Roatan Post Office

In February of this year we went to Roatan, Honduras for a winter getaway. I had never heard of the island of Roatan before discussing this vacation with our friends.

"Who goes to the Honduras for vacation?" I recall asking. They explained that Roatan is an island off the coast of Honduras that is renowned for its snorkeling and scuba diving. You get a general idea of its location in the map below.

Roatan is in the Caribbean and is placed along the world's second largest coral reef, Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Here's a view from our beach on West Bay, where we could walk out or swim to the coral reef and enjoy the views of ocean life.

What's a visit to a new place without sending some postcards? The message boards all warned that it most likely wasn't worth the effort as mail (especially postcards) rarely reached their destination out of Roatan. They also warned that it was impossible to buy stamps anywhere except the post office, which was a 30-minute, one way, taxi ride to Coxen Hole from our resort at Infinity Bay.

Here is a photo of the Post Office in Coxen Hole.

 

I did ask at the hotel gift shop as well as a few other local tourist shops near our hotel about purchasing stamps. One woman who owned a t-shirt shop explained that the hotels and shops like hers had to stop selling stamps because it was discovered that employees were stealing stamps and not mailing letters. This is a very poor island and is hardly recognized or supported by the mainland (according to locals) so they rely on tourists for their livelihood.

In hindsight I should have taken a photograph of the sheet of stamps I purchased. I bought 10 postcard stamps and five letter stamps. I did take a picture of two letters I was going to mail from Roatan, but in the end I decided to wait and mail them when I returned home.

I left the Honduran stamp on the envelope, but added a US stamp.

I also mailed a postcard to myself as I always do when we travel so that I can add it to my travel scrapbook. It has been 6 weeks and I haven't seen it yet. Possibly, I never will. But I won't give up hope.

My friend went to Cuba last 4th of July and it took until Thanksgiving for me to receive the postcard she sent.