17 Mar--Arrival at Roatan

Sat, 17 Mar ... i really need to figure out why my alarm doesn't go off sometimes! ... it was set for 4:40am, i woke up at 5:15 ... thank you to my Guardian Angel once again .....quickly stuffed the remainder of my things into my bag .... i haven't bought anything, but i can still hardly get the bag zipped up, ... my tuc tuc was right on time ....... Vern's catamaran left as planned; but the seas were not as planned, but only slightly rougher than forecast. i wonder if they are ever going to settle down! it was only me and 5 Canadians, so there was lots room. ... there are a lot of Canadians here! i stashed my bags at the Roatan Marine Park (RMP) and went to look for a place to stay. ...i'd spent a lot of time online and also emailing several different places, so i had a list. Vern also recommended another place, Mariposa. i checked there first. they had a nice private room w/shared kitchen for US$26/night ... i was hoping to find something cheaper. Georphi's was on my list. it is associated with Rudy's Restaurant, which i knew well from last year ... they have the best smoothies in West End :) ... it is also at the south end of West End, (not as far south as last year's place), but far enough away from Half Moon Bay central where it is very noisy at night. Michelle knew my name from my emails and started walking through the trees on a nice path up to the Dorm Rooms ... it's the farthest from the street up quite a hill ... and it's a GREAT location .... with a nice porch and a hammock .. one room has 3 beds and a kitchenette and the other has 6 beds and a refrig ... i'm in the 6bed room for US$10/night ... by myself at this point ... and am hoping it stays that way .... if a couple people show up, .... it will be WAY too crowded and i'll have to find someplace else .. but for now, it's perfect ! i mentioned that it was going to be along haul with my bags... but Michelle told me that the cab can drive right up to my building ... should be no more than 20-25L. so i walked back to find a taxi .... the first taxi i asked said that i needed to ask a 'collectivo' taxi to take me there ... i am familiar with them from last year, they are mini-vans that 'collect' people, and they pass by often taking people to and from other cities on the island. ...so i waited at the entrance to the village and watched the workmen mixing and dumping cement into this huge circular pad. i was told that it was the new bathrooms for the beach, and thought that was a strange place to put them .... right at the entrance to the village .... nice first impression :( ... each time i saw a collectivo, they motioned that another one would take me ... or the next one would take me .... or another 5 min ... this is crazy ! i waited, moderately patient, for 20min, telling myself i was really in no rush. but it became apparent that no one was going to take me. there was another taxi driver sitting on the sidewalk ... i asked him why won't anyone take me ... he said because the road is too bumpy!!!!!!! ...you can see in this photo that the rear of the van is almost touching the road while going into one of the holes in the road. this is a big thing in West End right now. they have sand streets, that do get rutty. .... i was here last year for the Town Meeting with the Mayor, where it was obvious it was a done deal ... not everyone is in agreement with this decision ...including me, after seeing what a paved road did for Utila! ...so they have been in the process of paving the road for months now ... it appears it will take YEARS .... this is a whole other chapter for a later date. so, i guess the taxi and collectivo drivers are protesting by not taking anyone down the road. i asked this taxi driver if he would take me ... he laughed and said no. i said, you are just sitting here, not making any money, i would pay you for 10min work ... then you can come back here and sit again. he wanted to know how much i'd pay him. i told him 50L .... he thought about it for awhile, then stood and said ok .... i thanked him profusely. Oscar was is name, and he stopped back at the Marine Park and helped me with my luggage. on the way to Georphi's he confessed that he only is taking me because he 'loved me' ... now i'm a little concerned that he knows where i live .... but i think he really mean't he 'liked' me.... Spanish to English translation. he said he would like to have an American friend ... i think that's what he said... anyway, we had to go up a very steep hill to get to my place, and i know he was hesitant to go up there, but he did; and helped me with my luggage again ... said it was a very nice place, ... i gave him 100L ... and then he left.... and i got settled in, with my 'safety net' in place ... i laid in the hammock for a few minutes ... but that was all i could do ... i wanted to go see if i could find Jimmy and Tita, the people who managed the place where i stayed last year. ... on the walkway right by my room, i saw this friendly guy .... i am missing Valentine ... i stopped in several times to see her before i left, but she was never there .... :( when i got down to the restaurant, i found this big hunk of a cat ... what a lazy one ... reminded me of Gordo Gato i found Ft Sapphrey much like i left it last year, ...but they weren't around. i had tried emailing and had asked RMP to call them for me, but neither of us could get through to them. another woman owns it now and has the rooms ready to rent, ... for US$35-45/night ... YIKES ... i paid US$250 for a month last year. glad i found Georphi's ... i started walking towards the center ... it was really noisy that way .... when i got there, i saw why .... they were grading the bumpy road ... Oscar and the rest of the taxi drivers should be happy now.... back at home, i met this other black and white kitty ... i met Axel, from Germany, who lives in the other half of the house; ...nice guy ... alone as well in his 3person dorm. he's also hoping to keep it that way. the sunset on the beach right out front ... in the evening i walked to The SunDowner, to hopefully meet up with Ron and Patricia, from Montreal, who i met last year through Marti. they were there and i got caught up on some of the latest gossip. ...there wasn't much of a sunset, and i almost missed it completely ... ...then i went to a little rooftop restaurant that advertised Ceviche To GoGo .. i asked them if i could 'stay stay' and they said of course. nice little place with WiFi, and good Mango Ceviche for US$6 ... not too bad a price for Ceviche .... only drawback to my new place is that they don't have WiFi up the hill this far ... i can go down to Rudy's Restaurant and use it there; but it's not the same as having it in my room .... so Skype-ing will be difficult ... because in the evening i will have to be at a restaurant where it will be noisy, (which was the case tonight) .... or sitting in the dark at Rudy's (coz they're closed at night) which will be buggy .... sorry Mom and Dad ! :( on the way home, i stopped at the Rotisserie Chicken Restaurant, right next door to my place, they were here last year and well known for their chicken, which is good at a good price .... they also had Coconut Cream Pie which i took back to my room with me :) ... and called it another good day !

16 Mar--BBQ at Bar-a-cuda

Fri, 16 Mar .. got up early and started organizing and packing, because it was possible that this would be my only chance to pack if the day turned out to be busy; and i knew that there wouldn't be any time this evening. ...it's was my last night in Utila, and there was lots to do. i was in and out of the Whale Shark office all morning, ... trying to determine if were were going to have a boat tour this afternoon. making sure that we had 2 Dive Masters, a boat, and a Boat Captain on 'stand-by' ..... it is really frustrating ... waiting, ... not knowing if we're going or not .... there is quite a bit of 'stuff' that needs to be done before we can go, and i hate running around at the last minute ... looking like i don't know what i'm doing. i hadn't heart from the 2 guys yesterday that said they wanted to go ... around 11am the first couple showed up and said they were still interested ... +2 ... the one guy that said he wanted to go, came in and after we talked awhile, he decided he did not want to go ... -1 .... then another couple came in and said they wanted to go, ... +2 ....i asked them to check back at 12:30. at noon the 2 guys showed up and said they wanted to go ... ok, ... so that's 6 ! ...i called the first couple and told them that the boat should be going and to be here at 12:30; .... then we waited for the other couple to show up ... at 12:30 i saw them leisurely walking down the street ... i walked/ran down to meet them .. they were surprised to see me, .... they decided they didn't want to go because of the $$$$ (but obviously weren't going to tell me) .... i asked them if they would go for 1/2 price, but they still said they didn't have the money ... so now -2 ... and .... i now had 4 people all excited about going, ..... but we needed 1 more person ! :( so i asked everyone to just give me 5min; and i ran to the Lodge where i thought there would be some Lodge Guests eating lunch ... i was going to try to find another person who wanted to go. the Manager was sitting there, and when i told her the situation ... she said, 'just go with 4 people' .... i was shocked because we're supposed to have 5 in order to break even on the gas ... i was so happy ... i thanked her and ran back to the office to get everyone signed and paid before anyone else changed their minds !!!!!!! then had to get everything ready and on the boat ... life vests, first aid, oxygen, drinking water with ice, glasses, ask the ladies in the cafeteria (who only speak Spanish) to cut up some watermelon and put it in a sealed container, locate the cooler and fill it with pops and ice, a bucket for masks and cameras, all the forms and paperwork ..... getting release forms signed, people paid, and on the dock so they can take their swim test .... it was stressful .... but it eventually all got done, and we were on the boat and leaving ... we did the introductions and i gave my 'talk' on the Whale Sharks .... the girls were paying attention because they knew that they would be doing it the next time. Frank was our Capt for today and we went around the East side of the island for the first time because the winds were finally calmer. ...we were all hopeful ! ...but no Whale Sharks .... then, Frank said that there was a Whale out there .... we all looked, but we couldn't see anything ... eventually as we got closer, .....YES ... we saw a Whale ... spouting water ... it wasn't a Whale Shark .. but a Sperm Whale ! you can see the water spouting on the left side of the photo, ... and then a black body ... then the end of the body ... it was a big one ... as we got closer ... we saw the 'hump' then the tail ... and it was gone ... Frank said once you see the tail, that means that it is diving down, down, down very deep, and we won't see him again .... very rarely do they see Sperm Whales around Utila because the water is generally too warm for them ... the last time Frank saw one was in 2006, and he had only seen 3-4 in his 23 yrs on Utila .... sooo ... although we didn't see a Whale Shark ... we saw something even more unusual and rare !!!!!! Sperm Whales have the largest brain of any animal; ... they are the largest living toothed animal; ...and the deepest diving mammal, know to go down to 9,800ft; .... it's head makes up 1/3 of it's body size; ... it can live for 70yrs WoW ... what a send off for my last day ! we stopped at a great snorkel place and most of us got in the water for about 25min ... saw this French AngelFish and this Scrawled File Fish and this little tiny baby Smooth TrunkFish ... he is really well camouflaged ... you can hardly see him ... he's right in the center of the photo, ...kind of box-shaped, with his nose pointing SE ... he couldn't have been more than 3 inches .... so cute ! ... got back and spent awhile cleaning out the boat and putting things away; then home to shower and get rady for our BBQ at the Bar-a-cuda .... we had such a good dinner last time, we decided to do it again for my last night .... we had all the same kinds of food, .... veggie kabobs, shrimp kabobs, chicken, beef, rice, salad ... we also had and some wonderful guacamole .... here you can see everyone's hands reaching in and scooping it up ... it went fast ..... tonight we also had grilled pineapple with maple syrup and cinnamon drizzled on top ... and Kelly brought the fixins for Banana Boats .... ok ... this is one i missed in my growing up .... so i helped her prepare them, ..... you take an unpeeled banana and slice it lengthwise, but do not cut through either end ... so there is a pocket down the center of the banana ... inside the pocket you put pieces of chocolate ... do i have your attention now ???????? ... then you wrap each banana in foil, and put it on the grill .... they were so good ... i think you could easily have it with ice cream :) it was a wonderful dinner ... cleaned all that up; and then ... it's Friday Night Karaoke ... i was going to pass and go pack; but wanted to go just to say 'bye' to a few people .... but of course ... once i got in there .... i didn't want to leave. i've never really liked Karaoke ... but for some reason ... it's just so much fun here at this bar with these people .... the 2 guys that were on the Whale Shark boat today were very nice and rather quiet .... i walked into the bar, and they are both there ... and they are all wound up and quite the entertainers !!! i couldn't believe it was the same 2 guys.... had i known, they could have entertained us all 4 hrs on the boat ! the couple that was on the boat came into the bar; and they couldn't believe it either ... they were still there when i left ... enjoying watching and listening ... it was a fun last night

15 Mar--Kayaking & Bandu Soup

Thurs, 15 Mar ... i woke up to pouring rain ... damn! ..the last time it rained, i had my Diving Course ... did i mention i don't like it to 'rain on my parade' ? ...i laid there for a little while, then decided to get up and get everything ready in case it stopped raining. at 7am it had stopped, but it was still cloudy. i walked next door to where we were meeting, and no one was there ... i walked around a bit, then i went back to my room and laid down .. a few minutes later, Greg knocked on my door .. .apologizing for being late .... it was clearing up by then, so we decided to go on our kayak trip. last night a drug plane crashed on the Utila runway, and no planes could take off until they got it cleaned up; so Heather joined us since her flights were cancelled ... Jeff never showed up, ... we left about 8am. we had to kayak in the bay awhile get to beach, ... then we carried our kayaks across the beach to the lagoon rather than kayaking all the way around to the lagoon entrance, which would have taken us another 1/2 hr or so because it was pretty rough out there in the bay. we crossed the lagoon and found the entrance to the channel which took us through the mangroves to the other side of the island. it is about an 1.5 hr trip to the other side; through some really narrow passages through the mangroves ... with the mangrove roots on both sides of us, making it difficult to paddle. ...someone should invent a retractable paddle ... it was a nice slow trip and we finally made it to Rock Harbor .... we walked on the beach for a bit, then headed out to the rock island, beached our kayaks this island was volcanic rock with coral imbedded into to ... interesting geology lesson here ... we snorkeled around for awhile .... saw this very strange iridescent marble-balloon looking thing ... Greg called it a Sea Pearl ... it is also called a Fisherman's Eye and a Sailor's Eyeball ... this is actually a plant, an algae, ... and it's claim to fame is that it is the largest of the bubble algae, but it is also thought to be one of the largest single-celled organisms in both the Animal and Plant Kingdoms. .... pretty cool! .... it wasn't completely round, but had a pointed end, like a hot air balloon .... it just floated near the sandy bottom ,,, how strange i had never seen the 'foot' of the Flamingo Tongue, that attached to the Fan Coral there were 3 lobsters hiding under this coral .... this is another Christmas Tree Worm ... but notice the coral that it is on ... it's a Star Coral, and you can see all the little 'stars', which are open when they are feeding .... you don't normally notice these from a distance ... i've been studying the different types of coral ... something that i usually ignore because i am focused on looking at the fishes ... but the corals are living animals as well, and are a very important part of the reef. this is a Brain Coral ... but there are many different kinds of Brain Coral as well ... and are identified by their particular patterns of the individual ridges, but you really have to look closely to identify them. they also have different growth habits or shapes ... this one is unusual also saw this Bearded FireWorm ... the little 'hairs' on it can imbed in your skin and be very painful .... i haven't seen one of these since i was at Glovers 2 yrs ago ... then back to the beach ... Greg and Heather ... and headed back through the mangroves ... saw this bird, which i thought was a Great Blue Heron ... but it had yellow legs, and i've never noticed yellow legs on a Great Blue before .... i checked with my 'bird expert' Alex, and he reminded me that everything gets more colorful when the males are showing off .... :) Greg had to work at 2pm, and we made it just in time. when i got back to work there was a note that 2 guys wanted to go on a Whale Shark boat tomorrow. i had another couple that was interested a few days ago; and another guy that had stopped in. so, IF those 2 guys want to go, ... and IF i can find the other 3 people, ... and IF they all still want to go, ... we could have a boat tomorrow! ... IF the weather cooperates; and according to 'windfinder.com' it should be a good calm afternoon. that would be great because it would be good for Ashley and Kelly to actually experience at least one trip before they have to do it themselves, by themselves. ...but that's a lot of 'IFs' .... the 'kids' at the Dive Shop have been busy making a lot of plans lately! ... and tonight is Bandu Soup night .... that's a local soup that is made with lots of coconut milk, green bananas, plantains, yucca, carrots, onions, cabbage, shrimp .... Seth, our boat Captain was the chef ... adding all of the ingredients in just the right order at the right time ... the fish was put in towards the end ... that was a King Fish ... Bread Fruit was also added on the top ... which went in last then the secret spices ... then he personally dished out each bowl, making sure that everyone got some of everything ... it was Awesome ! ....this is Kelly and i enjoying our portions ... a new guy was there that was starting his Dive Master training, ... he made this 'grasshopper' out of a palm leaf .... fun night with great people !

14 Mar, Wed

Wed, 14 Mar .... got up today hoping we might have a Whale Shark boat .... but i went to the office and no one had shown up or signed up .... i don't blame them.. ... i wouldn't spend US$60 to go on a boat ride when no Whale Sharks have been sighted ... i've been here since, .....when? 6 Feb ... it's now 13 Mar ... over 1 month ... and not one Whale Shark sighting ... that is really unacceptable :) Kelly and i worked for awhile inputting some data on the Whale Sharks ... but we can't do anything more until we get more information from the Manager. walked into the Dive Shop to check one more time to see if we had anyone interested in a Boat trip .. nada ... talked with Greg and he said a couple people were meeting at the Israeli Restaurant for lunch .... Greg has been really good at including me in the activities at the Dive Shop ... i appreciate that ! .. so i joined them ... good food, ... and another option of a place to eat. i even had some leftovers for tomorrow. i asked them about using the Kayak's to go snorkeling at Rock Harbor ... Greg said he'd been wanting to do that ... so we're going tomorrow at 7am ... and he's been there before and knows the way ... that's important because there are a lot of channels through the Mangroves and i think if you got lost in there, you'd be lost for days :( after lunch, came back and Jeff was there updating some files ... i'm glad he knows about this computer stuff ... he'll be a good person to have around while he's here. told him about the Kayak Trip and he's going to go too; so there will be 3 of us .... Greg also invited me to join a huge group for dinner tonight at RJ's ... so i did some shopping, cleanaed up, and met at 7pm for dinner. there must have been 30 people in our group ... and i met a few new people ..... it was fun.

13 Mar, Tues

Tues, 13 Mar went to the Bakery again to have my Bacon Broccoli quiche before going to the Vet Clinic; that's a great quiche! the Vet had spent some time yesterday putting posters up all around the 'Campanado' (where a lot of the locals live) that today was a FREE Clinic to have your dogs and cats neutered .... they are REALLY trying to get these people to get their animals 'fixed' ..... unfortunately, not one showed up to take advantage of the service. there were still 5-6 surgeries today; but they were from other people who have moved to this island and are caring for their pets. ...nothing eventful happened there today .. and Gordo Gato was back at his home :( ...well good for him, but sad for me .... i'm happy to report on the starving dog from last week's Clinic. ....that day, they stopped to buy some dog food and took the dog to this really nice couple ... who are good at finding homes for strays ... they sat with him for about 2 hrs with his head in their lap ... then a friend showed up, conversations ensued ... and the guy said he'd been looking for a dog ... he took the dog food and the dog home ... and he's doing really good ! ::) happppy ending. ....the sad part is that a few days later i saw a brown dog in exactly the same condition ... there is so much of it here ..... i worked until about 12:40 when i left to get back in time for my meeting at the Whale Shark Office. the girls, and Jeff, and i spent quiet a while explaining our questions to the Manager ... and we hope she will get back to us soon with some answers. i've been wanting to kayak through the Lagoon and Mangroves to the other side of the island to Rock Harbor, where the snorkeling is supposed to be pretty good. but i was not successful in arranging this excursion last year and so far not this year either ..... i mentioned this to Jeff and he said he'd like to do that trip too. so, we decided to meet tomorrow morning and just do it ... i told him i'd get permission to use the kayaks . i stopped into the Dive Shop and was invited to join the group at the Bar-a-cuda Bar upstairs from the Whale Shark office for a BBQ tonight ... i went to the store and bought a pork chop steak and some zucchini and went to the Dive Master 'House' and helped Chad and Greg clean shrimp and cut up vegetables for dinner. ...this was a great fun evening with my fun diving friends. ...and probably the best meal i've had since i've been here. we had veggie kabobs with this great cheese that was soft on the inside and toasted on the outside, shrimp kabobs, beef and pork steaks, and chicken, rice, and a fresh salad. it was a really fun evening !

12 Mar, Mon

Mon, 12 Mar .... i made a decision this morning ... i'm leaving on Saturday ! ..there ..... it feels good to make a decision. i sent an email to Vern and reserved my place on the catamaran to go to Roatan. now i need to find a cheap place to stay ... not an easy task on Roatan ... it's much more expensive there ... to sleep and eat ... but i hope i will enjoy the snorkeling as much this year as i did last year ... worked in the morning .... no Whale Shark boat today either :( ...i set up a meeting with the Manager for 1pm tomorrow with myself and the girls to try to find some answers to our questions ... around lunch time i walked across the street to the store and found Valentine ... with her head in a bag of cat food .... i think the people that own that store are extremely tolerant of her and the other cat that 'lives' there ... the cats are constantly tearing into a bag of cat food that's on the shelf for sale ... and i'm not sure if they finish one bag, before they tear into another bag ... :( anyway ... i picked her up and we spent some time together ... around 1pm, and got my gear around to go snorkeling ... it was pretty calm this morning, so i want to go back to the Iron Shore to snorkel in the 'quiet little 'bay' by Rene's house ... where the boa was ... on the walk, i realized that the wind had really picked up ... it was actually a bit difficult to walk .. i was beginning to question my decision to snorkel out there ... the weather had changed dramatically since this morning ... and, it was MUCH worse than a few days ago when i was there. their little dog barked when i came up to the house, and his wife came down and we visited for awhile. she took me out to the shore and showed me where to snorkel and .... told me NOT to wear my fins ... she said the current was really strong between that rock island and the shore, ...where that 'nice little quiet bay' was .. and that it was shallow there, and when the current started to carry me away, i could just stand up .. and it would be much easier WITHOUT fins on .... ok, so i followed her advice ... and WoW .. i was glad i did !!!!!!!!!!! i could not believe how strong the current could be ... and she was right ... when my body was in the water, it just took me away ... but if i could stand up, i could be in control ... the problem was standing up ... i literally had to put my feet out in front of me ... as if i was sliding down a mountainside, trying to find footing to stop me. ... unbelievable! i quickly figured out how to maneuver .. but it really was a lot of work ... i was out there for probably 15min when i realized that this was not going to be a very long snorkeling experience today. ...i lasted less than an hour ... this little fish was incredibly curious of me, and would not leave me alone .... same fish, different lighting .... always trying to get a good photo of the Yellow Tail DamselFish ... it's electric blue dots just entice me ... but they are SO quick, darting in and out of the coral .. it's impossible .. but i'll never quit trying ... this is a Squirrel Fish peeking out from his hiding place ... he would not move from there ! ... and notice the large Black Spiny Sea Urchin on the left .... i spent the rest of my time watching this Juvenile AngelFish ... ... lazily swimming around, in and out of the currents ... impressed that they can deal with the force of the waves and currents so much more easy than i could ! ...at times i had my feet planted firmly against a rock, and one hand on another rock, my camera in the other hand ... barely in control ... i especially enjoyed watching it, ....attack and nip and chase away this Bar Jack that was 3-4 times it's size ! when i got out of the water, everyone was gone from the house ... i wanted to thank them again, ... but ... so i started walking home. a nice man in a 4-wheeler asked me if i wanted a ride ... i accepted ... he took me half the way ... i stopped to get a Mango ice cream on the way home :) i got home and cleaned up and tried to relax ... but ... where i live has turned into a Day Care Center for wild noisy kids ! ... i couldn't take the noise any longer, so i left, and retreated to the Dive Shop. while there i learned of a BBQ tonight at the Bar-a-cuda Bar; dinner tomorrow at RJs; and a Bandu Soup party on Thurs night .... lots of activities my last week in Utila ... :) i went to Buccaneer's for Tuna Fillet w/Lemon Garlic sauce ... it was good ... then came back home ... the kids were in bed by now and it was quiet ... while i was sitting outside working on my blog ... i heard the familiar 'meow' of Shark Bait ... he found me again ... so he was rewarded with some food :)