central america

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Winter Storms Trash Roatan Beaches! Rainy Season Has Begun!

Winter storms have hit Roatan hard this rainy season and left the beaches trashed with mounds of seaweed mixed with multicolored plastics. Plastic bottles, containers, bottle caps, flip flops, cosmetics, travel size everything, and just about anything else you can think of! We found a nice 5 gallon gas container one day walking along the Sandy Bay beach and a top for it the next day on West Bay beach!

Now, if you don’t know where Roatan Island is, let me give you a clue. Roatan Island is part of The Bay Islands 40 miles off the coast of Honduras in The Bay of Honduras, in Central America . Roatan along with Utila and Guanaja is one of the three main Islands that inhabit the shallow Caribbean waters that sport The Great Western Barrier Reef. Roatan is the new “hot spot” for scuba divers and cruise ship vacationers. It makes for an easy cruise ship stop before or after the Belize stop just North of Roatan. With the growing demand for “closer to home” travel destinations for Americans and Canadians, Central America is changing. Tourism is quickly becoming a noteworthy source of income for many of the countries. More tourists mean more people and more people mean more trash! Every country faces the problem of what to do with trash, but not Central America! They just dump it in the ocean! After all, isn’t that what’s the ocean for? Most of the plastic on the beach in Roatan comes from currents that sweep by Belize and mainland Honduras. The many rainy season storms churn up the shallow Caribbean sea floor and take the light weight trash right over the reef and onto the beaches. Just what everyone wants to see when they visit here right! Wrong! Roatan, Bay Island, Honduran workers spend a significant amount of time cleaning up the beaches after each storm. This gets expensive for beach front property owners as well as tiresome for the workers. Wet seaweed is heavy seaweed. Some resorts rake the seaweed and have it carried off in wheelbarrows to a central property dump for compost. It makes surprisingly great fertilizer if you can sift out all the plastic! An impossible task. Some beach front folks dig holes in the sand every few feet and burry the seaweed and plastic. So, when it rains and the water runs off the Island into the reef eroding the sand away, the colorful plastic appears once again! This is in case you did not find your treasure the first time! Needless to say Roatan Winter Storms are a problem, but only because of the Trash!

For more information on the Roatan trash problem, read The Roatan Island Voice Magazine article Taking Out Trash, April, 2007 http://www.bayislandsvoice.com/roatan-environment.htm .

On the lighter and fun side of the rainy season let me say that it is a season that many Roatan Islanders look forward to. It is a break from the heat, the glaring sun, and outside work. It is really nice to tackle the indoor jobs that have been put aside due to the pretty weather! For us, it is an intense computer web site development season! All those fun articles, that you think of writing when it is pretty out and at the time got put on the back burner, are brought back out. And yes, it is also time to go through the 5,000 + pictures that were downloaded but never sorted that were taken with those articles in mind. The long and short of it, is work - computer room work. Now we do not suffer by any means. We actually like it. There are not many tourists around and neighbors are inside as well so we can really get the work done without much interruption. That is, if you do not fall asleep to the sound of rain on the jungle leaves! Wow, what a great sound that is. Our porches are screened in so we can leave our french doors open and just soak in the sound. I usually light some great smelling gingerbread cookie like candle, put on another pot of coffee, toast a bagel from the New York Bakery and spread plenty of cream cheese on it, for these rainy winter mornings.Yes, it is tough living here in paradise! But somebody has to do it! So, if you have made it this far in the blog, be on the lookout for some new articles and pictures on our www.Roatan.ws web site. While you have a minute be sure to Christmas shop with our Internet Services Company, www.InternetHostCafe.com . You will find great deals to add to your Internet development. How about a blog for your area of the world! I am sure that it snows, rains, or does something in your winters too! We would like to hear from you as well! After all, paradise is where the heart is.

Thanks for listening and we will be in touch in between the rain, walks on the winter beach, work, and play!

Posted by bobby327 at 23:15:50 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Adventures - Roatan Honduras - More Miracles Coming - New Year

Roatan.ws More Miracles Coming to Roatan Island Honduras - Illuminated my email titles one morning before the New Year. What was the miracle? I wondered. On New Years Day It Happened on Roatan Island Honduras an island in the Western Caribbean right here off the coast of Central America.

This did not happen in Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Belize - No it happened in Roatan an island in the Caribbean. Central American stories like this…

Lynne Carpenter Millsaps

www.Roatan.ws

Posted by bobby327 at 15:08:50 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Roatan’s “Felix the Cat” Coming In With Claws Sharpened !

“Felix the Cat” as Roatan.ws nicked named him is now a serious category 4 hurricane and is expected to swoop under Roatan and The Bay Islands with its claws out! We are expecting torrential rains and strong winds. Whatever we get it is expected by Tuesday. I wonder what Felix will pull out of his “bag of trick” to get us through this one!

Today was a very busy day as The Governor, Arlie Thompson and The Mayor, Dale Jackson, called for additional evacuations from the Island and posted Emergency Shelters for the remaining people. Today Taca flew two additional jumbo jets to the Island and tonight Atlantica will provide a 727 for those that want to leave. The Air Force is also sending a C130 to Roatan. (Click here for Emergency Shelters in your area.)

On the lighter side let me share what today was like. Wow, what a day! Hats off or Props to everyone who helped serve the tons of people who needed plywood and supplies for their home today. They sacrificed their time to prepare their own families for the storm to serve others! A special thanks to Deborah at Serrano’s who made sure that wood and zinc sheets were distributed in fare shares today. Hats off to Hyber Supplies employees who helped people all morning and still had smiles on their faces this afternoon!

I was one of the hundred’s of people who got to stand in line for a couple of hours this morning for lumber and then move to the car and wait another 3 hours for gasoline. I think I used more gas waiting than I would have needed for the whole week! Bo Jangles is “boarded up” but still serving fired chicken or pollo frita if you live here. The grocery stores are boarded but still open although there is not much left in them…oh, I’m sorry, of course there are cornflakes - just no milk! Many crossed the “ouch to boing” financial side of island living today by buying their first generator…needless to say we know that because we were one of them. You can’t report the news without electricity! And of course, the number one day that we all needed electricity to prepare food ahead of time, Reco was down all day!

Ok, on the serious side, people are being moved to secure housing throughout the Island via Emergency Shelters and nice neighbors sharing their homes. One thing you can definitely say about this Island is that everyone helps the other one in times of need.

Many people did leave for the mainland today but that may not have been a good idea after all. Felix (that tricky cat) has moved farther south and west. It is going to make a direct hit on the coast of Honduras. Our hearts and prayers go out to all the residents there. For Roatan, we will get a more southern approach from Felix with less intensity wind wise but still clawing his way north.

Is this “Felix the Cat” at work tricking us again? We will have to see what his bag of tricks bring us tomorrow. For now…goodnight!

Lynne and Bob Millspas at http://www.roatn.ws

Posted by bobby327 at 02:06:20 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Monday, September 3, 2007

Hurricane Felix Upgraded to a Dangerous; Cat 5 Hurricane

We are posting as often as possible at http://www.Roatan.ws

For the Projected Course over - Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras in Central America “Felix the Cat” as Roatan.ws nicknamed him is now a dangerous category 5 hurricane! The core is tight and the winds are up to 175 mph. It will be coming into Roatan and The Bay Islands with its claws out!

People are already comparing this storm to Hurricane Mitch that hit here in 1998 leaving Guanaja bald! Every tree was reportedly stripped clean. Could this happen again? The answer is a resounding YES!

Roatan Resorts did their best to evacuated tourists this weekend with the help of the Airlines. One couple we talked to, flew in Saturday and out on Sunday!

We talked with Bay Islands Beach Resort, Anthony’s Key Resort, Sueno Del Mar dive shop, and general folks in West End and West Bay today…all saying and doing the same thing…evacuating people and preparing property for the worst.

Yesterday people were concerned with loosing their piers and docks like they did in Hurricane Wilma. Today they are just worried about keeping what they can and saving their own lives!

See pictures of Hurricane Wilma…

BIBR have moved their boats, cleared out the beach restaurant, evacuated all of their guests and will move the birds inside. Anthony’s Key is moving their boats to Gibson Bite, and moving the dolphins to the swimming pool in the center of Anthony’s Key. The mother dolphins and their young will be ok next to Bailey’s Key says; Eldon; head of the Dolphin Program at Anthony’s Key Resort. Although the dolphins will be in fresh water for a couple of days…they will be just fine! All the resort tourists were evacuated today.

Sueno del Mar is boarding up the beach front of the Hotel and Dive Shop. The boats will be moved to the south side tomorrow. That holds true for Pura Veda as well.

At West Bay beach it was a typical family day today with barbeques, snorkeling, soccer games, and swimming taking place. We grabbed a water walk where we met Fred and Megan who are here from California on their honeymoon. They are in their second week and are to go home Saturday. They were not informed of the evacuation and will battle it out with the rest of us! What a honeymoon to remember!

We are posting as often as possible at http://www.Roatan.ws

Bob and Lynne Millsaps

Posted by bobby327 at 03:03:48 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Hurricane Dean Watch Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras Caribbean at www.Roatan.ws

Hurricane Dean Watch Roatan, Bay Island, Honduras on www.Roatan.ws
Thunder storms this morning with light rain and light wind. Small cell over the islands…

People are preparing for the worst - no surprises this time! Gasoline in short…

partly cloudy - no rain - light breeze from N.E - moderate surf - no coastal damage

Gasoline supply is running short as people “fill up” to prepare for Hurricane status on Roatan Island . Removable Docks and Pier boards are being taken up in sections to maintain damage control. Waterfront homes are securing outside objects and boarding windows. Is this overkill???? Nobody thinks so! Hurricane Dean is projecting hurricane strength winds up to 75 miles from its center. The expanse of the total storm is up to 200 miles from the center.

The storm has recently shifted to the South West, placing Roatan in the outer skirts of the hurricane. Heavy rains, surf, and wind are expected. After Hurricane Wilma 2 years ago, with its intense coastal damage, no one here is taking any chances. Better to be prepared than to take risks on costly pier and home repairs.

People seem calm but alert. Grocery shopping is at an all time high and batteries are already gone as flashlights are loaded for the only sure prediction - no electricity! Communications may be down for awhile due to lack of electricity and satellite signals, so be patient as folks wait to report to “the outside world”. More than likely everyone is just fine!

www.Roatan.ws

Posted by bobby327 at 12:04:14 | Permalink | Comments (4)

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

West Bay Beach - Roatan, Honduras

Lynnne and I went to West Bay Beach early this morning. Couldn’t have asked to a better day the water was great. We live in Sundancer Cabanas www.RoatanBeachFront.com and have all that we could want or need right here. But it is a special treat when we can do an early morning walk on this exqusite beach…

Posted by bobby327 at 16:37:31 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Roatan Bay Islands Local Wood Carving Artist Melvin Bodden

We just published an article on Palanca a truely unique fellow..

Where in Roatan can you find Melvin Bodden?…

You won’t see Melvin in a fancy museum…no, his museum is the great outdoors. Look for a small house in a grassy field in Sandy Bay decorated with his own paintings! Just pull up along the road, meet Melvin, have a little chat, and buy a carving for your place. He is a favorite among island visitors and an award winner in the municipality of Coxen Hole. Roatan wood is his claim to fame!

Go to www.Roatan.ws to read complete article.

We had fun doing this one hope you enjoy it as well.

Bob

Posted by bobby327 at 01:49:04 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Roatan

Roatan.ws - We write & photograph the Caribbean Island Roatan…