Beautiful weather, gorgeous scenery, and a low cost of living are a few of the things that attract retirees to Roatan. A like-minded community of expats, with a solid social structure, is another reason that people retire so happily on the island.

One of these groups is the Ladies Luncheon group, whose members meet on a monthly basis. Each month, a different restaurant hosts the lunch, providing the members with an opportunity to try various eateries around the island. After living on the island for five years, I was thrilled to attend my first ladies lunch in December.

The final lunch of the year was hosted by Mango Creek Adventure Lodge, on the island’s remote east end. The resort is boat-access only, so guests were picked up in Mango Creek’s boat at BJ’s Backyard in Oak Ridge, a small fishing community on the island. A scenic mangrove tour from Oak Ridge to Port Royal was an additional treat for the ladies.

Lunch, at 315 lempiras, or $15.00 US, including lemonade or ice tea, tax, and tip, was a bargain. Wine and spirits were available at an extra cost. For appetizers we were served delicious freshly caught lion fish fritters with an onion dipping sauce and fresh vegetarian bruschetta.

We were offered a choice of two main entrees – Coconut shrimp with fried plantains served with mixed greens salad with homemade vinaigrette dressing on the side or a Petite Steak with Chimichurri, served with baked cheesy potatoes and mixed fresh veggies.For dessert, we had a choice of homemade Key Lime Pie or Godiva Chocolate Pie.

Between courses, the ladies took turns introducing themselves to the group, as there were several new members attending. Each person introduced herself and told where she was originally from, when and how she came to live on the island.

Each woman had the chance to tell a little bit about her artistic or business endeavours and community based projects. It was interesting to discover women from all walks of life and ages among the group.

There were authors, artists, health care providers, dentists, body specialists, resort owners and managers, animal care workers, store and business owners.

A “show and tell” table was set up in one corner of the room, so that members could display business cards, flyers, artwork, etc.

After lunch, there was a draw for several door prizes generously donated by local businesses. Prizes included a gift certificate for one night at a local beachside -resort, a one-hour body massage, and gift certificates from two local specialty food and gift stores.

I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and am looking forward to my next ladies’ lunch. For more information of the ladies lunches contact Elly Smith at ellybythesea@gmail.ca.