THE VENICE OF THE CARIBBEAN: OAKRIDGE, ROATAN ISLAND
Feb 20 '05 (Updated May 09 '05)
The Bottom Line A great day trip if you don't mind getting wet.
Just keep following the road until the pavement runs out. You’ll see the sign for the turn off you can’t miss it. These were the directions we received for getting to Oak Ridge, the so-called Venice of the Caribbean.
Oakridge is a small town on the south coast of Roatan one of the Honduran Bay Islands. Like many places on Roatan, many of the town’s inhabitants are of Afro Antilles and or Garifuna descent. The Garifuna were originally African slaves who revolted on the island of Saint Vincent. After the British put down the revolt, they were shipped to the coast of Central America to prevent another revolt. Garifuna settlements were set up and still exist in what are now Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras including the Bay Islands.
The main Garifuna community on Roatan is Punta Gorda on the north coast near Oakridge. The locals here still maintain their customs traditions and language. Unlike the rest of Honduras, English not Spanish is often the first language here.
Fishing is the main industry in Oakridge. There is a fish plant here and a fleet of small and medium sized boats that ply their trade in the rich waters. Shrimp, lobster and snapper are regular catches, and often end up on the dinner tables of some of the better restaurants throughout Roatan and elsewhere.
Oakridge received it rather unusual nickname of Venice of the Caribbean because of its rather unique houses. The land around the sheltered bay that makes a perfect natural harbour is mountainous and in most places there is little space between the water’s edge and the slopes. The ingenious residents solved this problem by building their houses on stilts over the shallow waters and mangrove swamps.
While there is a road in and smaller streets and roads can reach parts of the town, they are fairly recent innovations. Oakridge and the nearby communities of Jonesville and Calabash Bay were for quite some time rather isolated. This has ensured that day to day life here has remained for the most part the way it was in years past despite the influx of the modern world.
The main way of getting around is by water. Small-motorized dories act as water taxis ferrying residents and locals about, often literally from door to door as most houses and other building have their own little wharf, or at least a door opening up on the waterside.
It’s a common site to see small boats plying across the harbour carrying someone home with their groceries. Even school kids use this as their own unique form of aquatic school bus.
It’s not just locals either. With the introduction of tourism to Roatan, some enterprising residents have developed their own little eco tourism enterprise. They’ve begun to offer tours of both the town from the sea and of the nearby mangrove swamps.
These tours have become a fixture of many of the hotels on the island and for the several cruise ships a week that berth in nearby Coxen Hole, the island’s capital and largest town.
The tours from the hotels on the islands can cost as much as $25-30 per person and the cruise ships more than likely more, although they’ll usually include transportation to and from Oakridge and some other sites as well.
Mind one doesn’t have to be part of an organized tour. All you need to do is jump on the local bus or grab a taxi to Oakridge, or if you have one, a rent a car. Once there head to the dock at the end of the road and someone will soon approach and offer to take you on a tour.
Prices are negotiable and it’s probably a good idea to pick a day that there are no cruise ships calling at the island. This can help to keep both the crowds and prices down. We were offered a price of $25.00 US total for four people for forty-five minute tour and that included a stop at a waterfront bar for a quick drink.
A camera is a must, both for the fantastic views of the houses perched over the water and the mangrove swamps. In the later if you’re lucky you may even see some egrets, herons or other aquatic birds that nest there. It’s a good idea to take some plastic to wrap it in though as the spray from the boats may get it and you wet. A raincoat or poncho might also be an idea, especially in the rainy season, as the boats for the most part are open topped and the occasional rain squall is not unknown.
Oakridge was almost completely destroyed by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which devastated much of the island and the mainland. The residents of Oak Ridge seem to take a perverse pride in telling visitors that, and the fact that they rebuilt their town. It takes more than Mother Nature to destroy the Venice of the Caribbean.
Other articles on Honduras
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