04-DEC-2014—Theresa’s Birthday (and Roatan, Honduras)

Birthday decorations

Our tour was early again, so we got up early.  But, Theresa’s Mom and Memere had given her birthday cards before we left, so she started the day by opening them.  The day we unpacked Theresa put up decorations for our birthdays, and stuck them to the ceilings and walls.  So, we have some cards by the window, and a few streamers about the room.  It gives the room a bit of a festive look.

Our tour gathered at 9AM off the pier, and we boarded a passenger van with upholstery that made a decrepit school bus look good.  But we got to see a little bit of the natural and real part of Roatan, an island off of the coast of Honduras.  Our first clue was the soldier with an M-16 standing at the road leading into the port area.  He looked calm, but armed nonetheless.

Anthony Key Resort and Dolphin Research Center

We went to Dolphin Isle, at Anthony’s Key Resort.  We were initially reticent about doing a swim with dolphins, especially as many of the places capture wild dolphins and pen them in a little pool.  But, when researching, we found an article from the BBC about this facility.  There is a dolphin research facility there and they treat the dolphins very well, and they take them out to the ocean once or twice a month.  They come back.  And the nets are low enough that the dolphins could easily escape, if they wanted to do so.  The BBC reported that a couple of wild dolphins have even jumped into the containment area and stayed (with ample chances to leave if they wanted).  So, we were comfortable that the dolphins are not mistreated.

Anyway, the staff working with us and the animals were fantastic!  They paid attention to us and made sure everyone was comfortable and helped us with anything, but also paid close attention to the two dolphins we had that day.  (There were other areas where other groups did different things.)  Our two dolphins were named Ronny and Mr. French.  I wanted to ask where they got that name, but didn’t get the chance. 

Each person got the chance to do multiple things with the dolphins, including hold the dorsal fins for a ride, and be pushed on the feet by their noses for a faster ride!  Their skin is very soft, but their noses are boney!  And they are quite powerful!

There were a few other tricks, and things, but as the current was very strong, the staff were concerned about the group getting tired in the water.  Although the nets were there to keep all of us in place, you still had to keep swimming back to the main area against the sea current.  So, we got out and stood on the platform to do the rest of the stunts.  The dolphins follow hand signs.  In the water, you slap the surface as their cue that you are ready (like for the rides or such), but on the platform, they just watch.  The trainer points them to us, and we hold one hand in the water, while twirling the finger, and they twirl in a circle.  Or you wave your hands and they lean back and wave their pectoral fins (flippers) back at you.  Or you slap the water repeatedly and they slap their tails on water.  Each person did two tricks with them, but they mixed it up to keep the dolphins from getting bored.  After the trick, the dolphin went right back to the trainer for his treat!  They had to be careful as birds were loitering and occasionally would grab the fish from the trainer’s fingers or in the air before the dolphin got it.

Enjoying a Honduran cerveza.

After the fun, we went back and saw some of the pictures, and bought the package.  But, we won’t see them until we have GOOD internet access, so we plan to post them after the trip.

It started raining as we finished, and all the way back.  I’m sure that ruined things for those who hoped to sunbathe on the beach.  Back at the pier, we did a little shopping, and tried to stay in stores to not get soaked.  Finally it let up, and we decided to look for a Honduran beer.  There was a bar that was packed with people and very loud music, but everyone seemed to be having fun, so we both got a beer and enjoyed the spectacle.  We saw one of the people from our tour, a single college kid, so we invited him to join us, since he was wandering around alone. 

Birthday party!

Back on the boat, Theresa received a birthday cake, and a card, and we ran into a couple we had eaten with previously, so we invited them to join us for dinner.  While waiting for dinner, we ran into another couple we knew (actually, one of a foursome) and invited them to join us as well.  So, we ended up with a group of eight to celebrate Theresa’s birthday.  Plus, that gave us a lot of people to share that cake with, as it was far too much for two of us!!  Somehow, we got onto the topic of the Seven Dwarfs (something about which Dwarf one becomes after too much drink), and tried to name them.  Someone misheard Sneezy as Sleazy, and the conversation took an amusing turn as we started renaming the dwarves.  We noted other people looking at us periodically, so I guess we were “that table” for the evening!  Near the end of dinner, a few waiters came by and we sang Happy Birthday, and then split up the cake.  It was fantastic!!  I’m not usually big on cake, but this one was very good!

One-eyed Dinosaur or the back side of a dog looking for the right spot?