We have been looking for the Stone Castle Cameo studio for a few days. The lady who told us where it was, said we couldn’t miss it. And we did. Over and over again. Finally we discovered we were looking on the wrong road! VERY tough to spot a building from five miles away!
It is a teaching studio, with several local artists working in the ancient art form of cameos using seashells. Ranging from giant conchs to small snails, the range of items carved is truly staggering. If you come to Roatan, even if you don’t like cameos, you have to see this place. I didn’t want to leave.
There were four cruise ships docked today, so we decided to see what West Bay would look like with so many people in port. And it didn’t disappoint! The place was jumping with every store open, every vendor out, and even a couple of guys with monkeys!
We had lunch at the Grand Roatan, a beachside cafe right in front of where there is amazing snorkeling. It’s basically the last restaurant on the beach. We had Garifuna Soup, on the recommendation of the waiter. And he was so right. Totally amazing – shrimp, lobster, conch, fish, plantains, peppers, carrots, in a coconut cream base. Really really good – we’re coming back for it, you can bet!
The water was not as crowded as we expected, and the visibility was quite good. We saw tons of cool things like a Caribbean reef squid (a cephalapod) and of course, our favorite chelonian, a hawksbill turtle!
There is a little mammal here, that is part of the guinea pig family, and is called the Hiata. It’s often called the Roatan Rabbit, because of the large rear legs which makes it hop around, rather than run. We’ve spotted them in lots of places, but never managed to get a decent shot. So here is the best we’ve gotten so far…
