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TRAVEL & TOURISM |
| Monday, July 31, 2006 Online Edition 28 |
Roatan Bruce Interviews Arlie Thompson Named New Governor of the Bay Islands Many of us here on the Bay Islands have been wondering for quite sometime when the new governor would be named. On July 7th, Arlie Thompson was called to the capital city by the President of Honduras, Mel Zelaya, to find out he was named the new governor of the Bay Islands and he was officially inaugurated that day. The President could not have made a better choice than Arlie Thompson.
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Did you know that Americans planned to spend an average of $2,249 on their vacations this year - and about a third said they would probably charge their trip? All the more reason to think about how one will pay for that next vacation. Charging it to one's plastic bank card is a short sighted solution. As more and more Americans dig themselves deeper and deeper into debt and savings rates are at an all time low - they are actually in the negative column now - it has become all the more imperative that people begin to rethink their personal finance basics such as putting aside a few bucks each week and scrimping on some non-essentials in order to take that yearly R&R vacation break without having to resort to increasing one's share of the massive U.S. consumer debt pie. * * *
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| Monday, July 24, 2006 Online Edition 27 |
WHY ARE YOU HERE? UP-DATE
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Roatan Bruce Interviews Utila Carnival In the middle of July, I had the Mayor of Utila, Alton Cooper, on the show. He is always interesting to have as a guest because he teaches me about our good neighbor Utila. I get to learn right from the person who knows the most. The island at the time was preparing for the Utila Carnival that will take place the 22nd to the 30th. People from all over come to this festival. Family members from the United States choose this time to come together to return to the island. There is no better person than the Mayor Alton Cooper to tell me all about it. Bruce Starr is the host of The Roatan Bruce Show heard weekdays from 11am to 2 pm across the Bay Islands and Northern Honduras on Magic 107.7 FM. Please visit his website at roatanbruce.com or contact him at roatanbruce@yahoo.com. |
| Monday, July 17, 2006 Online Edition 26 |
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ILLEGAL ALIENS
***Sixteen Cuban refugees arrived to Roatan on July 6th on this small boat powered by some torn tarps. Following a tip from a fellow media member, HTW went to Palmetto Bay Resort late Thursday afternoon last week. We found a small boat powered by some torn tarps anchored offshore at Palmetto Bay. On the beach were sixteen Cuban escapees looking very good considering they were at sea for a reported 10 days. Among the group were two young children, some women and some men one of which claimed to be a Cuban government worker who if returned to Cuba would face jail time or worse for committing treason. Also on the immediate scene were several representatives of the D.G.I.C. squad, and Ms Sandra Bonilla, the Liaison officer for the U.S. Embassy, briefed us. (In excellent English by the way.) Soon to arrive was Mayor Dale Jackson, a past Governor General and the current Governor General. Everyone was on their cell phone in different quadrants of the beach, apparently asking instruction and advice from their superiors or advisors. After several hours of deliberation, it was announced by the police department that they would be taking control of the situation and that the Cubans would be detained and contained on the beach at Palmetto until Immigration could arrive in the morning. There was no instruction about food or water or bathroom facilities but we heard that the fine people at Palmetto Bay had already provided a hot meal. The D.G.I.C. officers handed over the Cubans identification papers to the National Police. The U.S. Embassy was contacted and reportedly said they had no intention of interfering with the due process of Honduran law but they were interested in the human rights handling of the situation. With no official statement or comment by Mayor Jackson, it appeared he was complying with his instructions. However, he too was very concerned with the well being of the un-invited guests. It was said that the vessel they came in had weathered three separate storms and was damaged. It did not seem to have any propulsion except for a torn and tagerred blue tarp that acted as a sail ever since their mainsail had been lost at sea. It was also said that they dropped some Cubans off in the Cayman Islands and continued on with their sixteen people. All in all, the Cubans seemed to be in fine physical condition and also seemed pleased that the Mayor and other officials were taking an interest in their plight. Everyone's first concern was for the wellbeing of the boat people but laws are laws and must be followed. Roatan Bruce Interviews Sixteen Cuban refugees land on Roatan at Palmetto Bay Plantation
Bruce Starr/Honduras This Week On July 6th, sixteen Cuban boat refugees who escaped from their home country ten days earlier on a fragile 27 foot dingy came on land on Roatan at the Palmetto Bay Plantation. I was to later find out that they were indeed searching for Honduras, but not necessarily Roatan. Over the next several days, I visited them at a motel at the outskirts of downtown Coxen Hole that I never knew existed. The motel overlooks the western approach to the Roatan Airport and the Caribbean Sea and it serves as the holding place for the Cubans until they find out their fate. When we first met, I found them to be a low key, peaceful group who had no idea what was going to happen to them next. Here I was, an English speaking person asking them to tell me about their ordeal. They had no way to tell whether I was some sort of spy or an angel in disguise. Of the 16 people, three were females. There were two middle aged women and a young girl. I was to later find out that one woman was married to one of the men and they had their two children with them. Their daughter was eleven and looked just like her mother. They also brought along a sixteen-year-old son who was a student. Sometimes I sat with them and did nothing or just watched the airplanes land at the airport. After being there a few times, I realized that they may think that all we drink is sodas. So another trip there, I brought them all juice and muffins. I came to find out that everyone of the adults in the group made no more than $15 per month, from the government. Some made $12 per month. I found that very surprising especially after I asked them what they did for a living. They said they were mostly educated and experienced people who worked as nurses, accountants, teachers and auto mechanics. Some worked in food stores or as chefs in a restaurant. Every single one of them agreed on two things. They no longer wanted to live in Cuba and they all wanted to join friends and family in the United States. A few smoked cigarettes. I asked them how they were able to afford that habit. They said cigarettes were very inexpensive in Cuba. I asked if they enjoyed a beer or two from time to time. Many said yes and said they were able to afford that as well because it was inexpensive to buy. Some were very social and seemed to enjoy spending time with me or at least passing the time away in the central area of the second floor motel. I would take a count several times on how many were sitting around with me. There was generally eight to twelve at a time sitting together. When I first came to meet the group, they all agreed to take pictures and answer questions that I asked through an interpreter. I also came to realize that there were a few who rarely stayed with the group. When I came around, there were always the same two or three who chose not to be a part of the group. It turns out several played baseball. Stephan Wesley, the President of the Roatan Base Association, text messaged me, wondering if he could come by and talk to the baseball players in the group. He wanted to see if it could be arranged to take them to a field to play. If they stay long enough, a game will be organized. In all, I found these people to be calm during this storm they put themselves through in order to start a better life for themselves. Their fate is in the hands of several Honduran officials in charge of these decisions.
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Ever wonder why the crime rate, especially in the large cities of Honduras, continues unabated? For example, in the Sula Valley which is home to San Pedro Sula and some 720,000 inhabitants there are only 233 police officers and only 50 or so vehicles, many of which are perennially out of service for repairs. When you minus those police on sick leave, vacation, office duty and those who must sleep at least a few hours, that leaves precious few officers on the streets or in the police stations to protect what is the nation's second largest metropolitan area. The recommended minimum ratio between police and inhabitants is 1 officer for every 300 persons, in the Sula Valley the ratio is 1 officer for every 3,000 inhabitants. Choloma, which is a major pole for the important maquila export manufacturing sector and has a rapidly growing population, has only one vehicle (which is not running) and 25 police officers. Choloma, not surprisingly, is the area of the Sula Valley which reports some of the highest rates of homicide and assaults. Recent government and NGO figures point to a worsening of many types of crime in Honduras. In the first trimester of this year for example, homicides have increased 16%. The first three months of this year registered 710 homicides in the country, 100 more than during the same three-month-period last year. This works out to be 237 homicides per month or about eight per day. If this trend continues, the year will finish with 400 more homicides than the previous year. The Departments of Cortes, where San Pedro Sula is located, and Francisco Morazan, where Tegucigalpa is located, registered the highest number of homicides in the country. To give you an idea of how this homicide rate stacks up against other major cities, New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, registers some 550 homicides in an entire year. The lions share, 60%, of homicides in Honduras occurred on weekends between 9 pm and midnight with 91.7 % of victims being men. Honduras is now in fourth place in the rate of homicides in Latin America. El Salvador, Colombia and Venezuela all had higher homicide rates than Honduras. El Salvador registered an average of ten homicides per day during the first four months of this year, an astounding figure for such a small country. In 2005, El Salvador had 3,812 homicides, or 55.5 per 100,000 inhabitants, an average of 10.4 per day. Guatemala has not been spared either from this epidemic, and is registering horrific figures of 16 homicides per day so far this year, compared to 14 per day last year. In January alone, 499 persons were murdered in Guatemala. Guatemala has also been singled out as one of the worst countries in the world for homicides committed against women. So what to do with all this gloom and doom of statistics? Well, the solutions and answers are not that difficult to glean - what is tough is the implementation. The nations of Central America face the common problem of too much violent crime with the same root causes. Professional policing as we know it in the developed world is still a goal in Central America. Police here are woefully understaffed, ill equipped, poorly trained, and underpaid. Honduran police recruits receive little more than three months of police academy training. The prison system - which is a relic from the days when the nations of Central America had extremely low crime rates - is literally crumbling and is completely inept for the task of housing the large number of prisoners who are sent there. The judicial system as a whole is entirely lacking any sense of purpose and commitment to justice. Most prisoners have not been sentenced and fester in jail for years on end. Quality-of-life-crimes, as well as more serious offenses, for the most part go unpunished, creating a Wild West atmosphere of anything goes which contributes to the generalized feeling that most who do the crime will not do any time. But all hope is not lost. Copan Ruinas, for example, has a negligible crime problem and the village streets and surrounding countryside are safe any time, day or night. Why? In short: A sense of community. Neighbors who know each other, strong family and religious ties and a feeling that in this corner of Honduras, respect and basic law and order still reign supreme. Maybe Hillary Clinton was right. It does take a village to raise a child.
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| Monday, July 10, 2006 Online Edition 25 |
Lake Yojoa's hidden paradise Veronica Wood-Querales
Tucked away amongst the trees in a tiny Honduran village near Lake Yojoa is D&D Brewery. Owned by Robert Dale, lover of bluegrass music and good beer, it has attracted people from around the world, many tempted by his famous beers. The brewery is in an almost tropical setting, with a pool, hammocks, and a fascinating array of plants. Dale, originally from Oregon in the US, set up the brewery six years ago to provide accommodation, good food and drinks to people traveling in Honduras. If you find the guest books, they are filled with comments from previous guests, who are mainly Peace Corps volunteers and travelers. Many are drawn here by the legendary blueberry pancakes. Dale has a number of guest books, and they have a mention in almost every comment. The blueberries are collected from nearby mountains, and are also used to make blueberry soda. The food is a mixture of American and Honduran specialties, and is very reasonably priced. They have fresh vegetable soups on the lunch menu, made with local herbs, and also some very delicious burgers. It's perfect if you've spent a day rowing on the lake or walking around the waterfalls. The breakfast menu, however, is particularly special. Hash browns and omelettes are made with a Honduran twist, and of course, there are the blueberry pancakes. The brewery itself is a container that Dale shipped over from Oregon. He imports the ingredients from all sorts of places around the world, for example, the hops come from Stowmarket in England. For a change from local drinks, there is always a selection of beers and sodas to try, some with flavours such as mango, apricot and raspberry. He was inspired to create the brewery when he found that in Honduras, it is impossible to get real beer. There are so many foreigners in Honduras, and one big appeal of the brewery is that it offers a few home comforts. In the evening, you can relax with a glass of mango beer with bluegrass music playing in the background, and if you are lucky, Dale might play you a song. The location is somewhat obscure, so no one comes to the brewery by chance. However it's an amazing place to go to if you want to get out of the city for a weekend. Anyone travelling through Honduras should take a detour here as well. D&D Brewery can be found around 2km from Peña Blanca, which is near La Guama, located on the road between Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. It's a good place to stay if you want to visit the lake, or the Pullapanzak waterfalls. Dale is a great source of information if you want to explore the area.
Roatan Bruce Interviews Help Finish Sandy Bay's Clinica Esperanza This letter was written by a concerned and respected resident of Roatan. It was important enough to have it reprinted here. Thank you Judith Allred for this letter. If you are a senior, where do you expect to go for health care while on the island? A heart attack patient cannot fly, so Anthony's Key Resort is the ONLY place that provides stabilization. It follows to ask where do you intend to go for every other ailment? The Honduran Government's Coxen Hole Hospital may not be where you would choose to go, though the staff tries very hard to do what they can with extremely limited resources. In Sandy Bay there sits on a hill, a concrete structure minus plumbing, doors, windows, a roof, the site minus any workers. For want of now $50,000, your health care may be critically absent when that moment comes for you to need attention. For four years, Nurse Peggy Stranges has donated aid to people. First, she started from her dining room table, then her apartment below her house, now from a motel along the Sandy Bay road where she runs her clinic. Many people come from great distances, including the other Islands and the mainland. For many, it is their primary medical care provider. Tourists mingle together with island mothers with babies. Visitors chat with Honduran seniors. All patiently wait at Clinica Esperanza for a doctor's attention, a dentist's time, or a nurse who hands out medicine. The cost, L20 including any medicines…diabetics receive about $400 each month in medicine! Without the completion of the new building across the road and up on the hill, Nurse Peggy and her extensive group of one paid doctor and visiting volunteer medical staff will have to close up the yellow motel, stack up the plastic chairs and go back to the states. Where will we be then? To lose Peggy or for that matter, Clinica Esperanza, would be a terrible blow to health care on the island. Up until recently, local supporters have paid the doctor's salary. Donations of the motel space and the medicines given to the clinic are still on going...medicines that are shared with many other health care givers on the island. The land, the labor and the materials for the new building were also donated. However, Peggy says, "I am now paying the doctors out of pocket and I don't have any pockets." The floor plan for this new clinic/hospital is multi-purposed. The initial building, which sits almost finished, will house an outpatient facility with two treatment rooms, an acute care suite, a dental suite, a pharmacy, an office, and a large waiting room that will also serve for community events and educational programs. The upper floor will house a women's wellness and birthing center, and an inpatient infant and pediatric center. The building though not large; has been planned with care. Should we as a community let this future operation fall through the cracks? During all these years of service given by Peggy and her staff, she has never asked for money. NOW SHE IS ASKING! Her recent plea brought in close to $4,000. Maybe many of you thought she achieved her goal of 1000 people donating $60 each. Your health care or maybe the care of someone you love will be worth the money given now. As we know, a visit to an American clinic or yearly insurance can cost 100's of dollars. Giving the most you can now will be a bargain for you in the years to come and will save many babies, youngsters and adult islander's lives through improved medical care and attention.
Sincerely, Judith Allred To Make a Donation: You may send a check to a tax-exempt agency that offer 100% pass through of funds to the clinic. Please write "Clinica Esperanza"on the check and make your check payable to: Live 2 Give, Inc. 7000 North 16th Street, Suite 120 #186 Phoenix, AZ 85020
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RESPONDING TO ONE LETTER TO THE EDITOR So you want to know about travel and tourist areas in Honduras other than Copan and Roatan. Well then let's take a little road trip. When in La Ceiba you can enjoy all the fast foods just like in America. There is Kentucky Fried Chicken, Wendy's, Burger King, Popeye, Church's Chicken and Pizza Hut, or, you can find the well-hidden La Plancha Restaurant and enjoy some local food such as beef and chicken. The ever-popular Roberto's offers a keen garden setting and even a salad bar. Should you desire Chinese cuisine, the Golden Palace might please you. A nice place to stay for a night or two would be the La Quinta Hotel or Hotel Paris and the mall will give you a place to get out of the intense daytime heat, and don't miss Applebie's Restaurant while inside the mall shopping. Trip on over to San Pedro Sula where you can add McDonalds to the eateries and find the well hidden Bonsai Japanese Restaurant just above the Hilton Princess Hotel. If you want authenticity seek out La Espuela where they have local food and roving Mariachis every night of the week. For you sleeping pleasure, take your choice but we like the Copantl located near both the new mall and the old mall. There is a Camino Real Hotel as well but it runs about the same as the Holiday Inn and lacks a local feeling. The Grand Sula in downtown San Pedro is conveniently located to the new Plaza and its wonderful smells and handicraft. But if you really want a fun time and great food then hop the Yacht or climb aboard one of three local airlines and come to Roatan. Then after asking directions, make your way East to Jonesville. Wind around houses, go over a hundred speed bumps then ask again When you are in the right area, park you car and walk out on a short pier and wave your arms in the air like a mad man until a little tiny boat comes across to pick you up. Once across the pond, climb up on the deck and Join a multitude of other hungry people waiting while they cook on several fifty-five gallon drums. Then finally, when you cannot stand it another moment, they ring a little bell summoning you to a buffet spread of all you can eat goodies. Great coleslaw, creamy mashed potatoes with all kinds of spices, wonderful filet mignon strips and the topper, delicious lobster in the shell. Go back again and again until all that is left is a bit of coleslaw but by then you will be totally satisfied. Where are you, the new Hole in the Wall surrounded by friendly locals and visitors who heard about it in HONDURAS THIS WEEK long ago. Now why would you want to know about the rest of Honduras when Roatan has an attraction like the Hole in the Wall? Do you all remember last week we said there were no special Fourth of July functions on Roatan? Well guess what, the Palapa Bar at the West Bay Beach road held a glorious 4th of July celebration and everyone was invited. There was music by Bobby Ramer and a new guitar playing heavy who calls himself Billy The Kid. The beer flowed like water and the crowd had a marvelous time. We must admit though, it was just exactly like every other night on that beach except they did sing "Born In The U.S.A. a few dozen times in celebration of Independence Day. FIND A NEED There was an obvious need for a beauty salon on the West End and guess what, not only Bianca's Beauty Salon next to the Twisted Tucan opened its door to eager clients but there is another new one opening in the new West Bay Mall, and heavy rumors of still another mystery salon "coming soon." To the area. Looks like everyone saw the need. Now for certain the most beautiful girls can be found on beautiful Roatan Take that letter to the editor writer. |
| Monday, July 3, 2006 Online Edition 24 |
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Our Lady of Suyapa: Shawna Lehr
Honduras This Week Protecting the city of Tegucigalpa, on the hill of the Francisco Morazan region, lays the most admired site of Honduran Catholics. The Basilica of Suyapa honors the Patron Saint of Honduras in the village of Suyapa. Unlike many of the colonial Spanish churches in Tegucigalpa, Hondurans built the basilica in 1954. Decorated by 12 huge stained glass windows, the overwhelming white structure of the Basilica mirroring the gardens overlooking the city outside. Placed in the impressive concrete structure imitating an Italian style cathedral, the colorful glass was crafted by Germans in Mexico. The Basilica has a capacity of 50,000 people and the choir is capable of holding another 500 people to create an unimaginable harmonious echo of music. The quaint, original Roman Catholic Church of Suyapa hides in the shadows of the Basilica. Built in 1780, this is where the history of the Santa Maria de Suyapa began. The 6cm tall painted figure of 'Our Lady of Suyapa' was discovered on the night of February 2, 1747 by Alejandro Colindres and her miraculous powers led to the construction of the chapel. The figure of the Virgin now finds a home in a wood and glass case at the altar. Pope John Paul II visited the figure on a pilgrimage in 1983. Candles are sold outside the old church, lit to request miracles from the Virgin of Suyapa. The wood and adobe building is an approachable place for repentance and accommodates weddings, while the bigger basilica remains a place for Sunday mass and larger events. Hondurans treasure their faith in the image of the Virgin of Suyapa and the hopes of Central America are reflected through her beauty. Every year on February 3rd, thousands of foreigners and locals of Honduras fill the streets to celebrate her feast day. Both churches provide a place of solitude to reflect upon the splendor of Honduran culture. Tourists and locals alike can find their spiritual roots here through identifying with the Catholic icon of the Santa Maria de Suyapa. Shortly after Tegucigalpa became the capital of Honduras in 1880, the first mass for Santa Maria de Suyapa took place in 1925. Papa Pio XII later declared her the official Patron Saint of Honduras in 1953.
Here in Copan Ruinas there is a small yet growing expat population that has been around for many years, way before the town became a destination for Maya world gringo trail backpackers. Historically, the first full time gringo residents of Copan came to work on archeological projects in the later part of the 1800s. Virtually all of the most important excavations and reconstruction work at the Copan ruins were led and financed by U.S. universities such as Harvard, Vanderbilt and the University of Pennsylvania. Longtime Copan archeologists such as the Fashs have a home in Copan and would spend part of the year in Copan and part at their home university. Other expat archeologists have also moved to Copan and a handful have settled here permanently. Nowadays many of the old time archeologists from the 70s and 80s have moved on and a new crop of recently minted Phds who studied under the great Copan archeologists of the 70s and 80s are back in Copan starting up their own projects and pursuing research projects. Summers in Copan always brings a plethora of archeologists and academics in related disciplines to run field schools and continue with ongoing research projects. Just about all these academics hail from U.S. universities such as Arizona State, Colgate, Harvard, Yale and University of New Mexico among others. French archeologist Rene Viel is a longstanding member of the Copan community and as well Japanese archeologist Seichi Nakamura is currently digging and restoring the important Nuñez Chinchilla site and has lived here for many years. From its starting point as a center for archeological exploration and research, Copan began to attract a trickle of foreign visitors, mostly American of mostly of the hardy, hardcore backpacker persuasion. A few local residents of Copan offered simple, basic lodging like Doña Marina of Hotel Marina fame and the well known Doña Mafalda of Hotel Los Gemelos who has attended to the needs of backpackers at her humble establishment for as long as anyone can remember. Travelers who braved the rough dirt roads and rudimentary transport required sustenance which was provided by a handful of rustic comedors as well as the Restaurante Llama del Bosque which was the first real tourist restaurant in the village, founded by Doña Albita as she is known by all in Copan. The first gringo trail bar was Tunkul, which has moved a few times around the village over the years, but still chugs along under the same ownership of Don Mike and Don Rene. Apart from the archeologists, there were very few expats in the village until relatively recently. Two Americans who have been here longer than just about anyone else are Doña Mimi and Doña Liz and their stories about the good old days of dirt roads, more horses than pickups in town and the lights going off every night at a certain hour are nothing less than illuminating - no pun intended. In the mid 90s, yours truly - a raring to go, wannabe U.S. expat - arrived in Copan and proclaimed to anyone in Copan who would listen or believe him that he was here to stay and would open Copan's first expat owned B&B. Most of the gringos in town - which only numbered a handful at best -thought him nuts, but 13 years later he is still here and going strong. There has been recent increase in the gringo expat community of Copan with residents hailing from Belgium, Canada, Holland, the UK and of course the USA. The majority work in the growing tourism sector, owning primarily restaurants, hotels, hostels, a rural inn, a tropical bird park, coffee plantation and a tour operator. Copan receives some 150,000 tourists per year and expat business owners are now playing an important and growing role in providing new and more varied tourism products which compliment traditional offerings by local entrepreneurs. Relations between expats and locals are for the most part excellent, probably because each group has an important contribution to make to Copan's development and future economic prosperity.
Roatan Bruce Interviews
Minister of Tourism: Ricardo Martinez Roatan Bruce: Thank you for coming to the studio. Tell me about some of the most important issues you are dealing with today? Ricardo Martinez: The cruise industry is very important. The Port Authority is no longer going to collect the dock fees from cruise ships. They will now be collected by the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Why did this make sense for the Bay Islands? Royal Caribbean is going to invest five million dollars on the first phase of the dock transformation and on a shopping center. I am trying to convince them to build a convention center as well. In exchange, we are giving them the normal incentives. But once we surpass the 350,000 passenger goal, and we are up to 285,000 in 2005, they are committed to build a second pier for 17 million dollars. What is not so obvious about having a prestigious cruise line calling Roatan their home is, if we are hit by a hurricane, other cruise lines will leave and not return for awhile. That will not happen with Royal Caribbean which considers us their home. They will do everything in their power to put everything back in good working order as soon as possible. They will continue to bring business long after the storms are gone. Roatan Bruce: People are worried about what is going to happen with the projected 750,000 tourists coming to the island in the future. Many of them are most likely uneducated about the reef. Our reef has to be taken care of to make sure we remain a sustainable tourist destination. Ricardo Martinez: I think you are addressing this situation very well. This gives me the opportunity to make a public apology about PMAIB and some of the bad things done in the past by this environmental agency for The Bay Islands. This project, managed by The Minister of Tourism in the past, also accomplished a lot. Some of the good things are the Cadastral project that has eliminated a lot of the conflicts about property. We also now have an index of health for the reef showing what areas of the reef are in good shape and which ones are bad. We now know that human elimination is the greatest threat to the reef. The second most damaging to the reef is erosion and sand. The fishing threat is also a problem. I agree inexperienced snorkelers and divers have been and are still damaging the reef. The more people that come, the more they will damage the reef. That brings me to why I am here on the island today. I am meeting with the Inter American Bank and their top officials analyzing and reviewing what has been done in the past and what we will do next. We are going to put a water system in Pollytilly and new garbage dumps in Guanaja and Utila. We will also do more potable water systems on those islands as well as Flowers Bay. We are also coming up with a very pro-active educational program to teach the population on ways to protect the reef. We are putting together the financing to protect the reef and keep the tourists coming. Bruce Starr is the host of The Roatan Bruce Show heard weekdays from 11am to 2 pm across the Bay Islands and Northern Honduras on Magic 107.7 FM. Please visit his website at www.roatanbruce.com or contact him at roatanbruce@yahoo.com.
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ROATAN AND IT'S FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATIONS When a Rotanian/American really wants to celebrate the 4th of July, he or she heads for Tegucigalpa and the American Embassy. That is our home away from home and the only real location for celebrating this special holiday. The embassies are notorious for throwing an old fashioned party complete with red white and blue everything. Oh yes, there will be some small gatherings with BBQ and hot dogs and even Apple Pie, but nothing organized or grandiose. We are not allowed to shoot guns even in the air for fear of losing our hard earned gun permits. We cannot find fireworks; they show up for the Honduran events like Christmas or New Years but are never for sale on the open market. It is a sad state of affairs but then how can we expect Honduras to help Americans celebrate their independence from the British? Their schools do not even mention the event to their students or at least no one polled recalls learning about it. They think we have been free and on top of the world forever and ever. There are a few more assumptions about Americans visiting or living in Honduras. The main one might be that they are all filthy rich. That they drive the best cars, live in the finest air conditioned homes and do nothing that even resembles work. They see us in and out of restaurants and loading up our grocery carts in the super Mercado with goodies they cannot afford except for very special occasions. They notice we have fine cameras and the state of the art telephones. Why wouldn't they think we are all rich? Now this is good and this is bad. The good part is most everyone wants to be your friend just in case there is a possibility of some of that wealth rubbing off. This is part of the reason Ex-Pats receive a nice welcome, and once given a chance, they usually prove to be nice people. I say part of the reason because there are many more reasons such as a good deed performed by an American in the past, some help given to charities or roadside. The Ex-Pat community is filled with wonderful people more than willing to assist when needed and the locals see and remember these nice gestures. The bad part is we are constantly hit with requests for loans or contributions or to buy something or to supply job opportunities. This can sometimes get a bit annoying and even make one not stop for gasoline until the last minute. Should you turn your back you will sometimes find your windshield wiper blades at full attention. Someone is wiping your windshield with a dirty rag and looking for a reward. Sometimes we will be targeted by the younger set with familiar request that says, "gimme one Lempira." It seems many of the Honduran people have heard so much good about the United States they want to go there. They picture the streets lined with gold and everything beautiful. They imagine a Disneyland on every corner and the possibility of running into Brad Pitt at the local hot dog stand almost a certainty. The most common question Ex-Pats are asked might be, "Why are you living here in Honduras when you could be living in America?" The most popular answer seems to be, we enjoy the people and the layback quality of life here. So to all, a Happy Fourth of July and let's remember and enjoy our Independence Day internally. |
