A Little of Everything...(Oct. 26th)

WOW! I simply can't believe how long it's been since I updated the blog. It's literally feels as though time is flying. We have trouble keeping up with the days of the week - difficulty remembering the date. Life is a succession of dives. Weekends don't matter much - every day here is the same to us and to the people around us who weave their way through a similar simplistic schedule. Don't get me wrong, we are constantly on the go. It just seems more fulfilling - more engaging - than activities were in the past. We are consumed by the moment.

It's been about a week since I said goodbye to my good friend Shona. She is off to tour South America and then plans on heading to Australia for a year. I have missed her more than I can describe. We were together everyday (minus only one or two) for two months. You build quite a connection during quality time like that. I confess that I did cry when she left. I knew it was coming but I somehow wasn't prepared to enjoy Roatan without her sense of humor. We sure did laugh a lot during dives - just a look underwater would send us both into spasms of laughter. She is a friend for life and I hope to meet up with her again soon. She's too cool to let go of!

I am thankful that our last dive together was a very special one. On the way to the dive site last Friday, a passing boat stopped to tell us about their grand find...a whale shark a couple of minutes away. Our boat captain Fred put Bottom Time into high gear and made of to find the giant beast. As we approached, we could see hundreds of fish popping at the surface. Without a snorkel, I joined the crew as we left the boat and fell into the ocean - her bathwater warmth enveloping us. I was tired before we spotted the creature, but my fatigue fell away as I breathlessly made my way to the spectacle. I'll never forget arriving in her presence. I watched her spin underwater and then popped my head out to see her fins fan the ocean air. For a few moments I was in total awe. My breathing became shallow...my heart beat hard in my chest...and my mind was almost at a loss figuring out how to file this incredible experience. Just as I gained the courage to get closer, she heaved her giant body and fell to the ocean floor. Then it was just us and the deep blue ocean. I am thankful Shona was able to experience that with me on her last dive in Roatan. What a beautiful memory.

The next day Christie and I took Shona to La Ceiba on the mainland to catch her flight. Little did we know it was canceled and rebooked for a day later. Thanks TACA. You are a great airline. Anyway, making the best of the situation we had a few drinks and hit up a local club. It as quite an experience because I could literally see over the heads of everyone on the dance floor. I swear the people here must think I'm a giant. In any case, we met up with a few of Christie's friends from highschool who gave me a traditional Honduran shot made of grass and fermented herbs. I proceeded to throw up six times. The night, as I'm sure you can imagine, ended there.

La Ceiba was a heap of fun but mostly because of the awesome company. I laughed and laughed and laughed some more. Inbetween we did some shopping and a lot of eating. It was nice to take a break from island life and see a few shops. I bought a new pair of shorts but most things were waaaay too small. It's not easy buying clothes when everything is designed for short people. Jenny would love it here! ;-)

Since I arrived home from La Ceiba time has been flying. It's all a blur of fantastic funny memories. One night in particular will stay with me forever. We were hanging out at Christie and Monty's house when a Mariachi band burst through the front door playing La Bamba!! I swear, it was the most random thing and we laughed our faces off. Apparently a few guys from the dive shop chipped in to sponsor the surprise. That moment was pure gold for Kevin and I. I do have photos and video...perhaps I'll post it a bit later.

Diving is going well as always. We had an incredible storm at the beginning of the last week which forced diving to the other side of the island. I have never seen rain come down so hard or so fast. I really didn't think it was possible. In any case, our divemaster program continues to go well. We have both finished all of our academics (including the dreaded physics exam! Yikes!) and only have a few things left to do before we are offically divemasters! It is incredible to think how much we have learnt and how much experience we have gained in the past two months. It is not easy, but it's well worth everything you gain. It'll definitely go down as one of the best experiences of our lives. We are learning an incredible amount about ourselves and each other.

Until we meet again my friends....

Roasted Chicken & Fading Laundry (Oct. 12/09)

Success! At long last we had our Thanksgiving dinner. After yesterday's fiasco ended with sandwiches and rum, we decided to give our roast chicken supper another go. Isaac, Ally, Shona, Kevin and I crammed into our little apartment and, after three and a half hours, we had a delicious meal...that was devoured in eight minutes! It was soooo worth the effort! Besides, I think it was the first time we've had proper veggies since we've been here. I'm really not joking when I say I think we might end up with scurvy if things don't change soon!

Dinner was a great end to a wonderful day. I've been doing our laundry by hand (there is a washing machine on site but only the maid's may use it...and you have to pay them to do it), and today I noticed I had some missing clothes. I'd already done 80% of the laundry and this perplexed me. Having arrived while the maid was changing the sheets earlier, I handed her a tip and left. She must have misunderstood my gesture because, about a half hour later, the missing clothes returned ready for the drying line....smelling strongly of bleach...even the coloured items. Whoops!

After that discovery, Shona and I decided to hit up Carreon in Coxen Hole...think Wal-Mart with less class. Yup...picture mesh pants in neon colours and lime green shirts proclaiming "Blondes don't pay cover." Snazzy. Pulling ourselves away from the endless array of plaid, we made our way up the street where we found a Bojangles Chicken & Biscuits. It's really strange to see a few American restaurants mixed in with Honduran culture. Once we had our fill of fried chicken we ambled up the road to the grocery store where it was meat packing day. It was a site to see cow ribs still fully intact making their way up the aisles in shopping carts. Shona literally almost fainted when a cow's tongue slipped through a hole in one of the bags!!

And so life continues on this strange little island of ours....this morning I woke up at 4 a.m. unable to contain the swelling delirium of dreams crowding my mind. I stumbled onto the balcony and landed in the soft spools of the hammock. The air was thick with salt and heavy lidded clouds burgeoned with the weight of water. For once, my breathing wasn't laboured with thick humidity and my skin didn't prickle with kisses from the sun. I fell into an ocean of warm, nonsensical dreams remembering my life before its kismit connection to this electric place....thankful for all that was, all that is and all that will be.

Thanksgiving & Piglets (Oct. 11/09)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We tried to celebrate in style but it didn't quite work out the way we planned. I bought a new roasting pan which didn't fit in the oven...then we spent a good 30 minutes trying to remove the handles from a pan to use that...and then we ran out of propane! HA HA HA! What a treat! Our prep work was all for nothing and we put it in the fridge in the hopes that we'll be able to make our food tomorrow. Instead of a grand meal, we went out for sandwiches and rum! You have to love the island life. Three months ago something like this would really have pissed me off. It would have thrown me into a bad mood...these days I roll with the punches. What can you do? I feel so blessed to be here and to have the opportunity to live these days on our own terms. I doubt there's a more thankful person out there tonight. The only thing that would have made this day complete would be to be with our families. Special days remind us of just how far away we are. This Christmas will be the first time I'm away from my parents and brother....best not to think about that now though.

The diving life continues on as interesting as ever. I've spent the last few days assisting on an open water course with a little person (midget to be completely politically incorrect). He's spent the majority of the time trying to look up my shorts, so it's been an interesting game of cat and mouse. He tries to catch a peek...and I continually turn around to wag my winger at him disapprovingly. I would never have been able to predict that story...not in a million years. Roatan life is a topsy-turvy world of mayhem and magic.

Today Kevin caught the morning boat at Coconut Tree and I went over to assist West End Divers with a fun dive. They needed a DMT and it was my day off. It happened to be a boat full of army guys...not the worst dive of my life ;-)

Oh and before I forget...I'd better tell you about Kevin's new "pet." He has inherited a piglet. Okay, so it's not actually a pig...it's a scooter. A bright yellow scooter. The helmet is too small and it has a very loud muffler. He looks like a circus act when he rides it and it's hilarious! We call it Piglet because he tried to get everyone at the shop to call it a "hog" which is clearly isn't. Thus, the name Piglet was born. The thing and I don't get along at all. Kevin gave me a lift the other day and I feared for my life the entire time. As soon as we got home I hopped off swearing at the thing...and proceeded to trip and tumble down our very steep driveway. I realize Piglet wasn't actually to blame for the unfortunate incident, but I do hold him accountable. Damn dangerous bastard.

Well, that's it for now. We miss you all and wish you could be enjoying the island life with us. Here's to beaches, baleadas and bottom time!

Bum shots and birthdays (Oct 8)

It has been far too long since I last updated you on life here in Roatan. So sorry! The internet has been dodgy as hell so I finally broke down and bought a portable modem. It was as expensive as it sounds, but now I can regularly keep in touch with everyone. In my mind, it's worth every penny.

Life on Roatan is ambling along as it always does. I never liked living in small towns...growing up it was the bane of my existence, but small islands are different. I enjoy walking into work and hearing about Tom dropping the price of his 1984 Bronco by a thousand bucks. Or the fact that Carl found his missing dog Deuce. The gossip doesn't seem as malicious as it does in small town Canada. Here it's simply the way the word gets around. West End is particularly a world in and of itself. It's easy to fall into the comfortable wave of friendly banter and familiarity. We feel more and more as though we belong...and who wouldn't want to belong here....

Here are a few photos I've been meaning to post for some time now. Below is a pic of Monty and Kevin playing beer frisbee. It's a tough life...

You didn't think I'd forget to post photos of Kevin's birthday, did you? Nope...he's not lucky enough to have the evidence disappear. Below are some photos of his birthday celebration which we actually did the day before on the 16th. Cactus is another DMT at the shop and they both happen to love Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby. They both knew every single word and did a great dance for everyone...enjoy!

Mixmaster Monty rocking 80's night. By day he's a tech diver and instructor at the shop (and Kevin's best friend here...they are joined at the hip).

This is fellow Canadian John. He's from Edmonton and he gave Kevin a little love on his special day!

On Kevin's birthday the shop decided to bake him a cake as I mentioned a few posts ago. The "cake" happened to involve throwing eggs at him and then covering him in flour! Beautiful!

It took a lot of people!

This was Kevin's birthday breakfast!

Here's a pic from karaoke. The whole gang got involved with Kev leading the pack!

Now that I've caught you up on some previous photos I meant to post, here are a few that are more recent. Last Sunday we went on another island tour but this time it was with the Scuba Geek (http://www.thescubageek.com/). Steve was an instructor here but has recently returned to the states for a "walk about." You can't find someone who's a better guide and he gave us a great tour. It started a bit rocky though when the gear shift of jeep we borrowed came clean out of its socket. Turns out you just push it back in and give 'er. Not the safest vehicle I've ever been in. Note the fire extinguisher above the driver's side. Hmmm....

We took a few folks from the shop along and they followed us on their bikes. Below are Lauren, Bisch and Johnny.

This beach is well-hidden from the cruiseshippers and tourists. We had the whole place to ourselves.

This is the best view of the island. It took a long time to get up there but the reward was breathtaking.

After a few hours of exploring the island, we decided to check out one of Roatan's most famous spots...Hole in the Wall. It's a small restaurant out in the middle of the water. You wait at the dock and eventually a little boy comes out in a boat to collect you.

It doesn't look like much, but the lobster and steak is fantastic!

We all took a nap after indulging in all the good food.....

So, as you can see, life is pretty rough these days. Most of the people here are very much like us...trying to escape the ordinary beat of the normal day-to-day. We talk about the "real world" every now and then, but mostly to find out what people used to do for a living and where they did it. Some people have been gone for so long this life...this place...is the only reality they remember. It's the only thing they choose not to forget. I'm learning more and more that life and the way you lead it is a choice. The people we're meeting aren't rich...they don't have some secret to making it out of the 9-5 monotony. They simply made the decision to live a life less ordinary. Here we don't even have to explain. People just get it.

I'll leave you with a group shot of the Coconut Tree gang. We're missing a few key people. I'll let you decide if you can spot Kevin!