Page 166 - WDT Winter 2018 japan

Underwater Adventures

It takes a bit of effort to reach Honduras
from Southern California. My itinerary
included a long layover in Miami before
an overnight in San Pedro Sula, the
nation’s second-largest city and a major
commercial thoroughfare. I had time for
a fabulous beef dinner at El Portal de
Las Carnes, sampling one of the main
exports from Honduras. And I delighted
in a rain shower unlike anything that
falls back home.

The rain continued into the next morn-
ing and pounded the prop plane as it
landed on Roatan. Fellow passengers
stayed in their seats, biding their time.
Sure enough, the shower halted in just
a few minutes. The dry spell lasted
long enough for me to reach the small
airport, where scuba bags dominated
baggage claim. Then the weather took
charge, dissolving my itinerary. Suffice
to say, I never strapped on a snorkel
and mask.

I did admire the gray-green sea and
damp sand, ogling blue hammocks
draped above water that should have
been a see-through aquamarine. A
delightful rum punch and Chilean wine
lunch helped soothe my disappoint-
ment at Little French Key, a meticu-
lously arranged boutique hotel, animal
rescue center, and beach club with
several small coves properly appointed
with hammocks and palapa-shaded
belly bars. Little French Key can ac-
commodate up to 1,000 day-trippers
when multiple cruise ships stop at the
island. My Saturday visit (weekends
are often cruise-free) was peaceful and
languorous, and several hours passed
while I gazed at the ever-changing sea
and lunched on pineapple, coconut and
shrimp.

166 WDT MAGAZINE WINTER 2018