12 Mar, Wed

WEST BAY

West Bay is at the south tip of the island .... you can zoom in on the map on the right....... it is a picture-perfect beautiful white sandy beach ... it is about a 40min walk along the shore from West End, where i live ... or a 10min water taxi ride ... i say 10min ... last time i was here it took 5min .... but the RMP is really patrolling this area and trying to keep the boats from speeding, for safety ... occasionally there are snorkelers (me) in the water swimming out to the reef, and also the constant wave action is eroding the shoreline.

... and this is the beach where the Cruise Ships bring their people ... ahhhhhhhhhhhh :(

West Bay

Tony told us there were 12,000 cruise ship people on the island of Roatan today !!!!!!!!  and i think most of them were here on this beach :(

the sandy beach is lined with chairs

lots of people in the water

Christi mentioned that Tony, another volunteer, walks the West Bay Beach and talks with the cruise ship people about the importance of preserving the reef, and what they can do to help:  do not stand on the coral, do not touch the coral, do not take anything from the sea (except trash); and also please do not buy the dried dead SeaHorses and pretty conch shells that the kids are selling along the beach.   by buying these items, you are encouraging them to kill more SeaHorses and Conch.   it is VERY RARE to see a SeaHorse around Roatan!

the RMP made this sign and just put it up on the beach ...

there are dead dried SeaHorses on each of the letters ....these are all SeaHorses that have been confiscated from small children selling them on the beach ... and there are tons more in their office  :(

today, Coltin and i went with Tony to West Bay.     Oscar, the RMP Patrol Officer picked us up in the patrol boat and took us there ... slowly, and along the way, we got to 'bust' some boaters :)   ... not really, but he does stop boats and say something very fast in Spanish to them ... the RMP is working very closely with the locals to make a difference here, and careful not alienate them.

today, we also talked to a local guy, Steve, (35-40yr old), he told us that when the RMP first started here, the island people were very skeptical.   ..... he said, 'we were gonna get our guns and shoot them', because we didn't understand what they were trying to do.   ...but he admitted that he, himself, has has seen the decline in the fish and corals ... not that his father or grandfather have told him how it used to be ...but he has seen it for himself in just the last 10-15yrs !  ... it is encouraging to know that there are locals 'partnering' with the RMP to try to make a difference.

Coltin and i walked the beach .... for 3hrs ... at the hottest part of the day, between 10:30 - 1:30 ... it really was hot ... we had our bright red RMP t-shirts on, and it was really hot .... oh, did i already say that ? ...

Tony, on the other hand, was IN the water, snorkeling and finding people who were actually standing on the coral .... we decided that tomorrow, WE will be in the water too !

we also had some waterproof fish ID cards with us, so we could show the people what they might see, or ask them what they saw.    .... as expected, we received the total range of responses ... from those that were really interested .....to those that already 'knew it all' ...  we 'deputized' those who were interested and told them to speak up and tell others too.     ...it was fun ... but we really think that we would be more effective IN the water and actually watch people snorkeling, so you could 'correct/instruct' them right on the spot.

we got back around 2:30 and immediately went for another Smoothie  :)

i got cleaned up, went to the SunDowner for sunset, of course ...

then met Ed for dinner at a favorite restaurant, the Lily Pond  ... they have continued to add-on and make it even nicer than it was 2yrs ago ... it was still hot in the evening eating dinner.

i took a cold shower when i got home before i went to bed ...
it was a very hot day .....