Adventure Travel Honduras: Island Nightlife
February 24, 2000
I stayed in the town of West End, you guessed it, on the west end of the island. This is the area where most of the scuba diving happens. The town is basically one street, along the water, lined with a number of dive shops, restaurants, and various lodging establishments. I did my obligatory dive, but I actually prefer the freedom and solitude of snorkeling by myself. West End night-life is loosely organized into three segments; the watch-the-sunset shift(I saw the green flash!), the mid-evening shift, and the wee-hour shift. Insert dinner before or after any segment you like….
This schedule is supplemented by the Friday Nite Blow-out at Fosters. Attended by locals from all over the Island, the sunset shift is at one of several docks or establishments actually built on the water. The sunsets are worth watching for sure, even for someone coming from Arizona. A very enjoyable communal activity for West Enders. And as I said before, I saw the green flash! I had heard and read about it before, but wasn’t sure if it was a myth or some function of staring at the sun too long.
But no, just after the sun went below the horizon, it was like a little puff of green smoke. Then the crowd clapped as if to salute the little green genie. The Twisted Toucan has a lock on the mid-evening shift. It has a small thatched roof that covers a four-sided bar that only seats about 14 people being polite. That doesn’t stop the dozens of others from crowding around and spilling into the street and the courtyard.
Salva Vida is the universal favorite, with many locals opting for rum and coke, while some tourists are compelled to overdo the more tropical concoctions. At around 11:30 the Toucan shuts down in favor of Loafers, the late-nite joint, built on a second level, over looking a volleyball court on the beach. It’s just out of town and away from the lodging to allow for all-night revelling for those not intent on diving in the morning or otherwise gainfully employed. I ventured out of West End one evening with two local young ladies eager to show me the Island.
I had a rental car, so I was their friend! I had flirted with Nickie and she offered to be my tour guide. Cynthia came along as her bodyguard. They spoke an English dialect that was fun to listen to but often hard to understand. When they really didn’t want me to understand, they spoke ‘Patou’, a native tongue.
They switched languages faster than I could change tv stations. They were both very reserved but managed to have a good time, especially when they learned how to use my digital camera. Then Nicki wanted to learn how to drive. I let her take the wheel and steer and she eventually ran the Suzuki Samurai into a ditch. No harm done but Cynthia was not happy about the situation. She got over it.
