I’m not going to lie, I had a bit of anxiety leading up to this trip. It has been several years since I did an international trip without friends or family by my side, but I pushed outside my comfort zone, and I’m glad I went. I spent the last week in Roatan, Honduras volunteering with an organization called World Vets. They provide veterinary medical care and community outreach in many developing nations around the world. The specific trip I went on is unique in that it is their only wildlife-focused experience. It is meant as a training opportunity for pre-vet and vet tech students, with only a few licensed veterinarians and technicians on the trip. The majority of their other programs are spay/neuter clinics and equine/livestock welfare.
The wildlife program is relatively new compared to the other programs, so there are still some wrinkles that may need to be ironed out, but overall, I really enjoyed my first World Vets trip. In the remainder of this post, I’m going to tell you all about the wonderful time I had in Roatan, but first, take a look at a few of the neat animals we worked with!
Across from the hotel was a delicious gelato shop that I went to a few times during my stay. They had a couple of new flavors each time.
I also ate at a restaurant close by called Ginger’s. I had a delicious piña colada there. It was right on the water, and had a fun island atmosphere. And a bonus is that you can pay with PayPal.
I suppose I should mention that many places on Roatan are cash only, and the only ATM in the West End was out of money the whole time I was there. I recommend bringing ~$25-50/day in cash depending on your spending habits.
Another evening, a group of us got dinner at Beach House, a small restaurant attached to a hotel of the same name. I wanted to try the tuna burger there, but they said they were not serving tuna that night. I ended up getting a regular cheeseburger. This restaurant accepted credit card with no extra card fee.
On one of my last nights on the island, my roommate and I were craving cake, so we walked down the street to Por Que No?, a restaurant and bakery. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the veggie burger I got for dinner, but the deserts were amazing! I went back the following night for another. There are many options, but I really liked the ones made with cake and a banana covered in chocolate. They accept credit card here, but there is a 15% extra card fee.
On our first full day on the island, the whole group went out snorkeling. The hotel owner acted as our guide, and provided kayaks and snorkel gear. We kayaked out over the reef, before getting into the water. The water was so warm and clear. Below we saw a ray, a sea turtle, many beautiful fish, and coral. I used my new ProShot case to take my phone underwater and got some awesome pics. I’ll plan to write a review of the case soon.
[…] I recently took a trip to Roatan, Honduras. One of the major things this island is known known for is its diving and snorkeling. About a week before my trip, I pulled out my nearly six year old water proof camera only to find it would no longer turn on. Upon further inspection, I found a small area of corrosion near the battery port. After six years of snorkeling, it was no more. A moment of silence, please. […]