Living rock home sprouts flora, curiosity

Rock House - Protruding from the rock hill, the new house graces the Hole in the Wall restaurant in Jonesville. 

By MARCIA QUINN STREHLOW
Special to Honduras This Week

ROATAN - It rises like an appendage protruding from the cascading rock hill. The flora-covered hill is actually the living back wall of this rare three-story rock home, which blends so well with the idyllic, natural ambiance of Blue Rock Point. 

Snuggled near the back of the lagoon in the picturesque Jonesville Bight fishing community, the 1,800 square foot home, is as unique and natural as its' owners, who built it rock by rock over a three-year period. So many tourists and locals have asked to see the home, the owners have considered making it a tourist attraction. 

No, you won't find typical drywall, plaster, painted walls, shingle or tile in this abode. Made from mostly organic and recycled materials, the house is as close to nature as you can get, without actually living outdoors. 

In January 2002, Bob and Rhonda Lee and their 10-year old adopted son Jorgito, chatty Macaw Abogado, Rottweiler mix Pokeman, and Lucy the Cat moved into the cozy house. After sharing one tiny room in the back of their bar/restaurant for four years, it was an exciting life-changing event. 

The odyssey began in November 1990. Like many other adventurous expatriates, Bob and Rhonda set sail in their 38-foot trimaran Jim Dandy seeking "utopia." They ditched their careers as a Hospital Administrator and Director of Nursing, respectively, bid friends and family adieu and headed south from Catalina Island, California with no particular destination. Although the couple docked in Roatan one year later, they had never heard of the little Caribbean island just 30 miles off the coast of Honduras. 

"It was a bitter sweet arrival here," recalls Rhonda. "We were coming up from Panama to escape a northerner. We planned to go to Trujillo (Honduras) but it was too dark to pull in. Our navigational equipment wasn't working and we were critically low on fuel. The strong winds blew us 60 miles east during the night, and to make a bad situation worse, our transmission was crippled, leaving us helpless."

The exhausted stranded sailors maintained radio communication for an entire day with a nearby boat. Ultimately, the Jim Dandy was towed into the lobster dive boat's homeport of Oakridge, on Roatan's south shore. Rhonda says they instantly fell in love with the tropical splendor of the island, the crystal waters, lush forests, flora and fauna, but most of all, the people. 

"Everyone was so friendly, helpful and unpretentious," Rhonda explains. "They took us out to dinner and by the end of the night, we had five offers for free harborage while we fixed our boat." The Lees were convinced that destiny directed them to Roatan and they had found paradise.

After working six years in various jobs to save money, the couple looked forward to settling down with their own business. "We found a waterfront lot loaded with promise," Bob explains. "The main feature was a small, 12x12-foot dilapidated clapboard shack built on pilings over the water. However, on the upside, the parcel included 120-feet of mostly useless land up the rock hill." 

The Lees saw potential in converting the shanty into a bar and restaurant. They knocked down the front wall, built an open kitchen, and added a bathroom and outdoor deck. 

With access by water only, the rustic bar had special charisma. On August 17, 1997, they invited friends for an opening day Sunday barbecue, which quickly became their signature meal of the week. 

Within six months of opening Hole in the Wall, attention was turned to the rock- hill. "We decided the rock-hill was the only place we could build a house and it would make a wonderful ecological back wall," says Rhonda. 

"We figured that by building the entire house of rock, we would be in perfect harmony with the island's natural resources," Bob explains. It would also fit in with our love of nature, while giving us minimal maintenance and maximum durability . We had previously built and lived in a 16-sided bamboo house with a thatched roof (palapa) and enjoyed the natural material." 

To build as economical as possible, Bob planned to do much of the work himself, hiring locals throughout the project. Blue Rock is the hardest rock on the island, but that wasn't a deterrent. Two Hondurans were hired to break up the rocks and pile them on the beach according to size. Lighting a fire under the rock piles each night softened them so they could be broken down further. Several months later they hired a 6-man crew to begin the tedious 2 ½-year tasks of putting the rock back and creating the 16-inch thick walls for their future home. Reinforced with rebar and concrete, blue rock was also used for internal columns and cross beams to support the roof. 

Inside, clusters of creative touches turn what could have easily been a bland cold rock shell into a warm family environment. Numerous recycled and native materials were used, along with items from the beloved Jim Dandy, which is now an artificial reef just a few feet from the Hole in the Wall docking area. 

The mast was a perfect length for anchoring overhead fluorescent lighting and ceiling fans. The 8-foot dinghy that served the Jim Dandy for 14 years was transformed into a comfortable bathtub. One of Rhonda's best stainless steel mixing bowls was drilled and transformed into a bathroom sink.

Bamboo was used extensively for walls, handrails, and sides of the bathroom cabinet. However, Rhonda said they learned from previous experience that the bamboo had to be split to allow small creatures living inside to escape.

For the bedroom walls, unbleached muslin (Manta) squares were framed with wood for a faux Japanese rice paper effect. A fibrous hardwood cane, called poke-in the boy, was used for the bathroom walls.

Six-foot windows give incredible views of the Jonesville Harbor, while bathing the large open kitchen and dining area in sunlight. Louvered shutters, window frames and outside doors are made of local pine, stained dark brown. 

The floor, kitchen cabinets and counters are made from more than 10 different warm hued natural woods from the mainland. They include Mahogany, Rosewood, Pine, Santa Maria, Jaguar, Marapolan, Juesitio, Cumbillo Rosewood and Laurel Cedar. Each wood was cut into 6-inch strips and laminated together in a tongue and groove pattern. 

A nearby boat being dismantled was the source for internal doors, a bath cabinet and the teak railings and stainless steel stanchions that surround the circular stairway stretching from the second to the third floor.

Having a living rock wall creates a special ambiance. "Plants and flowers naturally grow out of the wall and it will be entirely covered with flora someday," Rhonda laughs. "Also, when it rains, water seeps down the rocks, but drainage placed at the base of the second and third floor routes it outside. We also amicably share space with small rock inhabitants, who occasionally wander into the house." 

Although Bob designed the house, he says the plan changed daily, along with the shape of the hill. 

The first floor is a bodega (storeroom) and woodworking shop. A recreation room with a TV and pool table, bath and a 4x4-foot fish aquarium built into the rock wall occupy the second floor. The top floor is the main living area with two bedrooms, vast kitchen and dining area and a full bath. 

Since moving into the house, the Lees have a more serene life away from work. When living in the back of the bar, they were disturbed all hours of the night and found it hard to close. Now, they can lock the doors and actually enjoy going home. 

Even with the special construction challenges, including transporting all materials by boat, the Lees say they wouldn't trade their experiences for anything. "We really wanted a cave house," Bob jokes, "but couldn't find a suitable cave. So, we settled for rock. I guess what we love most is that we built the house ourselves and it really is one of a kind." 

Rural tourism, breaking away from the traditional tourist trail

By NIGEL POTTER

No one who writes articles for newspapers is surprised to receive letters from the readers expressing their agreement or disagreement with one's views. Except for the looney, abusive ones they are usually a pleasure to read. Yet a letter recently asking me about Honduran apples was quite unexpected. After all, I had only mentioned them in passing in an article and laid no claim to be any kind of expert. The writer living in Roatan where he runs a restaurant seemed surprised that there was such a thing as a Honduran apple. I suppose, when you are swelteriang in the Caribbean heat, it is hard to imagine any place cold enough in this country to produce them. Yet in the temperate, cool climes (sometimes almost freezing) of the highlands of La Paz and Intibuca, delicious indigenous varieties of apple are grown. 

These are vastly superior to the large, shiny, expensive and completely apple (unless you think cotton wool or blotting paper have a taste) imported from the U.S. I answered my correspondent as best I could and said I saw no reason why apples from La Esperanza, say, should not be exported to the Bay Islands if apples could be shipped or flown all the way from North America. He was wondering about using hem in his restaurant and very wise too. What could be more delicious than a juicy, crunchy Honduran apple sliced over granola or muesli for breakfast, or mixed into a fruit salad to round off a meal of fish or seafood? Once I had replied I gave no further thought to the matter until the other day. Perhaps from such small, strange and inauspicious beginnings great things may follow.

Honduras This Week and especially Howard Rosenzweig's column constantly push tourism in this country with almost messianic fervour and no doubt with good reason. In these days of failing maquilas and disastrous coffee prices, tourism is apparently the biggest or certainly one of the biggest earners of income the country has, not to speak of the employment opportunities, both direct and indirect that arise. Perhaps that is why the government is at last sitting up and starting to pay attention. Links, for example, between San Pedro Sula and Copan Ruins, and facilities there, have been improved considerably over recent years. Such development is to be welcomed and encouraged, megalomaniac schemes like building a Honduran Cancun on the shores of the Micos Lagoon by Tornabe and Miami near Tela which wreck the very things tourists come to enjoy in the first place are not surely not. No such costly and over-the-top schemes are necessary. What is necessary is the development of a better infrastructure: security, access to good medical attention in an emergency, clean places to sleep and eat (and therefore inspected) are all good examples. What is good for the tourist is also good for the local Honduran citizen, of course, and that should never be forgotten.

Whatever, good tourist development or bad, nearly all attention paid to tourism concentrates on one small area of the country: Copan and the Bay Islands and the places in between around Tela and La Ceiba, or a little further on, Trujillo, Lake Yojoa and La Mosquitia for a few, brave, hardy (and wealthy?) souls lag far behind and hardly anywhere else gets a look-in. Yet Honduras offers a tourist potential far beyond the present tourist trail.
I live in an area that is not only one of the most beautiful places in Honduras but one of the most beautiful you will find anywhere. It may not have scuba diving or ruins as dramatic as Copan but it does have breathtaking scenery, mountains, cave paintings, old Mayan bridges and so on. It is also coffee country where coffee is king and where all aspects of coffee production can be visited by those interested. Yet I am astonished by the fact that tourist either foreign or Honduran escaping the city, are so few and far between. In one of the two main guide books that that all English-speaking tourist use, "The Central American Handbook" or "Footprint," the area gets a brief mention and i the other "The Lonely Planet Guide," none at all. Still all this may be about to change.

Recently a workshop on "Rural Tourism" was held in Marcala, La Paz. The mayors or their representatives form San Antonio Del Norte, Santiago Purlinga, Tutule, San Jose, La Paz and others interested in the subject of Marcala, Santa Ana, Cabanas, La Esperanza, Yarula and Santa Elena attended. What was surprising was that already several small-scale tourist projects were already underway though completely ignorant of each other's existence. A group was formed "Alianza Turistica Rural Del Sur Occidente de Honduras" (La Alianza) to maintain contacts between existing tourists projects, promote and encourage new ones, publicize and project the area to the rest of Honduras and the outside world and to promote links with existing, well-established tourist areas. Which brings me back to apples and not only apples, but also strawberries, peaches (duraznos, not melocotones, the hard Honduran variety, delicious, especially when stewed), blackberries and pears (again different from the softer European and North American variety). 

The products are there, looking for a market and if my Roatan, restaurant-owner correspondent is anything to go by, there are markets looking for high quality products. Anyone interested can get in touch with: The coordinator of La Alianza, Adan Bonilla Contreras, tel: 764-5359, email: prosoc@optinet.hn , Merces Perez, Empresa de Desarrollo Rural Facelita, La Esperanza, Intibuca, tel: 783-0632 or Nayo Potter, San Jose, Marcala, Depto. La Paz, C.P. 15201.

The Mayan Princess: Soon to be the crown jewel of Roatan

The pristine beach of West Bay offers some of the best snorkling and diving in the country.  

By DON PEARLY

ROATAN — Sitting beautifully on a half mile long white sand beach immediately next to the famous Captain Morgan’s Italian operated resort is The Mayan Princess Beach Resort. As usual, this John Edwards enterprise is being designed and constructed with the utmost care providing style and grace to the already spectacular area. A beautiful tropical setting gives her a head start, and tasteful decorations carry it the rest of the way to becoming a real four star presentation. 

In a recent interview with Mike Wendling, the new manager of the Mayan Princess Beach Resort on Roatan, we learned that they are on the move. Construction has begun on an enormous 250-foot long swimming pool that ends with a swim-up bar. Back to back with that bar will be another restaurant/bar servicing the beach crowd. Quick food and frosty beverages are available. A new dining room that will cater to two hundred guests is also in the making.

Already a favorite of the Honduras-traveling-weekend-set, the weekends are full-house and then some. The in-crowd has discovered the beachfront eatery at Mayan Princess and other wonderful restaurants in the surrounding area. Within walking distance we find The Island Pearl with Chef Pascal, Captain Morgan’s, Hemingway’s and Las Rocas. And as if that was not convenient enough, it is but a 10-minute drive to the West End and many more great dining experiences. 

They say it is just a 40 minute walk to West End for those getting ready for the big Bay Islands International Triathlon event coming to Roatan on March 8th of next year. The U.S. champion has signed up and is bringing a big following of athletes and spectators to the event.

Mr. Wendling tells us that by November of this year the Mayan Princess will have 48 one-bedroom condo units available for rent and their beautiful pool will be ready. Then just a leisurely swim through waterfalls, grottos and tropical flora to the bar and fun will be had by all. Rates right now for two people in their own private condo unit, $ 125.00 for pool view and $ 150.00 for ocean view per night. Each unit is fully furnished and ready to live in, the traveler need but bring swimsuits and shorts, everything else is there.

News from Guanaja

Left to right, Chief of Police Selfrado, Daren Ebanks, Sect. To the Magistrate, Police Officer and Guanaja Police Officer. 

By DON PEARLY

The lights came on in Mangrove Byte thanks to the hard working men of The Gulf Breeze United Methodist. The church, in full cooperation with our own Roger Wood of Belco, has been working on this project for quite some time now and it is finally a reality. Everyone was very grateful for their help.

Guanaja saw more action last week than they have seen in a very long time. First there was a suspicious maletta wash up on a private beach. The Chief of Police was notified and he, along with the Magistrates representative, one Tourist Police Officer and one regular Police Officer rushed to the scene. When the bag was opened it was found to contain about forty- five pounds of Marijuana. There were no obvious identifying tags on the suitcase and the Police contingency took the evidence to the Caye for proper examination and disposal.

The formation of a Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Guanaja has been given top priority by the Alcalde Eddie Tatum and several prominent businesspersons on the island. Two steering committee meetings were held and Mr. Juan Moya, the Executive Director of Fedecamara in Tegucigalpa was invited to speak with everyone about the procedure required to become a properly formed Chamber. He also explained how the vast resources of his organization would be at their disposal once the unit was established. Several businesses then formally joined the organization and put together a plan for a recruiting rally. The results of that meeting was very exciting, several more businesses signed on and many more have the application forms in hand. The first project is a fund-raiser to create capitol to do some community service. It was decided to design and sell some extremely creative and beautiful "T"-shirts first to the local residence, and then to the tourists visiting Guanaja through the local shops. Further plans include selling the concept and manufacturing of shirts and hats to the other thirty some Chamber of Commerce organizations in Honduras.

Iguana Bay looks eminent. After many false starts that had the community wondering if it would ever happen. News leaked out that a contractor had just been chosen to begin the actual building of the Kempenski Managed Five Star resort. This will bring the much-needed energy to the Island and no doubt stimulate other projects.

Mr. Foch B. Merren, Developer of Savanna Beach Resort formally announced plans for his major tourist related project near Savannah Byte. A proper cruise ship-docking station with entertainment for the travelers. It will include a pier able to accommodate ships up to four hundred foot in length. The calculations are that one thousand visitors will hit the beach at one time. Then, they will be taken by land and sea for SCUBA diving and snorkeling excursions, given time to shop on the Boardwalk where several businesses will offer local food and handicraft. There they will enjoy the laid back atmosphere that includes a wishing well, an animal petting zoo and many Kodak Moment vignettes. They will also be offered pastimes such as beach barbecues, mountain bike riding, horseback riding, kayaks and sailboat activities. Some will do an around-the-Island boat tour and end up in Bonacca Town for some serious shopping. 

Mr. Merren also said there will also be a Model Home for the cruise ship passengers to visit, showing exactly what the proposed sub division will be offering. This too is just what the Island needs, and will eventually provide on-going employment for hundreds of local inhabitants even after the construction is complete.

Christopher Columbus will not be forgotten. Due to politics, a celebration commemorating his landing on Guanaja will be held on some other Island however, thanks mainly to Posada del Sol Resort, Guanaja will hold its own party and as we hear it President Ricardo Maduro will be on hand to cut the underwater ribbon on a brand new and exciting dive site. Be there, it's only a hundred feet underwater.

Things finally seem to be on the move on beautiful Guanaja.

Lot's going on this coming summer season in Copan Ruinas, two longtime friends of Copan; Lisa Collins and Allan Macca will be receiving their Ph.D.'s in Archeology from Harvard in a matter of days. Upon graduation, Dr. Macca will grace Copan this summer with his perennial presence taking in a bit of well deserved post doctoral R&R. As well another longtime friend of Copan, Jennifer Ahlfeldt of Columbia University will be summering in Copan whilst she labors intensively to make headway on her doctoral thesis. 

Each summer Copan becomes enriched and recharged by an mini influx of post graduate students who are seeking to make a name for themselves and add to the existing body of academic research on one of the Maya world's most fascinating and challenging urban centers. The ruins of Copan attract some of the best and brightest of the next generation of Maya scholars. Rodger "The Big Chief Paramedic" Harrison is off in the U.S. doing what he does best, arranging all the logistics to bring down a bunch of "slightly used" ambulances which will be dutifully packed to the gills with medical supplies prior to being shipped to Puerto Cortes. Harrison' group, Paramedics for Children has pioneered the donation of ambulances, medical supplies and paramedics training in Honduras, their home base is in Copan Ruinas.

* * *

For nightlife aficionados of Copan, be advised that Copan's nightspots are bigger and better than ever! Tunkul Bar for example has undergone a facelift of sorts adding all kinds of funky antique pieces from the local villages to it's decor; and to top it off Tunkul is now the first and only drinking and dining establishment in town to offer up ice cold Salva Vida on draft, by the glass or the pitcher it goes down great with one of Tunkul's world famous charbroiled burgers cooked up on an open air grill. Restaurant Carnitas Nia Lola continues packin' em in at night with plenty of funky and cozy Copan country decor and heaping plates of grilled delights. 

Carnitas is also home most evenings to a table full of U.S. expats who call Copan home. They gather here to swap the latest news and gossip, put down a few cold ones and munch on such famous plates as Plato William, Plato Lloyd and Plato HR, just ask Tono the owner what each of those plates consists of. Restaurant Vamos A Ver, long a bastion for those weary gringo trail refugees seeking a bit of home, serves up scrumptious salads, beautiful bread and a luscious lasagna. Owner's Gerard and Diny are always around to keep a watchful eye on things. Cafe Via Via (next door to Tunkul) is now under new management; I'll stop in one of these days and get back to you with a review.

The place to be, the Barcelo Palm Real Beach Resort

The swim up bar where you can enjoy a dip and a sip at the same time.

By DON PEARLY

LA CEIBA — The in place to be, out of the hustle and bustle of La Ceiba during Carnival Weekend, was the Barcelo Palma Real Beach Resort in Roma. Guests from all over the globe were arriving by buses, cars and even helicopters. The Minister of Tourism Thierry de Pierrefeu dropped in from the sky accompanied by Mr. Chema Agurcia who among other things is the President of  the Tegucigalpa Chapter of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Mr. Agurcia is also a principal in the brand new Aerolina Sol  that will begin service in June of this year. It was noted that another major airline servicing Honduras has just become more competitive with an under three hundred dollar round trip fare to the United States. This is what competition does and this is what has and is needed to make Honduras an attractive destination to the world traveler. Fear not all airlines, with low air fares there will be more than enough business for all of you.  

The lobby is tastifully decorated and comfortably furnished.  

The Hotel Barcelo is in high gear with sharp looking well trained personnel just waiting to be of service to their guests. The new discothèque is fully stocked and ready to rock and roll. The dining room is airy and beautiful and the food conducive to over indulging at every meal. Excellent pastries top off each elaborate meal. Guests from Portugal, Spain, Germany, Japan and of course the United States were all mixing it up and having a grand time in the swimming pools. The swim-up bar was doing business all day and into the night and water soccer games brought screams and enjoyment to the spectators and players as well.

Everything is included in their one price of $ 68.00 U.S., including local taxes. Snacks, beverages, dinner and more snacks were available at strategic places near the pools. Children were in their glory with plenty to keep them occupied day and night. The atmosphere is a combination of young and old, athletic and relaxers with something for everyone to do just sit there and do nothing at all.

On another tourism note, information directly from a principal in the proposed Iguana Bay Resort on Guanaja confirms the project is within moments of getting started. Seven contractors bid on the project, more than were expected to participate. Again, competition makes things happen. This project will greatly assist the economy of Guanaja and marks the beginning of world class accommodations on the little island.