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!
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