Once again our trip to Roatan lived up to our expectations and in many ways exceeded them. While the weather could have been nicer with a little less rain and a little more sunshine it was still quite pleasant with nice breezes and comfortable temperatures. Of course the location is still great with every room having a direct view of the ocean with all of us in "over the water" units. You just can't beat looking over the rail of your porch and seeing eagle rays and tarpon swim by in the shallows. The food was great with a nice variety of choices - no one dared miss a meal. And the deserts were delicious even though Jim got his own key lime pie and wouldn't share it with any one else. Brain numbing puzzles, darts, a pool table, ping pong and a large assortment of board games made the happy hours and after dinner evenings relaxing along with entertainment by the local school children's festive local dances, fire dancers and local musicians. A few members even took advantage of the trips into town for some shopping and the zip line canopy tour.

We welcomed new members to our group; Deb and Lee, Gene, Dale and Carol. And we met some new friends along the way; Jane and D.C, and Rickey who may join us on next year's adventure. Of course its always great to welcome back group members from previous trips some of which have been traveling with us for more than ten years. The people in our group are what makes these trips so special. They have all become very special friends.

Can't say enough about the great staff at CoCo View. We were well taken care of in every way from the moment we set foot on ground in Roatan until the moment they pushed us on the plane, kicking and screaming, to return home. The service from everyone at CoCo View was exceptional including the boat captains, dive masters, dive shop personnel, the office staff, the kitchen staff, the bar staff and the housekeeping staff. Everyone was gracious, generous and helpful. Thank you Lobo and everyone else!

But the real thrill of the adventure was the diving and this truely lived up to its reputation. With dives sites merely minutes away from the resort and three dive sites right in the front yard of the resort it was easy to get in 4 dives a day. And if you were ambitious enough to get a dive in before breakfast and a night dive after dinner you could get 6 dives in a day. But the 4 hours of bottom time with the 2 boat dives and drop off dives seemed to be plenty for most of the group. Lots of sea horses, nudibranchs, free swimming eels, spotted drums, scorpion fish, a couple of brown toad fish (a face only a mother could love), flat worms, chain morays, lobsters, octopus, big stone crabs, huge basket sponges, vibrant purple tube sponges, giant sea fans, translucently beautiful jelly fish, and a whole lot more. Every dive had a whole lot to offer especially the signature dives at Calvin's Crack and Mary's place.

So with our resident poet Carole joining us once again we'll close with her poem from this trip and great pictures from the group and Rebeccas's Key Lime Pie Recipe.

Roatan #2 - the official trip poem by Carole

Photos from the group to be added soon!

Rebecca's Key Lime Pie Recipe