Getting primal in Roatan

                                        A capuchin monkey making me laugh on Fantasy Island



   What is it about monkeys? Apes, chimps -- monkeys of all kinds, really. We human being can't get enough of 'em.

            I was really knocked out by "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." After seeing the movie 3 times, I still can't tell you why I was so moved by it. I can't put a finger on it. I guess it's a primal thing.

                                       Who didn't love the Curious George books as a child?


         Curious George seemed to embody all of the best human traits: curiosity, compassion, intelligence and a grand sense of adventure. You have to wonder, though, if the stories would have been half as popular if the "George" in Curious George was simply a curious little boy.


 I think not.


    Anyway, a week ago a large storm was predicted to arrive at French Harbor here in Roatan, Honduras. Chris and I decided this would be a good time to leave the anchorage, splurge and tie up to the dock at the Fantasy Island Resort while the storm rumbled past. Fortunately we had 48 hours of gorgeous weather to enjoy the amenities there before the storm blew through...

                Welcome to Fantasy Island. And yes, this is the actual ocean -- not a swimming pool.

                                                                   Captain Chris at rest

                                        Trees sway on Fantasy Island

                                A peek across the bay to CocoView Dive Resort

                                       This was Espiritu's parking spot on the dock

We were very glad to be lashed to the dock when the big storm blew through. Several boats'                anchors dragged during the worst of the storm, and one even ended up on the rocks.

                                                      It was a real sweet spot...

       
       We had a jam under the Fantasy Island palm trees with the crews of Passport and Nauti-Nauti.


   They say that primates share more than 90% of the DNA of homo sapiens -- which, if  true, would mean that monkeys really love music. And almost on queue, after we started playing "Whiskey Before Breakfast," we heard a visitor rustling in the trees:

                                          He was checking us out big time!

                                              And he wasn't the only one...

                                                              Look! A baby!

                                   Wow. We were witness to a happy capuchin monkey family unit

                             But then, in the blink of an eye, dad slinked down a tree to get a closer
                               look at the jam.  "He must really like our music," we said with a smile.

           At lightning speed, he nabbed Rebecca's gin and tonic and shimmied up the tree.
      Another example of how monkeys are just like humans. They really like gin and tonics.

           
             These monkeys on the island are a hoot.  One evening Chris and I were playing pool on a patio at the resort. I looked away for a mere second, and a monkey nabbed our cue ball and took off into the lobby of the hotel!  I chased him past the reception area and up the stairs. Finally, he dropped the ball down to me once it was clear that he had "won" the game.

        Ya gotta love the monkeys! Especially when they do "human-esque" things like run off with gin and tonics or dress in office clothes.

                      And few things inspire more simple, old fashioned joy for Southern Californians
                         than the sight of our own Los Angeles Angels Rally Monkey jumping up and
                                                down on the Jumbotron, 100 feet tall!  


       
           Alas, after the storm blew through, the mini-vacation in monkeyland was over. It was time to return to the anchorage, since we're "Economy Cruisers," and the anchorage is where we belong. Truly, we're happiest out there anyway. There's a breeze, there's privacy, and you can take a swim whenever you want.

       On a serious note, there is a sailboat called Charter II which left the Cayman Islands for Roatan before the storm. They were supposed to have arrived here in French Harbor several days ago, and noone has heard a word from them.

      We will all nervously keep our eyes on the horizon until we hear from "Charter II." Scary stuff.

     

Ralph Reed, Fantasy Island and Dengue Fever?

                              Espiritu at anchor in French Harbor, Roatan, Honduras


        Well, there's a bit of drama here in French Harbor.

 First, I found out we just missed a celebrity encounter with the National Review Republican Cruise, which docked in Roatan very recently, on the way to the Cayman Islands (natch).

    William Buckley, Jr., Jonah Goldberg, Cal Thomas, a slew of former Bush, Romney and Reagan staffers,  and most famously (or notoriously, depending upon your political view), none other than the Christian Coalition's Ralph Reed spent a day at the Fantasy Island Resort, which is only a few feet from where Espiritu is anchored.

                                                       No, not THAT Fantasy Island...

              Fantasy Island Resort here in Roatan sports a pine forest on a pristine white beach

                   Ralph Reed and an iguana a couple of hundred feet away from Espiritu


By the way, if you're not sure who Ralph Reed is, then I might tactfully suggest that you get out more.

                                                Ralph Reed on the cover of TIME


 After I heard that they had already come and gone, I imagined the scenario of strolling down the beach and passing a guy, and turning to Chris and saying: "You're gonna think I'm crazy, but that guy back there playing with an iguana looks EXACTLY like Ralph Reed..."

 And then we both would have laughed, moved on, and that would have been that.

  In other news, the other day I came upon this disconcerting product on the shelf of a local mini-mart:

                     Yes, they sell medicine for "the symptoms of Dengue fever" at the local mini-mart.


       Yikes. And by coincidence, only last night we watched the Stephen Soderberg movie "Contagion," about a worldwide extremely fatal epidemic.

       Gwyneth Paltrow succumbs to a virulent virus in her death scene in "Contagion." The virus in this movie is WAY worse than Dengue Fever. It's like the Ebola virus on steroids.



      OK, OK...so by coincidence,  I've got a fever today. Big deal. I'm sure it's nothing, and it has absolutely nothing to do with Dengue Fever. And anyway, even if it IS Dengue, there is no treatment. You usually just let it run it's course.  But before you freak out (Mom! and Dad!), I'll monitor myself closely and head to the perfectly adequate hospital here on Roatan Island if I should worsten.

   You KNOW the hospital is good, because Ralph Reed's people would not let him hang out here if there was not access to top notch medical care.

  The bottom line with Dengue Fever is this: unlike the fictional virus that ate Gwyneth Paltrow's brain in the movie, Dengue is usually self limiting. So no worries, mate!


  And the last bit of drama involves the cruisers here in French Harbor. Our anchorage is surrounded by one of Roatan's world famous reefs. The reef is also a "Marine Park," which means there is no fishing allowed. No "taking" of anything at all.

    Our reef here comes conveniently stocked with dozens and dozens of Caribbean spiny lobsters.


         We all admire the lobsters when we snorkel here, and we may even manage to lick our chops as we do so, which is quite a feat considering we have snorkel gear in our mouths.

       During the morning VHF cruiser's net, the net controller "outed" a cruising boat which was boarded by the Roatan officlals and caught red handed with 20+ lobsters aboard, and a few red snappers shot through with a speargun for good measure.

    This cruising boat had recently left the harbor for the other side of the island. We were all shocked and saddened that these people would do such a thing. They seemed like nice enough people.

   Well, the very next day, this boat returned to French Harbor and anchored again, but this time dropped anchor RIGHT on top of the reef.

   Yikes.

   All I'll say about this boat is they are French Canadian. I've never known anyone from Quebec. The only celebrity I can think of from Quebec is another cornucopia of confused, mixed messages:

 

             I really don't know what to make of Celine Dion. She's all over the map.  She does have an amazing voice, though. But my point is this: She's French Canadian. So do with that information what you will.



 So anyway, our local French Canadian cruisers come to all of the events acting like nothing happened, but people are pretty upset about it. They're sailing a nice Beneteau, so they're not poor.

 And this island is filled with unemployed, impoverished families who would love to take the lobster and red snapper, but they don't. Because they respect the law.

               A typical Roatan local who would no doubt enjoy a few lobster tails for dinner,
                                     but will instead have rice and beans. Again.


         
       But other than that, it's been a nice, relaxing holiday week here in French Harbor.  But I'm keeping my eyes peeled: what new and interesting thing will we see next?

     Happy New Year, with love, from Chris and Liz aboard Espiritu.       XOXO