3 Mar, Thurs.

Thurs, 3 Mar. i met the students from Minnesota at 8am and they piled in a van and we headed for Sandy Bay Beach for the cleanup. it was worse than we had thought. everytime you tried to pick up a small piece of plastic, you realized it was just the 'tip of the iceberg'. the entire bag was under the sand and it was filled with wet sand. it was also tied, so you couldn't dump it out easily. we decided that next time we needed more people and less beach to clean up ! while we were working, 3 young local boys (about 6-7yrs old) came along, grabbed some bags and started helping us! they were so sweet and dug right in there 'fishing' trash out of the worst stagnant waters! i wanted to take their picture, but by this time my hands were so filthy, i didn't want to touch my camera! they were so sweet. they didn't speak english, so we could just smile and thank them. ...and we wondered why they weren't in school with the other children. then the other school children walked down the beach as we were picking up trash, finished their bag of chips and tossed the bag on the sand! i didn't see this, or i would have confronted them, language barrier or not, they would have gotten my message! we worked for over an hour, and some of the areas looked pretty good when we finished. but there is still more work to be done. i went in the truck with Michele to the 'dump' .... enlightening experience. came back and washed some clothes out and hung them on the line to dry. Jimmy and Tita brought me an extension cord for my microwave. it took almost 2min to heat up a 1/2 piece of bread ... wonder how long it will take to make microwave popcorn ? later, sitting at the picnic table working on my excel spreadsheet for the Recycle Program for BICA, when i heard someone yell, 'hey Donna' .... it was Bennie walking the beach. he said he's had a rough day, was hot, was going to get some coconuts, and did i want to join him on the dock, just over there. so i put my stuff away and joined him and his girlfriend Teresa. she is a really pretty Guatemalan girl and works right next door at Ronnie's Barefoot Bar. after watching the sunset, and a shower, i went to Blue Channel for pizza ... they have internet :) then i went back home .... i miss my little friend, Gordo Gato :(

2 Mar, Wed.

Wed, 2 Mar. i walked into town to try to get some cash. i tried yesterday and the ATM was out of money ... payday... i got my money and ran into Chris and Nicole. they picked up their snorkel gear and we went to Rudy's coz they were hungry. i had a 'mile high' mango smoothie ... i swear it stood up a good 3" over the rim of the cup, like a soft serve ice cream cone. it was fresh mango with a little bit of cinnamon. yummmmmmm we grabbed our snorkel gear and started walking south to West Bay. there are some areas where you have to walk across the rocks, but mostly it's sandy beach. it's about a 40min walk and as we were walking we were wondering how we would know when we were there. all we knew was that it was the longest sandy beach on the island. ....and it was all a sandy beach where we were walking .... as we rounded the corner of a large rock outcropping .... we all gasp!!!!!!!! OMG, this was not what we were expecting! i thought we were on the beach in Cancun!!!!!!!! people people people everywhere, lounge chairs lined up, parasailing, slides in the water .... commercial tourist attraction! the beach was beautiful, but we were not prepared for all the people. .... then it dawned on us ... cruise ships ! we made our way all the way to the end where it looked like people were snorkeling. it didn't look like good snorkeling to me, but it was so hot, i grabbed my gear and headed for the water. WoW, i was pleasantly surprised! the snorkeling was great! it started sandy with a few coral patches, then the coral got denser and i found a path out to the great blue yonder ... the wall. i just love snorkeling over that wall .... it's like i am flying ... nothing below me, and the wall to the side of me, with lots of fishes and coral. i took lots of photos .... surprise surprise ... while i was in the deep blue i saw this guy carrying this HUGE fish ... i can't believe he could carry a fish so big :) i guess catching a fish this way is legal. a hundred Blue Tangs swam around me until i was 'bored' and left them. another Blue Tang, but such a faint blue color ... more Christmas Tree Worms in the shallows. and a nice purple Fan Coral. i saw this fish in the shallows ... notice the color and the 'beard' ... more like 2 spears coming out of it's chin. i watched him for quite awhile. it is a Yellowtail Goatfish. then he started swimming away ... and ... he turned white with a yellow stripe! you can still see the 'beard' ... and i read in the book that they can change their color dramatically given their surroundings ... i'll say ! eventually i got cold and found Chris and Nicole on the shore. they were ready to get something to eat and a cold drink sounded great ... did i tell you that it was hot? i know i keep saying that ... but it really is hot here :) so we headed for the closest palapa bar, where we were told that 'this is just for cruise ship people' ..... oh sorry :~ ..... so we walked what seemed like a long way down the beach to where we could get something to eat. it was good and then we went back down the beach to snorkel. before coming to Utila, Chris and Nicole had not snorkeled before, and neither of them took to it easily. they'd get in the water, but really were not comfortable; and had never gone very far out into the water. i told them about the 'wall' and how cool it was. they said they would try it, but i could tell they were intimidated just by the idea. i lead, and they followed, reluctantly. but i eventually got them out there and they realized what i was talking about. we were out quite awhile and saw a large Porcupinefish that was down quite deep. i did some free-diving down to try to take photos, but was not successful ... he was deeper than i thought. then Nicole spotted this Nassau Grouper. what a great find! i love these Groupers and they are on the 'threatened' list. Groupers are one of the large fish that might one day eat the Lionfish, so we need to keep the species strong. while we were out in the deep i drove down and took this picture of this purple sponge coral. and then we spotted this Rainbow Parrotfish .. notice how brown-red his head is and his tail is so blue. typical of this fish. he was a big one too ! check out the teeth on this Blue Tang ! i saw another Indigo Blue Hamlet .... i saw one of these when i was diving and never thought i'd see one again, nor get a photo ... yeahhh i think they are cool looking fish. a 'family' of sea urchins. i love the way you can the pectoral fins on this Blue Parrotfish ... they look like wings ! we snorkeled around for awhile and made our way back into the shallows. after we were finished, Chris and Nicole both commented that this was the first time that they felt comfortable and were really able to enjoy it, and were glad that they experienced the 'wall'. i saw Nicole's Facebook page today and she said "conquered the fear and snorkelled right out to the drop off! And stayed afloat! Amazing. Getting the hang of this flipper malarkey after all" maybe i will be a good "Snorkel Guide" :) i went home, showered and captured this sunset as i was walking to met them again at their hotel. we had some rum and cokes and then had dinner at the Argentinian Grill. it's a very well known, recommended, and expensive restaurant. unfortunately, i had the worst meal i've had yet. i ordered Wahoo and it was dry and tasteless; the twice baked potatoes looked and tasted like they were made in the morning and reheated several times ... :( Nicole and Chris both enjoyed their meals ... sometimes you just order the wrong thing. i might go back there again, but only for that Flan that i saw them serving for dessert, ... it looked awesome! after dinner i said goodbye to my last 2 friends, and wished them safe travels :(

1 Mar, Tues.

Tues, 1 Mar Happy March ! time is going so fast already; must be almost spring in Michigan! i went to Rudy's for French Toast and OJ ... and wireless internet service. i was there a long time downloading pictures ... so long that i felt guilty, and ordered a strawberry lemonade. it was good! Jimmy said he was going to get internet service for me ..... i can also go to a cafe where i can buy a package for 2weeks; but don't want to do that if i'm going to have it in my room ... we'll see how this goes. i really got spoiled having service right at BICA anytime day or night, and not having to drag my laptop to a cafe! i walked around Roatan for awhile, and found a couple cheap light weight tops to buy. it really is hot here and my clothes are too tight fitting to be cool. also saw this cute little puppy and his mom. he was way too busy to stop for a photo. then i met Grazzia at 2pm and we talked about other things i'll be doing. it is possible that i'll be a 'Snorkel Guide' on Fri for another group of students. i'll like that !!!!!!! home for a swim and a shower, then i walked back into town to meet Nicole and Chris. it's a leisurely 10min walk from my place into town. we decided to 'treat ourselves' tonight to some Thai food that is quite expensive. we sat at a table on the dock over the water. it was pretty and the food was wonderful. tomorrow we'll meet and go to West Bay for the day. some info about Roatan: Roatan is the largest of The Bay Islands, at 32 miles long and from 1-3 miles wide. A small mountain ridge runs along the spine of the island offering expansive ocean vistas with the highest point at about 900 feet above sea level. The island has varying topography from white sandy beaches, iron (rocky) shoreline, mangroves, tropical hilltops, lush valleys, and reef surrounded waters. map of Roatan. i am at West End, which is at the bottom, on the left side (west side). it's a big island, and, i'll probably never experience 99.9% of it. i don't see me leaving West End, ... and i can walk the entire length in 15min ... and i'm learning to walk slower these days too :) it's a very small 'world' i'm living in here ... smaller than Utila ... smaller than Caye Caulker. but i like it and i'll do fine as long as i have my internet connection. :) here is a map showing West End area. my "world" starts at the 'dot' at Half Moon Bay, and ends at the 'dot' across from West End Village. You can also see West Bay, at the south tip where i'll go tomorrow with Chris and Nicole. it's supposed to be the longest white sandy beach on the island. it's about a 30-40min walk along the beach. in 1993 Marine Reserve was established, it includes about 8 miles of coastline, starting at Lawson Rock going south around the West Bay.

28 Feb--Roatan

Mon, 28 Feb. i slept until 9am !!!!!! i slept good, never woke up once. got ready and walked to Roatan Marine Park. Grazzia was not there, but another volunteer, Alex, asked me to complete some paperwork and we talked about what i wanted to do and some of their projects. on Thurs i could help them with a Beach Cleanup. there is a group here, of junior & senior high school students from an environmental school in Minnesota. they are learning about environmental issues and diving; and will do a beach clean up. there was a LOT going on in that small office, so i was able to check my email. there was an email from Pamela back at BICA. she said the Lionfish-killing-sling was missing and we were the last ones to use it; did i know where it was? .....amazing how we're not even there and we can cause trouble!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also had an email from Chris and Nicole .... they are here in Roatan!!!!!!!! they went to the mainland with Tim and went white water rafting. the got flipped out of the raft and Chris hurt his foot and was not able to do any hiking, so they took the ferry to Roatan. i am really excited that they are here!!!!!!!! i emailed them where they could find me at 5pm so we could meet. another volunteer, Jannita, showed up at the RMP, and the 3 of us went to Sandy Bay to look at the beach area where we will do the clean up. we took a minivan collectivo taxi just a few miles up the road. we walked the beach and decided we would split into 5 groups for the clean up. there are not a lot of big bottles on the beach, but a lot of small pieces of plastic, bottle caps, etc. i suggested that rakes would be helpful since the pieces were so small; and there is a lot of organic matter, that doesn't need to be removed, but put in a pile to make it look nicer when we are done. we will start early, but it will be hot. we agreed to make sure they have water, sunscreen, hats, shoes, and safety first ... you never know what you might find ! i walked around looking in stores for awhile. i found this cute Floating Bar, .... it actually goes out in the water on Tues and Fri nights. then took another swim and headed for the shower ... the hot shower. i examined the shower.... i find it a little scary that there are some electric cords going to the shower head, all sticking out with those connector-things that you splice wires together with .... this is how i get hot water .... it heats up the water as it hits the shower head ..... pretty ingenious, huh? ....and pretty scary! upon further examination, i see there is a switch on the shower head ... i turned it ... it's either down or off; ...it's much cooler now :) i went to my 5pm meeting for the Minnesota kids, and it was a good introduction meeting abut RMP for me as well. i took the opportunity to introduce myself to them and remind them about sunscreen, safety, etc. after the meeting i saw Nicole and Chris !!!!!!!!!!!! how fun to see them again. we went to for a reasonably priced meal. they were doing some sightseeing tomorrow, and i needed to meet Grazzia at 2pm; so we agreed to meet for dinner at 7pm.

27 Feb--Vern's Cat to Roatan

Sun, 27 Feb. the alarm went off and i was up and gathering up last minute things, and the clothes off the line that were still wet from yesterday, and stuffing them in my bags. i ordered a taxi because my bag is heavy and the wheels are falling off and i didn't want to stress them dragging it to town. the taxi came a little early, so i was flying around at the last minutes. still grabbing things and hugging everyone saying goodbye. Abi was leaving today also, for Brazil. Tim was leaving for LaCeiba, then down through Honduras and then back to Roatan (so maybe i'll see him again). Chris and Nicole were going to LaCeiba with Tim. then out the door i went to the dock and got on Vern's Catamaran. Vern is from Alaska, but left there when he was about 18 and started travelling. he ended up here. Vern's Catamaran. i got settled in there with 7 other people. it was 6:30a and most everyone found a place to sleep. i went up front for awhile, 'by the trampoline'. ... but the seas were way too rough for me to be up there. a couple were on the trampoline and were getting soaked with the waves crashing on them. i headed back for drier ground inside the cabin. as we headed out to sea, the waves kept getting higher and higher, and the swells were getting bigger and bigger. you can't really tell from the photos; but it was REALLY rough! View to the side. Those are big swells ! ...at least i thought so. i eventually asked Vern if this was typical. he hesitated a bit, then said, 'yeah, this is a bit rough for a morning'. the catamaran handled it pretty smoothly, but it was intimidating! i stayed 'down below'. View from down below, looking out the back. another view out the back. i stayed down below enjoying his music, old music: Cat Stevens, Van Morrison, Carole King ... good memories music. i eventually feel asleep for about an hour or so, and realized the boat wasn't heaving as much, and i looked out, i could see the island of Roatan! it was a 4hr ride, we arrived around 11am. Grazzia, the Director of Roatan Marine Park (RMP) was waiting for me on the dock. all the employees at both BICA and RMP are young .... like 22-24! we went to the office to meet someone to take me to Fort Saphrey, where i will be staying; but Nic showed up and offered to take me now, rather than wait for 'whoever'. Grazzia said to meet her at the office at 10:30 tomorrow. ...i like these hours! Nic drove to the end of the road, parked and said, we will walk the beach from here.......... Nic carried my big bag and we walked in the sand past Ronnie's Barefoot Bar. note the sign ........... in case you can't see it: "make love not war .... HELL, do both, get married". just a short distance down the beach and i saw Fort Saphrey. right on the water ... nice sandy beach right in front ! no one was there, but i told Nic i would just wait .... he'd been nice enough to bring me here. i walked around, and soon a girl and a guy walked up the beach. they said the 'manager' was in the back ... further back than i had looked, i thought it was a separate property and didn't want to 'snoop'. i talked to the guy, Bennie from Australia, for a minute while his girlfriend, talked to the manager, Jimmy. eventually i introduced myself to Jimmy and he showed me a couple of rooms. the rooms upstairs, right on the beach had a shared bathroom. i chose a room back about 100yds with my own private bath. :) below the rooms on the beach is a shared kitchen that he will give me a key to; but offered to get me my own small refrigerator. the sink in the bathroom was leaking and he fixed that. the windows were stuck shut and i told him i wouldn't use his electricity for the A/C if i could get the window open for a breeze, so he got them open. the screen is torn, i put some duct tape on it, and immediately put up my 'safety net' to protect me from the bugs. there is a ceiling fan ... it's a room with a small window, but if i open the door, i get more light in .... this will be fine. i got partially settled and went for a walk. this part of Roatan is what is called the 'West End'. it's on the west side of the island ......duhhhhhh., and where most of the Dive Shops are. but, it's not the most western point ... West Bay is at the western-most end of Roatan. the main road is not paved, it is sand, ...like Caye Caulker! yeah! they do have cars, vans, trucks here ... a few motorbikes; ... but they don't drive like they are at a speed track. THANK GOD! i won't feel like my life is in danger as i walk down the road, like i did in Utila! that was my main complaint about Utila ... they REALLY need to enforce a speed limit there, it truly is dangerous! i checked out the menus of the restaurants that were open .... most are in US$ ... that's not a good sign! ... it is quite a bit more expensive than Utila. i could eat dinner for 120-140L in Utila ... here it will cost me 240-300L (US$6-7 vs US$12-15) ...and the worst part ... my US$1.25 rum and coke will cost me US$3-4! i'll be packing my rum here! i did find a nice place for fresh fruit smoothies for 30-45L here which was the same at Utila. could i live on smoothies? i came across the Booty Bar that was roasting a huge piece of beef on the grill. they were having a Sunday Special: Roast Beef, potatoes, mac salad, fresh bread for 100L ... that's where i'll eat dinner tonight. if i can find specials like that each night, i'll be ok! while walking around i saw Bennie from Australia again. he said he was going to Booty Bar for roast beef tonight and i could join him. he also mentioned that on Sat night, they have Roast Pork, also for 100L.. this is great news! i went back to my room, put on my swimsuit, and went for a swim right out front :) i like this! went to my room to shower and change for dinner. it is hot here, and the swim cooled me off some, but i was anxious for a nice cool shower. i turned on the water .... it's HOT! what? ...a HOT shower? i was shocked at my reaction .... i didn't want a hot shower, i wanted a cool shower, and there was only one handle... no way to make it cooler. this was so funny ... all the months here, using a cool shower, thinking it would be so luxurious to have a hot shower ... and now i have one, and i don't like it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! go figure! i went to Booty Bar and Bennie was sitting inside at the bar with a friend. this guy had just been on a dive 120' down to a wreck, and found this bottle of booze that had been down there for 7 years, so he said. he poured me a shot and said i had to try it..... i put my tongue in it, and it was pretty horrible. here is a pic of Bennie (with hat) and the other guy and the bottle. Bennie and i ate dinner. first time i've had beef here. you couldn't cut it with a plastic fork and knife. so we at with our fingers and pulled the meat apart. it wasn't very tender, but it did have a good flavor ... all in all a good meal. after dinner Bennie wanted to get a cinnamon roll with ice cream and showed me the best place. i passed on dessert, and went home. Ronnie's Barefoot Bar, right next door to my place, had a band tonight. i stood at the beach looking at all the stars ... awesome! went to my room and could still hear the band ... boom boom boom, loud and clear. i thought i was back in Utila listening to the Bar in the Bush! they finally quit about 10pm; at which time i could now hear the TV in the room next to me, ... some loud horror movie!!! i grabbed my ear plugs and turned off the light! i'm here ... in Roatan beginning a new adventure!

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.