Carambola Botanical Gardens, Roatan

Across the street from Anthony's Key Resort are Roatan's botanical gardens, the Carambola Gardens. It's worth a stop here. The grounds are beautiful, there are plenty of gorgeous plants, it's nice and quiet, and there are a couple of neat hiking trails. Definitely take the short cab ride from West End.

The entrance to the Carambola Gardens is literally across the street from Anthony's Key Resort. So if you're going to one place, make sure you see the other. It's a short cab ride from West End. We saved a little money and had a little more fun by taking a water taxi from West Bay, then a real taxi to the gardens.

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Hummingbirds are about the only exciting bird species on Roatan Island. With a hummingbird feeder you can be sure that you see a few.

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The first section of the gardens contains lots of flat walkways through many different tropical plants. Sometimes there's a little cul-de-sac with an object, such as this statue, to pontificate upon.

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Wow! Look at the size of these roots! I wonder how far up this tree they'll go?

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A colorful butterfly lands on a bird of paradise flower. We were lucky to happen upon a butterfly that stood still for more than 5 seconds.

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Whatever this plant is called, it must be a favorite of hummingbirds.

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When you get through the garden walkways, there are a set of trails you can take through the jungle. They are beautifully shaded with lots of diverse plants. We took the mountain overlook trail, which had its steep parts. Here my wife and daughter make their way past a tree with a large termite nest in it.

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This funny lizard appears to have a white bib on. Weird!

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I love this bridge-crossing shot. There were a few of these simple bridges to cross. You can tell how much higher I am than the bridge, and I'm not that far away.

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This section of the trail is protected by some huge fan-like palms creating almost a tunnel through the jungle.

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At the top of the trail we are treated to a beautiful view of Anthony's Key Resort. The island on the left is where the dolphin experience happens. The island on the right is where the cabanas are.

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This is a special shot for several reasons. First, this lizard is actually quite tiny. Probably less than an inch long. Second, I had my camera settings screwed up on this shot and it actually came out almost pitch black. Luckily I shot in RAW mode, so I had plenty of room to post-process this image into acceptability.

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One of the palm trees in the Roatan jungle produces a large collection of nuts. These nuts aren't edible, but they can be processed into a type of fuel.

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One of the palm trees in the Roatan jungle produces a large collection of nuts. These nuts aren't edible, but they can be processed into a type of fuel.

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My daughter holds up one of the nuts from the palm tree in the previous picture.

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Here's an interesting vine climbing up a tree. It's got flowers.

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The one thing my daugter wanted to do in the jungle was swing on a real vine like Dora the Explorer. Well, we found a couple of vines where she could do this. It wasn't exactly swinging as much as it was dangling, but it still made her day.

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A beautiful flower back in the main area of the Carambola Gardens.

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In the back of the Carambola Gardens you can sit in relative isolation on a nice, protected bench while you watch the hummingbirds visit the feeder.

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In the back of the Carambola Gardens you can sit in relative isolation on a nice, protected bench while you watch the hummingbirds visit the feeder.

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Cool lizard on a tree. Its head is a bright aqua blue.

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Roatan Island
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