Road Blocks & Rumbullion

Roatan is raring to get back to work. There are no cases of the virus here and people are tired of the federal government keeping the intra-island businesses shut down, especially the taxi drivers. Last week a special exemption was to be given to the Honduran islands allowing businesses to reopen but, the evening prior to lifting the month long state of emergency, certain individuals on the mainland revoked the exemption. We were told by a friend that this was due to a situation involving the Roatan Chief of Police. Now take that statement and the upcoming story for what it is worth. I do not want to create fake news and I do not have the resources to fact check but it is an interesting tidbit. Evidently, right before the island of Roatan shut down the Police Chief had to go to the mainland. Fast forward a few weeks and the Chief was unhappy about not being allowed back home so he decided to take matters into his own hands. We do know from a report broadcast by the Governor of Roatan that he arrived, illegally, at French Harbor by boat with a few other officers. They were immediately taken into custody and returned to the mainland where they were to be tested for the virus. The Chief lost his job here on Roatan but remains a force to reckoned with on the mainland and is exerting his influence to keep the island in the state of emergency. Whether this is all or only partially accurate didn’t matter to the taxi drivers. When they heard that the island was still shut down they formed roadblocks with their vehicles on the main thoroughfares grinding traffic around the island to a halt. The pressure worked and they were allowed to go back to work the following day. Well, we don’t know how we can form a blockade made of bartenders, but if we could we would do it in a heartbeat…until then we will just have to enjoy our rum drinks at home. Speaking of which, the link to the rum article posted below is well worth a read.

The Roatan Police arriving to the roadblock . Photo by Larry

The taxi drivers used their cars and some local large earth movers to form roadblocks. Photo by Larry

Taxi drivers take action in Roatan! Photo by Larry

More of the taxi roadblock. Photo by Larry

https://www.passagemaker.com/lifestyle/rum-renaissance?utm_campaign=PassageMaker%20Newsletters&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=86425380&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8F2GKLOF4TwHcJ2xnJymGao9GZafA0SO7TrOq6ybR_ybJttDBzqQPThPm59jVIwztSM7T6&utm_content=86425380&utm_source=hs_email click on the link (or copy & paste the link into your browser) to read this fantastic article on rum and it’s history

Here’s hoping we can find rum drinks at a local establishment soon….until then ‘Rum Sundays’ will continue onboard.