Monday, March 2nd

Hey, all,

Since last posting on Friday night we have had a few adventures worth posting about as well as updating you on life, in general, here in Honduras.

Ths morning started at 1:30 a.m. when Judy woke me up to tell me that her bed was soaked due to a leak in the roof and water was running in from the ceiling! So she climbed into bed with me (a double bed, fortunately) and we spent the rest of the night sleeping rather fitfully due to rain pounding the house, the surf pounding the beach, the wind howling all around us, the patio furniture being blown across the deck and a cat screeching outside of our window. We finally just decided it was time to get up and give up all attempts to sleep at about 8:00 a.m. Outside there were gale force winds and the ocean was in total whitecaps with surfing size waves crashing against the reef in huge swells and massive waves rolling in and up to and under the beach house. It was quite the sight and sound and certainly unlike any weather we have seen so far here. Luckily, we don't have to work at the Center on Mondays so we could just stagger around the apartment for a few hours and hang up the sheets to flap like dangerous weapons on the porch and locate the patio furniture and watch the local kids chasing and screaming and running from the waves on the beach. It has not let up at all so we aren't sure how long it will take before we are driven nuts by the incessant roar of it all.

We don't mind having an indoor day since both Saturday and Sunday were gloriously sunny and beautiful and we spent a lot of both days on the beach and snorkeling until we had lock jaw from our snorkels. On Sat. we went to the Bay Island Beach Resort where they have set up a snorkel "trail" underwater that you can follow and avoid the super shallow areas and see the areas of the reef that are most interesting. Plus there is a floating platform at the midpoint where you can take a break, warm up in the sun and rest before heading back into the water again. The coral and fish were not as good as most of the other areas we have been to but it was still a nice afternoon and then we could hang out at the resort in the hammocks and on the pier to relax. Then on Sunday morning we went back to beautiful Tabayana Beach on West Bay that is our favorite place so far. It was NOT a cruise ship day so the beach was delightfully empty and over the course of the afternoon was just inhabited by locals and their families and other people staying on the island. It was great to be able to just walk out onto the beach, put on your mask and snorkel and just get into the water and find wonderful fish and healthy coral right away. We managed to find the channel to the deeper areas past the shallow part and saw lots of schools of fish (mostly Blue Tang) and many parrot fish munching the coral (you can actually hear them crunching away!!) and I saw those same gigantic fish I saw last week plus another really huge fish that was all black with just some neon blue colored markings all over it. Really wild.

We treated ourselves to the most delicious smoothies (Judy had strawberry and I had creamy coconut) at Rudy's in West End and they were the perfect sweet and refreshing things to have after all the salt water all day. Back at the house we fixed some yummy fish tacos from the leftovers of our red snapper dinner the night before. Lately our routine has been to have dinner and then channel surf for a movie to watch in the evening. So we have enjoyed "Inside Man" with Denzel Washington and "Dead Poets Society" in the last couple of nights. Our other favorite thing to do is to make instant chocolate pudding for dessert and then we just each get a spoon and eat it straight from the bowl. Pretty decadent. We really feel like we are on vacation.

Just to make sure you realize that the house we are living in is not fancy, and in the interest of setting the record straight, here are a few things you should know:

We feel, mostly, like it is just one small step above camping to live here because NOTHING feels really clean. The sheets and bedding all have a vague smell of mildew and NOTHING here ever feels really dry.

The house is full of termites and every day we sweep and have a pile of sawdust and sand every time to clean up. Did I forget to mention lizards? Yup. Mostly small but very surprising when you reach for the broom handle and they jump to the floor.

When we moved in, the front porch was mostly occupied by stray beach dogs that were very conscientious about "marking" their territory every time they came by. After 2 days/nights of chasing them away and using all the plastic porch furniture to block access we have had several "poop free" mornings! So we swept up and washed off the porch as best as we could. Needless to say, we wear shoes all the time on the porch and socks all the time in the house.

Also, every day we seem to be surprised by all kinds of new human visitors which have included other volunteers at the Clinica Esperanza invited by Miss Peggy to enjoy the beach view from the porch, or any one of a number of roving local kids who are chasing each other up and down the beach and through all the houses and porches and piers.

The concrete shower and completely mildewed shower curtain would make most adults cry and run for their lives. We wear shoes in the shower, too. Oh, and by the way, EVERYPLACE in Hoduras has a wastebasket next to the toilet for the TP as NONE of the plumbing in the entire country is capable of handling anything other than human waste.

Electricity is not a given here on Roatan. Routinely we find ourselves in the total dark and without the fans and, of course, without water as well since the water pump is electrical. We just don't open the refrig and hope it comes on within a few hours before the milk curdles.

Also, you cannot, under any circumstances, drink tap water anywhere in Honduras. So all houses have one of those bottled water dispensers that you refill with huge plastic containers (5 gallon?, 10 gallon?) that I am unable to even consider lifting. Luckily for me, Pam and Judy are able to hoist those suckers up and manage to install the new ones into the dispenser without spilling most of the fresh water all over the floors. I love my friends.

So, even though we are not suffering through the cold and snow that our Midwest friends and family are, there are a number of very real drawbacks to life in the tropics.

We love you and miss you all. Maria (and Judy)