The Roatan Story

Lori Writes:

Since our last update, we have much to share regarding the progress of our house, businesses, and daily life on Roatan. Some readers may have noticed that it has been more than a year since I participated in writing a chapter. Mark has periodically hinted, and occasionally nagged me about neglecting the story.  In response, I invented a multitude of excuses. But, over time it has become evident that many people follow our experiences because they themselves intend to move here and hope to gain insight into this different way of life.  Knowing there is an interest and not wanting to disappoint my husband further, I decided to write again.

The reasons I argued to justify my lack of motivation to compose another chapter at first glance appear to be contrived. However, there is some truth in all my excuses. One of my favorites is after being bombarded with bizarre circumstances on a regular basis; these peculiarities begin to feel normal and therefore not newsworthy.  Secondly, unimaginative as it may sound, it really is true that I have been too busy to write.  Adding further to this “lack of time excuse”, Mark and I are now on Face Book and it only takes a few minutes a day to share thoughts, experiences, and pictures, with most of our family and friends. Yet another rationale I came up with after hearing opinions from friends that also live here is the idea that it is important to keep all reports of living in paradise as upbeat as possible. Sorry folks but it ain’t always sweet and if I can’t write what I feel to be true, I don’t feel inclined to share at all. This notion leads me to my final excuse and the one most closest to the truth. This past year in Roatan for me has been different from the previous two in that the initial infatuation has subsided and I am left with the reality of day to day life. I have learned that I moved here under some false assumptions. Living in paradise does not automatically guarantee unlimited happiness. What I have discovered is although it was a joy to leave a routine and mundane existence, there are trade-offs involved that I did not foresee.

For one, I imagined that leaving behind all the stress of work schedules, bill paying, traffic jams, etc., would lead to a closer, stronger, and happier relationship with Mark.  We were content before so sharing paradise should be bliss, right? HAH!  What I failed to anticipate was the stress our role changes in this life (particularly my role) was going to cause. I came from a career with a decent wage which provided me with independence, freedom, and feelings of self-worth. Here I am the accountant, maid, and cook. It doesn’t pay in money and isn’t very fulfilling. Mark sensed my dissatisfaction while he was dealing with pressures of his own. He is under constant strain in his attempts to be a successful businessman in a foreign country. Before either of us realized what the issues were, we both went around stressed out all the time and it wasn’t very blissful. Mark and I are with one another almost 24/7. One day I finally told him if we are going to be together all the time, we should be enjoying it.  This led to some serious discussions where we both learned a great deal. Although it is a work in progress (aren’t all relationships?), we have come a long way in feeling more comfortable with our new roles and have a better understanding of each other’s position.  I have found too that other women here share some of the negative feelings of dependence on their spouses and disconnectedness from female companionship.  We are a strong and ingenious bunch though and have found relief through gatherings we call “girl parties”. These consist of afternoon get togethers where we eat tons of food, have a few drinks, and joke about our men folk.  Also, one of the girls here received a Ouija board as a gift recently and had the bright idea that since the locals are superstitious, we should hold séances and maybe the rumor would spread that we were a coven of witches and therefore scare off any would-be thieves. I’d be much worse off without this wonderful, imaginative, bunch of women.

Another trade-off I didn’t anticipate fully was how much I would miss my family. Again, this may be something that affects women more than men or maybe I am just biased. I don’t know for sure.  I had always lived in close proximity to my parents and sisters and we gathered often to celebrate birthdays and holidays.  I feel sad at times knowing I am missing spending time with them.  It is even more distressing to be so far away from my children and granddaughter. I do still go back about once a year to visit and my kids have been here to see us. This is not such a painful issue as to make me want to move back to Florida. It is just another disadvantage of living in paradise that I hadn’t fully realized ahead of time.  Thank goodness for the tools that technology provides.  If they aren’t on Face Book, these people I love are only an email or phone call away.

Here is a couple pics from my visit to Florida in March 2010:

Family Birthday Celebration

With my Sister, Leslie, Mom, my Son, Alex & Girlfriend, Carrie

The last two “downers” of living in paradise I wouldn’t call trade-offs but I was certainly naive about both in the beginning. During the excitement of infatuation, they seem trivial and unimportant and it is only when you come down from the passionate high and see life without the rose colored glasses that you begin to perceive sickness and crime at the very least disheartening and at times, quite frightening. No matter how cautiously you approach food and drink, live here long enough and a bacteria or parasite is gonna get ya. Once you’ve finished your course of meds to treat that you will find yourself buying cream to cure the strange fungus growing on your skin. While applying the fungus cream, watch out for the scorpions, spiders, malaria and dengue fever carrying mosquitoes looking to bite. These phenomena can be a nuisance, and when you’re stressed to begin with, can become overwhelming. I have learned to cope and even feel as if I have begun to build a tolerance to some of the stomach bugs. However, I can’t imagine ever tolerating any level of crime. Of course it can be found anywhere you go, paradise or not. The difference I have experienced here is it strikes so close to home. I have never lived any place where so many victims of crime are friends or acquaintances (This could be due to my never living in a small community).  In general, our response has been to be cautious (“home before dark” rule), take extra security measures at home, and work at cultivating reputations for being crazy, gun slinging gringos that don’t take any crap. Mark was recently dubbed “Rambo” for some crime fighting steps he took.  Cruiser friends that have come back year after year had their dinghy engine and gas tank stolen in the middle of the night while anchored in Calabash Bight. The local police were contacted but did basically nothing and wanted to be paid for their (lack of) services. Mark took it upon himself to search out the local thief, who was camping out nearby. Mark not only retrieved the stolen items but proceeded to chop his Cayuga (wooden canoe) in half with a machete hoping to deter his illegal activities. Our cruiser friends were very appreciative and it earned Mark another badge for being a scary gringo you don’t want to mess with.  On a side note, we do still see the thief paddling around in his half a boat. It is a funny sight and I don’t know how he keeps the thing afloat.

Okay, that is enough of that. I apologize if I have depressed anyone with my woes. I hope instead you are laughing at me for being so ignorant to presume life would be trouble free just because I relocated. Even though I have always known that it all has to do with attitude, I stupidly imagined there was an easy road to a perfect life.  And, although that was a ridiculous notion, it has been an interesting challenge. I will never understand why we tend to take for granted so easily all the good in life and focus so often on the bad. As part of my self-inflicted attitude adjustment training, I began forcing my attention on all I forgot to appreciate. To be honest, this also inspires me to write as I can brag about how wonderful life is!  I never thought it would happen but after almost three years of crawling out of bed in the morning WHEN EVER I WANTED, I almost forgot what a joy it is. I open my eyes and look out to the beautiful blue sea. It has become Maggie’s habit to listen for my stirring and jump on the bed to greet me with slobbery dog kisses.  Then Mark, who has been awake before sunrise, brings me a steaming cup of coffee. No alarm clock, no hurry to rise to any commitments. It is glorious. The day is all mine to do whatever I please. Now tell me, who wouldn’t put up with a little skin fungus to enjoy such freedom?

We have plenty more to boast about too and my amazing husband gets most of the credit.  I act as a sounding board for all his crazy ideas and sometimes my reasoning wins out.  But, I am up against someone who has an inexplicable sense of knowing beforehand the probable result of a particular action. I am not explaining this well but Mark embodies an intuition that somehow pays off nine times out of ten.  You may think, Bravo!  What a talent!  But try living with it.  I do believe his ability is mostly based in his expert capabilities to gather and process information and therefore make informed decisions. I envy his drive and suggest that anyone choosing to live a challenging life either adopt these practices or hang with someone who does.  It is tough waking to that first cup of coffee and trying to absorb the bulk of his latest research.  He is animated and talking a hundred miles a minute. I love hearing what inspires him but struggle to comprehend it through my grogginess and to hear with Maggie’s tongue in my ear.  As I have expressed with pride, I appreciate his uncanny ability.  From my perspective it can be difficult only when he has no factual data to back his grandiose ideas. More often than not though, his visions are correct and we have success stories to prove it.  When sorting though the options he proposed, the Turtlegrass “Mini Marina” appealed to me most. If you read Chapter 17, you know we followed through with that endeavor.  Looking back, it was frightening how much money we had to lay out initially. Then again, I have never been in business for myself.  Does the risk factor ever get less scary?  This operation has been such a hit; we are now considering an expansion. So, Mark and I add up the cost and I begin having small heart attacks again. At this juncture, we are once again waiting to see if the pile driving barge/crane will come to Calabash.  A month ago, the owner said, “Two weeks mon”.  I am hoping they appear in the next two months. I am not going to stress out about it but celebrate how incredible it has been.  Our slips have been full for the past year and we have people waiting for notification of a vacancy. We are in a prime location for boat owners wishing to leave a boat safely in storage while they travel home or to other land based adventures (small sales pitch here). During the cruising season this past winter, we had boats coming in for a few days, weeks, and even months.  I have heard that it was a record year regarding the number of cruising sailboats that visited Roatan. We had them constantly coming and going in our bight. We hosted college football bowl parties, an NFL Super Bowl party, and parties just because a new boat arrived and we just had to.  The few times I was too exhausted to host, the cruisers had parties on our dock and at the Turtle Shack.  I still remember how great it was to hear the laughter rising and wishing I had the strength to go down, hear the latest joke, and share in the lobster feast. These recollections have me smiling at the moment and feeling incredibly lucky to have shared time with so many kind, generous, intelligent, and hysterically funny travelers. I have complained about all the false assumptions that hit me unexpectedly but they cannot compare to the sheer joy of connecting with wonderful people. The only downside which I think I have expressed previously but am a constant problem is making new best friends and then they leave, some never to be seen again. That part is agonizing but “better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all”. Oh yeah, that insight is helpful. On the “Up” side (my positive attitude training might be hopeless but I am trying), some of these people run the same cruising circuit more than once. They hug us good-bye and promise to see us next season. For those that are continuing world travels, most have stayed in touch via email or radio. It is awesome to live vicariously through their ongoing exploration. Most have also communicated good things about Turtlegrass to other boaters and we have visitors who arrive and say, “I heard about you when we were on the other side of the world”. How fabulous is that?

Cruisers have a Party on our Dock

Bill and his Lobster

Visiting Cruisers in Calabash Bight

Nancy and Local Vegetable Merchants

Local Fisherman Brings the Days Catch Right To Us

Mark Doing the Pole Dance to Install Bill's New Nav Light

Mark Writes:

Recently Lori and I have been talking about updating the story. But we have found ourselves so busy with house construction and working out the kinks in our Mini Marina and other business ventures so it is difficult to find any spare time.  As Lori pointed out I am also finding it to be true that what once seemed ridiculous has now started to feel normal. The other day, I received a call about some anchoring fees the local municipal is attempting to charge all the local residents and visiting cruising yachts. Making a long story short, everyone was in an uproar and many complained to government officials and such. I have not heard another word about this “fee” but I did receive a call from the U.S. Consulate inquiring about some aspects of this “anchoring fee” and also some other suspicious things going on around here that they have received complaints about. I tell them only what I see personally and then again realize that it just seems so normal anymore…..

I did enjoy the cruising season immensely. I follow and participate in all the single sideband radio nets.  Many of the visitors to Calabash Bight were those I had made previous radio contact with. It was great when they decided to visit us. As Lori said, we delight in meeting cruisers and want them all to have a great time while here. I was also fortunate to have my sister, Kevi, and daughter, Christie, come stay during this time as well.

Mark and Kevi Ready to Snorkel

Kevi Goes Sailing With Bill and Gail on Another Road

Mark and Christie in the Mangrove Channel

Party Time with Cruisers and Christie

Over the summer, we also had the opportunity to meet a college student who is on island for at least a year to study the indigenous ridge tail (Coedirhina) iguanas. She came to Roatan with an array of equipment and not only studies their behavior but catches and tags them as well. Since our property is home to several of these creatures, we invited the researcher over and I installed a weather station she brought as part of her ongoing study. On one visit, I chased one but found they are a bit vicious and was bitten. So, we set traps. Lori agreed to scout out iguana poop and put in collection bags (if she could gather it before Lamb chop discovered it as a tasty treat).  This has been another fascinating and fun activity for me. Also, the weather station, we named, “wishwilly” and can be accessed at: http://www.weatherlink.com/user/wishwilly/ turned out to be an excellent reporting tool when Hurricane Richard passed north of us in October. The information reported by wish willy was used by the National Hurricane Center in Miami as well as Weather Underground. Thankfully, no serious damage was reported on the island due to this storm.

Stesha and Her Captured and Tagged Iguana

See the Blue Bead on the Neck?

Doobie, our Yellow Nape Amazon parrot is home once again after a walkabout of one year and three months.  Our friend, Gail, was passing through BJ’s Bar and Grill and heard a parrot saying “Lamb Chop, Lamb Chop”.  She was quick to remember that our Doobie used to say that all the time and contacted me right away. Doobie began hollering our dog’s name after hearing Lori and I yell so many times while Lamb Chop was a puppy and constantly getting into everything.  We had a short reunion at BJ’s and I managed to get Doobie into a box for the boat ride home.  After about a week and with help from my friend, Joe, to clip his wings to calm him down, he began the dialog we used to love and had missed so much. I am still amazed by the unlikely events that brought us back together.  I also think maybe someone that spoke Spanish may have had a hand in his being gone so long because now he knows some Spanish. “Lolito” is the favorite new word (this translates as a young man who engages in inappropriate behavior with older women).

Mark and Doobie

Our other bird tale doesn’t end on such a happy note. We acquired a sweet male Lovebird from friends in Port Royal and named him “Dino”.  Shortly after, we adopted a female from a friend who was moving away from the island. We dubbed her, “Dixie”. One morning, while Lori still slept, and I was filling my coffee cup, I saw some strange movement through the kitchen window. I quickly realized that a long Yellow Vine snake was hanging from the Lovebird’s cage. I dashed outside and saw that the snake had Dixie’s head in its mouth. With a good tug, I released the bird and then found myself with a seven foot writhing, angry snake in my hand. I hollered to Lori who woke up and stumbled into the kitchen. I yelled, “Bring me a knife!” She came out on the porch with a two inch paring knife and when she saw the exasperated look on my face she ran back inside and brought a huge butcher knife that I proceeded to kill the snake with.  Unfortunately, Dixie did not survive. To ensure Dino would not encounter the same fate, we returned him to Port Royal.  I also told Lori, for future reference, if I yell for a knife, PLEASE bring the biggest one she can find.

Kevi with Dixie and Dino

Although not finished to Lori’s standards, we have made progress on the house. She now has a kitchen, an indoor shower, guest bathroom (except for the shower as we have yet to accomplish that).

The New Kitchen

The New Shower with Hot Water! 

 Recently I have also started brewing her beer. It is an ale style which I am trying to perfect or at least make drinkable.

Lori Bottling Away

And as what usually happens with me, this venture led me off on a tangent and I find that I also like making wine from the local fruit.  Actually, I am getting really good at it.  I am making mango wine that we labeled, “Mango Tango” and Pineapple wine called “Pina De La Vino”. I love doing this (and have dubbed myself the “Turtlegrass Vintner”). I do not drink alcohol myself so still wondering where this desire to make the most delectable nectar possible derives from.  I must have some recessive gene in me from a distant relative that was very strong in fermenting beverages because I am going nuts with it now. Heck, I am actually making labels, finding bottles, and making wine in larger batches because the stuff just flies out the door!  Mangoes here are seasonal, from end of December until about April or so, driving me to make as much wine as I can out of them while the fruit is at hand.  What really brought all this on was the fact that I kept seeing all these mangoes on the ground rotting away. Gee, I wonder what could one do with all these mangoes that would keep all year long? Hmmmmm…I knew Lori wasn’t crazy about the taste of the fruit itself but I convinced her to try my wine and to her surprise, she loved it.  So, I have been making wine ever since and trying all kinds of the local fruit. If anyone ever tells you that making wine is easy they are making it from a box kit.  Making it from scratch in Honduras isn’t a walk in the park either.  Just trying to find a wine bottle supplier is a grueling task.  After three months of searching I thought I finally found a supplier, whoopee. It turns out their version of a wine bottle is a champagne bottle and unfortunately a style I cannot use for many reasons. So back to the search but this time I am looking in the U.S. since I now know for certain there are none to be had in Honduras. Oh, I did find a manufacturer in Mexico but I have to buy 383,000 bottles for about $1700.00. Now that isn’t bad but I don’t need anywhere near that many bottles. Ah the challenges of conducting business in Central America. So while I researched avenues for getting this venture off the ground, I took some time to create a website that I will expand on as the project progresses:

www.roatanwinery.com

Doobie our Mascott Introduces Mango Tango

Lori Writes:

The above was written back in August of this year. It is now December and I am bound and determined to get this chapter posted to our site before 2011.  As you might imagine, much has transpired over the past several months and I will attempt to play “catch up” now.

In September, I made the big decision to go back to Florida for three months. My reasoning was two-fold. I had the motherly intuition that my daughter could use my help and support through a divorce and I was also seriously focused on finding employment to build up some funds to finish our house here. Over the summer, Mark began to voice his practical thinking by saying, “We can’t spend money if it isn’t going to make money”. His logic is fine and dandy but I want the house done! So away I flew. It was wonderful to spend time with family and friends but since the economy is in the crapper, I didn’t get a single call back after filling out thirty job applications. Then, in mid-October, a friend of a friend of the family (isn’t that how it always goes?) hired me to do some work that is all computer based. I email my completed files and the company direct deposits money to our bank account. The pay is great and they needed other people, so I was able to get Mark hired too and he worked away from his office overlooking Calabash Bight. It takes a bit of our time but it is an all around perfect job for us. I am still amazed how this has come about so perfectly. So, my visit in Florida was heartwarming and also very productive. However, three months is way too long to be away from my husband, my doggies, and my life. I wouldn’t freely make the choice again to be gone for so long. It was a good experience in that I came home feeling more worthwhile. Living in Roatan and feeling so dependant, it feels good to know I am a capable person, I can hold my own, and be a contributor to our endeavors on the island (and get my darn house completed!!) Below are a few pictures from my three months in Florida.

Lori with Mike and Gail, Our Roatan Neighbors in Ft Laudedale  at the Boat Show

We All Had a Great Time!

Our Little Granddaughter, Amyrah Wearing a Dress Lori Made

Lori Spent Quality Time With the Kids

While I was away, Mark was not idle. The first item he accomplished (when he wasn’t brewing beer or making wine) was to fiberglass the floor of the upper observation deck. Some errors were made during the original construction so when it rained, my dining table on the screened porch below was soaked. I can’t eat dinner with rain dripping into my plate. Thankfully, the problem is now solved. We have also found that our ob deck is a great place to grow big pots of vegetables as the influx of plant eating critters is negligible. It reminds me of the rooftop gardens on skyscrapers in large cities. So far we have quite a crop going up there.

The New Fiberglass Observation Deck Floor

As stated earlier, the mini marina expansion was put on the back burner due to the fact that we were dependant on the barge/crane owner’s schedule.  So, we decided to expand the Turtle Shack and turn it into a restaurant. Mark and I first tossed around this idea when we learned that most visiting cruisers want to come in, buy our wifi internet, do laundry, drop off trash, but mostly want to know where to get a cold drink and something to eat. I have heard so many horror stories from restaurant owners about being a slave to the business so that every time Mark broached the topic, I groaned, rolled my eyes, and said, “No way!” His common sense did finally win out over my fear and the construction of the “Turtlegrass Wifi Café” is now in full swing. Much of it is still in the planning stages. I am tossing around menu ideas and actual hours of operation (I don’t mind working but don’t want to work too hard!). We intend to serve and sell bottles of Mark’s tasty wine. We have t-shirts being made. We will have to buy additional appliances and dishes, and, pots, and pans, etc., etc., etc. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point but also excited. The shack lends itself to being easily converted and the ambiance, view of the sea, and overall design should be appealing. We will have to keep you posted on the progress of this endeavor.

Mark Using the Persuader on a New Porch Support

Looking Like a Real Deck Now

Life here is chaotic with all we have going on. In between all the craziness, we have our great year round friends to spend time with and now have the upcoming cruising season to look forward to where we will meet new people and reunite with friends from previous seasons. Our kids, Maggie, Ziggy, and Lamb Chop, are thriving and there may be more puppies on the horizon if Maggie is so inclined. When Mark hands me that steaming cup of coffee each morning, I carry it with me and sit and look out over the sparkling water. It is slightly embarrassing to admit that it wasn’t until I was the ripe old age of forty-seven to really know that life isn’t about finding “the perfect place” to live, but about what I decide to make of my circumstances and how I choose to feel about it. No doubt, there are trade-offs, inconveniences, and major role changes I hadn’t anticipated. And I can tell you now, the reality of it is much more spectacular without the rose colored glasses.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year From Paradise!

Following are some misc. pictures from our daily lives:

The Three Amigos Keep the Trash Guys at Bay!

Mark in on a Local Jam Session with Mike and Keith

Another Day, Another Party in Paradise (Liz, Heather, Mark and Lori)