I will start my new blog with my beautiful Caribbean vacation.
As a pro-tennis player, you don’t get to have too many vacations. Tennis season is long. You could basically play a tournament every week if you wanted to. Of course, not every tournament will be a WTA event. But there are lots of ITF level tournaments scheduled every week in a different country. (ITF circuit is a lower level tournaments, starting from $10.000 events up to $100.000)
For me, going somewhere without my tennis bag is still a novelty. I constantly think that something is missing. Even though it’s not. My last vacation without racquets, or should I say my first in 17 years, was in Cancun, Mexico. My than boyfriend invited me to join him for 5 days. I gladly accepted, but had trouble packing for that trip. The tennis player in me wanted to bring sports clothing. And the other half didn’t know how many dresses and pairs of high heels shoes I should bring. At the end, I took some sports clothing and running shoes as well. It made me feel comfortable. I just couldn’t part with my tennis.
This time around I was more comfortable packing for Roatan. Taking all of my favorite dresses. But some sports clothing still sneaked in my bag. What to do! At heart I am still and always be an athlete!
Our trip started with 5hrs delay in Miami. Because of a thunder-storm in the area, our plane couldn’t land in Miami and was directed to a different city. We were kept in a freezing airport till midnight. And only than announcement was made in Spanish (thank God I speak Spanish) that our flight was canceled. After an hour fight with the airline, we managed to get a hotel room. So did many other people. And as the line grew longer and longer at the reception of the Residence Inn, we were loosing hope in getting a room. As our turn came, the receptionist told us she had no more rooms available. There came another 30 min on the phone with the airline. Back to the airport and then to some small motel in the middle of nowhere. By the time we got there, it was almost time to go back to the airport.
Our itinerary said one stop. But after the cancellation of the flight it became with two stops. As tired as I was, I was trying to stay positive. But when we got to San Pedro, we found out we didn’t make our connecting flight and the next one is in the evening. I started to doubt if we’ll ever going to get to our destination. After a tasty local breakfast, that contained eggs and freshly made tortillas. We decided that instead of waiting all day at the airport we should take a bus to La Ceiba and from there a ferry to Roatan. Sounds like a lot of travel, but I am always up for a new adventure! Especially if it’s a place I’ve never been too. Of course, as foreigners, we bought ourselves first class tickets for the bus and the boat. The first class seats on the bus didn’t disappoint. Fluffy, big and comfortable. But the boat was a different story. The waters were so rough, that it didn’t matter what class you were in. People were throwing up everywhere! Our boat was rocking from side to side. Up and down. I assumed a standing position at my seat and looked outside at the waves. If only for a second I would move my eyes to look at something still, I would start feeling nauseated. For a second I thought we were going to tip over, when my eyes didn’t see any water but only sky.
When the boat ride out of hell ended, I could barely move. And when my legs touched solid ground, I fell down on my knees. But we were not there yet! We still had to endure a hilly car ride to our house. I think that was the cherry on the top of the cake for me. I was so tired I couldn’t even speak. And when I finally saw myself in the mirror, my face looked green.
At around 9am, I woke up from a streaming light coming from an opening in the curtain. I got up and walked to the window. What I saw outside was breathtaking! Blue waters all around me complimented with sunshine and blue skies. I smiled.
Upstairs, the breakfast was already waiting for us. Fresh fruits, eggs and freshly made tortillas. It all looked wonderful! I didn’t think I was hungry until I saw what was on the table. We had two maids that took good care of us during our stay. A couple of times we asked them to cook something local for us. The food was great! Coconut shrimps, tortillas from scratch, avocado dip, fresh fruits and free coconut milk from local trees! It was my first time drinking coconut milk out of the coconut shell. My excitement was that of a little girl who sees a beautiful candy. I know I’ve been around the world many times over. I stayed at the most beautiful hotels and ate at the best restaurants. But it’s the simple things in life I enjoy the most. So holding the coconut in my hands that was just taken off the tree, was priceless for me!
Roatan is a small island off the main coast of Honduras. It is the largest of the Honduras Bay Islands. The history of it goes all the way back before Christopher Columbus times. Here is a link about Roatan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roatán
The island is still not as crowded and overgrown as more popular islands in the Caribbean. But people are starting to discover Roatan’s beauty. Cruise ships starting to come in more often now. More foreigners are buying land to build a vacation home. The prices are still low compare to the other islands. Of course, it doesn’t have many luxuries other islands can offer. But thats why its beautiful and still so untouched.
Roatan has the second largest coral reef in the world after Great Barrier reef in Australia. Lots of divers come to look at its beauty. I am scared of deep water, so diving is not my thing. But snorkeling I don’t mind. The best time to snorkel is early morning. That when the water is calm and many fish come to feed. And that’s what we did after breakfast, took our snorkeling gear and went to a nearby beach.
As I got in the water, very colorful fish surrounded me. I’ve never seen fish come so close to me without fear. Last time I snorkeled in Hawaii, I remember the fish swimming away from me. But Roatan fish are friendly. As they are beautiful. I was scared at first, and swam close to the beach. But as a got more courage to go further in the deep, I started seeing incredible things. Huge corals in different shapes and colors. Beautiful crystal clear water with rays of sun cutting trough. I was amazed by the beauty of underwater life! I didn’t want to leave! There were lots of other things we planned to do during our trip. But every time we got a chance we went snorkeling.
The other thing I always wanted to do was to swim with dolphins. And when I heard there was an opportunity to do that in Roatan, I jumped of joy! Some people are sceptical about dolphins being kept in captivity. But I say that it’s better to live in captivity and be fed, than in a wild and get caught by a fisherman for dinner.
Roatan dolphins are kept in almost white clear waters near a small island. The place is beautiful! If I were a dolphin, that’s where I would want to live. Our dolphin was a young female. The trainer called her “Princess” because of her character. She likes to be spoiled. ( She is the real woman) She was not much of a show dolphin like others, but she loved attention and the fish that was given her. After 30 min of introduction we got to touch and take a photo with a dolphin. It’s rubber skin felt like an elastic band, that we warm up our arms with before the match. I couldn’t stop touching the dolphin. I was amazed to be so close to it!
The next day we go on the boat trip to the other side of the island called Port Royal. I am excited to go! I want to be glamorous, so I wear a skirt with a nice top. Put makeup on. I imagine myself on a white yacht, in a clear blue sea….Like in a movie….Thank God, I changed my mind after seeing everyone else wearing shorts and swimming suites. Because the first thing that happened when we got to an open sea…Guess? I got wet! But not just wet, it was like someone was throwing buckets of water at me. Of course my makeup was gone in a matter of a second, and I was soaked all the way to my underwear! My husband laughed at me and whispered in my ear: “And you wanted to be glamorous?”
There is a tale, that Port Royal has treasures in it’s soil and waters. And even today, people come and search for it. I am not sure how much of it is true. But apparently there is a map for treasure hunters. The wild side of the island meets us with a ship rack. No one is quite sure how long ago it happened. But the ruins of the ship are still there. Laying gracefully in the water. Guarding the land and warning other ships to stay away.
Our boat was anchored and we got off. Local people meet us in a run down truck. I am asked if I want to take a ride to the top of the island in the back of the truck? It seems like another great adventure to me and I jump in. The road we took was still green. No pavement what so ever. There are over three thousand coconut trees on that part of the island. Their long brunches hit me on the back as I duck in the back of the truck. I felt like Indiana Jons! And I loved it!
When we got to the top of the island, the untouched beauty took my breath away. 360 degree views of the crystal clear waters, hills and wild beaches. I stood there thinking how well worth our two days of travel were. To see all this beautiful nature. Standing there I wanted to scream:”I am the queen of the world!”
On the way back to our house, we stopped in the middle of the ocean near a small island. My friends and my husband jumped off the boat with their snorkeling gear on. I stayed on the boat. I have too much respect of the deep waters. So I was a bit scared. But I made an effort to get off the boat and dip myself in the cool waters. But just for a few seconds.
What else could be better than to finish a day with a seafood dinner?! We ate a very tasty lobster that was caught in the near by waters. You could eat a lobster every day in Roatan. The locals catch them all the time. Armed with a flash light and a bucket, they go to a beach at night. Catching only the grown lobsters and leaving the baby lobsters to grow.
On our last day, we finished a two thousand pieces puzzle we started on our first day of vacation. My friends and I worked on it every evening. It was our goal to finish it before we left the island. I put the last piece 2 hrs before our flight to the main land.
As I was packing, I started feeling sad. If I could only describe the beauty and nature of Roatan any better I would. But I think you should go there yourself. After our adventurous arrival to the island we decided to take a different way back. And fly to the main land instead of taking a boat. But when I saw the plane, I started to doubt our decision. Its was an old Russian plane. Everything looked old inside the plane. Our luggage was traveling on the seat behind us. My window was cracked and I could see the engine of the plane right over my head. I looked at my husband. He made a joke about the whole situation.
When we took off I looked back at the beautiful island with clear waters around it. Than I looked forward and saw that pilots are drinking something that looks like beer and the front windows of the plane are open. There is no cockpit, I could see pilots backs. I looked outside my cracked window at the beautiful sunset. One of many that we saw during our 10 days in Roatan. “At least its only 15 minutes flight.”- I thought. “Next time we take a direct one.”