Exploring the island

Today we had decided to take our bikes and do a little exploring around the island.  As you know, it's not terribly huge (about 4 x 1 miles), so seemed doable.  First, however, we needed to carb-load at Thompson's Bakery.  Let me tell you, their cinnamon buns are worth getting out of bed for!  The Johnny Cakes are good too, but would have been even better with a little jam.  When I open my restaurant here, I'll definitely serve them with jam.  Total for a cinnamon bun, two Jonny Cakes, coffee & juice was about $5.  

A cinnamon bun & two Johnny cakes from Thompson's Bakery

 Appropriately fueled, we were on our way.  We first headed towards the airport on the nice paved road.  It took us about 20 minutes to ride out to the runway, and we were happy the terminal was open so we could buy some water.  It's hot!  And hilly.   We then turned back towards town to get over to the north side of Utila.  There are a lot of big, fancy houses out that way and, from the pics below, you can see why.  What a view! 

Big waves on the north side of the island

We continued down the now-dirt road for another mile, or so, trying our best not to run over iguanas and other lizards.  It's rained here a bit over the past two weeks, and we were forced to turn around when the road turned to a pond.  

End of the road if you're on a bike

Lagoon side of the island

View from the bridge over the Caribbean Sea.  Once you hit the bottom of the bridge (on the right side of this pic), you're in "town".   The big white structure is a fancy hotel/B&B called The Lighthouse. 

After a couple of hours of riding, we were very sweaty & tired so we turned for home.  Island rental bikes are not known for comfortable seats, or fully-functioning gears, so the ride can be rough you have to pedal HARD to get up all those hills!  We settled in for a well-deserved afternoon of nothingness.  The most we accomplished was one last load of laundry, and even that was pushing it.

Dinner tonight was at RJ's BBQ.  It's only open three nights a week, and is one of the favorites on the island.  It opens at 5:30 and, by 6:10, there were no more seats.  Luckily, we arrived right at opening!  The owner (Robert, see photo below) grills fish, steak and other meats.  He uses only sustainably caught seafood (not fished from the reefs), and he brings it in fresh every day.  They serve every entree with the same sides.  Tonight it was baked beans, potatoes, rice, salad & garlic bread.  Robert likes carbs, I guess!  Andrew is a fan.  

The (somewhat tipsy) chef

We ordered our food and the proteins were shouted out back to Robert.  He pulled the meat out of a camping cooler and, with a drink in one hand, he manned the grill.  He would step away from the grill frequently to smoke and refill his cocktail.  Just off to the right of the picture above there was a large table full of his friends, also having cocktails & smoking.  Seems like Robert makes his living by having a barbecue in his living room that he throws some food on every night, while his friends hang out.  This guy is a genius!  The sides all come out of a kitchen (inside the main structure) full of local women.  These same women also do take the orders, clean the tables, and refill Robert's (and the other patron's) drinks.  

Menu

 I ordered Mahi Mahi and Andrew ordered a steak.  It was all really, really good.  And huge.  And cheap.  The two plates, plus three rumonades & a bottle of water was $30 including tax & tip.  I'd definitely recommend RJ's if you're ever in Utila on a Wednesday, Friday or Saturday!  

Andrew's steak

My fish