Mango Creek Has Good Coconuts

Posted by Katie and Scot

Mmmmm, fresh coconuts right off the tree.

Mango Creek is a friendly little hotel on the edge of a bay.    They have 4 small houses on stilts and one big house on the water.  The day we got  there I was really exited to learn how to drive the dinghy since the day before I had started driving a little.  Alexander and Mom came with me to make sure I didn’t flip the boat.  We drove around to explore and soon started to come back to the boat.

Katie is getting pretty good at driving the dinghy.

When we got closer to the boat mom suggested we pick up dad who was on the boat and go check out the hotel place.  The reason we did not pick up Christopher  was because dad wanted to see the bar but Christopher didn’t really have any thing to see much so we left him in peace.

Enjoying the downwind sail from Gunaja to Roatan.

The dingy purred around some bouys and into the harbour.  We hopped off the dingy and walked into the woods to tour the jungle.  Trees stretched down from their trunks and bugs zipped around us.  We walked across a path of stone tiles, admiring the scenery and wild life.  Birds sang and tweeted in the trees parrots glided by as fountains twinkled to our right. When we finally decided there was nothing more to see in the woods we started off to see the bar.  Right beside the end of the trail we spotted a bunch of tubes sticking out of the ground making a small dome.  In the dome a few sticks were nailed together  to make a little bird play set.  We thought it was that because two lime green parrots were stepping around on it only there wasn’t much of a reason they should have been there because the dome wasn’t keeping them in.  The pipes were still there but there wasn’t any barbed wire or any thing  the birds could just fly away if they wanted.  We talked to the birds for a bit and then decided it was bar time.

Playing darts at Mango Creek resort.

Once we got into the bar I already liked it. In the left hand corner  was a dart board and some bathrooms and by the  door was a chess board.  Just then a lady came up to us  and (just) asked “Would you like some coconut water?”  My mind went ‘Heck yeah’ and apparently my parents were thinking the same thing because they answered with a ‘that would be wonderful’ and soon we were watching a man chop open four coconuts!

Yeah!  Coconut water is yummy.

Dad adds:

The boys enjoying a game of chess at the Mango Creek Lodge.

After the extremely friendly staff at Mango Creek showed us around the property, and treated us to coconuts and freshly baked cookies, we made arrangements with them to come back for breakfast in the morning.  Normally, they only cook for guests of the resort, but since they weren’t busy, they were happy to make us breakfast.

Sailor is one of the dogs who greets guests at Mango Creek.

The next morning, bright and early, we hopped in the dinghy and headed back into the resort.  The breakfast was great, with bacon, scrambled eggs, toast and fresh papaya.  We also got to meet the resort managers, Doc and DD.

Mmmm, awesome breakfast.

They have only been managing the resort for 9 months, after having been cruisers themselves for upwards of 12 years.  They are working hard to upgrade the resort, and have plans to try and attract more boats as well as keep up their land-based clientele.  They couldn’t have been more friendly or gracious.  After breakfast, they let us bring Monashee in to fill up our tanks with the pure spring water they enjoy at the resort, for free!  This is a big deal in the world of cruisers, since on most islands they charge anywhere from 10 cents to 50 cents per gallon of water.

Doc and DD have some great stories to share about their cruising years, and about their new lives managing Mango Creek.

Filling our tanks with fresh spring water at the Mango Creek dock.

If you are planning to be sailing in the Bay Islands, or are looking for a great out of the way escape to go fishing, scuba diving, or just really get away from it all, you should check out the Mango Creek Lodge on Roatan.

About as waterfront as you can get.  Unless you are on a boat.