TRAVEL & TOURISM |
TRAVEL & TOURISM |
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Monday, April 30, 2001 Online Edition 17 |
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Easter in Paradise Hot
sun, refreshing water, spectacular views and nice people highlight holiday
vacation on Roatan
By
C.F. AGURCIA (First
of two parts) When people speak of Honduras and
tourism, they tend to mention two places: the ruins of Copan and the Bay
Islands. My father is an
archaeologist, so my ties to the ruins have been strong, to say the least.
I guess that is why I waited so long to visit the Islands.
Now that I know what they are like, I mourn for all the time I have
been missing them. Easter holiday is prime
vacation-time for Honduras. People
from inside the country travel outward toward its beaches and its islands.
This Easter holiday, I got a plane ticket to Roatan island and struck
out for an adventure on my own. My first sight of Roatan was just
after sunset. The waters of the
Caribbean were still golden-red from the sun's light when I caught sight of
the long, tall green island. After landing in Coxen Hole, I spent only a short time there
before gong to my final destination on the island: West End.
A word to the wise: cab-fare from the airport to West End should cost
you no more than Lps. 60; don't let an abusive cabdriver take a chunk out of
your travelling funds. It was dark by the time I reached
West End. This portion of the
island, I was told, is the most oriented toward tourists.
It is dominated by a sand road that leaves the beach on one side and
all the stores, hotels, restaurants and bars on the other side.
My hotel, Valerie's, was not hard to find at all.
After checking in, I went back outside to absorb the ambience. LOVE
AT FIRST SIGHT I immediately fell in love.
A soft breeze caressed my skin and brought with it the scents of the
ocean and of the tropical dinners being cooked.
Back and forth around me walked people of different stature, looks,
colors and nationalities. The
palm trees waved and sang with the wind, joining in with the sounds of
reggae music coming from somewhere nearby.
I knew then that I was somewhere different, a place Honduras holds
apart from its mainland. That initial night in West End I
soaked up the environment and let it depressurize my insides.
Little by little I could feel the stress melting away.
The hustle and bustle of city life, that constant beat that knocks
away in our heads, grew pale, faded into the background, and was forgotten.
I was not completely aware of all of these changes occurring inside
me, but I did feel looser, more comfortable and secure that my adventure was
going to be fun. Now, let me describe the hotel.
Valerie's is a conjunction of different rooms stuck in odd places. You can stay in a hostel-like room with bunk beds or in your
own private room if you would like. Valerie,
the owner, moved to Roatan from Chicago in the 1980s, she is a sweet lady
with a big heart and cares for each of her guests, which come from all over
the world, as if they were her own children. "I've reared five younger brothers and four sons,"
she says. "They have their
own lives now, so the people who stay here are like my own boys."
HELPING
HAND Valerie actually has a program
that helps international tourists in distress.
If tourists are robbed and left with nothing, they can contact
authorities and ask to be sent to Valerie's, where she will take care of
them, free of charge until they get back on their own two feet. I stayed in one of the hostel-like
rooms, sharing it with two Spaniards that first night.
The next morning, I saw something that convinced me of how safe the
hotel was and how gentle the lady who owned it.
I walked to the office to ask Valerie for advice on what to do when I
came across a tiny bird sitting just outside her door.
I knelt down to study it and discovered that it was a baby humming
bird! "She's learning how to fly,
the other one flew away already," Valerie popped her head out the door
and saw me awed by the tiny creature. "Her
mom must be around somewhere." I
saw the mother hummingbird seconds later and then Val showed me the nest
where the eggs had been laid and hatched, right outside her door. Inspired by the new life I saw, I
walked out the hotel and headed for Half Moon Bay.
The morning sun's rays graced the bay and I gasped in emotion.
I had never seen a beach like this except in magazines and on TV.
Coral white sand covered most of the crescent-shaped beach.
The crystal clear blue waters showed the white sand underneath grow
darker as it went deeper until it hit the reef. I basked in the sun for a while,
and when I grew hot, I splashed in. The
water was refreshing, but not cold, and I floated languidly and thought of
nothing but the way the gentle lapping waves went up and down.
This was why I was here. This
was paradise in Honduras's front yard and I had but scratched the tip of the
iceberg. There was more to
come. Tune in next week for the
conclusion of Easter in Paradise.
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Good
news for National Park Lovers. The
Punta Izopo Protected Area recently was moved up a notch and declared a
National Park. Excellent tours
to Punta Izopo are run by Tela-based Garifuna Tours <garifuna@hondutel.hn;
http://www.garifuna-tours.com>. * * * Remember
the expression "look before you leap"? Well, if you spent any time on the south coast beach of
Cedeno this past Easter Week you would have been well advised to take heed.
It seems that some three years ago an extremely high tide destroyed
many beach front businesses -- including five hotels -- that have yet to be
demolished and removed. Problem is that many of the remains of these structures
remain below water at high tide, making it dangerous for Easter week
swimmers since hidden below water level are cement blocks, bricks, cement
chunks, rebar and other assorted debris. The
mayor of Cedeno beach made an urgent plea to the president just prior to
Easter Week asking the central government to assist in the cleanup.
The government pitched in Lps. 186,000 to clean a one kilometer
stretch of beach. Holy Week is
the biggest time of the year for Cedeno beach when some 70,000 local
tourists, many from Tegucigalpa and Choluteca, descend on the popular south
coast beach. * * * More
bad news for the Honduran economy. Coffee
prices are currently at their lowest level in years, which is very bad news
for the Honduran economy. The
current price is $56 per quintal which is the equivalent of 46 kilos.
Compared to last year, Honduras stands to lose some $160 million.
Projections are that Honduras will export 2.5 million sacks of coffee
this year, 1.5 million less than last year.
Coffee is Honduras' number one export, providing direct employment to
100,000 coffee growers and indirectly supporting half a million persons. * * * According
to an article published by La Prensa, the biggest factor limiting the growth
of the Honduran tourism sector is the lack of beach tourism infrastructure.
Although Honduras has some 300 km of beach, there are scarcely 0.5
beach hotel rooms per km2. The article mentions the long awaited Tela Bay Project as a
potentially positive development in developing beach infrastructure,
especially in terms of hotel rooms. However,
Tela Bay has been on the drawing boards for more than 25 years with little
to show in the way of basic required infrastructure. Also
important to consider is the multiplier effect that beach tourism will have
on the rest of the tourism sector, given that increased numbers of beach
tourists will translate into lower airfares, hotel rates and tour rates.
At this time, there are only a handful of hotels on the North and
South Coasts, the vast majority small, family-run operations.
The largest of the North Coast/Caribbean Coast hotels are Telamar
with 169 rooms in Tela, Caribbean Sands with 42 rooms in La Ceiba and
Christopher Columbus with 70 rooms in Trujillo. Not one of these hotels is a world class beach property. * * * Good
news for the North Coast for a change.
The government of Spain will provide financing to the tune of a $37
million loan to construct the 67.9 km highway linking Puerto Cortes and the
Guatemalan border at Corinto. Plans
were in the works to build the highway but Hurricane Mitch put that on hold.
The highway will link San Pedro Sula, which is Honduras' industrial,
manufacturing and commercial center, with Puerto Cortes, which is Honduras'
number one port and the most important Caribbean port in Central America. On
the Guatemalan side, the road will link up with the already completed
highway to Puerto Barrios and the highway to Guatemala City. The highway will become a crucial trade link, as well as
providing easy access to Honduras' North Coast beaches. Howard Rosenzweig, a U.S. expatriate living in the village of Copan Ruinas, is the owner of the Casa de Cafe Bed and Breakfast. He can be contacted at e-mail <casadecafe@mayanet.hn>.
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Monday, April 23, 2001 Online Edition 16 |
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An
adventure in discovering Roatan's underwater paradise
By C.F. AGURCIA West
End, Roatan has many diversions for their year-round visitors.
There are the handicraft shops, the varied restaurants, the
white-sand beach of Half-Moon Bay, and constant tours to different and
beautiful natural sites that are nearby.
As thoroughly as I enjoyed these things, still, something seemed
missing.
Every morning, groups of people could be seen heading out early to
specific shops and strapping on equipment to go scuba diving.
I would see them part every morning and return in the afternoons with
wide grins on their faces and amazing tales to tell. Halfway
through my week on this paradise Caribbean island, I decided that I was not
going to miss out on what these people spoke of.
I was going to go underwater, and so I went and rented a snorkel, a
mask and some fins to go snorkeling.
What little I saw of the underwater world from its topmost border
left me feeling teased. I
wanted to go down and stay there.
Hence, as I walked down the West End strip early one morning, my eyes
looking toward the ocean, I came across the Sueno del Mar Dive Shop out on a
pier.
My feet seemed to make up my mind as they trod down the wooden planks
and made their way to the counter.
After a few words with Sueno's proprietor, Ray, I was led to the back
to meet up with my instructor; and that was how my diving experience began. NOT
THAT EASY Kenny
Bain is a diving instructor from Scotland.
He is short, with wild, curly blonde hair and a sense of humor to
match.
Kenny introduced me to the underwater world.
After watching the instructional videos (there was a small incident
there), he slowly explained every aspect of the new world I was about to
enter.
Diving is not as easy as it looks.
There are many risks and dangers and not a lot of room to learn by
trial and error.
Kenny explained all of these hazards and then taught me what to do in
order to avoid them, and what actions to take in case they did occur. After
a few hours of instruction, I was ready to hit the water.
Well, not so ready.
First I had to put the equipment on.
Scuba gear, though perfect for the water, is heavy and ridiculously
awkward on land.
The wet suit comes on first, followed by a weight belt (I had to put
on an extra 12 pounds).
The buoyancy control device (BCD) came on next; the air tank with
hoses and valves is attached to the BCD vest, so putting it on made my back
tilt backward and I was left facing the sky while I struggled to stand
straight.
The face mask came into place and, finally, these big blue floppy
fins that only allowed me to shuffle backward and move at a turtle's pace. Again,
I was ready to hit the water and no interruptions showed up.
Entering the Caribbean with all these gizmos felt odd, part of the
oddness was the realization that I was going to see the UNFORGETTABLE
EXPERIENCE The
experience was unique, and I'll never forget it as long as I live.
Regulator in my mouth and mask in place, I exhaled slowly, let air
out of my BCD and went down.
The crystal clear blue salt water enveloped me as I entered this new
realm.
I felt no panic to get out, my breathing was long, slow and
controlled, and a sensation of belonging settled in as the feeling of being
heavy was lifted away.
Scuba is a sight-oriented activity, divers are supposed to enjoy all
of the different views the underwater world provides.
The first pleasure I received from scuba diving was not something I
saw, but the weightlessness and freedom I felt dropping from 10 to 20 and
finally 30 feet below the surface. Bang,
bang bang!
Kenny's knife hit his air tank as he got my attention and signalled
to me that I wasn't supposed to just float there.
The Scot lead the way and I followed.
We both glided through the water, our fins kicking out gently behind
us, and moved from the sand patch we had descended onto, toward the coral
reef itself. The
sights and sounds of my first dive still resonate in the dreams I'm having a
week later.
The underwater realm opened up before me with fish of all sizes and
colors.
Unfortunately, I do not know enough yet to be able to name the
species I saw, but I can tell you that no land-creature can compare to them.
There were these little fish that were half electric blue and half
neon orange.
Another fish munching on the coral was bright green with red, yellow
and blue patterns on its fins and tail.
Kenny pointed left and I caught sight of a school of silver-colored
fish darting away from us.
The living coral reef rose up around us, not giving the sense of
enclosure, but of company. My
diver's log book states that my first dive ever was at a sight called the
"Bite," and that I was 30 feet underwater for a period of 47
minutes.
My memory tells me that, for what seemed an eternity, I left the
world I'd inhabited for 22 years and entered another one. I
did three more dives during my stay in Roatan, completing the requirements
to get my Open Water Diver's certificate.
Each dive was better than the previous one.
Every time I went under, I saw and experienced something new that
alluded to so much more still undiscovered.
Kenny was my guide and companion on these dives, sometimes pulling
his regulator out of his mouth and smiling at me to tell me I had gotten
something right, or that I was doing well. The
over-water part of Roatan was unbelievably fun, providing fun experiences
that I truly enjoyed.
Still, it was under the water that Roatan ensnared my heart.
Under the Caribbean water, in the company of coral and a multitude of
fish, I fell in love with this paradise and vowed to return to it for the
rest of my life.
Thanks, Diving Instructor Kenny Bain, I'll see you under the water
again real soon.
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Well,
another Easter Week or Semana Santa,
as it is known here, has come and gone.
Virtually all of Central America However,
due to the hordes of people at the beaches, other destinations attract those
looking for a more laid-back holiday experience.
Copan Ruinas, for example, received a good crowd of Salvadoran
tourists this year, as well as a number of foreign residents in Honduras,
most of whom work for development projects and diplomatic missions. Just
across the border from Copan Ruinas in neighboring Guatemala, tourism
authorities were predicting big numbers of visitors for the Easter period.
According to the Guatemalan Institute
of Tourism, the colonial city of Antigua, which is home to one of the finest
Easter pageants in the Americas, was With
numbers like these, it should come as no surprise that I often refer to
Guatemala as our "Tourism Powerhouse To The North."
Honduras, by the way, pulled in some $200 million last year,
according to Ministry of Tourism figures. *
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* Ever
wonder how it is that in a country as poor as Honduras there is sufficient
consumer spending to support all those fast
food restaurants, newly raised shopping malls, new car dealerships and
luxury big city hotels?
Well, part of the answer
may be that the number one source of income for the nation are monies sent
back to Honduras by family members living and working abroad, the
overwhelming majority in the United States. According
to Honduran government figures, in 2000 some $410 million was sent to
Honduras by family members working abroad.
However, other numbers point to the real figure at some $700 million.
According to the Honduran ambassador in Washington, approximately 25
percent of the Honduran population receives a significant part of their
income from money sent from abroad. In
addition to remittances sent back during the year, Honduran residents abroad
contribute mightily to the Honduran tourism sector
when they return for vacations.
It is interesting as well to note here that in the future remittances
sent to Honduras from abroad can only go one way and that is up.
El Salvador, for example, receives a whooping $1.7 billion in funds
sent by countrymen living abroad.
So this is definitely a growth industry for the nations of Central
America and provides a vital safety valve for countries ill equipped to
provide basic social services and sustainable economic development. *
*
* Utila,
the diminutive yet fun-packed island, is getting set to welcome its new
airport...cool!
The airstrip will be lengthened to 1,300 meters and a host of other
nifty infrastructure improvements will be made.
The project is slated to cost some Lps. 30 million.
Utila currently holds the unofficial title for in-the-know gringo
trail travellers as the "Funkiest Dive Destination in the Western
Caribbean."
Low rates for dive courses, a bevy of cheap places to lay one's head,
a cornucopia of family-owned and operated restaurants, cafes and drinking
establishments, friendly down home locals, a quaint laid-back village, as
well as quick, cheap access via puddle jumper flights via La Ceiba, have
made Utila into a virtual backpacker heaven/haven. Howard Rosenzweig, a U.S. expatriate living in the village of Copan Ruinas, is the owner of the Casa de Cafe Bed and Breakfast. He can be contacted at e-mail <casadecafe@mayanet.hn>. |
Monday, April 9, 2001 Online Edition 15 |
What's
New(s) in Copan Ruinas, Part II: * Hotel
Camino Maya has opened its new "fun complex" just a few blocks
from the center of the village. The
newly opened complex offers a pleasant pool, restaurant, bar, showers,
playground equipment for the kiddies, a weekend disco, big screen movies and
plenty of riverside breeze. Admission
for adults is Lps. 30. * Mark
your calendar: July 12-14 Copan Ruinas will host an international
conference, "Science, Art and Religion in the Maya World."
The Conference will feature 21 Mayan experts in the areas of
anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, paleo‑ecology, literature, art
and religion. For more
information, contact (in the US) the Honduran Institute of Tourism at
1‑800-410‑9608 e-mail: <tourisminfo@iht.hn>.
Package trips are being booked by Far Horizons Archaeological and
Cultural Trips, 800-552‑4575, email: <journey@farhorizon.com>;
web page: <http://www.farhorizons.com>. * Copan's
first and only bakery has opened its doors to the public.
The shop features the usual variety of Honduran baked goods.
It is located just a block from the Police Station. * A
new exhibition of recently unearthed archaeological finds are featured in
the village museum. The exhibit
has a fascinating array of artifacts, included a pair of elegantly incised
jade pectorals. Highly
recommended. * New
restaurant in town. The newly
opened Rancho de Tono can't be mistaken for anything else -- the restaurant
is housed under a humongous open air thatched roof structure ... plenty of
cooling breeze here. The
restaurant's specialty is fish, specifically tilapia.
The owner of the restaurant has a fish farm nearby, thus fresh fish
here is a given. Highly
recommended by this writer is the fried fish plate that features a huge
specimen of whole, wonderfully fried and crispy fish served up with salad,
fried plantains, a side order of steamed veggies and dessert.
The entire meal will set you back a scant $4 or so.
El Rancho is located a block down from Tunkul. * Copan's
banks have now entered the information age.
It has been some months now (and already we take it for granted)
since Copan's three banks -- Banco
de Occidente, BANHCRESER and Banco Atlantida -- installed computerized
banking. Gone are the days of
manual, hand powered typewriters cranking out deposits and withdrawals in
one's bankbook. Now, if we
could only convince Banco Atlantida (the nation's largest bank) to cash the
traveller's checks of tourists (at the present time Atlantida is not cashing
traveller's checks, go figure) then that would really be an achievement. * The
Asociacion Copan is getting set to build a children's museum exhibit on the
site of the old partially restored high school across from the park. * The
Institute of Tourism is slated to start construction shortly on an enclosed
air conditioned conference center that will be raised in the open air
pavilion of the municipality. Plans
call for the conference room to be ready for the Maya Conference in July. * As
mentioned in a previous column, cellular service of sorts has reached Copan.
Already local Copan cowboys in 4X4 Toyota pick-up trucks can be seen
sporting cellular phones on their belts where previously they had tucked
their pistols. Talk about progress in the digital age! Only problem is that the cellular signal does not reach 99.99
percent of the village. So much
for progress. Howard
Rosenzweig, a U.S. expatriate living in the village of Copan Ruinas, is the
owner of the Casa de Cafe Bed and Breakfast.
He can be contacted at e-mail <casadecafe@mayanet.hn>.
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Monday, April 2, 2001 Online Edition 14 |
The cruise ships are
comin' ...the cruise ships are comin'...
'Tis the season of the cruise ships.
Roatan is the primary Honduran port of call but ships also dock at
Puerto Cortes. Just two weeks
ago The Celebration, a Carnival Line ship, pulled into Puerto Cortes packing
1,500 passengers. After a brief
day tour of some mainland sights, the 732-ft ship steamed off bound for
Roatan. *
* * Ever seen a border
policeman in Honduras? Well,
fear not, you soon will. Coming
to a border crossing near you, the National Police have announced the
creation of a Honduran Border Police. Thirty
officers and 13 police are currently in the midst of a 15-week training
course. Among duties the new
police unit will take on are smuggling, drug trafficking and illegal
immigration. According to press
reports, the unit should be operational by July. *
* * Having problems
surfing the Honduran web lately? Thank
your lucky stars you don't live in Cuba.
As we all know, the web is the place to check up on the latest news,
plan that upcoming 2-week vacation, chat with friends and family and just
plain surf around. However, in
Cuba it's another story as Cuba holds the dubious and dastardly distinction
of being the only country in Latin America that exercises total control over
Internet use by it's citizens. According
to the group Reporters Without Borders, Cubans who want to access Internet
must present a "valid reason" to the Ministry of Information and
Communications and users must sign a contract that specifies certain
restrictions regarding use of the net.
All computers and fax machines must be registered with the government
and all Internet traffic is centralized in just one machine, thus giving the
government the capacity to censure and filter incoming and outgoing
messages. *
* * How many guards does
it take to keep a dangerous felon in jail?
Well, that depends on which Chinese restaurant he eats at. Confused? Allow
me to explain. Recently, a
North American who was convicted of trafficking in minors at his San Pedro
Sula nightclub, waltzed out of his prison cell at the Central Penitentiary
in Tegucigalpa in the company of guards, destination a nearby Chinese
restaurant. Only problem with
this scenario was that after the first course, the felon in question sort of
just "wandered away," never to be seen or heard from again. As a result, the
Minister of Security issued a new directive that prisoners may only leave
prison with the express written order from the minister himself and only for
emergency health reasons. In
addition, all prisoners who leave prison must now wear a prison uniform and
be shackled hand and foot. Other
measures taken by the minister include limiting the number of visitors to
prisons and the creation of secure visitor areas so that prisoners and
visitors are not in direct physical contact, as well as the confiscation of
cellular phones used by prisoners. *
* * Guanaja -- future
home away from home for the rich and famous? Well, maybe. According to press reports, the Kempinski hotel chain will
undertake construction of a new luxury resort on the island of Guanaja.
The resort, to be called the Iguana Bay Kempinski Resort, is slated
to cost $12 million with construction getting underway in June.
One of the principal partners of the project is actor Christopher
Lambert, best known for his cinematic interpretation of Tarzan. Now, I may be wrong
here but haven't we heard this story someplace before?
According to my calculations, this is at least the third major news
conference that has been held in as many years announcing the project.
Each time a contingent of European investors, chefs, hotel
executives, as well as Chris Lambert himself jet into town to launch the
resort, and promptly the project fades into oblivion.
Will this be the last project launch?
Will the long awaited Jet Set Iguana Bay Resort be built?
all I can say is stay tuned. Howard
Rosenzweig,
a U.S. expatriate living in the village of Copan Ruinas, is the owner of the
Casa de Cafe Bed and Breakfast. He
can be contacted at e-mail <casadecafe@mayanet.hn>.
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Cruise
ship biz could be lost if govt doesn't act By
SANDRA SAMPAYO ROATAN,
Bay Islands -- Roatan's economy is set to lose in excess of $260,000 per
week, and hundreds of jobs will be in jeopardy, if port authorities do not
show an immediate and serious commitment to begin work on upgrading the
cruise ship dock. The
deadline was set by American cruise company, Norwegian, which accounts for
85 percent of the island's cruise business.
The dock needs to be expanded to accommodate bigger ships, such as
the company's flagship, the Norwegian Sun, an 80,000-ton vessel that holds
in excess of 2,000 passengers. If
the dock is not reinforced and expanded by October, the cruise company will
take its much-wanted business elsewhere. It
seems, however, that government red tape is responsible for the delay, and
it may be responsible for the demise of cruise ship tourism to the island.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, government regulations require
that any contracting made by government has to follow a public bid
procedure, all which takes a very long time.
The only way this lengthy procedure can be overruled is by having the
board of directors of the national port authority declare an emergency
situation, the only person that can approve such action is President Flores.
Approval from the president will allow the port authorities to
immediately hire the contractors that usually work for them. According
to a feasibility study conducted by the Central Bank and the Ministry of
Tourism, Roatan makes approximately $130,000 from the Norwegian line per
visit. The liner currently
visits twice per week during the cruise ship season (December to May), and
once per week during the low season (June to November).
According to the same study, the cost of upgrading the dock will be
in the region of $1.1 million; a small amount to invest if one calculates
the potential return, or the potential loss. Competition
between cruise line ports in the Caribbean is on the increase, and according
to Julio Galindo -- president of Anthony's Key Resort and one of the key
tourism figures on Roatan -- the answer to this is simple: cruise ships
bring instant cash to an economy. "This
is why so many ports are putting so much work into upgrading their
facilities and securing long-term contracts with the cruise lines.
They are realizing that these cruise ships mean big business for the
local economy." The
severity of the competition is perhaps most evident in Panama, where the
country signed a five-year contact to pay the cruise lines between $2.50 and
$12 per passenger. The cruise lines pay Roatan $3 per passenger, and according
to a few of the liners, Roatan is an ideal cruise destination.
"I believe it would be extremely foolish to throw this
much-needed business away," added Galindo. According
to Galindo, the cruise line industry is moving from smaller liners to the
much bigger ships, which are between 80,000 and 140,000- tons.
"Bigger ships mean better deals for passengers, and this is how
the cruise lines make money. If
we cannot accommodate the bigger ships, the island is going to be in
trouble." What
Roatan needs to do now is demonstrate that it wants to retain the business,
and that it is committed to offering the cruise lines the same sort of
professional service they receive elsewhere.
This does not only pertain to the dock, but to the on-shore product
being offered to passengers. According
to Michele Paige, president of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association,
destinations need to be guided by what tourist's want, not by what is
available. "Just being sun
and sand is not going to be enough -- all the islands are sun and sand.
They (the islands) need to look inwardly, to their culture and past,
their music and dance." Although
Roatan has much to offer the cruise industry, it needs to realize that the
cruise industry has more to offer the island. |
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Valerie
is a warm, caring lady who cares for those that stay with her.
