The people in Roatan are incredibly friendly and laid back. I love the island culture that seems to afflict all occupants of hot, beautiful, water-surrounded locations. Peaceful, no need to rush anywhere. Ever. The sun will always shine. The water will always be the perfect temperature and glorious shades of blue. And there will always be delicious sweet fruit to eat.
Roatan is a small island off the coast of Honduras. There a few different types of people here. I am going to over-simplify and generalize, and for that I apologize ahead of time. I categorize the people into 3 main groups.
1. Ex-pats - people from all over the world come to visit Roatan and fall in love with it. The extend their vacations and extend their vacations until all of a sudden they have quit their jobs back home and are living permanently in this paradise. There is a huge mixture of ex-pats living here. Many Americans, many Europeans, and many people from other countries in Latin America. These people have adapted to the island lifestyle quickly and easily. As though a part of them always knew that this was how life should be lived.
2. Hondurans - the look of the people you would expect from Central America. A rich indigenous heritage and classic skin tone and facial features. They almost exclusively speak Spanish. They are warm and friendly and will help out all of those who need it. There are a number of unique Amerindian tribes here, but a lot of inter-tribal mixing as well.
3. Garifunas - an incredibly attractive group of people with African heritage, dark black skin, with gorgeous, yet difficult to understand, thick Caribbean accents. They speak 3 languages: Spanish, English and their own (I think it may be called Garifuna). They are actually a group of mixed race people descending from the indigenous people of another Caribbean island, St. Vincent, and a group of slaves who escaped from slave ships from Nigeria that had been wrecked at sea during the voyage over to the Americas. They settled on St. Vincent, and battled both French and English Colonists, only to lose to the English and be exiled to the Bay Islands of Honduras (of which Roatan is one). Also an incredibly friendly and laid back group.
I guess I could also add a fourth group of people. The tourists. People like me, whose skin isn't quite the rich brown of everyone who lives here and is exposed to glorious sunshine everyday. Who walk around with their mouths agape, constantly in awe of how beautiful everything is. Whose pace is a little quicker and who still contain a hint of past stress on their faces. They rush to get out of everyone's way, including their own.
May I look and live more like a native each day!!
Roatan is a small island off the coast of Honduras. There a few different types of people here. I am going to over-simplify and generalize, and for that I apologize ahead of time. I categorize the people into 3 main groups.
1. Ex-pats - people from all over the world come to visit Roatan and fall in love with it. The extend their vacations and extend their vacations until all of a sudden they have quit their jobs back home and are living permanently in this paradise. There is a huge mixture of ex-pats living here. Many Americans, many Europeans, and many people from other countries in Latin America. These people have adapted to the island lifestyle quickly and easily. As though a part of them always knew that this was how life should be lived.
2. Hondurans - the look of the people you would expect from Central America. A rich indigenous heritage and classic skin tone and facial features. They almost exclusively speak Spanish. They are warm and friendly and will help out all of those who need it. There are a number of unique Amerindian tribes here, but a lot of inter-tribal mixing as well.
3. Garifunas - an incredibly attractive group of people with African heritage, dark black skin, with gorgeous, yet difficult to understand, thick Caribbean accents. They speak 3 languages: Spanish, English and their own (I think it may be called Garifuna). They are actually a group of mixed race people descending from the indigenous people of another Caribbean island, St. Vincent, and a group of slaves who escaped from slave ships from Nigeria that had been wrecked at sea during the voyage over to the Americas. They settled on St. Vincent, and battled both French and English Colonists, only to lose to the English and be exiled to the Bay Islands of Honduras (of which Roatan is one). Also an incredibly friendly and laid back group.
I guess I could also add a fourth group of people. The tourists. People like me, whose skin isn't quite the rich brown of everyone who lives here and is exposed to glorious sunshine everyday. Who walk around with their mouths agape, constantly in awe of how beautiful everything is. Whose pace is a little quicker and who still contain a hint of past stress on their faces. They rush to get out of everyone's way, including their own.
May I look and live more like a native each day!!
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