I hope that you find it of interest and value. Thirty miles long, and a mile or two wide at most, Roatan is mountainous and lushly forested in jungle foliage. Water birds stalk the shallows, and wild parrots squawk overhead, while colorful hibiscus, frangipani, bird of paradise and other resplendent tropical flowers abound. The native populace is a mixture of the descendants of English and Spanish settlers, black slaves, and native Indians. English is the official language, though Spanish is also spoken widely.
Tourism is welcomed, growing rapidly, and scuba divers are leading the way.
One afternoon, Kenny Young and I commandeered our sailboat's Zodiac and ran before a following sea down the coast to the then fledgling CoCoView Resort. At the time, it was a modest work in progress on a remote stretch of waterfront surrounded by acres of mangrove. Though we arrived unannounced out of nowhere, I well recall the warm welcome extended to us by the resorts owners, builders, managers, and guiding lights, Bill and Evelyn Evans. Today, CoCoView can comfortably accommodate sixty guests, without seeming in the least crowded. The new lodgings are built cabana-style on stilts right out over the water.