Seniors Get Good and Wet on Roatán Island

This one just popped up in my Smithsonian Magazine this morning and I want to share Roatán Island with you senior bucketeers.  So get your coffee, get comfortable and lets head off to the island that lies 30 miles off the north coast of Honduras.

It is suggested that if senior adventurers wanted to get good and wet, they can check out the Roatán Institute of Deepsea Exploration.

RIDE is a Honduras-based group that offers folks an opportunity to dive 2,000 feet below the surface of the Caribbean in Isabel, the submarine. Interested?

The Cayman Trench is the deepest part of the Caribbean and you are guaranteed to see sea lilies, glass sponges, pompom anemones and lots of lace coral. If that does not trip your trigger, let’s go and check out the island for a wide variety of excitement.

 Seniors Find Vacation Paradise

Roatán and the Bay Islands are a Caribbean vacation paradise, home to pristine white sandy beaches, amazing tropical jungle-covered hills, a diverse and unique reef system, heartwarming people, unique cultures and authentic Caribbean charm.

Roatán, often called the Caribbean’s best-kept secret, is the largest of Honduras’ Bay Islands. Throughout European colonial times, the Bay of Honduras attracted an array of individual settlers, pirates, traders and military forces.

It is approximately 77 kilometers long, and less than 8 kilometers across at its widest point. Ok, I’ll give it to you… 48 miles long and 5 miles wide. TripAdvisor suggests senior visitors start with Little French Key and then bend over to West Bay Beach.

 Seniors Find Eco-Tourism Destination

The most populous town of the island is Coxen Hole, the capital of Roatán. Located near the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the largest barrier reef in the Caribbean Sea (second largest worldwide after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef).

Roatán has become an important cruise ship, scuba diving and eco-tourism destination in Honduras. While tourism is its most important economic sector, fishing is also an important source of income for the locals.

The Caracol People are an English-speaking group who have been established in Northern Honduras (specifically, the Bay Islands) since the early 19th century. They are chiefly of European and British-Afro-Caribbean descent.

Reef systems are very delicate and have experienced massive damage and degradation worldwide. At the Roatán Marine Park you can rent snorkel equipment and get up close to some beautiful marine life.

Enjoy your time in Roatán. -jeb