THERE IS A REASON PEOPLE VISIT ROATAN

Roatan is called the "Jewel of Honduras."  Its temperature never varies; the rainstorms are fierce but typically quite brief.  The people are warm and inviting even though they must live in the face of poverty and other challenges.  The island subsists on tourism, but right now the resorts are completely empty.  The locals tell us that the tourist season is mainly between November - February.  But, there is a reason people come to Roatan by the thousands.  It is because of some of the things that we saw this last week. 

These two pictures were taken of the beach at Fantasy Island Resort and Spa.  It is where the TV show was filmed many years ago.  This last P-day we had it all to ourselves.  The water is sparkling blue and warm as a bathtub, the sand is clean and white.  You could spot conch shells all along the shoreline.  It truly is a paradise. 

The island of Roatan has a relationship with the ocean.  Most of their money comes either through tourism or through fishing.  Diving along the coral reef has made this island world famous.  The barrier reef is the second largest reef in the world and is so close to the shoreline in some places that even lousy swimmers like us can be there in minutes. The ocean has a beautiful florescent blue color because of the reef and the white sand.


Pretty much everything revolves around the ocean.  In our ward alone we have a member who owns an underwater museum where you can see sculptures while you snorkel, several members who work at a resort named Banana-Rama, a couple from Canada who are here supervising the construction of another resort, a member who owns a little store right on the beach, and several who literally live with the waves lapping at their back door. 

 

Because its entire economy is based on the tourism dollar the resorts cater to American taste.  The resorts feature world class cuisine and pools that are so beautiful it almost makes you forget the ocean.

Roatan draws people from around the globe and every once in awhile there is a member of the Church who drops in while they are here on vacation or business or for humanitarian reasons.  Some come on a regular basis, others only once.  It is interesting to chat with them and learn their story.  A fellow came this week and invited us to dinner at the XBlanque resort.  He ordered for us in advance.  The food was delicious, we were the only guests at the resort that night.  The chef had trained in the United States and really knew how to do it right!

P.S.  And this was just the main course.



Flowers that we just dream of having in Utah can be found here.  Fruits and nuts that we could never grow in Utah often grow wild in people´s backyards.  Bananas, cashews, mangos, papaya, coconuts and others that we can´t pronounce grow in profusion.  There is green everywhere, except for the city.  It is an incredibly lovely, little, 37 mile long island in the Caribbean.  Those who visit probably spend the vast majoriy of their time seeing and experiencing the things we have shown in this blog.  It´s beautiful.

We are enjoying our time here on Roatan.  But, we are not tourists here.  We have tasted of their beauty and their foods, but we are missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We have enjoyed sampling these things on our P-day, but we are working as hard as we possibly can to build up the branch and its members.  They are both wonderful!