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.

20 Feb, Sun - Pumpkin Hill

Sun, 20 Feb. - Pumpkin Hill we eventually tired of the airport and headed back down the road to climb Pumpkin Hill. to get there you need to go on a long path/road, about 20min with good conditions. since it had rained a lot, the road was real muddy with huge puddles across the entire road. ...not good conditions. we weren't sure we could make it, but decided to go for it. once we got started there was no going back. the road is also full of broken pieces coral and rock ... LARGE rocks! it was a grueling ride. your tire would hit a huge rock and you'd go flying in another direction. i now understand what 'jumping' is all about when we are in 'spin' class at the Y!!!!!!!!! you had to be up and down in your seat, ... or you'd be OUT of your seat and in the mud ! it was not a very enjoyable ride .. challenging, yes! ....you never really knew if you were going to make it through a puddle or just get stuck! we stopped frequently and at one stop saw these Leaf Cutter Ants. they sure are busy. not a good photo, but you can see they are traveling along the top of that log, the entrance to their home is just at the base of that rock. i'd seen these last year in Belize ... they continue to amaze me. i have a video, i'll try to get on You Tube when i get faster internet connection. needless to say, we were a muddy mess by the time we arrived at the turn off. This is Pumpkin Hill. on our way up the hill we saw another very well-traveled trail made by more Leaf Cutter Ants ... impressive! Pumpkin Hill is 290ft to the top and not that difficult to climb, but it was hot and sunny. at the top, you can see almost the entire island. towards the north is Pumpkin Hill Beach, it looked so inviting! after awhile there, we were ready to go back down. and we decided we needed to go to the beach ... which meant another muddy rocky ride. we had quite a laugh when Chris' left flip-flop stuck in the muck. and in retrieving it, his right flip-flop got stuck in the muck ! but arriving at the sea made it all worthwhile. there was quite a bit of coral on the beach, so there were lots of small tidal pools. one of my favorite things to explore. i found this crab. and these Chitons, about 1x3" long .... weird prehistoric looking mollusks that attach themselves to the coral, with suction so strong, you cannot pry them loose. they can also roll up in a ball like a 'pill bug'. and then i spent the next hour trying to take photos through the water, of tiny baby fishes. i had help identifying some of them. this is a Sharp Nose Pufferfish, less than 1 inch long. it will only grow to 2" at adulthood. and a baby Sand Diver, ... about 1-1/4 inches long. and these 2 unidentified babies. while Chris was walking over the rocks in the water, his foot slid down on top of one of those black sea urchins! the spines immediately buried themselves into the bottom of his foot. they looked like purple dots. we didn't know what to do, so we did nothing ... hoping it wasn't fatal! it was getting late in the afternoon by this time, and we headed back. none of us excited to be back on those bikes and be shook to death riding over those rocks ... and mud! the ride back was much faster than the ride in. there was no hesitation at the puddles ... we just plowed right through them. by the time we got back to the main road, my hands were so sore from gripping the handle bars, they were red! we took our bikes back to town. i was happy it was dark so they couldn't see how muddy they were. we were all tired this evening. it was a great fun day with my friends !

20 Feb, Sun. The Caves

Sun, 20 Feb. - The Caves raining when we woke up :) but, then it became partly sunny. we all decided today would be a good day to go to the Cave and hike up Pumpkin Hill. we headed to town and rented bikes and down the road we went ... Tim lead the way coz he'd been there before. we left the road by the airport and hit the very muddy trail, .....so glad we had mountain bikes! we took a few turns and the road ended, we parked our bikes, and started down the trail .. through the jungle and very old coral heads. not far, and we were there. we had to climb down this really old rotten ladder. i love this picture. notice Chris on the right, holding his head, wondering what Tim had gotten us into! this cute sign was at the entrance. it turned out to be a really hot sunny day, and we were sweating. and here was this little FRESHwater cave just waiting for us. it was quite cold when we first got in, but really felt good. it was so nice getting into fresh water, and not sea water ... it felt so clean. Tim found a tunnel we could swim through underwater and come up through a hole on the other side. the old coral was really pointy and sharp, it was not nice to walk on ... luckily i was wearing my Keens, they were perfect! i think i sold a few pair of them for the company today. we played around there for over an hour before we headed back. we stopped at the airport because we had been told that there were lots of Hawaiian Wood Roses growing along the runway, ... and it was ok to go there. i had stopped there the other day on my walk and there was a sign that said something about 'prohibicion' and there was a 'policia' there, and several planes landing and taking off. so i passed on that. today it was deserted, so we rode our bikes up and down the runway, nice and smooth and dry .... unlike the road we had just been on. it reminded me of when we used to ride our bikes in our neighborhood on someone's new driveway when we were 'kids'. we finally found the Hawaiian Wood Rose. it was vining everywhere, and very pretty. a very unusual flower. the flowers are about 2" high. and start out a buttery yellow color with a peach tint on the top. then open up into a white tulip-like flower. and eventually turn brown, with a round hard center, and they look like they are made out of wood, ...hence the name ... but they are a long way from 'home' if they are from Hawaii ! it is said that the seeds in these dried pod are hallucinagenic .... haven't tried :) ... and the flower looks more like a tulip than a rose, ... it's just the dried flower that looks like a rose and is used in dried flower arrangements. i've searched the internet on this flower and i'm not finding what we have here ... so i'm not sure about the name ... perhaps Wood Rose is more closely related. anyway, they were very striking! there were also a lot of these pretty yellow flowers vining over everything. i know this photo looks like a primrose, but it's a vine and different leaves. more about the day's activities on the next post ....