26 Feb, Sat

Sat, 26 Feb. i woke up wishing i had not had that 'last' rum and coke. :) i had to walk into town to meet with the owner of the largest 'super' market in Utila, Bush's. they carry a lot of American brands and you can find a lot of things in there that you wouldn't normally find on an island in Honduras. she has been away and just returned and i needed to get her support for the Recycling Program before i left. it was hot, i was tired, and not feeling all that great. plus, somehow during the last few days, i got eaten by mosquitos and the bits were itching something terrible. i just wanted out of my skin. but i went and it was worth the effort; she said she would agree, ... and she even bought 10 recycle bags from me to sell in her market!!!!!!!!!! ...that ended on a good note! i went back home to get ready for our last day. we hired a capt and a boat and went to Water Caye for the day! we left to go get breakfast before getting on the boat ... but it was hot, and the thought of food just didn't agree with me (and i wasn't alone!). i walked to the bakery and bought a nice ham and cheese sandwich on a whole wheat bagette for lunch later when i felt better. it was a lonnngggg time getting everyone organized; .... there were 7 of us .... but we finally got on the boat and headed for Water Caye. on the way there, we saw a big black storm cloud just north of us. it was a hot beautiful day ... how could this happen? it actually felt really good to get some cloud cover and relieve us from the heat. we escaped the rain and when we got to Water Caye it was beautiful! we just laid on the pure white sand, in the shallow clear waters. and took it all in. ... just doing nothing and trying to feel better. after an hour or so, i grabbed my snorkel gear and headed for the reef. what fun!!!!!!!!!!!! i stayed in the shallows, with sandy patches and some coral heads. since it was shallow, i could get relatively close to the fish for photos. A Wrasse. i loved it, over an hour later, i was so cold my fingers were white! so i took about a 15min break and then headed back out again. watched this 16" Trunkfish for about 10min. it was swimming in the shallows in about 1.5' of water. it's amazing that a person can float in water so shallow. i've not seen one like this before. this one is named, simply Trunkfish. the other one i've seen and photographed is a Smooth Trunkfish which has black spots and honeycomb patterns on it. this one was so simple and beautiful. it was interesting how it changed it's color slightly to match it's environment. when it was over the sand it was cream color. but when it was swimming in the sea grass, it was darker. here he is smiling for me here. this is a Yellow Headed Wrasse swimming in the beautiful corals. Blue Tang in front of a Fan Coral. The Blue Tangs can be many different colors of blue, depending upon the lighting. Here is another one that looks turquoise against the purple of the Fan Coral and the Brain Coral. Needlefish,, ....always swimming near the surface. there were a lot of these Squirrelfishes hiding under the rocks today. Here he has his dorsal fins flared, i think he must have felt threatened. sorry fishy :( these are Christmas Tree Worms on a Brain Coral. if they are disturbed just slightly, they quickly disappear as they retract themselves for safety. i'm always trying to photograph these fishes. i remember seeing them for the first time YEARS ago in Cancun and have always been fastinated by them. they are black or maybe dark dark blue, with electric blue spots .. and the older ones have a yellow tail. it's a Yellowtailed Damselfish. i finally got a decent shot ... and i will continue to try to get a better one. this is a Brittle Star Fish on a Purple Fan Coral. AWESOME ! a Flamingo Tongue. it was a perfect day on our own little island. our Capt came to pick us up at around 4:15. he was anxious to get back because the afternoon seas were picking up. whoa ! i've never seen the seas in the protected 'bay' area so rough! there were really big waves in there and we were in sort of a small boat. but those Captains know how to handle their boats in those waves, they've been doing it for 50 years. i never feel like we're in danger. we got back and cleaned up and headed back into town for our 'last supper'. we ate at Main Street and the food was just as wonderful as it was the other night. we all had the Tuna again, 3 large pieces, grilled perfectly, not the least bit dry. tonight they had another sauce: Thai Chili Pepper Cream, as well as the Jalapeno Cream that i had the other night. they were both wonderful. we were all tired and went right home and started packing .... got to bed about midnight. Abi set the alarm for 5am.

25 Feb, Fri.

Fri, 25 Feb. a nice morning, and we headed for the dock. we got there to find out that there was something wrong with the boat :( but we were to wait. so we waited on the dock. finally the boat showed up and we took off. Monica, Abi, Nicole, and Chris were dropped off at the school on the Keyes to play more educational games with the kids. Tim, Julia, Rachel and i went to Turtle Harbor. we all jumped in the water and started looking. Rachel found the first Lionfish. Tim tried, 3 times and missed 3 times. 4 more Lionfish were found and attempts were made .... but none successful. this will take lots of practice. me trying to kill a Lionfish .... the Lionfish is in the upper left hand corner. this Parrotfish thought he was hiding from me. Tim and i being silly in the water. and a few more underwater photos: Brain Coral. and Lettuce Coral. we returned to the 'office' .... visited awhile. i talked to Jenny about my options for getting to Roatan, and she suggested going with Vern. then we were done with our volunteer experience. it was rather anti-climatic .... no group meetings, debriefing, ...nothing. then we headed to town for our last night together. we went to La Tranquila for happy hour and sat up on the top deck over the water. and watched the sun set. it was a very pretty final sunset. then we split up. Abi and i walked down towards the public beach and stopped in at Driftwood, where Vern was setting at the bar. so i introduced myself to him and told him i'd be going with him on is catamaran on Sunday ... done. then we went to a little place that i had interviewed the day before. i saw that the lady made ceviche and i wanted some. i think they were closed, but she remembered me and agreed to make some for us. it was wonderful! we were the only ones there. then we walked back towards town and stopped at Skid Row and had another drink there. these guys wanted us to take a picture of them and all the bottles of beer they had drunk. looks like friends i know back home ! then we went back to Tranquila Bar, saw Rachel, had another drink. and then headed for home. but .... the Tree Tanic Bar was on the way, so we stopped in there .... i don't think we ordered any drinks, but i helped her solve the problems of her 'world', ...... being her 'mother figure' :) finally home, we fell into bed ... still have done no packing ....

24 Feb, Thurs.

Thurs, 24 Feb. a beautiful morning. we're going Lionfish hunting ... finally !!!! ...at 7:30am we walked into town and down to the west end of the island to meet the boat that will take us to the Marine Reserve at Turtle Harbour. Unfortunately, again, the boat was leaking and we couldn't go :( .... but Pamela got a video camera, and were also going to do a short documentary on the work that the volunteers are doing. so, we made that video anyway. what a hoot! Pamela made an intro, and Tim talked about a volunteer experience at BICA; Julia talked about the mangroves; and i talked about the Lionfish. Pamela asked the questions and also translated into Spanish for the viewing audience. it took a couple of hours coz we were all nervous and wanted to practice before our TV debut. the show will air at 7pm tonight on the local station. they thought that the boat might be fixed to go this afternoon, but it was not. so i continued my work informing and interviewing businesses about my Recycle Program. still with a lot of great conversations with some really nice people. i continue to be encouraged! it's a lot of walking and talking and the sun was hot. about 1pm i'd had enough and headed back to take a break. we worked in the 'office' for awhile, then Abi and i headed into town and hit a few more businesses on the way. then we got brave and went into the area where the locals live; not a very 'nice' area :( .... i had been told that is where i should go, because those are the people who most likely will pick up bottles and cans and recycle them for money. and they are the ones that will be key if this is going to work. there were a few markets there, and in each case a young person on the street, volunteered to help us translate our mission. we also went to the 'pool hall'. there were 3 girls behind the bar, none of them spoke any english. we tried without much success and finally they got a young guy to come help us. he was amazed at the concept and explained it to the girls. then he asked for more flyers and out the door he went. we heard him yell at his friends, ...."hey, we got WORK!" ..... WOW! could it really be possible that these kids will be able to clean up the piles of trash that is floating in every vacant piece of land here? we stopped a few more young boys and explained how they could make some money. they all understood. we can only hope that they follow through! at least Abi and i left feeling that we had really accomplished something. Pamela said we were going to try to go out Lionfish hunting again tomorrow .. fingers crossed! we got back here around 6:30 and the rest of the group reminded us that we would be on TV at 7pm.... so we all gathered around the TV and watched. it wasn't too bad ... ok, maybe it was. but it was entertaining, and i think informative. Tim and Julia's segments weren't too bad, but unfortunately, the wind was really strong during mine and it was difficult to hear anything. the lightening was also very dark and you couldn't see my face ... which actually is fine with me!!!!!!!!! i'd took a video of the TV and will see if i can get something on YouTube. but probably not until i get to Roatan, where i hope i will have faster internet connection than here. these are still photos taken from the TV. Tim and i went into town to dinner. everyone else was eating in. i'd never been to Main Street Grill before, Tim said it was good; so we went. i had the Grilled Tuna with a Jalapeno Cream sauce, garlic mashed potatoes that tasted like homemade, and a salad with a mild creamy Caesar dressing ... the first time any restaurant served that here! it was all awesome ... i think the best tasting meal i've had since i've been here! then back home. i started thinking about packing up all my stuff, which after a month, is unorganized and everywhere. ....i just thought about it, and felt overwhelmed, and did nothing. then i started thinking about leaving all my new friends .... again. now i know what kids feel like when they have to switch schools when their parents move. and ... i started thinking about the fact that this next assignment in Roatan will be entirely different than any i've had. i'll be alone! the Roatan Marine Park does not have housing. they have arranged for a place for me to stay ... but i won't be with other volunteers. so i will have no 'avenue' of meeting anyone ..... i hadn't thought about that before. it's not that easy for me to meet people so we'll see how this works. i also thought about how i was going to get to Roatan on Sunday. There are 2 options: a 4hr catamaran ride with Vern; or the double ferry option, i.e., ferry from Utila to LaCeiba, wait, and then ferry from LaCeiba to Roatan. ...with all those thoughts in my head, .... i went to bed :)

23 Feb, Wed.

Wed, 23 Feb. back into town today. i headed for the very western side of the island. it's a long way out there, and i took my snorkel gear with me, i thought i'd snorkel for my lunch break. i had more great conversations with business owners. i continue to be amazed at how willing they are to do whatever is necessary to clean up this island. most of them have lived her their whole lives, remember the slower, quieter, and cleaner days. they are all very open and warm people. this has been a great experience for me. i can spend up to 40min with them, they are so willing to share their stories and their suggestions as to what they think will work. later in the afternoon Abi and i took a walk into town and stopped along the way and had a SNOW CONE !!!! wow, did that bring back memories. one of the young guys there wanted to know if we were mother and daughter, :) this is not the first time, someone has commented on the 2 of us looking alike. actually, when i met Abi, i thought she looked a little bit like Heather; so i guess we would look alike. but, i keep telling these people that it's ok, as long as they don't ask me if i'm her GRANDMOTHER ! we get to go Lionfish hunting tomorrow ... we are all excited !

22 Feb, Tues. & The Hibiscus of Utila

22 Feb, Tues The Hibiscus of Utila i sent an email to Michele at the municipality summarizing what i had been doing and the responses that i am getting. then i headed back into town for more 'canvassing'. i think i am getting a reputation around town, since i am the only one walking around with 20 bright red bags slung around my shoulder. i am beginning to recognize people on the streets that i've seen in the stores. i've sold over bags. we have a box of 600, so 'someone' still has a lot of work to do when i'm gone! Abi fixed Chicken Fajitas for dinner. i made my famous salsa, and some quacamole, and we had cheese, lettuce, and green salsa. ..... and a bottle of red and white wine! the first wine i've had since i left Kzoo. it tasted good ! it was a nice night. do i have photos ????? hummmmm .... no :( but ... for your 'viewing pleasure' .... since i've been here i've noticed how many different colors of hibiscus flowers there are here. i decided to do a photo journal of The Hibiscus of Utila. so here they are. i hope you enjoy them !

21 Feb, Mon.

21 Feb, Mon we had an 8am meeting with Pamela ... and i did not oversleep, i was the first one there :) we have another new volunteer, Rachel, from DC. the USA numbers are growing! but during our meeting, one by one, we each reminded BICA that this was our last week. so next week, she and Julia will be the only ones here, of course, more volunteers will be arriving soon. the rest of us are leaving on Sunday. i can't believe this is my last week here. it's really gone fast; and i haven't been able to do all the things i wanted to do, ... either on my projects, or my fun stuff. i actually didn't think i would get all my projects completed, but i really thought i'd get to do all the fun stuff i had planned. Those few rainy weekend days really cut into the available time. :( so, on Sunday i'll be heading off to Roatan, for another new adventure. Roatan is the largest of The Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras. i will be volunteering with the Roatan Marine Park (RMP). we all reviewed our projects, and then i went into town again to ask the businesses for their support of the new Recycling Program. i am still getting good comments and promises of doing their part to clean up this island. Abi and i went into town in the afternoon to buy groceries. we are having an all volunteer dinner tomorrow night. There will be 7 of us.