BANANAS

The sh.. is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S.  The sh.. is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S.   Life is a little bananas here!

The weather has been bananas here the last few days.  It’s been raining almost steadily for the last 64 hours.  The elections and storm have pretty much shut down the island for the last few days.  Rita who was supposed to come in on Thanksgiving Day has been delayed for 4 days!  The planes won’t run and the ferries aren’t going in or out.  Last I heard she found a fellow traveler and they are in a hotel in la Ceiba, she’s safe and sound but desperately wants to be here (Fou wants her back too J). The elections start Sunday, but no one is allowed to serve alcohol from Saturday until Monday morning that, along with the rain, has left West End looking like a ghost town.  With all the rain the power went out again on Saturday nite with the rain pouring down right while I was watching Angels and Demons.

We also haven’t had bananas at the corner shop for last few days.  I’ve learned that sometimes we get them in, but sometimes we don’t.  The guy at the stand tells me “no hay” (there aren’t any) and when I ask why he says that the truck hasn’t come… hmmm.  If I want bananas I have to stock up when they are in.  Bananas rule here in Honduras, in more ways than one.  Of course, to eat they are cheap and pretty delicious… although it might be because they are a perfect snack before and after a dive.  Bananas are a big part of the politics too.  Over the country’s history two companies have emerged that intertwine the US and Honduras (well Central America).  Those two companies are Standard and United, ever heard of them?  Oh maybe by their other names- Dole and Chiquita?  The US has had a strong influence and paid close attention to our neighbors in the south because of the bananas and these companies.

Before I came, people would say are you sure you want to go to Honduras?  Wasn’t there a political coup recently?  Honduras has rewritten their constitution over 17 times since 1821, power has changed hands many times and may again with the election.  I was talking to a friend recently, well, he was talking and I was doing the listening.  He was talking about the riots in Tegucigalpa and how he had read about them from an eye-witness reporter who said that the news media, especially cnn had it all wrong.  One group was protesting and there were more than what the media reported and they were calm and cleaned up after themselves.  The other group was less calm, less people and didn’t clean up, in fact caused quite a mess and the media reported it all wrong.  Bananas, right?  Of course everyone has their side of the story, but where is the truth?  Well, the truth is Honduras, especially Roatan, is hurting economically because the US tourists aren’t coming because of the news of the political situation and swine flu (I had the swine flu in Boulder and aside from sleeping for 5 days in a row, I think it was fine).

When I first went to the supermarket in Coxen Hole my taxi driver and I passed by two rallies for the presidential candidates.   They were both very peaceful, music blaring and people dancing.  Altho I did notice one had more people than the other the only difference between the two rallies to me were the colors of their signs… blue and red.  Hopefully the elections will run smoothly for all parties involved. 

We celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday instead of Thursday because it’s been a little crazy.  First, Noelle was worried about the storm and the boats and wanted to have Rita come to the dinner.  Noelle’s boat is docked at the Blue Marlin right now (it’s name is Moody Blues) and the shop boat Slimy Doris is there too (they sold Slippery Dick a few years ago).  I wasn’t too blue that we didn’t celebrate on Thursday; it sure was slippery and slimy out.  (Was that a bit of a stretch J?  I’m super corny or maybe going bananas – I should stop now if I still want you guys to read my blog!)  Anyway, Noelle hosted the feast.  A few days before Robert, Massimo, Chase, Noelle and I had a field trip to Coxen Hole.  It was a lot of errands, mine was to get pumpkin pie ingredients.  No luck at the 2 supermarkets in Coxen Hole.  The next day we ventured to French Harbor… the supermarket there was so great!  They had pumpkin pie mix, but neither evaporated milk nor half of the spices required.  I gave up and decided to just buy apple and blueberry pie from the supermarket bakery.  Noelle cooked an amazing feast with Massimo and Chase’s help.  The entire shop came- Uwe, Dorte, Lindey and his wife Norma and daughter Sophia, Massimo, Robert, Gabriel, Chase, and of course me.

There was lots of eating, drinking, laughing, and a little show called Little Britain.  It was fun catching up with everyone and telling stories.  Noelle told a funny story about one of the cruise ship divers we had a few days before.  Apparently the guy was a hypnotist, his daughter was having trouble equalizing and with her sinuses.  Her dad was going to help her through hypnotism.  He kept telling her; “close your eyes and tell me where it hurts, but don’t touch it.”  Chase loves Little Britain (well all the guys and Noelle do) and there’s a skit with a hypnotist who says “Look into my eyes, look into my eyes”.  He of course said it to Noelle (Chase didn’t know he was a hypnotist by trade, he thought they were talking about hypnotism- maybe Chase was hypnotized).   Noelle said she tried her hardest not to bust up laughing and stay professional.  Lindey said he thought that the hypnotist was maybe hypnotizing Chase, but he didn’t remember the whole situation until we were talking about it on the nite of our dinner.  Lindey said maybe he was hypnotized.  Noelle said maybe he had hypnotized her too.  Then Noelle told us how the hypnotist was trying to help himself with equalizing.  He was tapping his head with his index and middle fingers on his forehead, sinuses and collarbones while repeating, “I will equalize, I can equalize, I will equalize, I can equalize.”  While Noelle was showing us this over and over with us busting up, Chase says “I can equalize too”, he plugs his nose and blows out.  Oh man, Dorte and I were crying from laughing at them.  This shit is bananas.

With all the rain and socializing I haven’t finished my Rescue Diver.  I have finished all the course work, but still need to do the scenarios in the water.  Next week is going to be more bananas… as my friend Todd said, if the scenarios aren’t hard then you won’t know how to deal with it in real life.  Oh shit!

 

hummingbird on a wire outside my house

Stop, Look and Listen

Tyll's Dive- where I spend most of my day

All successful gossip queens are good at one thing; listening.   Another good tool is to shut your trap, don’t give away information unless you can trust the source it’s going to.  On a small island and an even smaller town, I’m learning to not to add to the gossip train… at least not too much.  Being a good ear is better than having a big trap.  My dad always said a closed mouth gathers no foot, which I’m trying harder to do here then I do at home.  Thanks for the lesson Dad!  I’ve always loved history, reading and the social sciences which are totally related to gossip, at least in my mind.  I love justification too J

I’ve been learning a lot lately.  Reading, reading, reading.  Listening, listening, listening.  We finished two certifications recently… I’m now a DAN O2 provider along with an EMF.  “My name is your name, I’m a emergency first responder… may I help you?”  Massimo, Chase and I had fun with the “role playing” for EMF, well maybe I had a bit more fun then them!  A good gossip queen is also pretty dramatic and I have a flair for being dramatic at times.  For checking for breath on a unresponsive victim you stop, look and listen for their breath.  The three manuals I’ve been reading say the same thing when faced with a  potential crisis… Stop, Think, Act.  Kinda like stop, drop and roll, right?  Sometimes they throw in breathe too, just incase you forget.  Breathing is probably the most important, but a lot of the time we simply forget.  Not breathing under water is very bad.  #1 rule of  SCUBA diving “don’t hold your breath”.   It seems easy enough, but sometimes the hardest things to get are the simplest.

Today we had cruise shippers come to the shop.  7 of them!  Two were from Colorado, one was actually from Boulder.  And what do you know, he knows the same people I know.  His little sister used to be best friends with a little girl who used to live on my best friends growing up and also good friend with my best friend’s brother… see I’m such a gossip queen, could it get anymore detailed?  Since I’m still on the rescue course we figured that I’d get more in the way in the morning than help.  I went again to snorkel at half moon bay.  This morning the water visibility was pretty clear.  I saw a few hogfish, tons of blue tang, angelfish and the most majestic thing I’ve seen in the water so far.  It took my breath away, luckily I was just snorkeling.  A 6-foot in width eagle ray swam right underneath me.  It was gone as soon as I could catch my breath, off flying off to another part of the bay.  Later when I was looking at 4ft hogfish near the coral the eagle ray found me and swam around for a few minutes.  Being underwater is completely a foreign world and like Lindey, one of the dive masters at the shop who is our resident lionfish finder, has said to me, “sometimes you just sit and wait and the life comes to you.”  Looking up at the waves from below has also become a vision to see, it’s pretty mystical looking.  After the cruise shippers left we; Lindey, Gabriel and Monique (Mo who is the daughter in law of the blue marlin owners and also a dive instructor) and I went diving at Melissa’s reef.  We saw 4 turtles, about 5 huge groupers… almost the size of me and a 4 ft crab.  The cruise shippers had a great time, but I’m sure they would have loved to see 4 turtles in one dive!

Roatan has a huge problem with the lionfish and it’s only going to get worse.  Matt from the Marine Park who is also working for NOAA came by the other day to ask how many lionfish we had seen.  The Marine Park has been asking diver shops to keep track of the lionfish; where we see them, how many and at what depth.  Every time Lindey dives he seems to find some.  He says because he knows what to look for, but I think he’s a lionfish hunter.  Lionfish are not native to this area, they are extremely poisonous, they devour the coral and multiply quickly.  They have no natural predators in this environment and since the water is much warmer here than in their natural habitat they multiply at an accelerated rate.   Matt said that if we can catch them or kill them we can, but the Marine Park doesn’t have nets or spear guns that we can use.  It’s a bit of a catch22, but I’m going to do a little bit of investigating and if anyone in the US wants to help… let me know!

Today was the first time I was in the water for a few days.  I woke up one day with a  mosquito bite on my left eye and the next morning I woke up with a bite on the other.  I barely survived J but my eyes were so swollen.  It looked like I had been in a fight the nite before and eventho I gossip, I’m a lover not a hater.  No fighting.   I might have been able to dive, but I figured not to chance it.  The next two days were followed by course work and some gin rummy.

On Sunday nite I watched a little bit of the Broncos game at the Dive, we had a guy who came in who was a Cincinnati fan so we had to switch between the two games.  Almost the whole shop came to watch a bit of the game which was pretty fun hanging out away from the shop and work.  I met a guy who has been here for years named Jim, well he introduced himself as Jim Beam.  I told him I was Jack Daniels, so we were a pair.  He’d been skiing in Colorado back in the 70s and had a few stories to tell.  He’s a pretty cool guy and lives down the way from me.  He’s got the best laugh.   I met another guy who has lived in the mountains of Colorado but has been here for 18 years.  He calls himself Captain Ron or Caveman Ron because he used to do a lot of cave diving in Colorado.  He’s writing a book for his daughter of everything he can remember, he’s only up till high school so he’ll be writing for a while.  I love listening to peoples stories, just sitting back and watching it all happen.

Tomorrow I’m snorkeling again, more reading, the 11 o’clock dive and then Noelle and I are going to Coxen Hole to try and find ingredients to make pumpkin pie.  We are having a Thanksgiving Dinner at Noelle and Chase’s on Thursday for the whole shop!  If you can’t be with family for the holidays it’s good to be with new friends!

Molly

It’s Raining Cats and Dogs

11/19/09

Today’s dive in the rain ended up being one of my favorite dives so far, aside from being cold on the ride back. We went to Herbie’s Place to finish my Advanced Open Water certification.

For my Advanced Open Water dive I needed to study and do 5 different specialties; 3 were required- Peak Performance (controlling buoyancy underwater), Deep Diving (100ft) and Underwater Navigation (not getting lost). The deep dive was pretty fun, I had to complete a few tasks underwater at 100ft and then do it above water to see how different my reaction time was; who knew that putting shapes into the corresponding holes could be so much work! For my navigation, I had to make a square and a triangle under water using a compass. After I completed my tasks we roamed around. My last job was to find the boat using the compass; Never Eat Shredded Wheat. When I got back to the sandy patch I recognized Robert (my instructor) asked me where the boat was. I second-guessed my compass and pointed to the right, the boat was right above me! Important rule when diving, look above you and trust your compass! My two other specialties were Project AWARE (http://www.projectaware.org/) and drift diving.

This morning I went to Half Moon Bay and snorkeled before our dive. There was a little fish that swam right in front of my mask for most of the time. I felt like one of the groupers I had seen the day before on my AWARE dive being cleaned by the cleaner fish. At 10:30 we got ready for the dive while it was raining. For the drift dive we went out Herbie’s Place and on the way we found dolphins! There were little dolphins to midsize ones and tons of them. The dolphins swam in front of our boat just like the little fish did while I was snorkeling. For the dive we drifted in and out of the reef; finding moray eels, turtles, tons of fish and lobster. I felt like I was flying, I didn’t really have to swim too much but at times thought I was going the wrong way or might get lost. I had to keep clearing my mask because I have a problem with smiling underwater! It’s pretty amazing being underwater, I’m kinda in love with it.

Everyone said I’d fall in love here and I have- with the water. It’s like Sex and the City- Carrie’s most important love and relationship is with the city. I’m definitely following my friend Lanai’s advice and not dating any of the locals. I have been asked out a few times, but I feel like I have too much to do as is and Lanai would kill me ☺. It’s not raining men! I start my Rescue Diver probably next week along with my Emergency First Responder and then I think around the first of December I’ll start my Dive Master Training.

Last night I had a great talk with the owners of the Blue Marlin who are from Holland: Linda and Robert (not to be confused with Robert my dive instructor who is Irish). I asked Robert tons of questions about doing business on the island; he’s quite an accomplished businessman. Along with the other things he does on the island he also is one of the partners for ReMax real estate here, they do commercial and residential. He, like a lot of the people on the island, has a dream to own his own boat someday (although I’m sure he could afford it) and of course he gave me great insight on that too! Their son runs the bar, but is currently back in Europe with his family. Fou and Rita work at the Blue Marlin. I really haven’t gone anywhere else- it’s right across the dive shop. I’m not boozing at all either for money and safety reasons. Sibyll, the other swiss gal I met through them, is off on her next adventure in Costa Rica and Bolivia. Rita is in Switzerland for a week or so for a friend’s wedding; so I’ve been hanging out with the boys- Massimo, Gabriel and Fou. They’re pretty great for letting me tag along, making me dinner and letting me sing off key while Massimo and Fou strum on the guitar.
     Fou at the Blue Marlin

                   Gabriel at the Blue Marlin

There have been a few cruise ships the last few days. Someone had a great idea to fix the potholed dirt road the day 3 cruise ships were in port. (I’m so glad Dorte told me not to bring heels!) The method for fixing the street was to bring in piles of what looked to be broken down rocks and dump them in huge piles along the road and then run the big tractor over it with it’s scoop, then put sand on top. The result ended up being quick sand holes, a lot of noise and a lot of confusion. It occupied almost the entire afternoon leaving the tourist buses waiting for them to fix it. I also saw a camera crew filming a little bit of it, oh Central America! Everyone has their opinion of what they should do with the road and how to fix it, from locals to transplants to the tourists- just ask.

When I lived in Costa Rica my good friend Aubrey said that what CR needed was Bob Barker from the Price is Right. Why you might ask? Well, because at the end of each show he would tell people to spay and neuter their cats and dogs. Truer words have never been spoken and yes, it applies in this Central American country too. It’s pretty sad to see the street dogs with their ribs poking out and huge balls hanging down! There is one dog that had been running around, super skinny with mange and sad eyes. Noelle, who is a transplant-local and Chase’s mom (Chase is the current Dive Master Trainee), tried to feed him some of her granola bar one day. She’s got a heart of gold especially for animals. Later we were sitting at the shop playing cards/reading/studying and we heard a huge yelp. The poor dog came running in front of our shop and the Blue Marlin to Linda and Noelle. We all thought a car had hit him because some of the cars were going fast now that they had “fixed” the road. Linda and Robert ended up taking the poor dog in and naming him Blue for his sad eyes and for the bar. Linda says she hopes he’ll end up being the bar dog, but since he’s been independent for so long it might not happen.

I found another friend closer to home. It’s an orange and white cat that comes around my apartment. It’s so sweet and is definitely well fed, not a street cat. Laura said the cat belongs to the owners of the Mariposa Hotel. It keeps on trying to come into my house. Last nite I heard some cats fighting, I hope it wasn’t my new friend. There are also two dive shop cats- LoFat and Molly. Molly sleeps on the roof of the Blue Marlin all day and LoFat runs in and out of the shop. They don’t really like to be petted and do their own thing.

Last nite I heard the strangest barking. It sounded like it was coming from the inside of my apartment. I think it’s a bat, there are tons of them at nite. I hope there isn’t a bat in my apartment. Although bats eat insects… do they eat mosquitoes? I love spiders cuz they eat insects. The mosquitoes are still devouring me, but I hope it’s subsiding and I’m no longer fresh meat.
Tonite it’s raining. I’m deciding whether to stay in or go to see a local band called the Genitals play at the Dive. Apparently Bryan the musician is amazing, not like me singing with the Swiss boys. The Dive is a new bar/restaurant it opened last week and it’s owned by Olaf the Swede from Texas. Should I stay or should I go now?

Lost in Translation

Another day in paradise and getting used to it. Today was a beautiful day and the waves were nice and calm, the water was clear and a brilliant blue, Caribbean blue? Yesterday was my first day back in the water. Robert (the dive instructor- who is awesome) took me out to do a refresher course; filling the mask halfway, all the way and then taking it completely off and clearing it. A little anxiety, but definitely needed to get comfortable with it- even if it means doing it over and over until I get comfortable. We then went to Mandy’s Eel Garden, although it was cloudy from the recent storms and a little cold in parts it was a good dive for my first back.

Today we went to Turtle Crossing and I saw my first turtle! It was munching on some coral with an angel fish picking up the crumbs… kinda like the red ants in my apartment. But the ants definitely aren’t angel fish, but I do sorta feel like the turtle. ☺ The water was crystal clear and I remembered the why I fell in love with diving in Aruba. We saw a smaller turtle and then a giant lobster hanging underneath a rock, along with tons of other aquatic life (or the life aquatic- another Bill Murray reference), but I’m a little lost on the identification- I need Troy to help me! Have to focus on my breathing, well; have to focus on a lot of stuff… step by step- one thing at a time- just like a turtle. Also remembering the signals underwater and how to communicate without words and only signals- trying not to get lost. I start my Advanced open water on Monday with my Peak Performance- which focuses on buoyancy and breathing! One breathe at a time.

Finally got gas, no not that kind of gas… propane gas. Now I can cook, know where it comes from, who to blame if I get sick and more importantly- save my money. My apartment is slowly becoming my home. I carried my water up the hill from the dive shop the other day; I looked like crazy American woman. I understand now why my Costa Rican host mom swept every day after I saw the evil red ants lurking by some unseen crumbs. I cooked my own dinner tonite; beans, potato, onion, ham and an egg in a tortilla… life is good when you can make your own food and don’t have to ask for a baleada (tortilla that they sell across from the dive shop) sin queso con frijoles and wonder whether to chance it with the chicken; but they do taste so good. (Long sentence, breathe.) It’s pretty cheap too; it’s about $1.60 for a home cooked meal. For the first time ever I’m budgeting on an expense report like my friend Todd, every little detail. Excel has become my new best friend. Figuring how much things cost and figuring out how to make excel work for me. Those sums and formulas in Excels are definitely a different language. But step by step, cell by cell.

Oh and I got my computer finally connected to the wireless network, although I still have to buy a port and pay for the monthly amount. Massimo says he will sell me his port after he leaves in 2 months to go back to Switzerland… hmmm patience is a virtue right? In other technical news, got my loaned dive computer to work. Some local said he will help me use it, but I have to get a new battery. It cost $10 at the dive shop Sueno del Mar, but they don’t have any in stock so I’ll have to wait a week. Maybe I should have listened to the friend who loaned it to me and gotten one before I left? Nah, live life on the edge. ☺

Last nite, hung out with my neighbor girls for a bit and my island best friend Beyonce, she’s 8 and is on summer vacation. The girls fed me pasta with sauce (they put sugar in it, free food and I shouldn’t complain). I offered to clean up with Beyonce who told me that when she grows up she wants to help people- like be a doctor or a cook. When I was her age, I think had no idea what I wanted to be… oh shoot, still don’t! Sorry mom and dad! I told Beyonce that I had to do the dishes every nite after dinner when I was her age. I told her how I clean up, step by step- dishes, cups, silverware and then pots. It’s good to have a method, especially with no dishwasher! If you don’t have a method it’s easy to get overwhelmed and not want to do it, I need to remember that for myself!

After dinner the Black Dragon, a guy named Randy came over; he’s a local who reads cards- very mystical. A little spooky, but he read mine and they were right on. They said I was a believer in love and I could see love in everything and in people- duh, I had a toga party where I was Aphrodite and I’m a little obsessed with Emma and being a matchmaker- although only one has really worked out: Ivy and Britt. (Breathe, that was a really long sentence.) We had a nice little chat and then I went to the Blue Marlin bar to listen to a pretty good cover band and hung out with the Swiss family Robinson… (Massimo, Gabriel, Sibyll, Fou and Rita). I just made that up, I think I’m pretty witty. They are really nice people and they all know each other from home. They speak Swiss to each other; they speak English when they are talking to me but of course speak Swiss to each other. Did you get that? Sometimes I feel like I’m a little lost in translation with the Swiss. Actually I can understand a bit, just from inflections and sometimes paying attention to the words, but then I get lost in my own thoughts.

Not lost in Spanish translation though. Oh Spanish, I really do love you! Well, of course I have to correct myself, conjugate those verbs and speak slower but those years of school might have actually helped (ha ha). Marcos the boat captain and I spoke for a while today. He is extremely sweet and a good guy. He told me I have to practice speaking Spanish with him. He also asked me if I would be his girlfriend; I told him it would be better to be friends than novios, he doesn’t completely agree with me but I do. Then on the way to get my groceries in Coxen Hole at the real supermarket my taxi cab driver and I spoke Spanish the entire way. It’s funny both of the conversations begin with… so you speak Spanish, un poco right? Do I have a sign on my forehead or do they ask everyone that; for that I’m definitely lost.

Tomorrow is Sunday. I’m thinking about sleeping in or maybe getting up early to go swimming- hmmm, that sounds nice- I’ll have that. Was that lost in translation or did you get that movie reference?

Mosquito count: definitely around 30.

What a world, What a world... I'm melting

Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.

Yes, I made it safe and sound. Had a short layover Tuesday nite in the gang and AIDS capital of this side of the continent last nite in San Pedro Sula. Stayed in a nice hostel last night called Tamarindo Hostel, met 2 nice Swiss guys and a Norwegian. Yep, I stayed in a dorm last nite with 3 guys… brown chicken brown cow. My flight this morning stopped in la Ceiba on my way to Roatan. Apparently there is some hurricane called Ida that decided to grace our presence and shut down the power all day. I prefer to call it Hurricane Jacquie, but with those hurricanes- they switch off the gender alphabetically, so I guess that doesn’t really work, but I can pretend.

Mom, I’m fine, I made it safe and sound.

Hurricane Jacquie is here. Dorte, my dive-mom told me to get a taxi from 50 meters from the airport and that it shouldn’t cost more than $5. What is 50 meters you ask; well it’s to the road, not too far but across the parking lot. I exited the airport; a very cute taxi driver asked me where I was going. I said West End, he said $15, I said $5. He looked at me like I was crazy, my mama didn’t raise no foo ( you’ll get the reference later). I walked to the street, the same driver was driving out of the airport, crooked his head out the window and said $8? I shook my head and held up my five fingers and said no, $5. He laughed and drove off. Another taxi came by, where you going? I said West End, how much? They said $10, I said no $5. They sped off, next 2 cabs come, I say $5 and one takes me. It’s a collective cab so we pick up people along the way. First, is an American girl with her Honduran boyfriend. He needs to be dropped off at his mom’s house and she’s badgering him that he needs to pay his fare before he gets out… I can see this relationship ending from a mile away, or from the mile that I was with them. He gets out and pays her entire fee, she says I love you; they kiss. Blah blah blah. It’s never gonna work. We pick up a native, American girl leaves. The driver and the native speak about some sad girl (gringa) who got pregnant by some native… my Spanish isn’t really up to par, but my gossip is always on. Native gets out. New native gets in with her daughter. The driver asks her if she knows where Tyll’s dive is. She says yes, she complains that the cruise ship is in town and she has to go back to work. Apparently the cruise ship is departing from Roatan today instead of Cancun and they had to direct everyone here.

I get out of the cab at Tyll’s. Dorte greets me with a big hug and Uwe smiles and says Hi Jacquie. Awe. I love them already.

It’s pouring and has been pouring all day. No dives today, just rum and water. This kid is talking and I can’t place what he reminds me of, then it hits me… I’m in Roatan with a younger version of Lanai. I meet Lindi, Jenny, Rita, her boyfriend Fou (not for Fou man chew or mama didn’t raise no foo but for Fou as in crazy- which could be a joke), Massimo (who is getting his DM) who tells me Rita is his future ex-wife, a really nice guy… Robert, a couple others straggle in and out, my mind is a little fuzzy. I finally tell the kid who reminds me of Lanai that he reminds me of him, he says that’s such a compliment because he taught him his advanced water certification and thinks he’s the bomb. His name is Ryan. He’s such a nice guy and reminds me so much of Lanai.

After a few Rum and waters and a nice meal from the chupi chapi’s (or whatever it’s called) across the way, Dorte shows me a place where I can stay. A little boy of 8 shows us the apartment. It’s perfect and at an excellent price. I say I’ll take it and the little boy gives me the key. I love you Honduras.

Back at the shop, we drink a little more… then Lindi helps me move my big bag to my place. I’m unpacking and I hear a knock on the door. I open it, expecting to see the landlord asking for payment but it’s an American lady and the cutest little girl name Beyonce, yes named after Beyonce. They live next door and want me to come over for a beer; do I drink? Yes. Bernadette, Laura and Beyonce. They are very helpful and nice. Laura is from Atlanta and talks like a southerner and Bernadette, I think is her name… sorry there’s been a lot of names today, talks very fast but is from the island. They are both Cancers and have their own language. Beyonce is Bernadette’s daughter, we are gonna be friends.

The power is still out. They tell me about moonshine that comes in a bottle that they sell at the corner shop. We should go to the store to get some, I’m not going to drink it, but I need some supplies. We walk over, by the way it’s been raining off and on all day, we walk over and the store is locked but they are letting people in one at a time because the electricity is out. I get minimal supplies; I need to get a gas tank and water supply from the landlord. As we are walking back, I tell the ladies I’m going to stop in at the dive shop. We part ways, more rum and water, more pouring rain. Still no electricity.

After a while, Uwe and Dorte close up shop, we go across the way where Fou works. The Blue Marin, it’s got a great view of the water. Hang out for a little bit. Massimo walks me home in the rain, such a nice guy- we’re gonna be friends. Electricity is back on. YAY!

I’m living super close, across from the Mariposa hotel for those that know the area or for my dad who we bought the Lonely Planet for. Pictures later, computer being slow.






The water hasn’t dampened my spirit, it’s a great way to start off an adventure, nice and slow. Thank you Dorte for being so amazing!! I’m not melting from the humidity but I hate mosquitoes! I think I have 4 mosquito bites… I hate you mosquitoes. What a world, what a world.

i hope you dance

my girls danced for me. i love them. tear.

11, 10, 09...

Dear Central America,

I love you and all your quirks; I hope you can love mine.

I just realized that traveling to Central America is kinda like taking a local train through Queens. Yep, that’s right, a local train and a local plane… same difference. I read recently that Matthew Perry said “I never understood the expression same difference”, who knew Chandler was so witty? So, same difference, except one is in a plane, not a train and of course Central America is a little bit bigger than Queens, although not by much. ☺ There might be a few other differences, but I don’t have too much battery power left. I hated taking the train to Queens; first off who goes to Queens? I’m sure it’s nice, but it takes forever to get where you need to go. And it feels like a 3rd world country when you get there. My friend Ray dragged me to an all white party one summer and I felt like my white clothes were gonna stain in the summer heat and the dirty subway train. Luckily I arrived without a spot only to spill my drink on myself within the first minutes of getting there. Brills. Back to my local plane, my flight from Houston to Roatan stops just a few places, no biggie… I’ve always wanted to go to Belize and San Salvador, but maybe for a bit longer than a look out the window or the airport. I’m sure they will make me change seats every time we have a different stop; at least that’s what my ticket says. I really do love you Central America, you are just a little quirky. PS the Taca Airplane is so much nicer than my plane from Denver to Houston. See, it’s just likes taking a local train through Queens- I remember those trains being really clean to the dirty ones in NYC.

My mom said this morning, as we were getting ready today that the date was 11/10/09. I’m kinda into those things, although I didn’t do anything on 09/09/09 but a good girl friend did get married on 06/07/08. I love taca, they just gave me a sandwich… when did we get food on flights? When I was young we would go to Mexico City a lot and I remember the food was so good and came on real plates and we had real silverware. I loved flying with my grandmother to Mexico City, we’d dress up and it would be an event and we got to hang out with the Diaz’s. So, 11/10/09 sounds like a great day to start an adventure. It’s like a spaceship count-down only starting at 11, same difference right? Well, at least I can entertain myself…

So here’s a quirky list for count down 11, 10, 09…

8. I wish I could bring a nail clipper with me on the plane, I always seem to break my nails… currently I have 2. I hate having broken ragged nails. I used to bite my nails when I was younger, but I hated having my mom nag me. I think that’s why I was a good kid. I hated her telling me what to do. Mom, excellent parenting skills- I love you!

7. Nuts are always a great snack on an airplane. They are so yummy and not too dirty.

6. I usually get window seat, even if I don’t request it. I’m pretty lucky ☺. I hate sitting middle, just cuz I’m short doesn’t mean that it doesn’t suck.

5. I don’t usually drink on planes… two non-alcoholic drinks I love are Ginger Ale and Bloody Mary Mix. I used to freak out when the attendant came by trying to figure which I wanted as well as there is a difference between the Bloody Mary Mix and regular tomato juice. I would blank out on the name for Bloody Mary Mix when I was younger. I think my blog might be sharing too much, but I have quirks and so does Central America and it’s creative wrtting, right?

4. a music mix is a must for any new venture. Whether it’s a mood change, a new love, a break up mix, a love song mix for yourself (think love songs that you would sing to yourself), a party or a flight you need some good tunes. A theme song is also important. My plane mix currently starts with Dreams by the Cranberries (Sabe’s theme song), it has a little Faith (for Anne B.), Meet me Halfway (for Vanessa and my trip theme), a little MGMT and Imogen Heap (to remind me of Court and Meg) and of course my personal theme song I Will by the Beatles. (it’s my love song to myself). Music is essential.

3. Taking off always reminds me of Sabrena. We were a little obsessed with the movie French Kiss when we were younger. Meg Ryan is the main character who is terrified of flying but has to fly to France to save her relationship with her cheating fiancé. She took a class where they taught her to have mantra or song to say while taking off- her’s was “I love Paris in the Springtime.” We sang it on our way to Europe one summer. Sabe also told me that you have to count when you are taking off; if you can get up to like 120 you won’t die. Ok, I don’t remember the number, but I remember her being neurotic about it.

2. Why do they put up the curtain in first class? Is there bathroom that much better than ours?

1. I just realized the tv screen in front of me works. Loves to you alls!