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.
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.
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