Friday May 18 It just finished raining but the clouds are still a bit gray. They still carry water. A fuzzy haze sits atop the green jungle-covered mountains in the nearby distance. Birds sing. I recognize several of their songs. There must be ground creatures calling as well, but I don’t know their calls yet. I only know that I love the sounds.
Delia took me, Moorie and Sharia on a boat tour to show me some more of Roatan’s magic. We drove past Jonesville. I have passed the sign for the road down to Jonesville several times from the main road, but not known it from the ocean. Then we passed Bluerock. Then I learned the reason for this trip — Polly Creek (Pronounced Pole-y) — a long narrow waterway cut through the mangroves. I took video of it. On the way back we stopped at Lucy Point to sit, enjoy the view and have some snacks.
Thursday, May 17, 2012 A rainy day. I wanted to go to Delia’s mom’s house to visit some of the kids as this was to be my last day in this part of Roatan. Hopefully I would see Delia too. I needed to get some work done first. The internet signal wasn’t great. The hard rain seemed to block it, preventing me from communicating but at the same time it also prevented the dorries for, running so going up to socialize was nixed too. With perfect timing, one of Delia’s sisters stopped by and offered me a ride. I happily stepped out the front door and into the motorboat. Another woman was on board — a very nice American woman We talked as we rode. En route we stopped at a waterfront home. Our hostess/driver got out and returned with a clear bottle of liquid and a plastic funnel. Gasoline […]
My friend Moorie turned 11 a week or two ago, before I met him. Today was his birthday party. His first. Birthday parties aren’t common on Roatan.
Tonight I did my segment for Computer Talk Radio (on the air, syndicated radio show) via Skype as usual, but used my new Claro data card on my unlocked iphone 4GS. The Skype Voice call for 24 minutes was about 10mb sent and 10mb received. I thought it would be much more data! Claro, in case you are interested, is the less expensive of the two Honduras cellular carriers. I paid 290 Limpera for a 15 day period providing me with 5 Gb of data. For 490 you can have 1month and 7gb. An additional week will be 140 for another 7 days, 3gb. My first card was TIGO. I paid 45 Limpera for the card. (There was no charge for the Claro card.) Then they get 500 Limpera for a month and it gives you 5gb. The exchange rate is 19 Limpera to a dollar but we all round […]
Yesterday was a lazy home day, at home at Yolanda’s with her little girls, Amy and Adrie. The plan was for Dalia to come and work with me on some writing but she got busy with other things and never made it. A couple of their other sisters came over, and a couple of cousins. My major activity of the day was scratching or trying not to scratch the various bites that cover my arms, back, and lower legs. In between I had some fun with the kids and digital camera.
Today Moorie and Sharia came over and the 3 of us walked to a nearby beach-ish waterfront and swam. Moorie saw a couple of lobsters and dove for them one at a time. The first was a baby. He brought it up, showed me, then put it back. The next was larger and as he was showing me it squirmed out of his grasp and back into the water.
May 12 Moving day — from a fantastic Eco lodge to a stay with a fantastic family. A large family with lots of adults and kids to get to know.
Walking down from my room in the Mango Creek Lodge hillside lodge I was thinking of my recent crab sighting at closely watching the crab holes in the ground that I passed. This time I noticed one crab hiding within his hole. I wasn’t about to scare it. I walked past it and then stayed very still just to see if I could see it come out. That’s when I noticed another crab right there beside the other crab’s hole. And… I got a photo of it. After I took the photo he raced into his own hole. I resumed my walk so they could relax.
It is quite possible and cheap to go by bus from Mexico into Belize and even Belize to Honduras. But that second part is long and tedious. Plus, you miss the beautiful islands of San Pedro and Caye Caulker. This is a viable route, the route I took.
A few weeks ago, a man I trust told me about WWOOF – World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms: living, learning, sharing organic lifestyles. So I am looking into the groups of it that are WOFF in Latin America for now. No plans with this yet though.
Although I LOVE it here, I cannot stay forever. I had planned to leave today, going to Dalia’s sister’s home (for a few days) when Dalia finished working. My clothes were clean, my backpack packed up nicely. But as it turns out, they felt water was too rough for me and my backpack to be comfortable and dry in Delia’s small boat, so I am back in my room up the hill, again enjoying the breeze from the fan above my head and the sounds of Roatan’s tropical jungle life and breezes outside my patio doors. Tonight’s dinner was a fabulous beef and shrimp kebab. It wasn’t quite Teriyaki. It is Dalia’s own concoction — a bit sweet and a bit spicy. Lucky for everyone who doesn’t get to eat Dalia’s cooking here, she is putting it in her recipe book.
Mango Rule Never hit a mango out of a tree. I suppose the tree doesn’t like to be hit because once you hit the tree its mangos turn sour. Just grab it instead. You can pull it off. You can twist it off. But be nice to the tree. (Mango lesson brought to you thanks to Shannon, who I hope and expect to see managing a resort one day soon.)
As you walk around the Mango Creek Property, or at least the parts by the housing and docks that most people walk when here, you cannot help noticing the very many holes in the ground. These are the land crabs’ holes. But try as I did, I never saw a crab inside any of them. The other night I had a delightful treat. As I stepped off the back porch in the dark, I noticed a shape moving on the ground just a step away. It was a land crab! Noticing me or feeling my step, it scooted under the step for safety but I could still see it. Then I noticed another, and two more! I watched them for a while. It was fun to see them slowly slide sideways.
Today I helped save the Conch again. The last couple of days here at Mango Creek Lodge, I have noticed Patrice pick up Conch and place them into deeper water. She’d explained that they like to climb up the shore to eat the sweet grass that grows there, but then on some hot days the tide goes out leaving them stranded. Patrice and Terry have created a safe zone for Conch because they’re being over fished. So I have taken to doing this when Patrice is focused on taking guests out snorkeling or such. Actually, last week I snorkeled for Conch too, carrying a mesh bag in which we collected the Conch and carried (swam) them into our safe area so they have a chance to live, grow, lay eggs, and help their population thrive. I must comfiest though, Conch were actually deeper than I like to go so Terry, […]
I left the boat today, partly because of my discomfort at lack of true answers and because it appears they are unlikely to actually go to Panama. I will be staying at Mango Creek Lodge for a few days. This is my view now: the beautiful tropical jungle of Roatan and the over-the-water cabanas!
This morning Irene and Robert came over from their boat, Flilat I was thrilled that I would have a chance to speak with them! They came to ask Skipper-man to translate a label that is in German. I greeted them, called Skipper-man, and then tried to stick around so I could speak with them afterward. But Skipper-man literally pushed me aside and off the bench, so I was unable to maintain a conversation or set up another meeting. Later, I mentioned to Skipper-man that I was glad they were here and he asked why. I told him, “she has a Mac and she invited me on board to fix some of my problems.” Then Skipper-man announced we were move to a buoy closer to the land. My hopes of connecting with Irene were dashed but I was thrilled that although we’d still be anchored out, separated by water, it would […]