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.