made and not the quality of the food they received.
We went to dive and that is what we did so I am not able to comment on the many other activities available at AKR.
My wife and I always try to collect a piece of artwork produced by a local artist whenever we travel abroad. It is in that pursuit we visited the Rusty Fish (nothing from china) and acquired several locally produced items. The major piece being a work in pen by Angel Goquez this is a link to his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/arteangel.goquezroatan Thanks Angel!
I highly recommend this dive resort.
August 7 2015 through August 16 2015, we traveled from Fresno CA. to Roatan Honduras and back. We drove from Fresno to Los Angeles International Airport via Highways 99, I-5 and the infamous I-405. The I-405, known as the San Diego Freeway in Southern California is a nerve testing 16 lane concrete symphony of metal in motion or not. We traversed the 28.6 mile distance from I-5 to the airport at the times of the day we hoped would be in off rush hour traffic (11:00 am Friday morning going south and 11:00 am Sunday morning traveling north) and I suppose it was good timing. It only took about 45 minutes to get off that stretch of adrenaline laced roadway in either direction. During one of the several stop and go sessions heading South I noticed that the Big Rig Truck in front of me had only about 1 foot of combined space (6 or 8 inches on each side) between its tire edges and the white lines at any given point. The maximum width for any standard vehicle in California is 8.5 feet so we are looking at a lane width of about 10 feet that is 2 feet less than the standard lane size of 12 feet! I am sure this is a contributing factor in that white knuckle zero to 80 to zero mph experience. We parked at Joes Airport Parking and flew Delta Airlines first to Atlanta Georgia and then on to Roatan. We spent a night in Atlanta at the Holiday Inn Airport South traveling in in each direction. I like to plan these 10 to 12 hour layovers to break up the plane rides and allow for delayed flights without causing an issue in our overall travel plans. All of our traveling went smooth and on time with no wayward luggage. Thank you Delta Airlines!
Anthony's Key Resort, Roatan Honduras
The short story:
The staff is well trained and actually glad to wait on you. Tropical island weather is the norm - hot, humid, sunny, cloudy, passing showers with a trade breeze in the evening if your cabin is in the right location. The resort is very well run with meticulously maintained boats and facility, good food, a great place for divers with family members and children that do not dive yet. You and your children can get certified here. There was good Caribbean Reef diving with 60 to 100 foot visibility at 82 degrees water temperature. It is a super short boat ride to most dive sites and many surface intervals can be done in your room. This is truly a family orientated resort but dont worry if you do not like children around you; they seem to hide them well from the adult attractions.
The long story:
Transportation from the airport on Saturday to AKR is somewhat like a cattle drive. Luggage (and there is a lot of it) is gathered curbside in front of the airport and loaded onto a flatbed truck. The next time you see it will be in your room. The 20 minute ride to the resort is accomplished in a small bus to the AKR entrance where you will climb the well-designed wooden steps up the manicured jungle hill to the reception desk, bar and dining areas. I counted the steps a couple of times but cannot seem to remember the number. It seems like a lot of them at first but after a couple of days I just did not really notice them anymore. We were given an orientation (sales pitch for the many activities available for the land and dolphin lovers) on the resort, a rum drink and our room keys. It is most helpful if you have all of your paperwork filled out before you arrive. I missed some and had to scramble to keep up with the others. It comes in the resort portfolio package sent to you when you book your vacation.
Be sure to go to the restroom area up the stone stairway behind the kitchen and reception area to view the Banyan Tree; it is really magnificent.
Ok down the stairs to the first (of many) small shuttle boat rides across the 100 yard channel to the island key where our air conditioned key deluxe bungalow was located. We stayed in room 13 and the trade winds blew gracefully across our covered deck and hammocks every afternoon and evening. The room was spacious, clean and comfortable. I loved the cedar-like smell of the native woods used to build the structure. See the AKR website for a complete description of the room and other levels available. Our room was cleaned and made-up every day while we were out diving; only once did we run into the maid.
Insects were not really much of a problem for us since we did not spend time on the beach. We did however see other guests who seem to have been nearly eaten alive by sand flies. Not a pretty sight. Bring insect repellent. We also took a malaria prophylactic on the advice of our local travel nurse given when we updated our other immunizations. We did not get bitten by any mosquitos as far as we know. They did fog the key with some kind of insecticide one day. I was afraid to ask what it was and we avoided any drift.
The first day of diving was Sunday. After signing in at the dive shop (dont forget your C-cards they actually check them), getting your weights and locker keys, all divers are required to do a mandatory buoyancy and basic skill test. You will do the test with your DM off the back of the boat at the dock in 10 feet of water. The test consisted of getting down to the bottom and up again, flooding and clearing your mask and spitting out and replacing your second stage regulator. This certainly is not going to weed out the newbies. On most dive trips we had 12 or 13 divers on the Andre (our boat) with Leo the Captain and Jeffery the Dive Master. Since you only have one DM on the boat newbies can be problematic on your dive profiles as well as the dive sites scheduled by the dive shop. The dive shop determines your dive sites in advance and the Skipper has very little control over where you go. We were able to lobby for a trip to Marys Place which is a long hour ride to the other side of the Island. I did not see any other AKR boats in the area so you may have to lobby hard, have good weather and all advanced divers on your boat to get this site approved. Our personal group consisted of 8 divers that ranged from Instructor/ Dive Masters to the least skilled diver at AOW with 400+ dives. We really did not want to have to deal with unskilled divers. Dont hesitate to express this to the dive shop operator; they cannot accommodate you if they are not aware of your desires. AKR did a pretty good job of placing only advanced divers on our boat. I would highly recommend using ScubaBoard and other social media sites to form a group of like divers ahead of your trip. Try to dominate a boat. This method has worked well for me and it just makes your diving more enjoyable. We chose to dive Nitrox for the week and the price for the 32% (which consistently ran at 33% to 34%) of $120.00 for 17 tanks was very reasonable. We did make a couple of air dives to the wrecks which were in 110 feet of water. The Nitrox shack was a bit of a bottle neck on the first day as all Nitrox divers tested, documented and labeled there tanks at one of the two available analyzers. One of the analyzers was very slow. The procedure got better on the succeeding days as the divers staggered the times that they readied their tanks for upcoming dives.
I have seen complaints that AKR boats do not offer snacks after your dives and this is true but it really is a non-issue since most surface intervals are completed back at the resort after a very short ride. Many times I could not even finish getting out of my gear before we were back at the dock. I either went back to my room where we had fruit or nuts or I bought something (Pringles like potato chips, I have a weakness for them.) at the snack shack located on the dock next to the dive shop. There was ample fresh drinking water onboard.
I mentioned before that the boats were well maintained and this may be an understatement. I was able to get a look into the engine hold on our boat early one morning as the assistant mechanic was checking the fluids; it was absolutely the cleanest engine hold I have ever seen other than on a showroom new boat! They even have their own dry dock where they can haul their boats. The Master Mechanic gets my applause for a job well done.
The boat was comfortable and not overcrowded at 13 divers. The ladder design made it easy to get out of the water when it was calm but became a bit dangerous in rougher water as they slapped out rapidly from the boat with the waves. I miss judged this slapping action and got whacked in the shin leaving a pretty good ladder bite. So here is the deal with the ladders and how to use them: Stay to the sides not in front of them, be expecting them to slap out with the wave action and time your exit as the ladder is moving down. Place your foot on the first actual step and rise up quickly putting your weight on the ladder. Do not step on the ladder frame tubing that loops down below the first step it is easy to miss and slip off - Whack. It does not provide enough leverage to hold the ladder in place with your weight on it - Whack. After I learned this procedure I did not receive any further ladder bites or bruises.
The diving was good Caribbean Reef diving. The visibility was 60 to 100 feet with warm water at 82 degrees. An exception to the good visibility was Waynes Place also known as Spooky Chanel, where the visibility was 12 to 15 feet. I think spooky is Roatan for poor vis. I am a California Coast diver and I did not find it spooky it was just like being home diving in Monterey Bay CA without the benefit of the cold water sea life. For me it was a waste of a warm water dive! Overall the coral and fish seemed healthy with lots of little fry fish living on the reefs. It is my understanding that the locals as well as predators are eating the Lion Fish and this is a good thing for the tropical fish populations. AKR did not allow hunting the Lion Fish probably due to liability issues with their insurers. This was too bad for our group of experienced hunters. We could have eliminated many of the 6 to 10 or more large Lion Fish spotted on every dive. Not to mention having them for dinner.
The sites we dove:
#24 Barrys Reef
#14 Overheat Reef
#22 White Hole
Odyssey Wreck @ Mud Hole**
#1 Marys Place ***
#6 Herbies Place
El Aguila Wreck near #5 Mandys Eel Garden**
#28 Stovalls Serenity
#20 Peters Place
#33 Melissas Reef (night)
#10 Hole in the Wall
#13 Gibson Bight
#15 Greenout House Wall
#23 Waynes Place Spooky Chanel (poor vis)
#35 Butchers Bank
#12 Fish Den
#16 Pillar Coral (night)
#4 West End Wall ***
#11 Canyon Reef ***
*** My favorite dives
** Wreck Dives
I am not really a wreck kind of guy but there were some really big groupers that hangout around the El Aguila Wreck.
We saw all of the usual suspects including Turtles, Moray Eels and a menagerie of reef fishes, countless corals and sponges. There were some big Barracuda and Yellow Fin Tuna. I identified and photographed a Mahogany Snapper that I do not remember ever seeing before. Maybe I just dont remember. I still think that Palau has the greatest diversity of sea life in warm water diving and they all lag behind the cold water creatures of Point lobos California.
The food at AKR was better than anticipated after reading many marginal reviews posted on the internet. The breakfast buffet always had some fresh fruits, muffins, croissant, cinnamon rolls, and other pastries. Bacon or sausage was available on alternating days with eggs prepared the way you wanted including omelets along with potatoes. Lunch was soup or salad and various sandwiches and wraps with fries and other choices. The lettuce used in all of the meals was as fresh as if I had just picked it from my garden at home. Cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, carrots and peppers were all garden fresh. All of the dressings I tried were well balanced and flavorful. Dinner always had soup or salad and a choice from 3 entrees. I love fish and seafood so I chose these most often. The fish was always cooked to perfection (not overcooked) and well-seasoned not to overpower the delicate flavor of the fresh fish. The pork chop I had one evening was really good. Only some of the deserts missed the mark but if you consider the safe ingredients demanded by the high heat and humidity the desert chef did an admirable job. The only complaint by anyone in our group was really over the choices they made and not the quality of the food they received.
We went to dive and that is what we did so I am not able to comment on the many other activities available at AKR.
My wife and I always try to collect a piece of artwork produced by a local artist whenever we travel abroad. It is in that pursuit we visited the Rusty Fish (nothing from china) and acquired several locally produced items. The major piece being a work in pen by Angel Goquez this is a link to his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/arteangel.goquezroatan Thanks Angel!
I highly recommend this dive resort.
(If you count the landing as a step) As I have gotten older I have begun counting them to amuse myself as I limp up the stairs to the restaurant.
