12/27/2016 Christmas is here and gone. The build-up to it is so much less than when the boys were younger and still at home. I used to make myself frantic ensuring everything was just perfect for them. Now we barely celebrate, we stopped exchanging gifts when I moved to Roatan alone in 2012 and never resumed. It’s not like things are easy to find here, shopping is pretty much nil except for Mega Paca, ACE and Serranos. Other than them (a used clothing, household store and 2 hardware stores) it’s slim pickings. And that’s OK, there really isn’t much either of us need or want, really.
Christmas has a different meaning here on this island where so many have so little. The kids on the island don’t have a clue what the kids in the US experience at Christmas time. There are no iPads, iPhones, new laptops, motorcycles, flat screens for their rooms, none of that. The majority of the kids don’t even have a Christmas meal that is any different from their everyday meal of beans and rice. Some don’t even get that because their families are so poor.
Nidia has taken it upon herself for the last 18 years to try to make things better for the kids on Roatan. For her to have so many parties or do food drives is a huge undertaking, but she does it and she does it well. She is so well respected on the island that people jump at the opportunity to help her. I first met her in 2014 when she was doing a food and toy drive at Christmas. We dropped off food and she was there and I introduced myself and said we would help. That was our first year. In 2015 she decided to concentrate more on the kids and make the whole thing center around them. That year there were 2 large parties, one on the east end and one on the west end. This year she expanded to 4 parties and 2 days of visiting different forgotten communities. People have no idea what is involved in pulling off something like this on Roatan but Nidia is undaunted, she just digs in and gets it done. I am so proud to call this whirlwind of energy my friend, I adore her, she is truly a gift to the island of Roatan. Without her, none of this would happen.
I apologize for the super long post (yes, this is one of those, laden with photos). I could do it in 2 posts but I’m not going to. So grab a bottle of wine or a pot of coffee and chill for a bit.
I would say being down here in the gorgeous sunny weather is reward enough but the weather has been downright shitful. WET WET WET, sick of it. Yes, I like the rain but in excesses like this, I’m over it.
My friend Milesse owns Barefoot Cay, and she is also the one who started the airport volunteer group. She had a few ladies over to her place to meet the wife of the new General Manager of BFC. We talked about what we did on the island and had a fabulous lunch and mimosas and wine. It was a nice afternoon. A few days after that I was back there again with all the volunteers that greet at the airport. Once again, Milesse served us lunch and we had drinks and chatted about the direction the airport greeter group was going.
Then we were back at Barefoot Cay again for an evening get together to once again introduce the new GM and his wife. That was a great night, lots of incredible food, the wine was flowing and the place was filled with wonderful people. If I have to go somewhere several times in a short period of time, I can’t think of a better destination, Barefoot is really a one of a kind boutique resort. Everything there is done with exquisite taste.

My friend Dario, the head of Immigration at the Roatan airport and Bill and I at Barefoot. Note to self, wear black bra next time.
Alexi turned 18 on December 12th. We took him to Mega Paca and let him shop for clothes. Most things there aren’t over $5.00 and he spent $63.00, he had a stack of clothes. After that we took him to Herby’s for lunch, he’s never been there before. He changed into a pair of his new shorts in the back seat of the truck before we went to lunch.

His stack of clothes

Alexi, making himself comfortable

Alexi’s first time in Herby’s, probably his first time in a nice restaurant.

Saw this truck at ACE

Dead dinosaur in the pool, actually, it was an Anole. I’m surprised because I have seen them swim in the pool before. Maybe this was a catch and release by the dogs.

Mega Paca haul, 4 each of the dishes and the seahorse wall hook, score.

Morning glories at the end of the driveway
Our friends Marcia and Dennis were having a full moon party at their house. They just had a huge pool put in and were celebrating that and the moon. They have one of Frito’s pups, Duke. It was Marica I was snorkeling with last year on my birthday when the sea was full of jellyfish, it was pretty amazing. Trish and Dave came over and we all rode together to their house. They had over 60 people there, it was a lot of fun. I failed to bring my swimsuit, damn, I could have done some synchronized swimming with Francie.

Caribe Bight

Inside of their home

Their new HUGE pool, it’s gorgeous.

Francie went for a dip.

Bill, Trish and Dave chatting.
My friend Carmen and her sister, who was visiting from South Dakota, wanted to come over to the house. Brett and Carmen live boat access only and don’t have a car. The girls took a taxi to get massages in Politilly so I picked them up on my way back from BJ’s in Oak Ridge, (I dropped off a box of soccer balls, wrapping paper and a few toys for the Fiddlers Bight kids Christmas party).

These are some of the soccer balls donated by Hillcrest Village Soccer club in Toronto. They were brought down by Dave and Trish Symons and given to me to pass out, along with the soccer uniforms. There were over 60 balls to start, this is what’s left. I’m sure the kids loved them.
Carmen, Kecia and I came back to our house and Kecia met the dogs, sat by the pool for awhile and chatted and then went to Cal’s for lunch. Soon as we sat down and Reynaldo brought our drinks, he said, it’s going to rain. And it did, almost immediately. We moved to a table under the roof and enjoyed our meal. I took the 2 of them back to Oak Ridge and Brett picked them up.

Kecia and Carmen, I didn’t take this, it’s from La Sirena at Camp Bay.
Nidia has been getting ready for all of the Christmas parties for the island kids for the past few months. Once she got enough money donated she went to the mainland shopping. She scheduled 4 parties and 2 days of doing deliveries in the smaller communities. The first one was held in a small community called Wild Cane. It was outdoors under a tree, along a pretty busy road and a stream. Nidia expected 200-250 kids, there were 500. They came from so far away it took the kids over an hour to walk there, not what we expected at all. We had many generous donations from all over that helped purchase a ton of Santa hats, toys for all of the kids at ALL of the parties, bags of candy, hotdogs, drinks and ice cream cones too. I was excited to see my friends, Fred and Trish, Faber, Jeanette and Don, K.J. and Mike and Toni there. Of course Janisha was there to help her mom and Johnie and Hector helped at several of the parties also. Faber comes from the states for the parties, every year. He goes to every one and is a huge help. He also brings donations from the people he works with at the hospital. (He also comes for the TOMS shoe deliveries.) Jeanette and Don, Faber, Janisha and Kirsty helped out at Big Rock also, slicing rolls, passing out hot dogs, removing packaging from toys. You name it, we did it.

The set up area at Wild Cane

Passing out santa hats

Hmm, Moms weren’t supposed to get hats, guess she slipped by with one.

Love these boys. (Notice the mud. YUCK)

Pensive

Cuties with Minnie ears

It was a sea of red

Love the curls

Of course, I always find the dogs. I fed this pitiful pup but one meal wasn’t going to do much for him. He was on deaths doorstep.

Santa arrived in the big shiny truck parked along the wall.

They held onto him as he walked

Passing out toys

Santa and the one and only Nidia, the woman with a heart as big as Roatan. Actually, Santa is pretty awesome too, he loves this gig.
The second party was on a Monday in Crawfish Rock, a small community down near the water. The road to Crawfish Rock is dirt and this time of year with the torrential rains it is slick mud with huge ruts and potholes. I was not looking forward to the drive down there.

On the way to the party I came around a corner and there were cows in the road, a common sight here on the island. The one cow on the right was running rather haphazardly on the road. The guys on the motorcycles behind them were the “handlers.”
Helping at Crawfish Rock were Janisha, Faber, Johnie and Hector and Rusty and Sheila and of course our own special Santa, Sully.

I recall from doing shoes at Crawfish Rock that most of the kids are shoeless. It was the same this time. Once it rained, the whole area turned into a mudhole.

Nidia’s dog Coco

An unhappy Minnie, waiting for an ice cream cone

Soon after we got everyone lined up, it poured. We all ran to the school carrying anything we could get ahold of.

Waiting for ice cream

It’s backwards to serve the ice cream first but there is no other way to do it when refrigeration is an issue.

We line them up smallest to biggest, at least we try to.

Since it was raining we set up in a classroom and luckily, it had empty shelves. I was sad that the bookshelves were barren, to me, it meant that the kids had no books to read.

Santa visiting with the kids

I dug food out of the garbage bags and fed this dog.

Happy kids

These boys were so cute!

Boxes of apples donated by Ron McNab, owner of the Galaxy Wave ferry. He did this for every party!

A visit with Santa is priceless.

He was afraid of Santa

The school
After it rained 3 times while we were there the road turned into a muddy slip and slide. Santa, in his big truck got stuck, I was able to drive right out of there with my AWD car. Faber and Johnie were amazed that we didn’t get stuck.
When I got home on Monday from the party I took a shower immediately. Once I got out of the shower I felt a sore throat coming on. It got worse as the night progressed and by morning I had a full blown cold. Tuesday Nidia and some volunteers (Sheila and Rusty and Bob and Rosalie) were going to a few communities and passing out toys. I had too much to do that day and felt miserable so I didn’t join her. They went to Mudhole, Corazol and Hottest Sparrow. Santa has been busy.
Wednesday was the biggest party at Big Rock in Pensacola. Nidia expected 400+ kids and we had almost 700. Word travels fast on this little island. Many thanks to Don and Jeanette, Faber, Kirsty, Janisha and Franklin and all the other ladies who came to help control the chaos.

Saw this momma pig on the way to Pensacola. She was wandering along the road.

744 Hot dog buns, second time my car was full of these.

We took as many toys as possible out of the plastic wrap that it came in. One less thing to have to clean up afterwards.

This year instead of throw away cups, they got cups they could take home with them, less garbage is always a good thing.

I fed this dog too and if he had not been so timid and come closer, I may have had 6 dogs. He was gorgeous, I really wanted him.

The Big Rock bar has changed a lot from last year. It’s really been fixed up with these cool surfboards on the ceilings.

He was a ham

Nidia’s little dog Coco got away and ran under the porch. It took them quite a while to get her out.

My friend Kirsty passing out Santa hats

Beautiful

I love her, she has a necklace and a handbag.

Enjoying his ice cream

Santa dishing up ice cream cones

The place was packed

Using paper plates, no styrofoam

Mesmerized by Santa

He’s a happy boy

By 4 PM I was feeling awful so I headed home. Everyone was fed, all Santa had to do was pass out toys. After an hour drive, sniffling and sneezing the whole way, I was home and exhausted.
The last party was Thursday on the island of Helene. Helene is part of Roatan but it’s separated by a cut in the island. There is no electricity on the island and they got a well just 2 years ago, prior to that there was no water except for streams and springs. We were taking 2 boats to get there, one owned by Clifford Mejia, the Vice Mayor of Santos Guardiolas (the east end of Roatan) and the other owned by Ron McNab, who owns the Galaxy Wave ferries that go between Roatan and Le Ceiba. Ron is also the one who donated 2 cases of apples to each of our parties. Bob and Rosalie, Faber, Natasha, Nidia, Darla, Carmen, Rusty and Sheila and Mike, Toni and their son Rhys came along. Most of us got in Ron’s boat as Clifford’s was full of Christmas toys and baskets of food for the people of Helene. We set off for Helene close to 9AM. We were out as far as Port Royal, right near Fort Morgan Cay when the boat all of us were in stopped. We initially thought he was slowing down to maneuver inside the reef so the ride would be smoother but alas, not the case. We were drifting perilously close to the reef and to keep from colliding with it we called Joe Wonder on the radio (they live in Port Royal on the water) and he came buzzing out in his little skiff and pulled us away from the reef. Clifford was also alerted and he turned around and came back. The boat had died. We never did get the exact reason it died, all we knew was, we were being towed to Fort Morgan Caye.
Fort Morgan Cay is a small privately owned island. It is approximately 30 acres in size and was once a pirate hideout. There is a small runway on the island and a few pirate ruins and a fabulous large home with 4 rentable rooms. I can safely say that the majority of us on the boat were very excited to see Fort Morgan Cay. We tied the boat up there and all got off.
Clifford was going on to Helene, with Nidia, Rusty and Sheila and all the toys and food. The rest of us waited behind because we all couldn’t fit on one boat. Some of the stranded people started wandering around until they got reprimanded by the German manager. After talking to an islander who lives there and helps maintain the place he said he would take us for a tour of the west end of the island. If I were going to be stranded somewhere, this would be my choice.

At Clifford’s dock in Oak Ridge, this is my friend Darla’s daughter.

Ron’s boat that we were all going to Helene in.

Loading the boats

Food donated by Ron and the Galaxy Wave to be given to the people of Helene.

Just south of Lime Key where the boat stopped. Look at the color of this water. It’s why I moved to Roatan.

Clifford came to tow us to Fort Morgan Cay

The skiff in the top of the photo belongs to Kim and Joe Wonder, Joe came and towed us away from the reef until Clifford could get to us.

The buildings at FMC, notice the chairs on the roof.

An outdoor shower

The pool, OMG, it was gorgeous. The guy walking on the left is the one who gave us the tour.

Looks like a deserted island

What dreams are made of

I could be shipwrecked here for a very long time.

Natasha is the daughter of Dave and Trish who have a home on Roa. She’s awesome (and gorgeous), I absolutely adore her.

Part of the old pirate fort

wall decor

Absolutely waterfront

Doors to one of the rooms

Outdoor shower

She is not camera shy. I know her name but have no idea how to spell it. Keneesha??

Ron said he was calling his Dad and he would come with a bigger boat. He forgot to mention it was a flipping yacht. We drooled.

Ron’s boat is pretty amazing itself, it has 3- 300 HP outboards, but compared to this big “boat” it looks a tad insignificant.

After they got more gas transferred to the other boat, they left us in their wake.

Going through the mangrove cut.

At the school in Helene

Ron McNab, passing out toys, I think the cute boy in glasses next to Ron is his son.

This little boy got a big plane and was thrilled with it.

This school is in deplorable condition. So sad.

These kids are adorable.

Some are shy, most are not.

Cute young boys

Pretty girls

The kids were told to wear red or green, most did.

Look at the eyes on the girl on the left, gorgeous.

Another poorly cared for dog.

Ron, Rosalie and Nidia giving the kids toys. Santa didn’t come on this trip.

The older boys got soccer balls.

Sleeping beauty

MMM, apples

I remember this little guy from the TOM’s shoe drive and from when we passed out backpacks. He has the longest eyelashes ever.

Big sister drying his tears

Natasha handing out candy

Carmen liked this little guy.

Baskets and bags of food to be passed out to the residents of Helene

We got to see the Free Radical on the way home. That’s the boat the EXPATS go out on for the day and party.
It was a fast, uneventful trip home and we even made it by early afternoon. I was amazed. We had a party to go to at 4 that day so I was thrilled to get back in time.
Nidia and a few others were doing deliveries to Camp Bay and Diamond Rock on Friday with a Santa that came from Canada, but I couldn’t go due to prior plans. At the end of one week approximately 1800 kids got Christmas gifts. A significant number indeed.
It was a busy week for all of us but much more so for Nidia who orchestrated the whole thing. She could probably run and direct the next economic summit or be Speaker of the House. I think her skills and her ability to make things happen far outweigh anything I have ever seen. Remember, NOTHING is easy here, we’re a small island belonging to a 3rd world country, floating in the Caribbean. It just goes to show that when someone puts their mind to something, anything is possible. Nidia has proven that time and again.
It will soon be March and time to begin the distribution of TOM’s shoes, something else to look forward to. Another good deed and the kids of the island once again benefit. Because of the force that is Nidia P. Webster. I love you girlfriend.
Fabulous account, Deb! Thanks for the Barefoot mentions! I’m copying to Gary as well as my daughter and son-in-law. See you after the 7th of next year!
Milesse – from my iPad
Love this post. Your life is wonderful.
On Tuesday, December 27, 2016, Mermaid on a raft wrote:
> Ledfutt posted: ” 12/27/2016 Christmas is here and gone. The build-up to > it is so much less than when the boys were younger and still at home. I > used to make myself frantic ensuring everything was just perfect for them. > Now we barely celebrate, we stopped exchanging gi” >
awesome account, I so envy the Santa as I could picture myself there seeing the joy in those childrens eyes. The co-ordination for these events is just an outstanding job. The hearts of the people who care are so huge. You guys could be like a lot of expats who are there to take advantage of the population, I see this frequently in Mexico with the american community, BUT you guys are not like that you pitch in and help the people. My motto has always been to “treat people the way you would want to be treated if you were in their shoes” and it shows that you all feel the same. God Bless you and your community of “workers”. If I can help financially in any way just ask,.
Seeing these children make us appreciate how great we really have it! The generosity of some people is clearly enjoyed by them!
The photos of the palms and beach at Fort Morgan Caye really do look like my kind of paradise.
Thanks for another great episode, Ms Ledfutt! 🙂