I almost forgot one of my most terrifying moments. Last week I was driving one of my crew members, Jim, home because we worked until after dark. We got stopped just a few hundred yards up the road by some clean up crews. They are clearing the brush from the side of the road. They started backing up toward me and I don't have a horn. I immediately jammed the truck in reverse and started to back up. Jim suddenly started screaming to stop.
A little boy about 8 to 10 years old was attempting to use the truck to pull his bicycle along and I had not noticed him in the dark. I had run over his bike and mangled the front wheel. Luckily the boy was not hurt but he was crying and upset. He kept saying his mother would kill him. Lucky for me, Jim knew the boy and his mother. We loaded the bike into the truck and took the kid home. Jim went and spoke to his mom and I offered them about 25 to fix the bike. Jim offered to get the wheel and install it. Everyone ended up happy I think.
Even more interesting, the boy's grandfather came out to talk with me. It ends up that he knows my boss very well and they are good friends. He introduced himself to me and we a had nice conversation as if nothing had even happened. I was so relieved.
Jim was suppose to fix the wheel on Sunday but he ended up in Jail. Apparantly he's lost some Honduran papers and was picked up for not having them. I suspect he was pretty drunk Saturday night and may have ended up somewhere he shouldn't have been. Anyway, he missed work on Sunday and didn't get the wheel fixed yet.
We had some divers last week that hated everything I did. I made an embarrasing mistake in the handling of some tips (party my dive masters fault). Because of that 2 people just laid into me personally and listed everything I did that they didn't like. I had some personal snacks on the boat and they thought I should have shared with them. They didn't realize I start work before they even eat breakfast and often don't get lunch. They were also told the bring snacks but didn't. They didn't think I acted like a divemaster and they were clearly told I didn't perform that role. Henry, the divemaster, explained it on every dive but they chose not to hear it. Other divers clearly understood everything and had no problems. One even came and talked to me because he overhood the personally bashing I took. It was my worst week but I survived and have learned some good lessons.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Finally - A few PICS
I know I haven't posted many pictures and I have no excuse. Here are just a few featuring tonights fire walkers. The folks watching are a few of the kitchen staff. The big black guy is Charles the chef.
Day to Day Events
Today I thought I talk about some of the day to day things that happen around here.
One of the things I dislike most is the trip to town for gas. It's about 45 minutes and most of it is on bad roads. The dirt road has really gone down hill with all the rain lately. There is one place where a drain pipe goes under the road and a couple of guys tried to repair it the other day. They didn't fill it in properly and now there is a huge ditch about 10 inches deep and wide in the road. One of my workers got stuck there yesterday and we had to tow him out with our truck and rope. It really tricky to negotiate. You can't go too fast but it you stop, you are done.
Another daily hazard is cows and horses. Cows constantly break out of pens and roam the streets. The locals hate them because the cows are looking for new pastures and end up eating all the flowers and nice plants people might have. When you're poor already you don't need cows eating your stuff. Horses don't seem to cause as much problem but they are in the road a lot. You just drive real slow until they move. My horn doesn't work so I don't have any way to warn them.
A local lady that has a very tiny local bar really took advantage of me today. I bought some 5 gallon water bottles from her last week and left a couple of emties with her. She later said the water company wouldn't take my bottles because they were oily. I took a couple of fresh ones there today and she gave me the rejects. They were not my bottles. Someone had used them to store gasoline and we never do that. I was pissed but didn't say anything. I will surely not be buying water from her again. She cooks lunch for my workers and I stop that if I had another choice.
We've been diving for almost 2 weeks now on the other side of the island which is a pain. We have to cart guests and equipment over there every day. Yestday, the boat was late in arriving at the dock so we got a late start. I can only use the resort bus until 1:30 each day and the boat wasn't back yet so I had to hire a taxi bus. Then one of my workers needed the afternoon off so I had to hire a guy to help out for the day. I had to make my 2 hour journey for gas so all in all it wasn't a fun day. I didn't even get to dive.
Today we finally brought the boat back but it was too rough to dive in the afternoon. I can only hope it clears by morning or its another $150 trip in gas to get the boat back to the south side once again. All the locals are amazed at the crappy weather. They have never seen it last this long. There is talk of an El Nino or something.
I've cooked a couple of my own meals lately and while I don't like doing it, I enjoy good old american comfort food. I've had tomato soup and macaroni, spagetti and hamburger helper. I also made a box cake and finished it off today.
I'm still waiting for my DirectTV to be hooked up. That was suppose to be done 5 weeks ago and I have no idea what the hang up is. I'll have to ask soon or it will never get installed.
Electric goes out at least once or twice a day and it usually takes 10 to 20 minutes before someone starts the generator. It's really hard on a lot of appliances and various devices. I bought a microwave and I'm leaving it unplugged when not in use. The power just fluxuates too much. I almost always have to reset my Internet connection.
Even with all the little problems, I'm still enjoying most days. Gerri and I have been able to talk at least twice a day almost everyday and we both enjoy that. As she says, we talk more now than we do when I'm at home. The garden at home is coming in strong and Gerri is loving it. I miss it especially my first crop of asparagus.
One of the things I dislike most is the trip to town for gas. It's about 45 minutes and most of it is on bad roads. The dirt road has really gone down hill with all the rain lately. There is one place where a drain pipe goes under the road and a couple of guys tried to repair it the other day. They didn't fill it in properly and now there is a huge ditch about 10 inches deep and wide in the road. One of my workers got stuck there yesterday and we had to tow him out with our truck and rope. It really tricky to negotiate. You can't go too fast but it you stop, you are done.
Another daily hazard is cows and horses. Cows constantly break out of pens and roam the streets. The locals hate them because the cows are looking for new pastures and end up eating all the flowers and nice plants people might have. When you're poor already you don't need cows eating your stuff. Horses don't seem to cause as much problem but they are in the road a lot. You just drive real slow until they move. My horn doesn't work so I don't have any way to warn them.
A local lady that has a very tiny local bar really took advantage of me today. I bought some 5 gallon water bottles from her last week and left a couple of emties with her. She later said the water company wouldn't take my bottles because they were oily. I took a couple of fresh ones there today and she gave me the rejects. They were not my bottles. Someone had used them to store gasoline and we never do that. I was pissed but didn't say anything. I will surely not be buying water from her again. She cooks lunch for my workers and I stop that if I had another choice.
We've been diving for almost 2 weeks now on the other side of the island which is a pain. We have to cart guests and equipment over there every day. Yestday, the boat was late in arriving at the dock so we got a late start. I can only use the resort bus until 1:30 each day and the boat wasn't back yet so I had to hire a taxi bus. Then one of my workers needed the afternoon off so I had to hire a guy to help out for the day. I had to make my 2 hour journey for gas so all in all it wasn't a fun day. I didn't even get to dive.
Today we finally brought the boat back but it was too rough to dive in the afternoon. I can only hope it clears by morning or its another $150 trip in gas to get the boat back to the south side once again. All the locals are amazed at the crappy weather. They have never seen it last this long. There is talk of an El Nino or something.
I've cooked a couple of my own meals lately and while I don't like doing it, I enjoy good old american comfort food. I've had tomato soup and macaroni, spagetti and hamburger helper. I also made a box cake and finished it off today.
I'm still waiting for my DirectTV to be hooked up. That was suppose to be done 5 weeks ago and I have no idea what the hang up is. I'll have to ask soon or it will never get installed.
Electric goes out at least once or twice a day and it usually takes 10 to 20 minutes before someone starts the generator. It's really hard on a lot of appliances and various devices. I bought a microwave and I'm leaving it unplugged when not in use. The power just fluxuates too much. I almost always have to reset my Internet connection.
Even with all the little problems, I'm still enjoying most days. Gerri and I have been able to talk at least twice a day almost everyday and we both enjoy that. As she says, we talk more now than we do when I'm at home. The garden at home is coming in strong and Gerri is loving it. I miss it especially my first crop of asparagus.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Still Having Fun
Despite the weather it's still been a fun week. We had a group of 5 divers this week with a few walk in locals added in. We actually left the boat on the south side because it doesn't look like the weather will break soon.
I went to the bank today and it was a zoo. I waited in line for about 45 minutes while one lady was apparantly preparing her payroll with individual deposits and cash amounts for at least 20 or more people. One teller finally let me in front of her line and I attempted to cash a check for Ben. No luck. I had to deposit the check and then pay Ben from the account.
I also met the guy that gave me the on line security device. The entire web site is in Spanish so I have to guess at what things do. It's going to be interesting.
I never play cards at home but a few of the guys asked me to play eucher today so I did. We had fun and spent an hour playing. They asked me to dinner so I ate with them tonight but I didn't like whatever it was that I ate. I wish I had cooked my own dinner.
Tomorrow is change over day with 9 new guests arriving. We start the process all over again.
I went to the bank today and it was a zoo. I waited in line for about 45 minutes while one lady was apparantly preparing her payroll with individual deposits and cash amounts for at least 20 or more people. One teller finally let me in front of her line and I attempted to cash a check for Ben. No luck. I had to deposit the check and then pay Ben from the account.
I also met the guy that gave me the on line security device. The entire web site is in Spanish so I have to guess at what things do. It's going to be interesting.
I never play cards at home but a few of the guys asked me to play eucher today so I did. We had fun and spent an hour playing. They asked me to dinner so I ate with them tonight but I didn't like whatever it was that I ate. I wish I had cooked my own dinner.
Tomorrow is change over day with 9 new guests arriving. We start the process all over again.
Broken Weather
The weather just won't break. It's been windy and the seas have been rough for several days now. We have been diving on the south side all week. It's a real pain.
We have a little landing called Calabash Bight that is only about 15 minutes away but we still have to load the truck up with all the gear, drive it over and then unload everything. We take a separate vehicle for the guests.
Today is was raining in the morning so we were all soaked before we even started diving. The road is a muddy mess too so the truck just slides around and you hope you don't end up in a ditch or stalled out in a puddle.
The diving on the south side is good however and the guest really enjoy it. Yesterday, I didn't dive and they saw a giant hawksbill turtle and a seahorse. Both are rare up this way.
One of the crew is probably going to leave. He has an offer that will pay about double what he makes here because it's at a bigger resort with more consistant bookings. He's a great guy and we hope he stays but there is nothing I can do about the money. He has 3 kids and a wife to support so he needs all he can earn. He even has his kids in a private school and he really wants them to stay there.
I ordered a new GPS and it's finally arrived but I have to pick it up in town.
I'm meeting a banker to get our security device for on line banking so I'll get the GPS on Friday when I see the banker. I can hardly believe they have on line banking. When you attempt to go to the bank, the lines are really long. It's often a 2 hour wait and they don't even let you inside the bank most of the time because it's just too crowded. It's really crazy but I guess the customers put up with it so the banks never change.
The power just went out again. It seems to happen every day now and rumor has it that it may get worse. There is some talk that we may be without power for an entire weekend because of fuel shortage at the generating plant. They are providing power to the more populated and visited areas and leaving us in the dark.
We have a little landing called Calabash Bight that is only about 15 minutes away but we still have to load the truck up with all the gear, drive it over and then unload everything. We take a separate vehicle for the guests.
Today is was raining in the morning so we were all soaked before we even started diving. The road is a muddy mess too so the truck just slides around and you hope you don't end up in a ditch or stalled out in a puddle.
The diving on the south side is good however and the guest really enjoy it. Yesterday, I didn't dive and they saw a giant hawksbill turtle and a seahorse. Both are rare up this way.
One of the crew is probably going to leave. He has an offer that will pay about double what he makes here because it's at a bigger resort with more consistant bookings. He's a great guy and we hope he stays but there is nothing I can do about the money. He has 3 kids and a wife to support so he needs all he can earn. He even has his kids in a private school and he really wants them to stay there.
I ordered a new GPS and it's finally arrived but I have to pick it up in town.
I'm meeting a banker to get our security device for on line banking so I'll get the GPS on Friday when I see the banker. I can hardly believe they have on line banking. When you attempt to go to the bank, the lines are really long. It's often a 2 hour wait and they don't even let you inside the bank most of the time because it's just too crowded. It's really crazy but I guess the customers put up with it so the banks never change.
The power just went out again. It seems to happen every day now and rumor has it that it may get worse. There is some talk that we may be without power for an entire weekend because of fuel shortage at the generating plant. They are providing power to the more populated and visited areas and leaving us in the dark.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Roatan Today – Problems in paradise
You’ve all heard the saying “when it rains – it pours”. Today was that kind of day.
THE PROPANE RAN OUT IN THE RESTAURANT
THE WELL PUMP BURNED OUT
THE POWER WENT OFF ABOUT 1:00PM
Needless to say everything is being improvised today. The kitchen used an electric stove until power went but it only had 4 burners which is hardly enough of a restaurant. Later they tried using sterno which wasn’t very effective.
I offered my gas bottle but I don’t think they didn’t use it. I said I’d trade my gas for free meals. They took my bottle but gas was finally delivered just before the dinner cooking started.
The water problem is much more serious of course. After being the salt water you really need a clean shower but that didn’t happen for most people today. I got enough of a trickle to rinse off a little. You also can’t flush the toilets but they are providing 5 gallon buckets of salt water to help with that. Believe me, you don't want to experience a water crisis.
We did get in 3 dives today but only 2 people out of 10 went diving. This place is just so relaxing people often give up the diving to chill out, rest on the beach or nap in a hammock. I did all 3 dives and I think that’s the first time since I’ve been here.
We have a lady diving this week that should not have been certified. She was certified in Cozumel but she can’t do anything right. We need to assign someone to watch out for her and help her during every dive. She can descend, ascend, do safety stops and she can’t even follow the divemaster. She often goes in the opposite direction. She uses all her air within 20 minutes on every dive. I don’t know what her problem is. Ben even gave her a free refresher class but she didn’t understand any of it and it didn’t help a bit.
I also went to Camp Bay and found the guy that found our buoys that had come loose in the storms. I gave him $5 for the two he found. Both of us were happy with that deal. Now I need time to re-install them a little more securely.
THE PROPANE RAN OUT IN THE RESTAURANT
THE WELL PUMP BURNED OUT
THE POWER WENT OFF ABOUT 1:00PM
Needless to say everything is being improvised today. The kitchen used an electric stove until power went but it only had 4 burners which is hardly enough of a restaurant. Later they tried using sterno which wasn’t very effective.
I offered my gas bottle but I don’t think they didn’t use it. I said I’d trade my gas for free meals. They took my bottle but gas was finally delivered just before the dinner cooking started.
The water problem is much more serious of course. After being the salt water you really need a clean shower but that didn’t happen for most people today. I got enough of a trickle to rinse off a little. You also can’t flush the toilets but they are providing 5 gallon buckets of salt water to help with that. Believe me, you don't want to experience a water crisis.
We did get in 3 dives today but only 2 people out of 10 went diving. This place is just so relaxing people often give up the diving to chill out, rest on the beach or nap in a hammock. I did all 3 dives and I think that’s the first time since I’ve been here.
We have a lady diving this week that should not have been certified. She was certified in Cozumel but she can’t do anything right. We need to assign someone to watch out for her and help her during every dive. She can descend, ascend, do safety stops and she can’t even follow the divemaster. She often goes in the opposite direction. She uses all her air within 20 minutes on every dive. I don’t know what her problem is. Ben even gave her a free refresher class but she didn’t understand any of it and it didn’t help a bit.
I also went to Camp Bay and found the guy that found our buoys that had come loose in the storms. I gave him $5 for the two he found. Both of us were happy with that deal. Now I need time to re-install them a little more securely.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Another Week
Today is Saturday and I basically had most of the day off. I did some running around and picked up a FEDEX package that was suppose to arrive 2 weeks ago. The islanders have no sense of urgency at all and I'm going to have to learn to deal with that.
I stopped and got a hair cut at some beauty shop that had a sign that said unisex and black and white. I figured that included me. There were a few black women getting some hair treatment when I stepped inside. No one spoke english so I pointed to me head. They shoock their heads and motioned for me to sit down. I waited a few mintues and then one of the ladies asked me to sit in a make shift barber chair. I indicated short with my fingers and she pulled out some sheers and took a swipe and asked me if it was okay. She basically cut it to the scalp and I figured what the heck. It cost $2.50 so I left her $5 and she was pretty excited.
I also stopped at the store and bought some more stuff to eat. When I stopped the other day the dairy isle was almost empty and today it had a huge selection of stuff including tub margarine and yogurt. I stocked up on both. I found something packaged like frozen hamburger (the rolled package type) and it said is was 90/10 so I bought some of it too. Again the label was in spanish so I hope it's hamburger. I also found some ice cream that didn't look like it melted and re-froze so I bought some of that too. I didn't think about the 1 hour drive home so it was pretty soft when I got back but I think it will be okay. I'll have to take a cooler next time I buy frozen food. Some of this stuff is pretty expensive so my food bill will be pretty high.
I found this little hole in the wall place that sells frozen chicken and other things but there is so much frost on the packages I can't tell what's inside. The labels if any are in Spanish. I didn't buy anything there.
The kitchen is preparing food for 60 or more guests tonight plus staff members so I didn't get lunch but I made a turkey sandwich on my own. There is some sort of youth group visiting today that is doing some kind of volunteer church work. It will be interesting to see how this works out since the kitchen usually serves about 20 to 30.
We have 10 divers this week so it will be another busy one. I hope the weather is a lot better than last week and we can dive on this side of the island. Last week the weather was so bad at one point that the boat anchor ripped up the coral and got bent.
I stopped and got a hair cut at some beauty shop that had a sign that said unisex and black and white. I figured that included me. There were a few black women getting some hair treatment when I stepped inside. No one spoke english so I pointed to me head. They shoock their heads and motioned for me to sit down. I waited a few mintues and then one of the ladies asked me to sit in a make shift barber chair. I indicated short with my fingers and she pulled out some sheers and took a swipe and asked me if it was okay. She basically cut it to the scalp and I figured what the heck. It cost $2.50 so I left her $5 and she was pretty excited.
I also stopped at the store and bought some more stuff to eat. When I stopped the other day the dairy isle was almost empty and today it had a huge selection of stuff including tub margarine and yogurt. I stocked up on both. I found something packaged like frozen hamburger (the rolled package type) and it said is was 90/10 so I bought some of it too. Again the label was in spanish so I hope it's hamburger. I also found some ice cream that didn't look like it melted and re-froze so I bought some of that too. I didn't think about the 1 hour drive home so it was pretty soft when I got back but I think it will be okay. I'll have to take a cooler next time I buy frozen food. Some of this stuff is pretty expensive so my food bill will be pretty high.
I found this little hole in the wall place that sells frozen chicken and other things but there is so much frost on the packages I can't tell what's inside. The labels if any are in Spanish. I didn't buy anything there.
The kitchen is preparing food for 60 or more guests tonight plus staff members so I didn't get lunch but I made a turkey sandwich on my own. There is some sort of youth group visiting today that is doing some kind of volunteer church work. It will be interesting to see how this works out since the kitchen usually serves about 20 to 30.
We have 10 divers this week so it will be another busy one. I hope the weather is a lot better than last week and we can dive on this side of the island. Last week the weather was so bad at one point that the boat anchor ripped up the coral and got bent.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Gerri's Birthday
Today was Gerri's birthday. I felt really bad being away but it turned out really well for her. The good people she works with knew I was away so they bought her a dozen roses. Later in the day they took her out to lunch and then had a cake for her. Frankly, that's a lot mot celebrating than we usually do. She had a great day.
Tonight we had another beach party and dinner. Since the wind was down, they provided a bunch of torches on the beach as well as against the hillside again. It looks a lot like a survivor set. Later the had the Garifuna dancers again this time actually performing on the beach.
On my way back from the beach the power went off again but luckily I now carry a flashlight with me at all times. I was able to make it back to my room and the generator was turned on in about 10 minutes. I was able to have a remote toast with Gerri to help her celebrate her birthday. Not as good as the real thing but we thought it was fun.
I hooked up my web cam today and tried it out. Gerri was able to see my place for the first time. I'll try to get some pictures to post on this blog.
Gerri purchased her tickets to come down for a visit on May 5th. We are both excited and look forward to seeing each other and seeing the sites together.
Tonight we had another beach party and dinner. Since the wind was down, they provided a bunch of torches on the beach as well as against the hillside again. It looks a lot like a survivor set. Later the had the Garifuna dancers again this time actually performing on the beach.
On my way back from the beach the power went off again but luckily I now carry a flashlight with me at all times. I was able to make it back to my room and the generator was turned on in about 10 minutes. I was able to have a remote toast with Gerri to help her celebrate her birthday. Not as good as the real thing but we thought it was fun.
I hooked up my web cam today and tried it out. Gerri was able to see my place for the first time. I'll try to get some pictures to post on this blog.
Gerri purchased her tickets to come down for a visit on May 5th. We are both excited and look forward to seeing each other and seeing the sites together.
Finally - Moved In
Well I finally got moved into my apartment. Its the lower level of a condo my boss owns. In the Paya Bay pictures its the one facing the ocean on the hillside not the cliffside. I'm in the lower level. I have 2 porches that both face the sea but there are trees blocking much of the view. Its okay though, one porch has two chairs and the other has a couple chairs and a swing.
This is basically one room with a bar separating the kitchen from the rest of the room. There are a couple of bar stools, a computer desk and the bed. I have a TV with a direct TV box but no wire to the satelitte at the moment. I'll also be getting a chair from upstairs next week. I have air conditioning and a water cooler so I'm in pretty good shape.
I went shopping yesterday but the boat called me just as I got started. The wind kicked up and the seas got rough. While divers were in the water the anchor broke loose in the wind and starting ripping up the reef. It actually bent the anchor. Everyone made it back to the boat and the day ended with only one dive. I never got to the food section but I did get cleaning supplies and some wine. Ben left this place really dirty. The shower was disgusting so I sprayed it a few times with scrubing bubbles and used a brush to get is cleaned up a bit. It's a bit old so it doesn't look all that good. The entire bathroom is really small and there isn't even a towel bar but there is one hook. It beats that Nekton Pilot by a long way.
Tonight is another dinner on the beach. I don't really like those things but the guest do and that's what counts. We only have 3 divers and about 5 other guests this week so its a small crowd. Our divers are really roudy and lots of fun. They went to a karaoke bar last night and stayed out late. They tried to get me to go but I was beat from moving. I'm still exhausted today as I dove a couple times and moved some more stuff as well as unpacked.
Sorry I haven't had more time to write more and I'll try to do a better job. Don't forget you can leave comments.
This is basically one room with a bar separating the kitchen from the rest of the room. There are a couple of bar stools, a computer desk and the bed. I have a TV with a direct TV box but no wire to the satelitte at the moment. I'll also be getting a chair from upstairs next week. I have air conditioning and a water cooler so I'm in pretty good shape.
I went shopping yesterday but the boat called me just as I got started. The wind kicked up and the seas got rough. While divers were in the water the anchor broke loose in the wind and starting ripping up the reef. It actually bent the anchor. Everyone made it back to the boat and the day ended with only one dive. I never got to the food section but I did get cleaning supplies and some wine. Ben left this place really dirty. The shower was disgusting so I sprayed it a few times with scrubing bubbles and used a brush to get is cleaned up a bit. It's a bit old so it doesn't look all that good. The entire bathroom is really small and there isn't even a towel bar but there is one hook. It beats that Nekton Pilot by a long way.
Tonight is another dinner on the beach. I don't really like those things but the guest do and that's what counts. We only have 3 divers and about 5 other guests this week so its a small crowd. Our divers are really roudy and lots of fun. They went to a karaoke bar last night and stayed out late. They tried to get me to go but I was beat from moving. I'm still exhausted today as I dove a couple times and moved some more stuff as well as unpacked.
Sorry I haven't had more time to write more and I'll try to do a better job. Don't forget you can leave comments.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Discouraging Week
My boss has been here all week and things didn't go very well. My instructor, Ben, really wants to run this place and was hired about 3 weeks before me. He's a great guy and good with the customers but has no business experience at all. He has worked in a dive shop but that was only for a short while. He has not been to any other resorts anywhere so he has no method of comparing services.
Every time I ask Ben's opinion or advice he definately has one and if you don't use it, you are wrong. It's Ben's way or no way. No one including me can do anything nearly as well as he can. The crew was really happy with the way I was treating them and they all came to me and mentioned that. I'm not sure what Ben said or did but suddenly according to Ben, they don't like working with me.
Ben reported this to the boss and he confronted me with it after the crew left on Friday. I thought they left pretty happy but apparantly not. I know some of it has to do with not being able to work overtime. I'm pretty sure Ben blamed that on me and its a simple business decision.
It's all pretty frustrating and I was strongly thinking about leaving. I talked with Gerri and as usual she was able to calm me down some. Just before my boss left he talked to me and said he thought I'd be okay. He said I needed to slow down, not worry so much and learn to live on island time. He wants me to allow Ben to be more of an assistant and to manage the staff on a day to day basis since he dives with them more than me. I'll try it out and see how it goes. I personally think it's a confusing situation for the crew to have 2 supervisors but we'll give it a try. Personally I think there is a very good chance one of us will be laid off within a month but I hope not. I know we are going to get rid of our dive master soon and probably a boat captain after that unless business improves.
We've been getting excellent reviews from our guests and they like to little changes I've made so far. I have more idea's but Ben is fighting them so who knows what will happen.
Today is Saturday and the new guests for the week have arrived. This will be a very slow week as we only have 3 divers. We'll actually have more crew than divers so it will be a bit akward. I will probably sit out several times this week and split up some of the diving with Ben.
Every time I ask Ben's opinion or advice he definately has one and if you don't use it, you are wrong. It's Ben's way or no way. No one including me can do anything nearly as well as he can. The crew was really happy with the way I was treating them and they all came to me and mentioned that. I'm not sure what Ben said or did but suddenly according to Ben, they don't like working with me.
Ben reported this to the boss and he confronted me with it after the crew left on Friday. I thought they left pretty happy but apparantly not. I know some of it has to do with not being able to work overtime. I'm pretty sure Ben blamed that on me and its a simple business decision.
It's all pretty frustrating and I was strongly thinking about leaving. I talked with Gerri and as usual she was able to calm me down some. Just before my boss left he talked to me and said he thought I'd be okay. He said I needed to slow down, not worry so much and learn to live on island time. He wants me to allow Ben to be more of an assistant and to manage the staff on a day to day basis since he dives with them more than me. I'll try it out and see how it goes. I personally think it's a confusing situation for the crew to have 2 supervisors but we'll give it a try. Personally I think there is a very good chance one of us will be laid off within a month but I hope not. I know we are going to get rid of our dive master soon and probably a boat captain after that unless business improves.
We've been getting excellent reviews from our guests and they like to little changes I've made so far. I have more idea's but Ben is fighting them so who knows what will happen.
Today is Saturday and the new guests for the week have arrived. This will be a very slow week as we only have 3 divers. We'll actually have more crew than divers so it will be a bit akward. I will probably sit out several times this week and split up some of the diving with Ben.
Paya Bay Story
Lurlene is one of the owners of the Paya Bay Resort. She sat with us a few nights ago and gave us some personal history. I think her story is fascinating so I’m going to tell it as best I can.
Lurlene and Mervin owned a grocery store for several years in Oak Ridge. It was the largest store in the town and doing very well. In 1995 someone started a fire in the building next door and before anyone realized what was happening, the store caught fire and was destroyed. Islander from 20 miles away knew something terrible had happened. The family was wiped out and had to start over.
Mervin owned some property on the other side of the island now know as alligator’s head. He quickly scraped together some money and started building a resort. It took a lot of time but the family stuck to it and finally had a very small place built and a few guests. The family actually slept on the beach using some mattresses salvaged from the fire. They were eaten alive every night but managed to keep building.
Hurricane Mitch came along and wiped out much of Roatan including some of the Paya Bay property. The road into the resort was totally blocked by mud and sand and the beach was gone. The entire island suffered greatly including some of the larger more established resorts. The power was out for a couple of months so any food they had stored was given away to local people. Everyone was surviving as best they could.
More of the resort had been completed by this time and much of it was okay but without food and power, live was rough and all guest cancelled of course. One night however Lurlene thought she heard someone called in the night “is anyone there”. She got up and looked outside but couldn’t see a thing. She heard the voice again “is anyone there”. She hollered back and someone approached. A lady traveling by herself had not heard about Mitch and had come to Roatan on vacation. The lady was scared and hungry. She had taken a taxi as far as it could go and the driver and her had walked with her luggage to the resort.
Lurlene explained the situation and prepared some simple food for the lady. They even found a place for her to sleep. In the morning Lurlene was refunding the lady’s money but the lady said she loved the place and warm reception and wanted to stay. She stayed the week helping out a bit and eating whatever food was available. She has occasionally written to Lurlene to thank her for the wonderful experience.
I certainly didn’t tell the story as well as Lurlene but I found it fascinating.
Lurlene and Mervin owned a grocery store for several years in Oak Ridge. It was the largest store in the town and doing very well. In 1995 someone started a fire in the building next door and before anyone realized what was happening, the store caught fire and was destroyed. Islander from 20 miles away knew something terrible had happened. The family was wiped out and had to start over.
Mervin owned some property on the other side of the island now know as alligator’s head. He quickly scraped together some money and started building a resort. It took a lot of time but the family stuck to it and finally had a very small place built and a few guests. The family actually slept on the beach using some mattresses salvaged from the fire. They were eaten alive every night but managed to keep building.
Hurricane Mitch came along and wiped out much of Roatan including some of the Paya Bay property. The road into the resort was totally blocked by mud and sand and the beach was gone. The entire island suffered greatly including some of the larger more established resorts. The power was out for a couple of months so any food they had stored was given away to local people. Everyone was surviving as best they could.
More of the resort had been completed by this time and much of it was okay but without food and power, live was rough and all guest cancelled of course. One night however Lurlene thought she heard someone called in the night “is anyone there”. She got up and looked outside but couldn’t see a thing. She heard the voice again “is anyone there”. She hollered back and someone approached. A lady traveling by herself had not heard about Mitch and had come to Roatan on vacation. The lady was scared and hungry. She had taken a taxi as far as it could go and the driver and her had walked with her luggage to the resort.
Lurlene explained the situation and prepared some simple food for the lady. They even found a place for her to sleep. In the morning Lurlene was refunding the lady’s money but the lady said she loved the place and warm reception and wanted to stay. She stayed the week helping out a bit and eating whatever food was available. She has occasionally written to Lurlene to thank her for the wonderful experience.
I certainly didn’t tell the story as well as Lurlene but I found it fascinating.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Moved Again
Moved Again
I don’t know what the temperature has been but the sun is hot these days. It’s just intense and sometimes it’s hard to find a shady spot.
I didn’t know if I’d have a place to stay last night so I didn’t check out of the house I was renting. About 4:30 last night, the manager called and said the place was rented and I needed to move out as quickly as possible. Ben had taken the truck so I had no transportation. I waited another ½ hour for Ben but he never arrived. I told the owner of the resort my predicament and they provided a car for me to use.
Just as I arrived the power went off and I ended up packing in the dark. I used a little one cell pen light to help out. I just threw everything into suitcases until they were full. I came back to the resort and my boss had just arrived. I told him I needed a room and they found one for me. I think this is my 7th move in 3 weeks. This is not a lot of fun
I did a couple of dives in the morning but stayed out in the afternoon to do some cleanup of the dive shop. I think I’m making some progress in getting the place the way I want it. I’m still having issues with Ben on occasion. Today he told one of the crew he could dive when I had already told him he needed to stay around and help cleanup. I asked Ben to check with me before making decisions like that.
I also counted up the tips from last week and we did very well. Each of us got $200 so the crew was really excited. I just hope they don’t blow it all and come asking for loans in a couple of days.
I don’t know what the temperature has been but the sun is hot these days. It’s just intense and sometimes it’s hard to find a shady spot.
I didn’t know if I’d have a place to stay last night so I didn’t check out of the house I was renting. About 4:30 last night, the manager called and said the place was rented and I needed to move out as quickly as possible. Ben had taken the truck so I had no transportation. I waited another ½ hour for Ben but he never arrived. I told the owner of the resort my predicament and they provided a car for me to use.
Just as I arrived the power went off and I ended up packing in the dark. I used a little one cell pen light to help out. I just threw everything into suitcases until they were full. I came back to the resort and my boss had just arrived. I told him I needed a room and they found one for me. I think this is my 7th move in 3 weeks. This is not a lot of fun
I did a couple of dives in the morning but stayed out in the afternoon to do some cleanup of the dive shop. I think I’m making some progress in getting the place the way I want it. I’m still having issues with Ben on occasion. Today he told one of the crew he could dive when I had already told him he needed to stay around and help cleanup. I asked Ben to check with me before making decisions like that.
I also counted up the tips from last week and we did very well. Each of us got $200 so the crew was really excited. I just hope they don’t blow it all and come asking for loans in a couple of days.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Garifuna Dancers & Party
We had the Garifuna Dancers give a show on Thursday. The Garifuna were apparantly slaves that were dropped off on the island in the late 1700's. They have a museum on the island and are attempting to keep their culture alive. The group that came included a couple of hand drummers and 7 dancers. Several of the dancers were very large women but they could move. It was entertaining and everyone had a blast. They asked the customers to dance with them and I think all of them did. Madeline the cook urged them to get me to dance so I had to shake it a little. I'm sure I made a complete fool of myself.
On Friday we took the divers out for a couple of morning dives. We don't usually dive on Friday but since they missed so many because of the weather we made a special trip. They really thanked us and were very pleased.
Friday night the resort had a big party on the beach planned and the divers invited the dive staff. They guys were thrilled. Since they have over an hour walk home to change clothes I ran them to Oak Ridge and then picked them up later. We all had a few beers and I think a couple of the guys got boozed up pretty good. They didn't get in any trouble though and everyone had a great time.
We had a giant fire later on the beach and drank even more beer. Davinci lit a bunch of home made torches and put them all over one of the rock hillsides creating some great atmosphere. The divers loved the evening and so did the staff. It was certainly a welcome relief from the stress of the week.
On Friday we took the divers out for a couple of morning dives. We don't usually dive on Friday but since they missed so many because of the weather we made a special trip. They really thanked us and were very pleased.
Friday night the resort had a big party on the beach planned and the divers invited the dive staff. They guys were thrilled. Since they have over an hour walk home to change clothes I ran them to Oak Ridge and then picked them up later. We all had a few beers and I think a couple of the guys got boozed up pretty good. They didn't get in any trouble though and everyone had a great time.
We had a giant fire later on the beach and drank even more beer. Davinci lit a bunch of home made torches and put them all over one of the rock hillsides creating some great atmosphere. The divers loved the evening and so did the staff. It was certainly a welcome relief from the stress of the week.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Stopped by POLICE
First Time – Stopped by Police
I knew it would happen sooner or later. I got stopped at 9:30 PM on the dark dirt road leading from Paya Bay to Punta Blanca where I am staying. There were 6 officers and luckily one of them spoke English. They asked for my drivers’ license and registration and I had both. Then they asked for my passport which I didn’t have with me. I told them it was up the road about 1 mile but they didn’t buy that. They said they would confiscate my license and I’d get it back when I showed them my passport. I said I’d take it up with the American Embassy. They kept me standing there while they searched the car and my computer bag. I kept an eye on them to make sure they weren’t stealing anything.
After several minutes the English speaker talked to another guy that said he was his boss. I heard him say American Embassy and then his boss told him to give my license and registration back. At that point the guy got real friendly and started giving me advice to avoid further problems with other local police. He said I should get a Honduran License and keep a copy of my passport. He also said I should get permanent residence. I’ll do the first two but getting residence status is complex, time consuming and expensive.
Our days are very long and hard with 16 guests. We really don’t have the resources for this crowd so it has been a strain. We have to transport the guests, 40 scuba tanks, gas, water and all the gear about 40 minutes to the south side. It takes two trucks and a 13 passenger bus to make it happen.
Today the resort said the bus was a problem because they use it to pick up the owners grandkids and friends from school and we were making them late. I had to hire another bus but it only cost $20.
The lady that owns the dock that we use to get guest on board invited my to her house to discuss fees. Apparently the former manager wasn’t paying her enough so she was angry and wanted to set her own price. I told her I was new and would do whatever she felt was right. She asked for $7.50 a day which includes parking for 2 cars and two boats. I thought it was a bargain and agreed. We then had a nice conversation about her time in Roatan. Nice lady.
My workers are constantly asking for payday loans and its something we’ve always done. It is hard to keep track when they are asking for a few dollars all the time. They all got 100 dollar tips on Sunday and they were asking for money on Tuesday. I have no idea where they spend that much money as the standard of living is way below what they earn in pay and tips.
We had a great fire show tonight. There is a guy and gal that go around to the various resorts and put on this show. They do a great job and everyone loved it. It’s all done on a wood deck and the scatter the fire on it but of course it burns out in seconds. I’ll try to get a picture some time because its pretty cool.
I knew it would happen sooner or later. I got stopped at 9:30 PM on the dark dirt road leading from Paya Bay to Punta Blanca where I am staying. There were 6 officers and luckily one of them spoke English. They asked for my drivers’ license and registration and I had both. Then they asked for my passport which I didn’t have with me. I told them it was up the road about 1 mile but they didn’t buy that. They said they would confiscate my license and I’d get it back when I showed them my passport. I said I’d take it up with the American Embassy. They kept me standing there while they searched the car and my computer bag. I kept an eye on them to make sure they weren’t stealing anything.
After several minutes the English speaker talked to another guy that said he was his boss. I heard him say American Embassy and then his boss told him to give my license and registration back. At that point the guy got real friendly and started giving me advice to avoid further problems with other local police. He said I should get a Honduran License and keep a copy of my passport. He also said I should get permanent residence. I’ll do the first two but getting residence status is complex, time consuming and expensive.
Our days are very long and hard with 16 guests. We really don’t have the resources for this crowd so it has been a strain. We have to transport the guests, 40 scuba tanks, gas, water and all the gear about 40 minutes to the south side. It takes two trucks and a 13 passenger bus to make it happen.
Today the resort said the bus was a problem because they use it to pick up the owners grandkids and friends from school and we were making them late. I had to hire another bus but it only cost $20.
The lady that owns the dock that we use to get guest on board invited my to her house to discuss fees. Apparently the former manager wasn’t paying her enough so she was angry and wanted to set her own price. I told her I was new and would do whatever she felt was right. She asked for $7.50 a day which includes parking for 2 cars and two boats. I thought it was a bargain and agreed. We then had a nice conversation about her time in Roatan. Nice lady.
My workers are constantly asking for payday loans and its something we’ve always done. It is hard to keep track when they are asking for a few dollars all the time. They all got 100 dollar tips on Sunday and they were asking for money on Tuesday. I have no idea where they spend that much money as the standard of living is way below what they earn in pay and tips.
We had a great fire show tonight. There is a guy and gal that go around to the various resorts and put on this show. They do a great job and everyone loved it. It’s all done on a wood deck and the scatter the fire on it but of course it burns out in seconds. I’ll try to get a picture some time because its pretty cool.
Friday, February 16, 2007
MONKEY ATTACK
I have another one of those unbelievable stories today. I had a diver that wanted to go diving on the south side so I offered him a ride this morning. I dropped him off on the other side and he jump in a water taxi to complete his journey to the diving resort. I told him I'd be back at 1:00 pm. I arrived about 12:45 and patiently waited for over an hour and he never showed up. I called the resort and got a Spanish recording so I had no idea what was going on. No one around the taxi area spoke English so I was stuck. About 2:00 pm I finally got tired of waiting so I bargained for a water taxi of my own to go find the guy.
The taxi's are stacked one against the other. You have into and over the various canoes until you get to yours. It can be tricky and I don't much like it. There was a monkey on outside boat - the one I was taking. When I got onto the boat, the monkey went crazy and attacked me. I was screaming and monkey was howling and showing his teeth and claws. Both of us were swinging wildly with no actually touches I hope. The damn thing was on a rope but all locals were as afraid of it as me so no one helped out including a police officer. I finally managed to scramble back onto shore and made sure they understood I wasn't moving until the monkey left. One of them finally got end of the boat and pushed it to another area so I could board without the monkey. I was pretty darn shaken up and scared. The monkey was dirty and skinny and about 4 feet tall or better when standing on its legs with its arms stretched out. NEVER AGAIN.
I ran into the guy I was waiting for in the channel so I had the driver turn around. It was a good thing I showed up, the guy had no idea which dock to tell the driver to go too. We made it back without further incident.
I hear and see that a huge storm is headed this way. The timing couldn't be worse. With 16 divers coming in, I'm not sure I can even get them transported across the Island if we have to move. It's going to be an interesting week. The resort has asked me to go to the airport to help with bags and things since they have such a crown and don't have enough cars to carry all the luggage.
The Internet has been up and donw all day and it's pretty frustrating. I think it may be a problem at the resort. They has so many wires, routers, switches and other stuff running the so called network that I'm surprised it works at all. Apparantly it all gets messed up when the electric goes off which has been happening at least once each day. Fun, fun, fun.
The taxi's are stacked one against the other. You have into and over the various canoes until you get to yours. It can be tricky and I don't much like it. There was a monkey on outside boat - the one I was taking. When I got onto the boat, the monkey went crazy and attacked me. I was screaming and monkey was howling and showing his teeth and claws. Both of us were swinging wildly with no actually touches I hope. The damn thing was on a rope but all locals were as afraid of it as me so no one helped out including a police officer. I finally managed to scramble back onto shore and made sure they understood I wasn't moving until the monkey left. One of them finally got end of the boat and pushed it to another area so I could board without the monkey. I was pretty darn shaken up and scared. The monkey was dirty and skinny and about 4 feet tall or better when standing on its legs with its arms stretched out. NEVER AGAIN.
I ran into the guy I was waiting for in the channel so I had the driver turn around. It was a good thing I showed up, the guy had no idea which dock to tell the driver to go too. We made it back without further incident.
I hear and see that a huge storm is headed this way. The timing couldn't be worse. With 16 divers coming in, I'm not sure I can even get them transported across the Island if we have to move. It's going to be an interesting week. The resort has asked me to go to the airport to help with bags and things since they have such a crown and don't have enough cars to carry all the luggage.
The Internet has been up and donw all day and it's pretty frustrating. I think it may be a problem at the resort. They has so many wires, routers, switches and other stuff running the so called network that I'm surprised it works at all. Apparantly it all gets messed up when the electric goes off which has been happening at least once each day. Fun, fun, fun.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
First Week Successful
While its only Thursday, this marks the end of diving for our week. We had no significant problems.
Our boat radio is broken but a new one is on the way. Our motor tilt still doesn't work but I stopped by Fantasy Island today and talked to the mechanic. He said he will stop by tomorrow or Saturday. We really hope he does. Right now we have to tilt the motor by touching some live wires to certain hot spots on the motor and that creates a spark which isn't very good considering there is gas all around.
It was very warm again today and I had to go to town just to get some money for payroll. I'm not sure I paid everyone the correct amount so I've got a letter off to my boss to clarify how it works. Henry our Dive Master hasn't made it the last two days. He said he's sick and when I passed him on the road he said he was going to the clinic but he also said he went a couple nights ago.
We had a couple people dive and snorkel this week and the said the snorkeling is pretty good. I think they must have gone out 5 or 6 times so it must be good. They spent a lot of time on the secluded beach also and just loved their time away from the snowy winter in Denver.
I'm taking one diver to another resort tomorrow so he can get in a couple more dives. All the other guests are just booking various tours around the Island. I can of course provide that service to all of you when you visit.
I stopped by a little settlement called Punta Blaca today that is only about 3 miles down the dirt road. Its a good 15 minutes however. Anyway, there is a great house I can rent and I may do that next week instead of attempting to share a room with someone here. I'm waiting to find out how much they want for the place before I decide.
Our boat radio is broken but a new one is on the way. Our motor tilt still doesn't work but I stopped by Fantasy Island today and talked to the mechanic. He said he will stop by tomorrow or Saturday. We really hope he does. Right now we have to tilt the motor by touching some live wires to certain hot spots on the motor and that creates a spark which isn't very good considering there is gas all around.
It was very warm again today and I had to go to town just to get some money for payroll. I'm not sure I paid everyone the correct amount so I've got a letter off to my boss to clarify how it works. Henry our Dive Master hasn't made it the last two days. He said he's sick and when I passed him on the road he said he was going to the clinic but he also said he went a couple nights ago.
We had a couple people dive and snorkel this week and the said the snorkeling is pretty good. I think they must have gone out 5 or 6 times so it must be good. They spent a lot of time on the secluded beach also and just loved their time away from the snowy winter in Denver.
I'm taking one diver to another resort tomorrow so he can get in a couple more dives. All the other guests are just booking various tours around the Island. I can of course provide that service to all of you when you visit.
I stopped by a little settlement called Punta Blaca today that is only about 3 miles down the dirt road. Its a good 15 minutes however. Anyway, there is a great house I can rent and I may do that next week instead of attempting to share a room with someone here. I'm waiting to find out how much they want for the place before I decide.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
IT WAS HOT
Today was the hottest day since I've been here. I have no idea what the temp was but it was hot in the sun. There was almost no breeze so that made it feel warmer.
I had to go into French Harbor again today. I needed some lumber, some gas, some silicone and a few other items. It was a 3 hours journey. It takes about 30 minutes to the paved road from here. The dirt road is actually in pretty good condition in many places but in other it is very slow going. One spot has a huge rock in the middle of the road that would hit the bottom of the truck so you have to go on either side. One place has a mud hole that looks pretty deep. It hasn't dried out since I've been here. Yet another place has worn down on one side to the point that some cars have slid off the road into the raven. Many places have large pieces of gravel all over the road making it extremely bumpy. You can't be in a hurry.
There are actually a few things along the road. There is a soccer field, two churches, a school, 3 island restaurants (locals), the clinic and a large gravel pit operation. There are a few turn off dirt roads also to Punta Blanca, Punta Gorda and Camp Bay as well as the Jelly Farm. I've not been to any of these places yet. Some of my staff walks all the way from Oak Ridge which is at least an hour walk. They usually find someone that gives them a lift at least part way.
Over time I'll have lots more to say about the culture and people. Right now I'm still learning but believe me for a small island there are lots of cultural problems and differences. To me it's a serious problem but you just have to deal with it and learn to accept it even if you don't think it's right.
I'm sorry there haven't been any pictures yet but I just don't have time.
I had to go into French Harbor again today. I needed some lumber, some gas, some silicone and a few other items. It was a 3 hours journey. It takes about 30 minutes to the paved road from here. The dirt road is actually in pretty good condition in many places but in other it is very slow going. One spot has a huge rock in the middle of the road that would hit the bottom of the truck so you have to go on either side. One place has a mud hole that looks pretty deep. It hasn't dried out since I've been here. Yet another place has worn down on one side to the point that some cars have slid off the road into the raven. Many places have large pieces of gravel all over the road making it extremely bumpy. You can't be in a hurry.
There are actually a few things along the road. There is a soccer field, two churches, a school, 3 island restaurants (locals), the clinic and a large gravel pit operation. There are a few turn off dirt roads also to Punta Blanca, Punta Gorda and Camp Bay as well as the Jelly Farm. I've not been to any of these places yet. Some of my staff walks all the way from Oak Ridge which is at least an hour walk. They usually find someone that gives them a lift at least part way.
Over time I'll have lots more to say about the culture and people. Right now I'm still learning but believe me for a small island there are lots of cultural problems and differences. To me it's a serious problem but you just have to deal with it and learn to accept it even if you don't think it's right.
I'm sorry there haven't been any pictures yet but I just don't have time.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
So far so good
Things seem to be going okay so far. I am finally getting caught up and feel like I have some idea how to run things. We have 10 guests this week and everything is running smoothly. I spent some time today cleaing up one part of the dive shop. I threw out a bunch of stuff that was broken, rusted or just junk.
I've spent nearly all the money that was given to me so I'll have to start making trips to the bank to get more cash as its needed. I'm going to start dealing in Lempira's exclusively as its too confusing working with 2 currencies.
Tomorrow I'll make a trip for gas and a little lumber to build a rack to hang some of our equipment. Space will be at a premium next week. I counted the divers and it appears we have 16 people. It will realy tax our resources.
I'm still being feed by the resort and loving every meal. I've had lobster, shrimp, fish of every sort and many excellent desserts. I think I'm doing enough walking and stair climbing to keep the weight off. The dive shop is probably 300 yards away and there are a fair number of step around the resort.
I'm in room 14 now and its building on the lower lever near the beach. I'm on the second floor with another great view of the ocean from my deck. It was hot today so I sat outside a bit for one of my calls to Gerri. She's really been helping me out with some Excel spreadsheets.
Gerri mentioned all the bad weather in the Northeast and today she mentioned Indianapolis so I hope Ben, Brandi and the kids are making the best of the situation.
Some of the guest have commented about the tremendous skies around here and suggested I learn some of the stars. I told them I was waiting for Mike (my brother) to come down and give me some lessons.
Its only 9:00 pm but I'm beat and heading to bed. More adventures await.
I've spent nearly all the money that was given to me so I'll have to start making trips to the bank to get more cash as its needed. I'm going to start dealing in Lempira's exclusively as its too confusing working with 2 currencies.
Tomorrow I'll make a trip for gas and a little lumber to build a rack to hang some of our equipment. Space will be at a premium next week. I counted the divers and it appears we have 16 people. It will realy tax our resources.
I'm still being feed by the resort and loving every meal. I've had lobster, shrimp, fish of every sort and many excellent desserts. I think I'm doing enough walking and stair climbing to keep the weight off. The dive shop is probably 300 yards away and there are a fair number of step around the resort.
I'm in room 14 now and its building on the lower lever near the beach. I'm on the second floor with another great view of the ocean from my deck. It was hot today so I sat outside a bit for one of my calls to Gerri. She's really been helping me out with some Excel spreadsheets.
Gerri mentioned all the bad weather in the Northeast and today she mentioned Indianapolis so I hope Ben, Brandi and the kids are making the best of the situation.
Some of the guest have commented about the tremendous skies around here and suggested I learn some of the stars. I told them I was waiting for Mike (my brother) to come down and give me some lessons.
Its only 9:00 pm but I'm beat and heading to bed. More adventures await.
Monday, February 12, 2007
ON MY OWN
Justin, the previous manager, has left the island. Joe, my boss, has left the island. Its just Ben, the crew and myself.
Saturday night the new guests arrived. There were suppose to be 8 divers but we ended up with 10. We are trying to figure out how this happened and make sure the resort lets us know exactly who is coming each week.
We had our first little Saturday night meeting with the divers to explain how things work and what they should expect for the week. One group seemed to be disappointed in the number of dives we do and acted like they hadn't read any of their previous emails or the web sites. We got there expectations corrected.
Our first day of diving on Sunday went very well and everyone had a good time. I stayed back and tried to get organized but frankly I didn't really do that good a job. I also had to move again and I moved where I was told but they asked me to move again just after I had unpacked. It was pretty frustrating but I'm trying to keep a positive attitude. Anyway, I'm not unpacked for this week and ready to go. I'll have to move again on Saturday and then again the following Saturday. This part is not fun and its really hard to run an office when you move every week.
I had a scare Sunday afternoon when we couldn't get the boat started. They kept messing with it and finally got it going. The afternoon dive went well and everyone enjoyed the dive site even though visibility was down a bit.
I had to run into French Harbor, about 15 miles and a 45 minute trip to get gas for the boat for tomorrow. I bought 45 gallons at a cost of $160. It ain't cheap. The trip back too well over an hour as I ran into a huge crowd at the local soccer field about 2 miles from the resort. Its on the 1 lane dirt road and cars were parked on both sides of the road. Getting threw on the way to town wasn't a big deal but coming back cars were leaving and hundreds of people were milling around so it took forever to get threw.
The boat mechanic showed up about 5pm to put in a new wire harness and some new coils. I hope the coils improve the performance because the harness didn't solve our problem with the tilt mechanism on the motor. We took apart another harness and it was so corroded a couple of pins just fell out of it. We ended up cutting the ends of the connectors off and hard wiring the entire assembly. That still didn't fix the problem so the guy tried a few more things. We now think we have a bad solenoid. He left about 8:30 and will come back later in the week with some used parts to see if he can fix the problem.
Its Monday morning and I've got to get going. Ben is teaching a class this morning and then we are going to town to do the shopping we didn't get done over the weekend.
Saturday night the new guests arrived. There were suppose to be 8 divers but we ended up with 10. We are trying to figure out how this happened and make sure the resort lets us know exactly who is coming each week.
We had our first little Saturday night meeting with the divers to explain how things work and what they should expect for the week. One group seemed to be disappointed in the number of dives we do and acted like they hadn't read any of their previous emails or the web sites. We got there expectations corrected.
Our first day of diving on Sunday went very well and everyone had a good time. I stayed back and tried to get organized but frankly I didn't really do that good a job. I also had to move again and I moved where I was told but they asked me to move again just after I had unpacked. It was pretty frustrating but I'm trying to keep a positive attitude. Anyway, I'm not unpacked for this week and ready to go. I'll have to move again on Saturday and then again the following Saturday. This part is not fun and its really hard to run an office when you move every week.
I had a scare Sunday afternoon when we couldn't get the boat started. They kept messing with it and finally got it going. The afternoon dive went well and everyone enjoyed the dive site even though visibility was down a bit.
I had to run into French Harbor, about 15 miles and a 45 minute trip to get gas for the boat for tomorrow. I bought 45 gallons at a cost of $160. It ain't cheap. The trip back too well over an hour as I ran into a huge crowd at the local soccer field about 2 miles from the resort. Its on the 1 lane dirt road and cars were parked on both sides of the road. Getting threw on the way to town wasn't a big deal but coming back cars were leaving and hundreds of people were milling around so it took forever to get threw.
The boat mechanic showed up about 5pm to put in a new wire harness and some new coils. I hope the coils improve the performance because the harness didn't solve our problem with the tilt mechanism on the motor. We took apart another harness and it was so corroded a couple of pins just fell out of it. We ended up cutting the ends of the connectors off and hard wiring the entire assembly. That still didn't fix the problem so the guy tried a few more things. We now think we have a bad solenoid. He left about 8:30 and will come back later in the week with some used parts to see if he can fix the problem.
Its Monday morning and I've got to get going. Ben is teaching a class this morning and then we are going to town to do the shopping we didn't get done over the weekend.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Full Day
Last night we went out to eat at a place called THE VIEW. It was dark so I'm not sure how good the view it but everyone said is was really great. I tried to get a fillet well done but they suggested some other steak so I tried it and it was pretty darn good. The place is pretty expensive for Roatan but still now bad. I had a killer dessert, the steak and a couple beers for about $15 so I guess that's pretty good.
Today is Thursday and I had my first full day. We went down to the shop at 7:00 am to fill tanks. We loaded the truck and got everything ready to go back over to the south side by 7:45 so Ben and I went up and had some pancakes. I drove across the island for the first time so I could learn the road and feel the bumps. Our resort is about 4 miles down the dirt road and that little bit takes about 15 minutes or more. You drive on which ever side of the road has the least holes or rocks. It's really hard on the truck.
I didn't dive because of my ear but the rest of the group dove Calvin's Crack, Church Wall and Reef House Wall. We usually don't dive 3 times on the other side but we took lunch and it worked out okay. We had a problem early on when one of the customers tank, BCD and regulator fell onto the floor and got damaged. It was our fault as someone didn't fasten the tank down. The lady was pretty upset but we did get her a working system and she got to dive even if she wasn't thrilled with us. We are going to try and get the parts to fix her system tomorrow.
We ate lunch in the lagoon behind Reef House (another resort) at some ones dock. I walked over to Reef House and said hello to Larry the owner. Gerri and I stayed there in November of 2005. The place hasn't changed much. Its not nearly as nice as Paya Bay but it does cost less. They are doing a booming business compared to us and we can't figure out why. I guess its the price and advertising.
Tonight we are having fresh caught wahoo. I saw them bring the fish in to sell this morning. It was about 4 feet long and weighed about 40 pounds. Nice fish.
Today is Thursday and I had my first full day. We went down to the shop at 7:00 am to fill tanks. We loaded the truck and got everything ready to go back over to the south side by 7:45 so Ben and I went up and had some pancakes. I drove across the island for the first time so I could learn the road and feel the bumps. Our resort is about 4 miles down the dirt road and that little bit takes about 15 minutes or more. You drive on which ever side of the road has the least holes or rocks. It's really hard on the truck.
I didn't dive because of my ear but the rest of the group dove Calvin's Crack, Church Wall and Reef House Wall. We usually don't dive 3 times on the other side but we took lunch and it worked out okay. We had a problem early on when one of the customers tank, BCD and regulator fell onto the floor and got damaged. It was our fault as someone didn't fasten the tank down. The lady was pretty upset but we did get her a working system and she got to dive even if she wasn't thrilled with us. We are going to try and get the parts to fix her system tomorrow.
We ate lunch in the lagoon behind Reef House (another resort) at some ones dock. I walked over to Reef House and said hello to Larry the owner. Gerri and I stayed there in November of 2005. The place hasn't changed much. Its not nearly as nice as Paya Bay but it does cost less. They are doing a booming business compared to us and we can't figure out why. I guess its the price and advertising.
Tonight we are having fresh caught wahoo. I saw them bring the fish in to sell this morning. It was about 4 feet long and weighed about 40 pounds. Nice fish.
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