Roatan, Honduras

After months of planning trips to hike Mochu Pichu in Peru, exploring the natural wonders in Patagonia,  or tango our way through Buenos Aires and wine through Mendoza, the small island of Roatan, Honduras, popped onto the radar. Tropical diving paradise? why not!?!? Dad's the only one with a diving certification and it's only as old as I am. And mom can't conveniently get pregnant with me again in order to skip out on the final cert dive like last time so it sounds like a plan!  Small family dive certification reunion in Roatan: a 3 hr flight from Texas, listed in the top 5 diving spots in the world, white sand beaches with bath tub temperature water, everyone speaking english, the US dollar as currency, and masters of happy hour and civeche...it's not New Orleans but it'll do the job!

Bananarama (our home for the week) had dad's chair waiting for him when we arrived

getting in the holiday spirit!

that crystal clear water as advertised

my first run in South America....it might make the adjustment to running in a city a touch more difficult

when an entire family of adults turns into a bunch of giddy kids you know a good time is being had

mom studying up for her dive certification...it might or might not be happy hr...oh wait, almost every hr is happy hr in Roatan!

Floating bar: dad started dreaming about how perfect it would be cruising Huntington Harbor, the for sale sign on it did not help tame the dream. 

double decker deck restaurant with florescent green moray eels swimming below

candle lit dock restaurants lined down town. This place is straight out of any overly romantic hollywood beach movie...seriously perfect.

proof that we aren't too far from home

could not get enough of the sunsets

after a week of diving, exhaustion hit hard and I ended up putting the family to bed prior to midnight and roaming down the beaches to take in the beach dance party bonfires and fireworks to bring in the new year....perhaps followed by a serene moonlight dip in the atlantic to start the year off right

Finally back under sail...oh how I had missed thee

water taxis were the most efficient way of transport around the island

A touch of irony

(read it if you want to understand)

and now the beauty that lies beneath....

kayaking along the shore line and stuck my hand underwater to snap this one...a whole new world lies beneath the surface

(this is normal right?!?!? everyone wheres an oversized rash guard to stay warm and un-touched by the sun in tropical paradise)

and that is why my dream to be a mermaid will never fade