Guanaja - Count Down to Honduras!

We are counting down. We will be back in Guanaja soon. Our friend Captain Bob will be picking us up at the airport in San Pedro Sula and taking us to our hotel. We will all, Houdini included, be having a cool beverage at the bar by 5:00PM..... at least this is the plan!

Captain Bob is doing some shopping in the city before he takes off for Guanaja and the Castaways Resort Marina and Big AL and I haven't decided how long we will stay in SPS, but for sure we will be taking THE BUS to La Ceiba! It should be interesting, we have more luggage than last time ... more fishing poles, a small dog that requires his own bag , also! In addition, last time we were there only 1 week, this time almost 3 and, of course, we have some gifts for our new friends that we met last time. We will probably look like the Beverly Hillbillies does Central America when we arrive!

We will be staying at the Castaways Resort when we get to Guanaja. See below:

http://www.castawaysguanaja.com

Right now, for room prices, this is the best place going on Guanaja and it is right on the ocean! Castaways is new and has at least 1 hammock on the front porch that has my name on it!

I'll keep you posted on any further developments!

Guanaja - Chicken Bus? No Way!

Guanaja has captured our hearts! We will be heading back to this Caribbean paradise in a week, or at least we will be in Honduras by then. Once again we will be flying TACA from Miami to San Pedro Sula, but this time we will be taking our time on the mainland and maybe even spend the night there. We have the phone number of Miguel, a reliable taxi driver to take us to our hotel and then the bus station. Our plan is to take the "good" bus, no not the chicken bus, to La Ceiba.

For those of you who are unaware of the famous Central American "chicken bus," I have located a picture here. These "beasts" begin their lives taking small American children back and forth to school. In fact, in my younger years, I actually drove a school bus of middle school children ... little did I know then, that the daily crazy trips with hormonally charged pre-teens would come back to haunt my later years!

After the US determines that there is no life left in these big yellow and black buses,they are shipped them off to Central America where they start life all over again in the chicken bus circuit. They are painted up in garishly bright colors, chrome is added and a few king sized stereo speakers strapped in for musical entertainment. The "no vacancy" sign is removed as there is always room for just one more! The real kicker here is, that the chicken bus stops everywhere and while it is very inexpensive, it takes forever to get to your destination.

I have heard that it is very important to get on the correct bus at the depot because otherwise you might be trapped in a rolling nightmare with renditions of La Bamba booming in your ears!

My husband has assured me that the bus we are going to take will have air conditioning and a movie, in addition to the pleasant scenery. It should take about three hours to reach our destination in La Ceiba . I'll keep you posted!

Fortunately, Guanaja has no roads, therefore no chicken buses! Schucks!

Guanaja - Travel with your Pet to Honduras

Guanaja Honduras, the first time traveled down to this Bay Island paradise, my husband and I went by ourselves ... normally we travel with our small dog Houdini and we found that we missed the little guy. He really wouldn't be a bother, just some pre -planning would be required.

We booked on TACA and they confirmed with an email. They allow 2 pets per cabin and with a Distancia card (frequent flyer), he flies for FREE ...great! I found out that all pets going into Honduras are required to have a current Rabies certificate as well as an International travel certificate issued by their vet within 10 days of travel ... OK..... we can do that.

Every animal must visit a vet within 48 hours of arriving in Honduras ... so, next on the list of "to do's" was to locate a Vet in Honduras that will meet us at the airport when we fly into San Pedro Sula....for this I e-mailed my friend Guanaja Sharon. She and her husband Mike have lived in Guanaja for over a decade and they know all the ins and outs .... she is a "font" of information. Well I wasn't disappointed! Sharon wrote back the name of a vet and all the contact info for Dr. Ortiz. Her email is : littlechamps2002@yahoo.com.mx and she emailed me a reply within a day. She will meet us at the airport and take care of all of the paperwork for us. Her fee is $1oo. I have heard through the grapevine that many vets charge much more.

Houdini has already packed his sunglasses, heartworm and flea preventative in his bag ... and,
so far, everything looks green for go for "Prince Houdini of Capri" ... soon he will be Gaunaja bound!

Guanaja On My Mind!

Guanaja Honduras, we have only been home a few days, but we find our mind continually wandering back to this peaceful island retreat.

My husband and I have traveled many places and yet, we would not only like to return there, but very possibly live there at least part of the year. We are in agreement ... we need to return .... just to see once again, if the feeling still lingers.

The excitement is building ... we will be Guanaja bound once again ... we are in the serious planning stages!
This time we will be traveling with our little Maltese, Houdini. Extra plans will have to be made to accommodate him, but he is an international traveler and is up to the challenge. Houdini has been to Europe nine different times and been has on countless trips to the Bahamas on our boat. Houdini is shown here posing with our pineapple and banana plants in Florida, practicing to go into the jungles of Guanaja.

I wonder if Guanaja, that Bay Island paradise, will be ready for us?

Guanaja - We Will be BACK!

Guanaja, we will be back! With much sadness our exploration of Guanaja came to an end ... there was so much more to see and we were busy everyday! As we head back to Florida, our minds are already full, thinking of our return to this tropical paradise in the Bay Islands of Honduras.



As we are flying back home, we take out our calendar .... when can we return to Guanaja?

The saga will continue!

Goodbye Guanaja - Hello La Ceiba!

We say goodbye to Guanaja, but in 25 minutes we are already saying hello to La Ceiba! I am clicking pictures from the plane and you can see the airport below ... just a short distance from the beautiful Caribbean Sea.



We are met at the airport by our taxi driver Javier, standing here with one of the local gendarmes . Javier was recommended by Senor Denis of the Nautilus Resort and he turned out to be a terrific tour guide. He had a new air conditioned mini van and because we wanted to go several places, he charged by the hour....no problemo! First on our agenda was to check in at the La Quinta Hotel, no not the American chain hotel, but very nice and complete with pool, cable TV, on site restaurant and free internet access ... cool!


From the La Quinta we wanted to check out the Mega Mall that we had heard so much about. This was truly an experience as there were so many familiar American names. Pizza Hut, Applebees, Wendy's ... where is the Honduran food?
It seems that the Honduran's have gone American fast food crazy, at least in the large malls! There were many clothing and shoe stores and cellphone kiosks were everywhere. It really didn't seem so much different than the malls across America. The only real difference that I noticed were the armed guards patrolling the malls. Not a lot, but enough to make me feel secure.

One thing that we really wanted to checkout was the local grocery stores. This is a big deal if you are planning on living somewhere for any extended period of time ... well...check it out! A lot of fresh produce, quite inexpensive. They had a meat and seafood counter along with a deli ... in addition, there seemed to be a lot of American foods that had been imported ... they were a bit more money than in the US, but, for example, if you really needed to have that special jar of dill pickles, you could buy it.

As all my friends know, I enjoy a glass or two of wine everyday, in fact I write a blog about it:

http://www.WineFoodPairing.blogspot.com

I had to check out the wine options. HOLY COW! I was not disappointed! A lot of wines from Chile and Argentina that were reasonably priced. The Californian wines were priced about the same as the US, but were available also.

It seems that if you have the right connections and can learn the right places to shop, an American can live quite nicely down in Honduras.

When we completed our tour of the mall, we went back out into the parking lot, and Javier was right there with the van ... perfect! A quick tour of La Ceiba and back to the hotel for a rum punch and a siesta.

Goodbye Guanaja, Hello La Ceiba!

Guanaja - a Boat Trip to the Airport

Guanaja Honduras, the time has arrived for us to leave this little slice of heaven on earth. We pack up our bags and Daniel loads them into the launch and off we go to the airport. Did I mention that there are no roads, or very few, in Guanaja and all travel is done by boat? Our leaving for the US is the Nautilus Resort's "big Event" for the day and Gary and Roger come along also and then Ronnie and Guermo show up later in their boat to say goodbye! These folks have become a mini family to us.The airport is just a small shed and there is no security checks or luggage check in for that matter. Everything is done on Honduran time and we have nothing to worry about as the plane is late arriving for the day, therefore late leaving.

An American couple is off to the side chatting and I notice that he has a tattoo that is very similar to mine, (that story is for another time!), and I comment on it. It turns out that these adventurous guys, Ginger and George, from Austin Texas, have been coming down to the Bay Islands for many years. George owns a diving business and has been bringing the dive tours down to Roatan for several years. They decided that Guanaja was the place that they wanted to make their home and they took the plunge ... by that I mean, they sold everything in the US and purchased property on the North side of Guanaja. They were flying over to the Honduran mainland to shop for their building materials and would be staying in La Ceiba for a few days. What excitement!




The plane arrives and we wander out to the plane. Off we go ... it is a moment of sadness when we take off from Guanaja, this Bay Island Paradise, but we are sure now that we will return ... just a few last pictures ... to say goodbye!

Guanaja - a Total Lunar Eclipse, WOW!

Guanaja Honduras has shown us many impressive sites over the last week, but who would have known that the best was yet to come?

We are all sitting in the living area of the Nautilus Resort, enjoying our rum drinks. I have invented a new drink called the "Guanaja Tropical Storm". It has the 7 year aged Flor de Cana rum along with mango, pineapple and orange juices, topped with a strawberry juice floater and a squeeze of fresh lime. Pour this over ice that has been broken up with the "rock" .... refer to pampered chef post below, and you have a WINNER!



We have gifted Alfred's panama hat to Daniel who looks quite handsome in it, as Alfred really isn't a hat kind of guy!



Tina's kids are running outside and they come back all excited and are talking about the moon. We haven't seen the news for the last week and have no idea what is going on, but then we take a look outside from the balcony ..... OH MY ..... we have a lunar eclipse ....stunning! This picture was taken by Alexander Cohn of the Times, but it looks like he could have been sitting with us right on the deck in Guanaja!

This little piece of paradise, named Guanaja has certainly done its best to make us fall in love!

Guanaja - One more Day of Paradise!

Guanaja Honduras, this is our last full day in this "Island of the Pines" as Christopher Columbus christened it when he landed on Guanaja in 1502. There are so many things that we could do, but we are pretty sure that we will return to this island paradise so why not save them for later. Instead, we decide to take a boat ride with our host Roger, enjoy some of the island sights and listen to Roger's interesting stories.

We visit his wife, Deana's house that she owned pre-Roger, and sat on the deck and watched the boats go by on the water, then take a walk around the property.

Next, we make a quick run up to Graham's Place to have a cold beverage and talk with some of the other locals as well as some sailors that we had met earlier from the sailboat INFINI. They talked about some of their cruising adventures and, all in all, it was a very pleasant afternoon in this little tropical paradise.



We made it back early to the Nautilus Resort, the place that we had called home for the last week and just relaxed. It was great to sit with Ronnie, Gary and Roger and talk about island stuff . Ronnie had just returned from a shopping trip to La Ceiba on the mainland and had purchased a great deal of materials for the house that he is building .

Gary, on the other hand is trying to decide which piece of property he wants to purchase for his retirement get-a-way and is getting advice on what type of home would be best to build. Alfred and I are just listening and enjoying time spent with our new friends.
Guermo, who has been invaluable this trip as our boat driver and travel guide finally lets me take a real picture of him. He is a little bit shy and it took me a while to convince him.

Our last lazy afternoon spent in Guanaja Honduras, it is five o'clock somewhere and out comes the Rum! CHEERS!

Guanaja - Bonacca, the Venice of Honduras!

The main settlement of Guanaja is called Bonacca or Guanaja Town. Settled in the early 1800's by immigrants from the Cayman Islands, it's not even located on the main island and instead lies roughly one-half mile off the south side of the island. It is now completely built over with homes, businesses and 6000 residents live there. To say that it is over crowded is an understatement as homes are even being built on stilts over the water.



Bonacca, is sometimes referred to as the "Venice" of Honduras, as there are no roads, just paths and walkways over the water and it is the primary business center of the island. The town boasts a bank, western union, several stores, hotels and restaurants in addition to fueling stations along with the main dock where the supply boats land every Friday.

We were there on supply boat day and it was quite the treat to see them unload all the fresh "goodies". All the locals make sure to be there on supply Friday!

After investigating the cay we visited the Pirates's Den for a cool beverage and to take in some of the local color. I had my picture taken with the only police officer we could find on the island and he was pleased to accomodate the crazy "gringa" lady!

Of course, no trip to Bonacca would be complete without picking up a bottle of Rum. The famous Flor de Cana, made in Nicaragua from sugar cane, is our pick of the day. The smooth flavor of the 7 year aged rum doesn't even need a mixer, just a bit of ice, it is very smooth!



Zapata's on the waterfront is a great place to pick up your food and rum, just be sure to plan your trip so you don't come at siesta time between noon and 2:00pm!

Life is easy to manage in Guanaja, you just have to know the rules!

Guanaja Honduras - Cerveza at West Peak Inn!

Guanaja Honduras, a lazy afternoon after snorkeling Michaels Rock reef. We are all a little salty, but feeling good after enjoying the stunning underwater sights. We have sipped at our water, but now comes the REAL decision.....where to go for an ice cold Cerveza?
How about West Peak Inn? This quaint establishment has small cabins, kayaking trips, diving, as well as a restaurant and bar that has icy cold cerveza! West Peak is located on the northwest corner of Guanaja and is well known for its laid back atmosphere. You can take a look at their web site at:

http://www.westpeakinn.com

Cold Salva Vida, which is a tasty Honduran beer, really quenched our thirst and we chatted with some German tourists that we had met on Saturday at the Manati restaurant. It is a small island and it doesn't take long to meet most of the islanders as well as the visitors.
Re-hydrated, we all set off to explore the property surrounding the inn. The lush foliage goes all the way up the hill and fresh water streams zig zag through the property ... very nice!

Another terrific day in Guanaja! Don't get me wrong, this type of lifestyle is not for everyone. If you need constant stimulation from theaters, shopping and other activities, you would probably soon tire of this peaceful paradise, but if stunning beauty, seaside living alongside warm, friendly people is enough, then this might just be right for you!

Guanaja - Time to put our Heads Underwater!

Guanaja Honduras is truly a Bay Island paradise! This is an aerial picture of Michaels Rock and the place we chose to snorkel. We loaded up our gear and with Daniel at the helm, Roger, Gary, my husband and myself headed over to this picture postcard perfect beach on the north side of the island. I don't know about you, but every time I look at this photo I have to sigh with pleasure.

We arrived on the warm sugar sand beach and just to scrunch the sand through my toes was great, but I knew it would get better....much better! We geared up and shuffled into the water ... I am a Florida girl and normally you wouldn't catch me swimming this time of year ... after all it is only February, but the Caribbean Sea was just the right temperature.

Well, the moment finally arrived .... time to stick our heads under the water....what would we see? Would we be disappointed? HOLY COW! What a sight!Delicate fans swaying in the mild current, live corals and exquisitely colored fish living their lives in this small part of the world......WOW, is too mild of a statement for this kind of beauty! We ended up snorking for a little over an hour and then we knew that it was time to go.
Alfred and I both know that we are destined to return someday.

Guanaja Honduras .... scuba, snorkel or dive .... you MUST put your head underwater!

Guanaja - Move over Pampered Chef!

In Guanaja Honduras, they haven't heard of Pampered Chef. but the locals there make do .....
while this may look like a potato in the picture it is actually a smooth rock ... extremely clean and its purpose?????????


Well, of course, to crack ice or in spanish Hielo! This became my favorite high tech device while visiting in Tina's kitchen.

Perhaps we will soon be seeing this being marketed on a late night infomercial direct from Guanaja! Think of the possibilities!

Guanaja Honduras - Dinner with the Boss!

We arrived back at the Nautilus Resort on our Guanaja Island paradise to find it teaming with activity...... the "boss" would be arriving shortly!

Roger and Deana arrived from Texas just as dinner was about to get under way. Several years ago Roger fell in love with not only Guanaja, but one of the local "girls" .... a woman named Deana ... and the rest, as they say, is history! Roger, rumored to be a mini land baron, also services the island as one of the local realtors, in addition to being a wonderful host and owner at the Nautilus Resort and Dive Club.
Roger and Deana brought a guest with them from Texas named Gary. Over the next few days we would watch as Gary became as enchanted with the island of Guanaja as we were and by the time we left Gary was ready to buy his piece of paradise and build a small home.

Perhaps it is the pristine, multi-hued waters of the Caribbean and the warm tropical breezes or maybe it is something they put in the drinking water, but there is something definitely magical about Guanaja Honduras.

To visit Roger's web site, go to:

http://www.guanajaproperties.com

Guanaja Honduras - Hummingbird Paradise!

Guanaja Honduras is truly a bird lovers paradise .... from the wild hawk that visits the Manati Restaurant to the colorful parrots flying from tree to tree in the jungle forests. I never thought that I would see a hummingbird land right in front of me. These little guys eat about every ten minutes, the heart beats approximately 1,220 times a minute and then slow to about 50 BPM during sleep.... sometimes called "flying Jewels", they are amazing birds indeed!This picture is from Guanaja Sharon, but we actually saw these little guys land right on her husband's Mike's hand on their porch! Way Cool!

We visited our friends Sharon and Mike for a Monday lunch and to get a tour of their three acres. They have lived on Guanaja for many years and weathered out hurricane Mitch in 1998. They have terrific before and after pictures of the destructive storm, and at this point, you would never never know that it beat the island up for 48 hours.

Sharon is really into gardening... they must have over 200 pineapples plants ... their worker, Gregorio, has taken pride in the plantage and has both the pineapple as well as banana/plantains .....Sharon prepared a delish lunch of "floppy-doo's", as Mike calls them and a couple of fresh salads....then to top it all off, a key lime pie with limes right off their own tree ..... YUMMY!

For the afternoon's activities we hopped into their boat and headed down to the Brick Point area to look at a development that is just in the beginning stages from a man named Bill Pullum. The townhouses that he plans on building look to be top notch and the views from the property perched on the hill are second to none. The development also includes a marina that is protected from the strong winds and waves. You can check out their progress at:

http://www.brickpoint-plantation.com

Next to the Pullum project are Bill and Kate Driscoll's home. Retired Canadians, they have been coming down to Guanaja for many years....their home is a comfortable island style that sports a Super "man cave" for Bill with his guitars and computer! What more could you possibly want?

Spirited conversation and good wine, the wind began to kick up a bit and we knew that it was time to cut our visit short and head on back in the boat. We bid our new friends, Bill and Kate, goodbye and headed back for the nautilus resort. Another full day and we had a wonderful dinner from Tina to look forward to!

This is Guanaja Honderas at its best......affordable retirement ... a definite possibility .....

Guanaja - Bo's Island House

Guanaja Honduras has a place called Bo's Island House. No, you won't find Bo Derek there in all her nubile glory, sporting blond cornrowed hair, but Bo Bush, a local Islander. Bo's ancestry dates back to the days when English pirates roamed the Bay Islands in Honduras.


The restaurant and bar, called the Green Flash, is up on pilings over the water and less than 100' off the shore is a reef. This reef is teaming with the colorful reef fishes of the Caribbean ... what a terrific way to spend a Sunday afternoon! We met our friends Sharon and Mike there for a lazy afternoon and enjoyed some local rum along with a fresh fish lunch.

Bo's also offers accommodations for up to 12 people in the main house and two additional cabins ... everything is done up in island style and is great for a relaxing vacation. You can check out their web site at:

www.bosislandhouse.com

After our lunch, Guermo showed us the north side of Guanaja. It is the less populated side of the island, maybe because of the "northers" that come in occasionally and make traveling by boat a bit difficult. We saw several nice homes and one in particular belongs to a woman, named Susan, who spearheads care for all the island dogs and cats. She brings in a vet from the mainland and has the animals nuetered/spayed and then gives them their shots. From there, she finds good homes for them. This is our island dog Houdini ..... not all dogs are as spoiled as he is and it is important that someone "champion" the cause of abandoned and abused pets. What wonderful community spirit ... this is one of the things I found so terrific about Guanaja, people pulling together for the common good.

We continued up to take a look at Mangrove Bight from the water. This small community has one of the only islands roads. This road connects to Savannah Bight, a community on the other side of Guanaja. I think the village has three cars....very popular indeed!

Guanaja is a quirky island paradise ... certainly not for everyone. In my book, that is what keeps this little gem under the radar screen of all the big money developers that turn many island retreats into a commercial venture.

Guanaja Honduras, live life in the "manana" lane!

Guanaja Honduras - a Trip to Alcatraz!

Guanaja Honduras this Bay Island paradise .... who would have thought they have a place called Alcatraz?
Here it is ... Alcatraz ... AKA Wilmont Bay Services. If this is "prison" then lock me up and throw away the key! This little Cay provides fuel, diesel, propane, ice and water to the cruisers of the area and also to the locals of Guanaja and Bonacca Town. They also have Yamaha engines as well as a Sherwin Williams paint distributorship.

This Sunday morning our friend Jim Jones picked us up in his twin engine Pango and we ran over to Alcatraz for a quick fuel up and then over to his new home on the north side of the island. You can see their new home up on the hill in the picture here......and let me tell you the views from their porch while drinking a cold cervesa were absolutely stunning! They have chosen the Wilmont Bay area of Guanaja and the trade winds that cool you in this area make living without air conditioning easy.

Jim, a local Realtor on Guanaja, is actually the reason we came to check out Guanaja in the first place. He and his wife Cindy sold us our boat about five years ago in the US.....the reason for the sale was that they were relocating to the Bay Islands of Honduras. We listened to Jim sing the praises of Guanaja and finally we had to see for ourselves.

We hiked up the hill behind his house and the views got even better! In the distance we could see a cruise ship making it way past Roatan and in the far distance, a freighter making its rounds through the Caribbean Sea.

We meandered back to his porch and chatted, learning and asking questions about Guanaja.

I think this might have been the pivotal moment when we decided that we wanted to come back to Guanaja again....at least with out boat the "FUNLOVERS" and check things out further.

Perhaps Jim and Cindy will be seeing the boat that they left behind in Florida in Guanaja! It is a small world indeed.

To visit Jim and Cindy's web site and learn all about Guanaja go to:

http://www.GuanajaReefRealty.com

Guanaja - if it's Saturday Afternoon, then it must be Manati Bar!

Guanaja Honduras, Bay Island paradise of the Caribbean, and we are starting to get in the "groove". It is our third day and we already know that if it is Saturday afternoon in Gaunaja, then everyone meets at the Manati Bar and Restaurant. This will be our second trip there and already I am looking forward to the tasty delights that Annetta and Klaus have whipped up and to good conversation with our new friends as well as the friends that we will soon meet!

Here I am with my new friend Guanaja Sharon. This is actually our first face to face meeting, but we felt like old friends as we had been emailing back and forth. The internet is a strange and wonderful thing as it literally has "shrunk" the world into a small laptop computer that you can take anywhere ... even Guanaja Honduras! Sharon writes a terrific blog on her life and adventures in Guanaja and that it how I found her, just with a quick GOOGLE! I was looking for real info on the area and people, not just the tourist stuff that come out of the chamber of commerce sites. Check out her blog at:

http://www.featherridge.blogspot.com

She and her husband Mike, shown here with another friend Grace, have shared invaluable information with us about our "maybe" new home. Sharon and Mike have turned their beautiful home in Guanaja "green" as they only power their house with 14 solar panels and use water from the cistern and stream. Not to worry that they are doing without luxuries in life...when we went over to their home later I spied a microwave oven and a washing machine. Handy man Mike has rigged everything and all it takes is a bit of planning in their daily activities. Maybe we should all learn a lesson from this approach to living.

Next we met Captain Al, sporting his S#!t Happens cap. An old diver in Guanaja and the Bay Islands, he owns a barge and dredging machine and also did a lot of deep diving ... because of this he is now suffering with vision and hearing problems..... not to let that get the best of him, Al wears a headset and carries an amplifier with mic and just points it toward a conversation he wants listen in on! A super guy with a lot of stories to tell, he kept us fascinated with his exploits.


We met Jack, on the right, who is a plastic surgeon from New Orleans. He and his wife, Darien, own a stunning island called Half Moon Cay just a short boat ride from Manati. They have been coming down to Guanaja for many years and now spend a couple of months at a time at their island getaway. Jack, as a doctor, has donated his medical abilities many times during emergencies on the island. It is this type of community spirit that really draws us to Guanaja.

We met many others, as we were the new "kids" on the block, including sailors from the "INFINI", Michael and Susan. They have been on sail now for over a year and have traveled all over the Caribbean on their 43' WestSail.

The conversations continued into the late afternoon and Annetta really outdid herself with a Schweinebraten or pork roast ..... one of her German specialties. The food was wonderful and the spirits flowed until we knew it was time to say goodbye. The only thing that we missed was the music. I guess some Saturdays all the musicians from Guanaja (good or bad) get together and have a "jam" session in the bar. That would have been something to hear!

Guermo gathered us up and we hopped into the 25' Pango and headed back to the Nautilus Resort after a full afternoon of entertainment.

Live on a tropical island ..... someone has to do it ... Gaunaja Honduras, a Bay Island paradise!

Guanaja Honduras - a Sleepy Saturday Morning

WOW! A sleepy Saturday morning in Guanaja Honduras!

Here we sit on the porch swing, sipping coffee and listening to Tina help her kids with their homework. There is no TV at the resort and Manrike, 13 and Paita, 15 are hard at work every morning with their studies and then usually go off to school in the afternoon for four hours. These are great kids, respectful to everyone and yet still are just "kids" when they go out to play in the yard. Such a different lifestyle from the "spoiled" ones that many US kids grow up with. I don't know which is better, but this is a very wholesome atmosphere.

As we swing, we take in the stunning view of Dunbar Villa, perched on a rock in the Caribbean Sea just a few hundred yards from our resort. Right now there are no guests at the Villa. Used mainly as a dive resort this hotel truly boasts being one with nature. How cool is this? I can't imagine someone actually approaching a contractor with the idea ... you want me to build, what, WHERE?

Right now the resort is for sale and for 1.7 million US dollars, you can have this picture postcard perfect resort to yourself!

We can smell breakfast cooking ... Lela comes out to get us and another day begins in Guanaja Honduras......