01/25/2016 There she went just walking ‘cross the floor, singing do wah diddy diddy down diddy do
snappin’ her fingers and shufflin’ her feet, singin’ do-wah diddy-diddy down diddy-do
she looked fine, LOOKED FINE
she looked good, she looked fine
and I nearly lost my mind
Before I knew it she was walkin’ next to me,
So began my week on the rock.
I was invited to a spa day at Francie’s this past week. I met Jeanie at the top of the hill in Oak Ridge (her husband dropped her off). We met our badass girlfriend Marilyn at BJ’s at 9:30 and she took us by boat to Big Rock, Franklin and Francie’s utterly fabulous home. (click on Big Rock and check out this property, it is for rent and it’s top notch)
There were 3 ladies to do massages, mani’s and pedi’s. I passed on the massage due to still sore ribs and had a nice relaxing pedi. We had a great lunch, bowls of fruit and some adult beverages. Franklin came home from golfing and made us some specialty drinks with fresh grated nutmeg on top, oh my yummy!!
It was almost totally dark when I got home, a long day away from the babies..What a wonderful way to spend a day with friends. So lucky.
This island is divided into 2 parts, Roatan and Santos Guardiola. I am very thankful to say I live in Santos Guardiola. Each part has their own mayor, ours is Carson Dilbert and I know him well enough to always get a hug and a kiss every time I see him. He is a good man who is trying to do what is right. The mayor on the other end of the island is not quite an upstanding person. When the DEI came in here toting guns and closing businesses, he left the island. He was not here to stop them. Just recently he proposed a new tax plan that is discriminatory, ridiculous and illegal. He thought in his nonfunctioning brain that this was a smart way to get some new $$ for raises for many of the people who work at the municipal. The business people were up in arms over this, taxing foreign dive instructors and other ridiculous things.. Anyhow, my friends on the other end of the island decided to have a march against what he is doing. Ironically, as soon as he got wind of what was going to happen he supposedly rescinded the cruise ship tax and the raises. he thought the march was cancelled. Surprise.. we were still marching.
I got to the airport where the march began at 8 AM. My friend Daine was there and Nidia’s oldest son Franklin. I helped pass out t-shirts and by 9 AM we had passed out 500 of them (purchased with $$ Daine and Nidia raised) that said Roatan United on them.
At 9:15 we were off, the march had started.
Of course, the illustrious Mayor was nowhere to be seen. His minions took to Facebook afterwards and claimed we were all disgruntled people with a political agenda and not business owners. Bullshit. There were MANY business owners there.
I left downtown Coxen Hole at 11:15, buzzed by the house, Bill gave me a cup of ice water and my books for Spanish class and I drove like the local taxis do so I could get to class on time. It had rained a little while we were marching so I was semi wet, semi sweaty and really needed wine. I made it through my fun Spanish class taught by Francie and immediately headed to BJ’s with the gang afterwards. Luckily I got there before Jeanie and got the biggest wine glass.. Bitchacha!!
Saturday I was back doing my airport gig. The poor people traveling to the east coast were doomed. Francie’s family didn’t leave as planned, they were headed to the Northeast and decided to wait until Monday to even try to make their connections! It was a long day at RTB. The plane that was supposed to be there at 12:20 arrived at 3:20, we didn’t leave the airport until 4 PM, exhaustion set it, however I still made chicken noodle soup for dinner, it was just what I needed. That and vodka. AND, I just talked about the airport again, oh well, it is a part of my life.
This letter was received about us, the Volunteer Airport Greeters, it is the very reason we do what we do.
In my line of business I travel internationally quite frequently and lately, work with Vegas Electric has been bringing me to Roatan on a more regular basis.
As a frequent traveler in the Americas, I usually know what to expect – a short flight from Houston that may or may not be on time, the signature Roatan warmth as we deplane, and a long line with an air conditioning system that may or may not work. As mentioned, that is more or less what I expect when arriving in Roatan, and to be fair it is not very different than similar destinations in the Americas I travel to.
During my last trip to Roatan however, something was different. We were a little bit late, and the warm embrace of the breeze was unchanged as we deplaned, but something was different with the line at immigration. It was the group of mostly ladies from the Roatan Tourism Board (or Chamber) uncertain of the actual name. They were smiling, they were engaging, they were speaking to every person in line, quite a welcoming sight and experience. It made the usually tedious nature of waiting for your turn go a lot faster, a lot easier and in the end, entirely changed the disposition of the passengers, the immigration officers and the room in general. What a great way to arrive.
The excellent initiative of establishing a formal island welcome in this fashion, makes a difference to new arrivals to Roatan. I can tell you it made a difference to me, and that I also saw it in the faces of other passengers. This is an excellent initiative that in my view should continue as the ladies warmth, smiles and positive energy made a big difference in the arrival and ensure the Roatan difference is felt from before immigration.
As you continue to work towards strengthening and differentiating the Roatan tourist experience, I think this should be an element retained and when possible, extended.
Regards and very nice to meet you.
I love my airport gig and the people I meet there. It’s lobby leading, just not for Bank of America, although they did teach me well.
It was a blustery weekend on the rock. It looked like a battlefield when I walked the dogs.
The locals were freezing their butts off, wearing sweaters and layers of long shirts. It was mid 70’s with a cool wind from the north. I wasn’t cold. I’m still not cold, except I do have on socks with my flip flops..
A couple more photos before I proofread this 19 times and publish it. This is our granddaughter Alexah, she is 13.
This is Chloee, she will be 10 in February.
We are so excited for July to come so we can spend some time with the girls and Chance and Alecia. I can’t wait to take them snorkeling and show them around this gorgeous island!!
Signing off this cool breezy January night, going to watch some American Horror Story. I’m wildly fascinated with it.
Get your socks and velour sweatsuits out tonight, it’s going to be a brisk one..it’s 73 degrees at 9:20 PM..
Mermaid on a Raft 
Great read. Not sure exactly where you live, but we are movig to Roatan on July 4, this summer. In need of a one bedroom fully furnished apt./condo. Anyhelp would be great. Trying to set up contacts before we arrive. We are staying an Land’s Ends in West End. We won’t have a car, so trying to figure out if West End or West Bay would be better. Keep on writing. Hope to hook up with you and others soon. Thanks!
Ciao!
KK
Hi there, you can contact my friends Claire and Kevin at Blue Reef Properties, http://www.bluereefproperties.com. They are excellent property managers and may be able to help you. We live mid island, east of Parrot Tree, if you know where that is. You can friend me on FB (there is a link on the blog) and I’ll help you however I can.
I love reading your blog, you write and sound like I would if I were writing and it is very enjoyable. We are planning our first visit to Roatan the last week of February and staying at The Beach House in West End. My husband and I are close to retiring within 3 years and were joking about moving to Honduras or some place as the cost of living is so much better than here in the US. My health issues would probably preclude a permanent move but I think if we like it we could easily become snowbirds to an island rental each winter. It looks to be paradise. Just a quick question, how bad are the jellyfish at that time? do you recommend a rash guard and a very good mosquito repellant for sand fleas and mosquitos? Thanks and keep the writing up, I am visiting the island every time I read a post.
Hi Lorna, There are usually not jellyfish here, what I experienced on Jan. 3rd was unusual but like I said in my blog, they didn’t hurt. That being said, yes, wear a rash guard shirt if there are any.
I personally will not wear DEET in the water, it damages the coral. I would suggest some Cactus juice (available here) or coconut or baby oil.
The Beach House is a very nice place and I’m sure they rake their beach every morning for the sand fleas.If you go to West Bay beach to swim there are very few sand fleas there at all.
If you come to Roa on a Saturday, make sure to say hello, I’m the first person you will see as you enter the immigration building.
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for the info. I do not wear anything in the water for fear of harming corals. The deet is for evening sitting outdoors. We fly in on Sat Feb 20 via Atlanta on Delta flight. I need to contact Katie at tge Beach House withmy flight info so she can have transport waiting for us. What is the immigration procedure on arrival? Claim our luggage and go through customs? Is there any entry tax etc? Do they take US $.
You will need DEET in the evenings for sure, thank you for knowing enough to protect the reef. I will be the first person you see as you walk into the immigration building. You will go through immigration, then get your bags and go through customs. There is no entry tax and the departure fee is included in your ticket. Yes, you can use USD here, you will get Lempiras as change. I do not recommend using an ATM to withdraw cash. Credit cards are accepted most places on the island, check to see if yours has a foreign exchange fee on it, if it does, it may be costly to use it for everything.See you the 20th, make sure to say hello, I’ll have on an ugly orange vest w/ my name tag on.
Nice fun post, again, and a lovely letter singing praises for the greeters. When we first started visiting Jamaica they had a band all decked out that sang at the entrance just inside and welcomed you but they did away with that. I’ve always since missed them.
Your granddaughters are so very pretty and you must be excited to see them in July. Stay warm 🙂
I have been trying to post comments about these stories but can’t se
That’s weird Tim. You can always post on FB too..Thanks for following me.