I am off to another adventure. This time I'm headed to CHUUK, MICRONESIA. Read all about it in the new blog. Click this blog name (OFF TO CHUUK) or the link at the right for the new blog.
The links is: http://trukdiving.spaces.live.com
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
WAS IT FUN?
I'm home.
Many things led up to my leaving Paya Bay. I'll try and explain some of them.
I enjoyed most of my time on Roatan. It was a little warm if not hot much of the time but I did have air conditioning in the apartment. I did not have TV and didn't miss is most of the time but it would have been nice in the evenings when we had few or no guests. My contract called for DIRECTTV but it was never hooked up.
Getting up and seeing the ocean first thing every day was like being in a dream. Watching sunsets over the ocean nearly every night was great. The sound of the waves all day long was relaxing.
Most of the time the people were wonderful. I probably enjoyed the friends I met from the kitchen staff the most. They were friendly and took very good care of me. I told the story of their jealousy and prejudice but most of the time that wasn't an issue.
Going to town at least twice a week to get gas was a real waste of time and a challenge. As I've said many times, the road was pretty bad. The first five miles were dirt and it was very dusty. I enjoyed picking up people and giving them rides however. I always felt bad when there was no room in the truck and they had to ride outside. They could barely breath when another car passed and the dust went flying.
The paved road was full of potholes and was probably more dangerous than the dirt road. Everyone drives all over the road in an attempt to avoid the holes. People passed other cars on hills and around corners. I often had to swerve off the road to keep from getting hit. The truck itselt was a wreck with no horn and brakes that barely worked. The truck had very little power and got horrible has mileage.
The total trip was at least 45 mintues one way. I often used it as an opportunity to stock up on groceries and other supplies.
Food was expensive. In fact, it was more expensive then the US for most things. Name brand foods if available were about 50% more than the US. Foods labeled with expiration dates were sometimes expired. Selection of food was a joke. One day the dairy section would have a great selection and the next it was nearly empty.
While the weather was okay most of the time, it did get hot a few times and working in the sun was a challenge. The boat was covered but even then it was impossible to stay in the shade all the time. I hated using sunscreen but I did on occasion. I wore long sleeve shirts and a hat all the time.
I certainly missed Gerri all the time but we were able to talk frequently. The Internet did go down frequently and then I'd get upset that we couldn't talk even if I didn't have anything important to say. It was just frustrating to know the electric was off or we used up the allocated bandwidth.
My crew was great. They were fun to be around and they were hard working most of the time. Ben was another story. I don't care to talk about him any more. I suppose I may have left anyway but he certainly pushed me over the edge. Some of the problems were really caused by the onwer however. He told me one thing and Ben another. He would then deny it. I was suppose to be the manager but I had no control over Ben and his treatment of other crew members. Ben was very carrismatic with customers and the owner but was a totally different person with the crew. He fooled the owner and I was not able to communicate the problems to him. I finally just gave up. The frustrations didn't outweigh the benefits.
Finally the operation was almost broke. The boat needed some serious repairs or replacement but there was no money. We operated on cash flow alone and with no guests there was no money. We were going to shut down for the summer anyway and I didn't really want to stay with no pay. I could have come home for the summer but I didn't like that idea either.
Anyway, I'm home and I'm looking for another adventure.
Many things led up to my leaving Paya Bay. I'll try and explain some of them.
I enjoyed most of my time on Roatan. It was a little warm if not hot much of the time but I did have air conditioning in the apartment. I did not have TV and didn't miss is most of the time but it would have been nice in the evenings when we had few or no guests. My contract called for DIRECTTV but it was never hooked up.
Getting up and seeing the ocean first thing every day was like being in a dream. Watching sunsets over the ocean nearly every night was great. The sound of the waves all day long was relaxing.
Most of the time the people were wonderful. I probably enjoyed the friends I met from the kitchen staff the most. They were friendly and took very good care of me. I told the story of their jealousy and prejudice but most of the time that wasn't an issue.
Going to town at least twice a week to get gas was a real waste of time and a challenge. As I've said many times, the road was pretty bad. The first five miles were dirt and it was very dusty. I enjoyed picking up people and giving them rides however. I always felt bad when there was no room in the truck and they had to ride outside. They could barely breath when another car passed and the dust went flying.
The paved road was full of potholes and was probably more dangerous than the dirt road. Everyone drives all over the road in an attempt to avoid the holes. People passed other cars on hills and around corners. I often had to swerve off the road to keep from getting hit. The truck itselt was a wreck with no horn and brakes that barely worked. The truck had very little power and got horrible has mileage.
The total trip was at least 45 mintues one way. I often used it as an opportunity to stock up on groceries and other supplies.
Food was expensive. In fact, it was more expensive then the US for most things. Name brand foods if available were about 50% more than the US. Foods labeled with expiration dates were sometimes expired. Selection of food was a joke. One day the dairy section would have a great selection and the next it was nearly empty.
While the weather was okay most of the time, it did get hot a few times and working in the sun was a challenge. The boat was covered but even then it was impossible to stay in the shade all the time. I hated using sunscreen but I did on occasion. I wore long sleeve shirts and a hat all the time.
I certainly missed Gerri all the time but we were able to talk frequently. The Internet did go down frequently and then I'd get upset that we couldn't talk even if I didn't have anything important to say. It was just frustrating to know the electric was off or we used up the allocated bandwidth.
My crew was great. They were fun to be around and they were hard working most of the time. Ben was another story. I don't care to talk about him any more. I suppose I may have left anyway but he certainly pushed me over the edge. Some of the problems were really caused by the onwer however. He told me one thing and Ben another. He would then deny it. I was suppose to be the manager but I had no control over Ben and his treatment of other crew members. Ben was very carrismatic with customers and the owner but was a totally different person with the crew. He fooled the owner and I was not able to communicate the problems to him. I finally just gave up. The frustrations didn't outweigh the benefits.
Finally the operation was almost broke. The boat needed some serious repairs or replacement but there was no money. We operated on cash flow alone and with no guests there was no money. We were going to shut down for the summer anyway and I didn't really want to stay with no pay. I could have come home for the summer but I didn't like that idea either.
Anyway, I'm home and I'm looking for another adventure.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Going Home Again
As I mentioned at the end of the last entry, Gerri and I decided it was time to come home. I'll try to explain some of our reasoning.
I have been unable understand the reporting structure since I arrived. I have always been told that I was the manager and Ben worked for me. I asked that specific question last week and was again told I was Ben's supervisor. Ben didn't see it that way and Joe was never able to just say it our loud where everyone could hear it. I think he was telling me one thing and Ben another.
I don't think I ever mentioned it but Henry, our former divemaster, left because he could not get along with Ben. Ben is highly critical of everyone's work almost daily and his way of letting you know that irritates everyone. Henry came back while Joe was here to explain and I was able to sit in on the conversation. Joe listened but when Henry left Joe didn't seem to care and believed other issues were involved.
I did my best to explain that Ben was excellent with customers and put on a great show of teamwork when the boss was around. I also said that didn't happen when Joe wasn't there. I'm sure Joe felt I was exaggerating at best. I gave several specific examples but Joe never discussed any of them with Ben. Gerri and I both had the feeling Joe wanted to make the arrangement work regardless of what I and others said. Joe felt the entire problem was a communication issue bewteen Ben and myself.
After a frustrating meeting with Joe and his wife late Friday night, all of us met with Ben. That meeting did not go well and Joe provided no support to me. Gerri and I stayed up late and decided it was time for me to come home. We decided to sleep on it for a couple days. We decided I would leave on June 30th giving Joe 7 weeks to get things organized.
Early Sunday morning Ben indicated he and Joe had met on Saturday and made some additional decisions regarding part time staffing. Gerri and I were furious that I had not been included. We changed our departure date to June 2nd still leaving 3 weeks.
On Sunday, I wrote a resignation letter to Joe outlining my reasons for leaving. He called me late Sunday to accept but he was very upset. He asked me to leave on May 19th which I agreed to do.
Many other factors contributed to our decision. Joe owes me more than $1200 not including this months pay. He is out of money and the business is not doing well at all. He admitted that he has no emergency funds and nothing set aside for boat repairs or a new truck. The boat and truck are both in very poor condition.
More later I hope.
I have been unable understand the reporting structure since I arrived. I have always been told that I was the manager and Ben worked for me. I asked that specific question last week and was again told I was Ben's supervisor. Ben didn't see it that way and Joe was never able to just say it our loud where everyone could hear it. I think he was telling me one thing and Ben another.
I don't think I ever mentioned it but Henry, our former divemaster, left because he could not get along with Ben. Ben is highly critical of everyone's work almost daily and his way of letting you know that irritates everyone. Henry came back while Joe was here to explain and I was able to sit in on the conversation. Joe listened but when Henry left Joe didn't seem to care and believed other issues were involved.
I did my best to explain that Ben was excellent with customers and put on a great show of teamwork when the boss was around. I also said that didn't happen when Joe wasn't there. I'm sure Joe felt I was exaggerating at best. I gave several specific examples but Joe never discussed any of them with Ben. Gerri and I both had the feeling Joe wanted to make the arrangement work regardless of what I and others said. Joe felt the entire problem was a communication issue bewteen Ben and myself.
After a frustrating meeting with Joe and his wife late Friday night, all of us met with Ben. That meeting did not go well and Joe provided no support to me. Gerri and I stayed up late and decided it was time for me to come home. We decided to sleep on it for a couple days. We decided I would leave on June 30th giving Joe 7 weeks to get things organized.
Early Sunday morning Ben indicated he and Joe had met on Saturday and made some additional decisions regarding part time staffing. Gerri and I were furious that I had not been included. We changed our departure date to June 2nd still leaving 3 weeks.
On Sunday, I wrote a resignation letter to Joe outlining my reasons for leaving. He called me late Sunday to accept but he was very upset. He asked me to leave on May 19th which I agreed to do.
Many other factors contributed to our decision. Joe owes me more than $1200 not including this months pay. He is out of money and the business is not doing well at all. He admitted that he has no emergency funds and nothing set aside for boat repairs or a new truck. The boat and truck are both in very poor condition.
More later I hope.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Gerri's Visit
Wow. It was really great to have Gerri here for a week even if it flew by. She had a great time and loved Paya Bay. All of the staff loved her and took very good care of both of us.
We didn't get the boat running until late Sunday afternoon so we missed a day of diving. The new engine had problems with the carberators and ingnition system. Thanks to some of Joe's friends they got it working by using parts from the old engine.
Gerri and I only dove 8 times during the week. We were short staffed and with a broken compressor, I needed to stay and fill tanks every afternoon. That wasn't exactly what I planned for Gerri but that's the way things go around here. Being the good sport she is, she just relaxed and read a few books and went with the flow. I'm so lucky to have such a great wife.
We did spend a little time together Thursday night when we went out to dinner. Unfortunately, the truck was out of gas so we tried to fill it up. There was no power so we could buy gas. We had dinner and barely made it back to the resort. The restarant didn't have power so we ate by lantern power.
In the morning we made it to a fill station with gravity feed pumps and got enough gas to get to town again. I showed Gerri some of the stores I visit and we just drove around a little bit seeing the Island. We were able to fill the truck with gas.
After spending a week Gerri was convinced I was crazy. The life is just too complex and difficult to be fun.
We both met with the owners of the dive operation on Friday to see if we could figure out a way to solve some of the issues with Ben. I made a few suggestions but they were rejected. Ben joined the conversation and the meeting quickly deteriorated into a he say, he said session. Gerri and I left very angry and stayed up late to discuss our feelings. We both agreed it was time for me to come home.
More to come.
We didn't get the boat running until late Sunday afternoon so we missed a day of diving. The new engine had problems with the carberators and ingnition system. Thanks to some of Joe's friends they got it working by using parts from the old engine.
Gerri and I only dove 8 times during the week. We were short staffed and with a broken compressor, I needed to stay and fill tanks every afternoon. That wasn't exactly what I planned for Gerri but that's the way things go around here. Being the good sport she is, she just relaxed and read a few books and went with the flow. I'm so lucky to have such a great wife.
We did spend a little time together Thursday night when we went out to dinner. Unfortunately, the truck was out of gas so we tried to fill it up. There was no power so we could buy gas. We had dinner and barely made it back to the resort. The restarant didn't have power so we ate by lantern power.
In the morning we made it to a fill station with gravity feed pumps and got enough gas to get to town again. I showed Gerri some of the stores I visit and we just drove around a little bit seeing the Island. We were able to fill the truck with gas.
After spending a week Gerri was convinced I was crazy. The life is just too complex and difficult to be fun.
We both met with the owners of the dive operation on Friday to see if we could figure out a way to solve some of the issues with Ben. I made a few suggestions but they were rejected. Ben joined the conversation and the meeting quickly deteriorated into a he say, he said session. Gerri and I left very angry and stayed up late to discuss our feelings. We both agreed it was time for me to come home.
More to come.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Progress - I think!
We finally finished the boat. Well almost. We need to put some hardware back on it and install an engine. A new top end for our engine was shipped to Honduras several days ago but it’s still in San Pedro. Apparently the person picking it up needed some sort of paper work that he didn’t have. I think someone from Paya Bay went to San Pedro with some paper work in an attempt to get the motor out of customs. If they are successful, the motor will be trucked to La Ceiba and then ferried to Roatan. If all that works, we’ll try to get a mechanic to install it onto the lower unit.
Not that’s an entire new story. The drug police showed up a few days ago and want to confiscate our old engine. We don’t have any paperwork for it and they believe it was used for running drugs. There’s a boat on the dock that was used for drugs and they confiscated it yesterday. They sent 6 guys here to repair the boat just so they could haul it away. The police were told we have a public dock and someone just left the boat at our dock one day. Sounds good to me. Frankly, I have no idea about any of this so I keep my mouth shut and stay out of the way when the police are here. They were here for at least 8 hours yesterday and I never said a word to them. I just kept working on our boat.
If they take our old wrecked motor, we may be in trouble. We need some of the parts from it to use for our new top end. We have 11 guests coming including the owner, his family and my wife and as of Friday morning we have no engine.
Hurray, Gerri is arriving tomorrow. Even if the dive boat isn't running, we'll have a great time just being together.
Not that’s an entire new story. The drug police showed up a few days ago and want to confiscate our old engine. We don’t have any paperwork for it and they believe it was used for running drugs. There’s a boat on the dock that was used for drugs and they confiscated it yesterday. They sent 6 guys here to repair the boat just so they could haul it away. The police were told we have a public dock and someone just left the boat at our dock one day. Sounds good to me. Frankly, I have no idea about any of this so I keep my mouth shut and stay out of the way when the police are here. They were here for at least 8 hours yesterday and I never said a word to them. I just kept working on our boat.
If they take our old wrecked motor, we may be in trouble. We need some of the parts from it to use for our new top end. We have 11 guests coming including the owner, his family and my wife and as of Friday morning we have no engine.
Hurray, Gerri is arriving tomorrow. Even if the dive boat isn't running, we'll have a great time just being together.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
My daily view
Click the link below to see what I see when I stand at my front door. This is basically the scene I see when I eat all my meals also from my porch. Not too shabby if you ask me.
MY VIEW
MY VIEW
Friday, April 27, 2007
Typical Day
I wake up about 5:30 nearly every morning. There is so much light coming into my apartment that I just can’t sleep. I usually just sit on the porch watching the ocean for a several minutes before really getting the day started. About 6 I start thinking about breakfast. I have cereal or toast and some yogurt most mornings. Once in a while I cook some eggs or pancakes. Breakfast is always on the porch again. I rarely eat inside.
About 7:00 am each morning I wonder up to the top deck to check the waves on the reef and sometimes say a quick hello to the guests. After that, it’s off to the dive shop to set up gear for the divers. We set everything up everyday so the guests are always ready to go. We are almost always finished getting ready by 7:45 or so we just sit around and talk until the guests arrive.
Lately, Jim and I have worked on the boat everyday. It’s finally up on the dry dock. We broke a support, a chain and a chain host but we made it. Actually it’s still partially held up by a second chain host because the support under the boat bends when we try to sit the boat onto it. We have 2 rough sawn 4 x 8’s in the front and only one in the back. I have to buy another on Monday to support the back end. Jim is a great worker and has sanded the entire boat. On Sunday we’ll launch a little boat under our boat and Jim will clean the bottom of the dive boat. We’ll inspect for leaks and problems and make repairs as required. Later in the week we’ll epoxy paint the entire boat from top to bottom. We use a special anti-fouling paint for the bottom.
Since we broke our new hoist I had to get another from La Ceiba. There were none on Roatan. Luckily one of the owners was there and picked it up for us and brought it back on the ferry.
We have to move the straps and chain holding the boat so we can repair the damage done when the chain crushed the sides of the boat. This boat is really heavy.
The owner is having a new engine head sent from the Florida via air and it is costing a fortune. Hopefully it will arrive before Friday so we’ll have a boat when Joe and his family arrive along with Gerri. The motor is going to San Pedro and then being trucked to La Ceiba. From there is will be put onto a ferry where I’ll go pick it up and hopefully get someone to install it.
We break for lunch after the morning dives usually about 12:30. The crew goes to a local place to eat and Ben and I eat at the resort. We eat the local food prepared for the staff however. It is always beans and rice and some sort of meat or salad. It’s simple but usually pretty good.
We usually work until about 4:00 or 4:30. If we’ve had a hard day and lately they’ve all been hard, we have a few beers on my porch. Jim needs to catch a ride by 5:00 pm or he has a 70 minute walk home.
I try to eat dinner about 6:30 and I keep it simple. I often have a sandwich or spaghetti or something similar. I sit on the porch once again and have a beer or glass of wine and I’m usually in bed no later than 9:00 pm and often earlier. I have no TV yet. About once a week I eat with the guests and that’s a lot of fun. I wish I could do that every night.
About 7:00 am each morning I wonder up to the top deck to check the waves on the reef and sometimes say a quick hello to the guests. After that, it’s off to the dive shop to set up gear for the divers. We set everything up everyday so the guests are always ready to go. We are almost always finished getting ready by 7:45 or so we just sit around and talk until the guests arrive.
Lately, Jim and I have worked on the boat everyday. It’s finally up on the dry dock. We broke a support, a chain and a chain host but we made it. Actually it’s still partially held up by a second chain host because the support under the boat bends when we try to sit the boat onto it. We have 2 rough sawn 4 x 8’s in the front and only one in the back. I have to buy another on Monday to support the back end. Jim is a great worker and has sanded the entire boat. On Sunday we’ll launch a little boat under our boat and Jim will clean the bottom of the dive boat. We’ll inspect for leaks and problems and make repairs as required. Later in the week we’ll epoxy paint the entire boat from top to bottom. We use a special anti-fouling paint for the bottom.
Since we broke our new hoist I had to get another from La Ceiba. There were none on Roatan. Luckily one of the owners was there and picked it up for us and brought it back on the ferry.
We have to move the straps and chain holding the boat so we can repair the damage done when the chain crushed the sides of the boat. This boat is really heavy.
The owner is having a new engine head sent from the Florida via air and it is costing a fortune. Hopefully it will arrive before Friday so we’ll have a boat when Joe and his family arrive along with Gerri. The motor is going to San Pedro and then being trucked to La Ceiba. From there is will be put onto a ferry where I’ll go pick it up and hopefully get someone to install it.
We break for lunch after the morning dives usually about 12:30. The crew goes to a local place to eat and Ben and I eat at the resort. We eat the local food prepared for the staff however. It is always beans and rice and some sort of meat or salad. It’s simple but usually pretty good.
We usually work until about 4:00 or 4:30. If we’ve had a hard day and lately they’ve all been hard, we have a few beers on my porch. Jim needs to catch a ride by 5:00 pm or he has a 70 minute walk home.
I try to eat dinner about 6:30 and I keep it simple. I often have a sandwich or spaghetti or something similar. I sit on the porch once again and have a beer or glass of wine and I’m usually in bed no later than 9:00 pm and often earlier. I have no TV yet. About once a week I eat with the guests and that’s a lot of fun. I wish I could do that every night.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Fire Fighting - Really
This place is just full of surprises. Jim, one of the boat captains, and I were coming back from town the other day when a lady flagged us down on the dirt road. She was frantic and said something about throwing water on a fire. We jumped out of the truck and she led us to her home. We could here the roar and crackle of a fire as we approached.
Jimmy and I climbed through a hole in a barbed wire fence and went toward the fire. Sugar cane was burning and it burns really loud. It pops and hisses and it was a bit scary. The fire was probably 30 yards from the house and the lady asked us to throw water on it. She had a 55 gallon drum of rain water and a few buckets so Jimmy and I grabbed a bucket and started running back and forth. It was crazy. Throwing tiny buckets of water on flames 15 feet high seemed futile. Jimmy had no shoes and I had flip flops and we were in the jungle fighting a fire with buckets. We managed to calm the fire nearest the house and it seemed to be headed the other way. I offered to call someone but the lady said she's be dead before anyone help would arrive. We used all the water and that was all we could do. The fire was still burning but there was nothing else we could do. We left.
Later in the day I passed the place again and the fire was out and the house was safe. We didn't really do much but maybe we did save the ladies home. It was strange indeed and something I don't care to repeat.
It has been very dry and we really need some rain.
Jimmy and I climbed through a hole in a barbed wire fence and went toward the fire. Sugar cane was burning and it burns really loud. It pops and hisses and it was a bit scary. The fire was probably 30 yards from the house and the lady asked us to throw water on it. She had a 55 gallon drum of rain water and a few buckets so Jimmy and I grabbed a bucket and started running back and forth. It was crazy. Throwing tiny buckets of water on flames 15 feet high seemed futile. Jimmy had no shoes and I had flip flops and we were in the jungle fighting a fire with buckets. We managed to calm the fire nearest the house and it seemed to be headed the other way. I offered to call someone but the lady said she's be dead before anyone help would arrive. We used all the water and that was all we could do. The fire was still burning but there was nothing else we could do. We left.
Later in the day I passed the place again and the fire was out and the house was safe. We didn't really do much but maybe we did save the ladies home. It was strange indeed and something I don't care to repeat.
It has been very dry and we really need some rain.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Unique Showroom
We need a new motor for our boat or at least a spare so we can get ours fixed. Several locals have approached me about motors for sale and I asked the boss if I could go look at them. He said sure and gave me an amount to spend.
I contacted one of the guys (Paul) and asked him to show me the motor. We had a 5pm appointment. About 5:30 I called him and he claimed he was on his way. I finally called again and determined that he was walking from about 4 miles away. We drove down and picked him up. We came back toward the resort and stopped at a soccer field to pick up another guy that was helping sell this motor.
We continued back toward the resort until we were about 10 feet from the entrance to the property. They had me turn down a dirt path so I stopped the truck. We didn't think the road was good enough so we started walking. About 300 yards down the path and within 200 yards of our dive shop we came across a field of 4 to 5 foot high grass. Paul pointed into the grass and said there's the motor. The grass was very buggy and had sharp edges but we waded into it about 20 feet only to discover this 200 HP motor laying there. I quickly decided this was an unusual showroom.
The stories about it are very vague but it was likely used to run drugs and was abondoned. Someone grabbed it and hid it from the police or drug enforcement agency assuming there is such a thing. We never got a straight answer on who claimed ownership of the motor or who we were buying it from. These guys just said we should pay them. I decided to talk to my boss about this purchase before going further.
We may actually purchase this motor but we are going to ask to have it mounted on our boat first to test it. We will also offer considerably less than the asking price since we don't think they have any cost involved at all and we'd be taking some amount of risk.
I've had a few strange things happen since I've been here but this is at the top for weird.
I contacted one of the guys (Paul) and asked him to show me the motor. We had a 5pm appointment. About 5:30 I called him and he claimed he was on his way. I finally called again and determined that he was walking from about 4 miles away. We drove down and picked him up. We came back toward the resort and stopped at a soccer field to pick up another guy that was helping sell this motor.
We continued back toward the resort until we were about 10 feet from the entrance to the property. They had me turn down a dirt path so I stopped the truck. We didn't think the road was good enough so we started walking. About 300 yards down the path and within 200 yards of our dive shop we came across a field of 4 to 5 foot high grass. Paul pointed into the grass and said there's the motor. The grass was very buggy and had sharp edges but we waded into it about 20 feet only to discover this 200 HP motor laying there. I quickly decided this was an unusual showroom.
The stories about it are very vague but it was likely used to run drugs and was abondoned. Someone grabbed it and hid it from the police or drug enforcement agency assuming there is such a thing. We never got a straight answer on who claimed ownership of the motor or who we were buying it from. These guys just said we should pay them. I decided to talk to my boss about this purchase before going further.
We may actually purchase this motor but we are going to ask to have it mounted on our boat first to test it. We will also offer considerably less than the asking price since we don't think they have any cost involved at all and we'd be taking some amount of risk.
I've had a few strange things happen since I've been here but this is at the top for weird.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Jealousy
Paya Bay has two different kitchen crews that rotate each week. They work from 6:30 am until 9:00 pm 7 days in a row and then get a week off. The 2 crews don't really get along that well. I like most of the people on both crews and try to be friends with all of them since they sometimes provide me with meals. I ran into a problem this week however with Madlin's crew. The other chef is Charles.
I have chosen to help out one family just a little bit. Many of the staff think that I'm some rich white guy and they ask for things all the time. This one family has never asked for anything. The girl that works in the kitchen is only 20 and has a 4 year son(Oliver). No one in the entire extended family speaks a word of English. I have someone translate on occasion buy mostly we don't talk. I bought a cheap foam pad for the boy to sleep on and some shoes. The other crew is trying to turn this into some big story. They are so jealous that they can't think straight.
I have given everyone rides in the truck before and I always invite them to sit inside if there is room. In this instance I gave the family a ride and most of them were able to fit into the truck. The jealous crew however said "they should ride in the back like cattle". I was shocked and couldn't believe my ears. I can't believe that these wonderful people could be so mean to each other. I'm very disappointed and a bit shaken by all this. It's such a small island and so many people live together that everyone knows everything. Unfortunately they rarely know the whole story so they fill in the blanks with their own ideas of life. Many have had such hard lives and had so many problems they think everyone is mean and unkind and out to get something. They think everyone is out to get them and take advantage of them. They don't trust each other or any of us Americans when it really gets down to the truth. All this seems to be very deeply rooted and won't change for a very long time.
I have another little boy that is only 15 that is supporting a large family. Apparently his father beats him and doesn't work. The kid has been unable to attend school but he speaks both English and Spanish. He works odd jobs around the resort and is very shy. I'm not sure how to help him and if it's worth while. Who knows what they will do if I help someone else. I'm very discouraged at this point about trying to help anyone.
Everyone has warned my about people taking advantage of me and I've tried to be very careful. I may just stop helping everyone all together though that seems so strange that I should have to do that.
I have chosen to help out one family just a little bit. Many of the staff think that I'm some rich white guy and they ask for things all the time. This one family has never asked for anything. The girl that works in the kitchen is only 20 and has a 4 year son(Oliver). No one in the entire extended family speaks a word of English. I have someone translate on occasion buy mostly we don't talk. I bought a cheap foam pad for the boy to sleep on and some shoes. The other crew is trying to turn this into some big story. They are so jealous that they can't think straight.
I have given everyone rides in the truck before and I always invite them to sit inside if there is room. In this instance I gave the family a ride and most of them were able to fit into the truck. The jealous crew however said "they should ride in the back like cattle". I was shocked and couldn't believe my ears. I can't believe that these wonderful people could be so mean to each other. I'm very disappointed and a bit shaken by all this. It's such a small island and so many people live together that everyone knows everything. Unfortunately they rarely know the whole story so they fill in the blanks with their own ideas of life. Many have had such hard lives and had so many problems they think everyone is mean and unkind and out to get something. They think everyone is out to get them and take advantage of them. They don't trust each other or any of us Americans when it really gets down to the truth. All this seems to be very deeply rooted and won't change for a very long time.
I have another little boy that is only 15 that is supporting a large family. Apparently his father beats him and doesn't work. The kid has been unable to attend school but he speaks both English and Spanish. He works odd jobs around the resort and is very shy. I'm not sure how to help him and if it's worth while. Who knows what they will do if I help someone else. I'm very discouraged at this point about trying to help anyone.
Everyone has warned my about people taking advantage of me and I've tried to be very careful. I may just stop helping everyone all together though that seems so strange that I should have to do that.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Some Fixed - More Broken
The truck is much better. The rebuilt brakes but pull to the left so you really have to hold onto the wheel when you stop.
The boat is worse. It now appears that the boat is taking on water. The bildge pump is running several times a day and the boat is just sitting next to the dock. There must be a hole under the boat. We have to put it up into dry dock soon to take a look.
I'm not sure what we are doing about the engine yet. We blew the middle port piston. We are going to order parts from Miami or La Ceiba but I need a mechanic to tell me what parts to order. Hopefully I can get in touch with him today.
We also had a radio go out last week but that's a minor problem compared to the boat.
I can hardly believe the payroll I had to pay this week. I paid a bunch of double times for Easter week and more for working 6 days in a row. The guys love it but we are quickly going broke. We really need some more customers and none appear to be booking at this point. No one knows what is wrong.
I had no phone service part of this week. We ran out of bandwidth again. My phone is all IP based so when we have no or limited Internet the phone doesn't work either. The electric has been working great for about 2 weeks however.
The boat is worse. It now appears that the boat is taking on water. The bildge pump is running several times a day and the boat is just sitting next to the dock. There must be a hole under the boat. We have to put it up into dry dock soon to take a look.
I'm not sure what we are doing about the engine yet. We blew the middle port piston. We are going to order parts from Miami or La Ceiba but I need a mechanic to tell me what parts to order. Hopefully I can get in touch with him today.
We also had a radio go out last week but that's a minor problem compared to the boat.
I can hardly believe the payroll I had to pay this week. I paid a bunch of double times for Easter week and more for working 6 days in a row. The guys love it but we are quickly going broke. We really need some more customers and none appear to be booking at this point. No one knows what is wrong.
I had no phone service part of this week. We ran out of bandwidth again. My phone is all IP based so when we have no or limited Internet the phone doesn't work either. The electric has been working great for about 2 weeks however.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Stuff Happens - but all at one time?
It's been a fun week so far. Ben took our truck in for service and they found out one wheel was about to fall off and the brakes were totally gone. Typical of Roatan, there are no replacment brakes on the Island. Ben was able to get some sent from La Ceiba but they take at least a day to get here. In the meantime, we found a place that rebonds new pads but the electric was off so they couldn't do anything. Ben spend mucho dollars running around in taxi's trying to get this straightened out but ended up home in frustration.
On top of that, all our gas cans were on the broken down truck so we had no boat gas. Luckily, Henry my dive master, offered to go get the cans and gas. I gave him $20 for his trouble but we were unloading gas late last night.
Today was even more fun. I have been trying to teach scuba diving to a lady and her 11 year old child. They are very challenging especially the mom. She is more scared of the water than anyone I've ever seen. The boy doesn't pay attention but seems to do everything well anyway. He's very tiny however and has a really hard time with his weight belt. They should have finished part of the class by Monday morning but we didn't finish until very late on Tuesday.
I used the small resort boat to take out my students and a couple of snorklers joined us. Were were in the water about 30 minutes when the boat captain motioned for me. I swam back to the boat to find out our big dive boat had broken down out in the water. We had to recall everyone and take them back to Paya Bay. We then went and towed the large boat back. It would barely run and it sounded like it was all broken up inside.
I called a mechanic and he arrived about 7:30 pm. He looked at the problem and determined that we blew a piston. They suspect water in the gas caused the problem.
I have another boat rented until we can sort out this problem but it's costing us a fortune and we are loosing money daily.
Right now I have no truck and no boat. Life in paradise isn't always what it's cracked up to be.
On top of that, all our gas cans were on the broken down truck so we had no boat gas. Luckily, Henry my dive master, offered to go get the cans and gas. I gave him $20 for his trouble but we were unloading gas late last night.
Today was even more fun. I have been trying to teach scuba diving to a lady and her 11 year old child. They are very challenging especially the mom. She is more scared of the water than anyone I've ever seen. The boy doesn't pay attention but seems to do everything well anyway. He's very tiny however and has a really hard time with his weight belt. They should have finished part of the class by Monday morning but we didn't finish until very late on Tuesday.
I used the small resort boat to take out my students and a couple of snorklers joined us. Were were in the water about 30 minutes when the boat captain motioned for me. I swam back to the boat to find out our big dive boat had broken down out in the water. We had to recall everyone and take them back to Paya Bay. We then went and towed the large boat back. It would barely run and it sounded like it was all broken up inside.
I called a mechanic and he arrived about 7:30 pm. He looked at the problem and determined that we blew a piston. They suspect water in the gas caused the problem.
I have another boat rented until we can sort out this problem but it's costing us a fortune and we are loosing money daily.
Right now I have no truck and no boat. Life in paradise isn't always what it's cracked up to be.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
PARTY, PARTY, PARTY
This week is the biggest holiday in Honduras. Over 1.8 million visitor were here this week and lot of them came to Roatan. The public beaches have thousands of people on them. There are parties everywhere.
Paya Bay is having a 4 day party that started on Thursday and continues through Sunday. They have a DJ playing music on the beach from about noon to 1:00am every night. It seem most people start arriving a little after 9:00 each night. They serve food and lots and lots of beer until everyone goes home. There is little chance of sleeping if you don't want to party because the music is very loud.
I had a great week this week. The guests were terrific and very easy going. We had 2 school teachers from New York and a family from Chicago I think. They loved every minute and keep complimenting the entire staff that works with me. We all feel really good about it.
Ben and I had 4 students this week that took the Open Water Scuba Diver class. One lady, Polly, dropped out on the first day because she didn't like it. Her husband and 2 older boys enjoyed it however and were all great students. Polly took all the test and actually scored better than everyone. By the end of the week, Ben convinced her to give it another try and she did very well. She didn't get certified but she only needs 4 dives to complete the certification so she'll certainly make it too.
I went for a short walk today which is something I've not done before. I just walked up to the tiny local bar to pay the lady that cooks the crew food. She wasn't there buy the walk was interesting. I couldn't believe all the sounds I heard. I could here the ocean waves for a long time. Later I heard dozens of birds, all differnt kinds, all around me. When I got to a small village I could here crying babies and kids having fun. I could here party music at one house. You walk very slowly as it's warm and humid. When a car drives by you close your eyes to avoid all the dust but you still get dirty and breathing is a challenge. I don't know how the locals do it every single day.
Paya Bay is having a 4 day party that started on Thursday and continues through Sunday. They have a DJ playing music on the beach from about noon to 1:00am every night. It seem most people start arriving a little after 9:00 each night. They serve food and lots and lots of beer until everyone goes home. There is little chance of sleeping if you don't want to party because the music is very loud.
I had a great week this week. The guests were terrific and very easy going. We had 2 school teachers from New York and a family from Chicago I think. They loved every minute and keep complimenting the entire staff that works with me. We all feel really good about it.
Ben and I had 4 students this week that took the Open Water Scuba Diver class. One lady, Polly, dropped out on the first day because she didn't like it. Her husband and 2 older boys enjoyed it however and were all great students. Polly took all the test and actually scored better than everyone. By the end of the week, Ben convinced her to give it another try and she did very well. She didn't get certified but she only needs 4 dives to complete the certification so she'll certainly make it too.
I went for a short walk today which is something I've not done before. I just walked up to the tiny local bar to pay the lady that cooks the crew food. She wasn't there buy the walk was interesting. I couldn't believe all the sounds I heard. I could here the ocean waves for a long time. Later I heard dozens of birds, all differnt kinds, all around me. When I got to a small village I could here crying babies and kids having fun. I could here party music at one house. You walk very slowly as it's warm and humid. When a car drives by you close your eyes to avoid all the dust but you still get dirty and breathing is a challenge. I don't know how the locals do it every single day.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Almost Trouble
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.
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.
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.
South Side
The water has been choppy with a but of surge so we decided to move the boat around to the South Side of the Island. We loaded all the gear into the boat and headed East. There is a small and beautiful channel at the end of the Island that separates Helane (spelling) another island from Roatan. The channel is probably less than a mile long and is extremely quiet and scenic. It's a natural mangrove channel teaming with life. We had the passengers on board and they enjoyed the trip.
The seas were very flat on the south side so we were able to make a couple of dives without a problem. The guest seem to enjoy the south side more than the north side but because of the weather they haven't really gotten a good taste of the north side. Our second dive was at reef house wall. Gerri and I stayed at reef house in November of 2005. It still looks pretty run down and I was surprised the owners hadn't made more improvements.
I almost forgot that Tuesday night I had a near disaster. I went to be about 9:30 and woke up about 11:00 covered in blood. I had surgery on my ear about a week before coming down and the scab softened up in the salt water and apparantly peeled off. I'm sure there was at least 2 to 4 ounces of blood and I was a bit scared. I finally got it under control however.
I went on the boat ride in the morning but didn't go diving. We left the boat there and a couple of vehicles picked us up. They dropped me off at the local clinic to see the doctor. The doctor has quit so I saw the nurse practitioner and she said it looked good and she cleaned up the mess from the night before. She told me to stay out of the water for a week and stop taking my 81mg aspirin which of course I should have know.
This is Thursday morning and we are headed back to the south side again in cars. We will try to do 3 dives today so we are packing a lunch. I'm up early so we can fill some scuba tanks. Gotta go.
The seas were very flat on the south side so we were able to make a couple of dives without a problem. The guest seem to enjoy the south side more than the north side but because of the weather they haven't really gotten a good taste of the north side. Our second dive was at reef house wall. Gerri and I stayed at reef house in November of 2005. It still looks pretty run down and I was surprised the owners hadn't made more improvements.
I almost forgot that Tuesday night I had a near disaster. I went to be about 9:30 and woke up about 11:00 covered in blood. I had surgery on my ear about a week before coming down and the scab softened up in the salt water and apparantly peeled off. I'm sure there was at least 2 to 4 ounces of blood and I was a bit scared. I finally got it under control however.
I went on the boat ride in the morning but didn't go diving. We left the boat there and a couple of vehicles picked us up. They dropped me off at the local clinic to see the doctor. The doctor has quit so I saw the nurse practitioner and she said it looked good and she cleaned up the mess from the night before. She told me to stay out of the water for a week and stop taking my 81mg aspirin which of course I should have know.
This is Thursday morning and we are headed back to the south side again in cars. We will try to do 3 dives today so we are packing a lunch. I'm up early so we can fill some scuba tanks. Gotta go.
Monday, February 05, 2007
1st Paya Bay Dive
PAYA BAY DIVING
Today is Monday afternoon and I went on my first dives in the Paya Bay area. The dives were typical of this side of Roatan consisting of slopes and spur and groove formations. Our most interesting find was a toad fish and we did see several lobster and a big crab.
The wind picked up considerably when we surfaced from our first dive so we headed to a local dock for our surface interval. Apparently someone is developing the area and they already have a beautiful long pier with a huge deck area above the end of the pier.
This property is the home of a farm that makes specialty Jellies. I didn’t make the trip up to the farm yet but a few people did and they said it was terrific. They have tropical flavors as you might imagine including pineapple, guava and some banana combo that I might like.
We actually picked up a diver at this pier also. He is starting up some sort of kite boarding operation. I’ve seen these things several times and I doubt I’ll try it. It’s going to be interesting to see if people will come this far down the Island to try it. It’s almost an hour from most other resorts.
We did a second dive and then came back for lunch. We discussed the continuing winds and decided to cancel the afternoon dives. This gave me the entire afternoon off. Ben and I went down to the dive shop and talked about our plans and did some measuring of our current boat ladder. Joe (the owner) is going to get a quote on getting a new aluminum lone built. The current one is wood and works pretty well but it’s heavy to handle.
I’m hoping to make a trip to town with Joe and Justin this afternoon only to see some of the stores where they shop for supplies. We need to purchase a few things right now for the large group we having coming in two weeks.
The Internet is down again so I’m preparing this on Word for later uploading.
Today is Monday afternoon and I went on my first dives in the Paya Bay area. The dives were typical of this side of Roatan consisting of slopes and spur and groove formations. Our most interesting find was a toad fish and we did see several lobster and a big crab.
The wind picked up considerably when we surfaced from our first dive so we headed to a local dock for our surface interval. Apparently someone is developing the area and they already have a beautiful long pier with a huge deck area above the end of the pier.
This property is the home of a farm that makes specialty Jellies. I didn’t make the trip up to the farm yet but a few people did and they said it was terrific. They have tropical flavors as you might imagine including pineapple, guava and some banana combo that I might like.
We actually picked up a diver at this pier also. He is starting up some sort of kite boarding operation. I’ve seen these things several times and I doubt I’ll try it. It’s going to be interesting to see if people will come this far down the Island to try it. It’s almost an hour from most other resorts.
We did a second dive and then came back for lunch. We discussed the continuing winds and decided to cancel the afternoon dives. This gave me the entire afternoon off. Ben and I went down to the dive shop and talked about our plans and did some measuring of our current boat ladder. Joe (the owner) is going to get a quote on getting a new aluminum lone built. The current one is wood and works pretty well but it’s heavy to handle.
I’m hoping to make a trip to town with Joe and Justin this afternoon only to see some of the stores where they shop for supplies. We need to purchase a few things right now for the large group we having coming in two weeks.
The Internet is down again so I’m preparing this on Word for later uploading.
Super Bowl - Roatan Style
Super Bowl – Roatan Style
I think I can safely say this was one Super Bowl I’ll not soon forget. Ben, Joe, Justin, Gretchen and two guests went to one of the local bars to see the Super Bowl. We did not have access here at the resort. The guests were Canadian and didn’t really follow football except during the playoffs and Super Bowl. They were excited to go along with us and experience a little local culture. Ben is English and had never seen an American football game and didn’t really like it much.
Actually the bar is owned by and American from Chicago and he was certainly an enthusiastic host. I’m would guess there were 40 people there with almost all being Americans living on the Island.
About 3 minutes into the game, the DIRECT TV box went down and we lost all signals. The owner was furious and beside himself but he shouted out for anyone with a box to go home and get one. Luckily one of the patrons did have a box and we were back in business about 15 minutes later. Then the power on the entire island went out and we lost everything including the lights. We sat with a single flashlight lighting the place for about 15 minutes until they could get a generator running and get things plugged into a very long extension cord. With this arrangement they got the projection TV running again and plugged in a couple of portable lights. We watch most of the game that way and the food, most pizza and wings, was prepared on gas equipment via flashlights. It was hilarious. About midway through the fourth quarter the electric did come back on and we were able to watch the colts outplay the bears for the rest of the night.
Earlier in the day we had several meetings to discuss how things work. We also met our staff. Jimmy and David and boat captains and Henry is out dive master. We learned a lot about the crazy pay system and Honduran labor laws. It the craziest system you’ve ever seen. If you work someone for 5 days in a row, you have to pay them for 6. If they quit you still have to pay them bonuses and vacation pay. If you fire them after carefully documenting and having them sign a document indicated they did something wrong at least 3 times, you then have to pay them severance pay, vacation pay and a bonus.
The entire staff is very new and has only been here a couple of weeks. Henry is not even sure he is staying. He used to be in charge several years ago and he’s just checking us out to see if he can work with us. Jimmy doesn’t know the narrow channels to get beyond the reef structure so we have a more experience captain (John) helping train him. He gets paid in some special way for helping out. We have a boat we rent from yet another guy when we have too many divers that only lets John drive his boat. John doesn’t think he’s staying around after Justin leaves at the end of the week so we are still scrambling a bit to get everying covered after Justin leaves. We have 12 divers the week of the 10th and 16 the week of the 17th and our boat only holds 10. Wow, this is a hands full right off the bat but Ben and I will work with Justin and Joe to make sure we get it done.
I’m really beat and heading to bed. No Internet connection tonight so I’ll post later.
I think I can safely say this was one Super Bowl I’ll not soon forget. Ben, Joe, Justin, Gretchen and two guests went to one of the local bars to see the Super Bowl. We did not have access here at the resort. The guests were Canadian and didn’t really follow football except during the playoffs and Super Bowl. They were excited to go along with us and experience a little local culture. Ben is English and had never seen an American football game and didn’t really like it much.
Actually the bar is owned by and American from Chicago and he was certainly an enthusiastic host. I’m would guess there were 40 people there with almost all being Americans living on the Island.
About 3 minutes into the game, the DIRECT TV box went down and we lost all signals. The owner was furious and beside himself but he shouted out for anyone with a box to go home and get one. Luckily one of the patrons did have a box and we were back in business about 15 minutes later. Then the power on the entire island went out and we lost everything including the lights. We sat with a single flashlight lighting the place for about 15 minutes until they could get a generator running and get things plugged into a very long extension cord. With this arrangement they got the projection TV running again and plugged in a couple of portable lights. We watch most of the game that way and the food, most pizza and wings, was prepared on gas equipment via flashlights. It was hilarious. About midway through the fourth quarter the electric did come back on and we were able to watch the colts outplay the bears for the rest of the night.
Earlier in the day we had several meetings to discuss how things work. We also met our staff. Jimmy and David and boat captains and Henry is out dive master. We learned a lot about the crazy pay system and Honduran labor laws. It the craziest system you’ve ever seen. If you work someone for 5 days in a row, you have to pay them for 6. If they quit you still have to pay them bonuses and vacation pay. If you fire them after carefully documenting and having them sign a document indicated they did something wrong at least 3 times, you then have to pay them severance pay, vacation pay and a bonus.
The entire staff is very new and has only been here a couple of weeks. Henry is not even sure he is staying. He used to be in charge several years ago and he’s just checking us out to see if he can work with us. Jimmy doesn’t know the narrow channels to get beyond the reef structure so we have a more experience captain (John) helping train him. He gets paid in some special way for helping out. We have a boat we rent from yet another guy when we have too many divers that only lets John drive his boat. John doesn’t think he’s staying around after Justin leaves at the end of the week so we are still scrambling a bit to get everying covered after Justin leaves. We have 12 divers the week of the 10th and 16 the week of the 17th and our boat only holds 10. Wow, this is a hands full right off the bat but Ben and I will work with Justin and Joe to make sure we get it done.
I’m really beat and heading to bed. No Internet connection tonight so I’ll post later.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
I'M AT PAYA BAY
I hope you've had a chance to look at the Paya Bay web site. I'm here and its even better in person. I've only been here about 24 hours but things are going very well so far. I've met most of the resort staff and owners as well as all of my dive staff. Ben and I are the two instructors and we are getting along very well.
I am temporarily staying in one of the cliffside rooms and the view is unbelievable. The ocean is just below the deck and the waves are soothing all night long.
We haven'te worked out all the Internet connections yet so access is spotty at the moment. I've been able to talk with Gerri twice one using the laptop at Ben's apartment and today using my Ipaq PDA. At this moment I'm using the resort's Internet connection and its painfully slow and apparantly a bit unreliable.
The have a couple of Dish TV connections down here but DISH thinks they don't get any network channels. Because of this we are getting a group together tonight and going to a local bar to watch the super bowl.
I'm sure I'll have lots more to say but I just wanted everyone to know I'm here and things seem to be going well.
I am temporarily staying in one of the cliffside rooms and the view is unbelievable. The ocean is just below the deck and the waves are soothing all night long.
We haven'te worked out all the Internet connections yet so access is spotty at the moment. I've been able to talk with Gerri twice one using the laptop at Ben's apartment and today using my Ipaq PDA. At this moment I'm using the resort's Internet connection and its painfully slow and apparantly a bit unreliable.
The have a couple of Dish TV connections down here but DISH thinks they don't get any network channels. Because of this we are getting a group together tonight and going to a local bar to watch the super bowl.
I'm sure I'll have lots more to say but I just wanted everyone to know I'm here and things seem to be going well.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Leaving Saturday
I was planning on going to Roatan on Feb 10th so I'd get some training time with the current manager, Justin. He was leaving on Mar 3rd. That was the plan.
It appears that Justin had some sort of problem with the owners of the resort and has decided to leave on Feb 10th. With that in mind, they have now asked me to show up on Feb 3rd. I had already made reservations to go on the 10th so Joe (the owner of the dive operation) had to pay the difference.
I AM NOW LEAVING FOR ROATAN ON FEB 3rd, 2007.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
ROATAN - HERE I COME
I am moving to ROATAN, Honduras. I should be leaving about mid February but the exact dates have not been set. Gerri will continue to hold down things in Fort Mill.
I've been offered a job as a dive operations manager at a small resort in Roatan, Honduras. The resort is Paya Bay Resort. The dive operation is actually a separate company that operates exclusivly at the resort. You can view information about the resort at the link provided. (www.payabay.com)
I won't be making much money but I'll have a small apartment provided along with at least one meal per day. The apartment has satellite TV and high speed Internet access. I'll have access to a vehicle also. I'll be responsible for the staffing, boats, equipment, divers and anything else that comes my way.
This place is on a dirt road about 3 miles off the end of the paved road across Roatan. Its extremely remote and the only resort on that end of the island. They have about 30 dive sites that are private and only used by the resort.
I'll post more information as it becomes available.
I've been offered a job as a dive operations manager at a small resort in Roatan, Honduras. The resort is Paya Bay Resort. The dive operation is actually a separate company that operates exclusivly at the resort. You can view information about the resort at the link provided. (www.payabay.com)
I won't be making much money but I'll have a small apartment provided along with at least one meal per day. The apartment has satellite TV and high speed Internet access. I'll have access to a vehicle also. I'll be responsible for the staffing, boats, equipment, divers and anything else that comes my way.
This place is on a dirt road about 3 miles off the end of the paved road across Roatan. Its extremely remote and the only resort on that end of the island. They have about 30 dive sites that are private and only used by the resort.
I'll post more information as it becomes available.
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