Sailing Half Moon Bay

                                                                  

May Update

Hi all,

  May and the hot humid weather has hit.   Luckily it is followed by trade winds and they are blessed!  Semana Santa has come and gone and it is always followed by a quiet spell before the summer vacationers arrive.  The water is warmer, the diving gorgeous with Whale shark sighting off Utila and dolphins moving through. 

  The Roatan Yacht club at Half Moon Bay has been launched and there are now up to 5 lazer sailboats functioning…soon to be 9.  Everyone is learning how dicey the wind currents are in that bay and it has been very entertaining for the Peanut Galley in Sundowners watching the antics.  They look gorgeous out there.  Bit more challenging for the snorkelers though since when your head is down in the water it is hard to hear them clipping along.  It is a bit like being in a video game out there.

Hope Spring is around the corner up there in the North where the snow continues to fly.  And I hope you all have a great Month.

April Update

Foster's Bar and Grill

Paia   

                                                              Cas   

April Update

Hi and Happy Spring!  Wow is it ever coming?  Those March storms just kept rolling in here !  But of course those that live here on Roatan welcome them.  I never stop being amazed at how drastically the Ocean can change in a matter of minutes.  I am sure the Boaters will agree!

 I had a great Birthday…thanks to my wonderful family planning a well plotted out surprise party…my first one ever!  Boy was I clueless.  FUN! 

Roatan seems to transform as Easter approaches and this could be a record setting year for Vistors this Semana Santa which is what Easter week is called.  Many locals avoid or dread it but I have come to find it lively and fun and very entertaining.  It is like a Latin Mardi Gras and most of these folks are ready to Party! The weather is looking good, since as of this writing,  we are in the middle of the Festive week.  There is a battle of the bars going on and there are more than ever.  Fosters is open and looking great as well as a bar that was formally Nova and is now 50 bar….diver lingo!  The traffic is restricted down the West End Road and it has taken on the feel of a street fair.  Can only imagine the amount of beer that will be consumed!  The Businesses are happy and with the Cruise ships in on top of it…who can complain!  

Well April is next and the hot humid days are around the corner…but warm water too!  Nice!  Have a wonderful month of April.  I know I will!

Kristin

March photo update

       a very long jelly fish      lion fish huntingracing at the New Black Pearl Golf course

March update

  Roatan has returned to the bustling Island it was a couple years ago before the Government shake up.  Yeah!  With 9 or 10 Cruise ships in each week, the streets are busy and so are the businesses.  The lively nights are full of happy tourists.   

The Lionfish hunting continues and there are so many of them invading our reef.  Many divers have now been trained to use spear guns to kill them but it probably won’t have much of an impact.  Better than nothing though.  They are aggressive and threaten so many of the small tropical fish.  For more information go to the Marine Park web site which is www.roatanmarinepark.com.

The West side of the Island was treated to a spectacular Air show by 5 World war 2 vintage airplanes.  It was quite a sight and they shared their daring for over 2 hours.  A beautiful day topped it off and it was fun to see.  See footage at /www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcq10iiqAbY

The Olympics came to an end in style with many happy Canadians and one great hockey game at Sundowners!

Have a wonderful Spring!

February Update 2010

Castle and PaiaPaia

                                                       

Happy February…The height of Awesome weather in Roatan. 
 
The above photos include one good Winter Storm...the Reef Rider was no longer riding the Reef!  It was a shipwrecked Beach bar for a few days.  Sean's Memorial , My gorgeous Grandkids (the two that live on Roatan) and the ongoing Foster Remodel.  It is looking quite stable!

For my February Update I am borrowing, from a great Blog and Blogger , her review of the ongoing Zelaya circus.  She can be found at www.lagringasblogicito.blogspot.com  

I know not everyone followed the goings on last summer of the Government upheaval in Roatan but it really was quite an experience to be on the ground here and watch the Media and Political un-truths just zizzle and pop.  I think living in the States and other so called 1^st World Countries the sense that the truth is not on the surface is becoming more and more tangible but actually watching it go across the computer screen…blatantly misinforming is quite a jaw dropping experience.  Below is just a snippet of what is going on.

There were no pajamas!

Ex-president Manuel Zelaya was NOT taken to Costa Rica in his pajamas.

It was all a lie. The question is, how many presidents knew it was a lie?

When removed from Honduras on June 28, Mel Zelaya was fully dressed up to and including his cowboy boots. We heard rumors of this from the beginning, including from neighbors who saw him leave with the military fully dressed. We also heard that there was a video of Zelaya's exit that was shown to José Insulza of the OAS, who nevertheless continued the lie. But who was going to believe Honduras, when victim Zelaya was saying otherwise to CNN, Telesur, and the NY Times, who dutifully reported it without investigation.

This would be a minor detail except for the thousands of newspaper articles and outraged exclamations of presidents and pundits around the world, crying "in his pajamas!" - which you would think ranked right up there with a bullet in the head. That press conference of Zelaya in his pajamas with bed-hair set the tone and had huge impact on the way that Honduras was treated by the world.

But even worse, Costa Rica and its President Oscar Arias must have known that he arrived fully dressed and donned the pjs and messed up his hair later. Are we to believe that this fact just slipped the mind of airport personnel and Zelaya's escort to the Presidential Palace in San José? So Arias knew about the great lie but said nothing for seven months, making him an accomplice to the lying propaganda spewed against Honduras by Zelaya.

Is there any chance that the US did not know this was a lie? Is there any chance that US State Department officials have not been shown the video? What else does the US State Department know that Zelaya is lying about? What about the crimes? What about the narcotrafficking ties? What about the foreign bank accounts? Will they ever tell the US population the truth?

So now we have a new President here.  Pepe Lobo and Zelaya has been sent packing on a plane to Dominican Republic.  The Country is trying to move on and time will only tell how the Zelaya story Will end.

  January on Roatan saw busy dive shops, better numbers at the Resorts and a huge amount of optimism for the New Year. 

For those of you that remember Sean from the Lily Pond bed and breakfast we gave him a final toast on his birthday.  He passed away December 7^th.  He would have been 50 on January 24^th.

Lots of Birthdays, lots of friends coming and going and so many reasons to celebrate the first month of 2010.

January Paparazzi

The Oasis, New Years 2010
The New Band and Captain Ron
Harmony and Mark
great Party
CasPaiaPacking for the food driveLa Colonia
OrangesPencilson going Fosters

January Update

A New Year!  Starting on a Full Moon will this year be as equally wild as last?  Not sure it can top the Earthquake and Government upheaval in Honduras but one thing is for sure, Everyone here has learned the meaning of patience and taking things in stride. 

December was gorgeous!  This has definitely been a mild rainy season and with the return of tourists we sure hope the sun continues to show off how beautiful this Island is and the turquoise waters.  There have been whale shark sightings and lovely pods of dolphins moving through.  One group of divers even got to witness a baby dolphin being born, how special is that? 

We had successful Christmas fundraising events for the charities here and a super food drive.  Not hard to be reminded about gratitude when you live in a 3^rd world country.

New Years was great and hopefully a token of what we can expect in 2010,  without the Hangovers of course.  The Best of everything to all of you.

Kristin