West Bay, Roatan

November 18, 2014 Maurice 3 Comments

Roatan is a lush island, covered in tropical rain forest, with flowers blooming everywhere. The ocean water is very warm, which surprised us. Kinda thought it would be a little cooler The outside air temperature is a little milder than the south Caribbean, but still a nice 80-85 ish. Definitely lovely weather.

Our deck is so nice! It’s got a great set of comfy chairs and a cafe table to sit at, have our coffee, browse the internet and watch the ocean.

We got in our pool – a VERY big pool – and there were only two couples in it. BOTH from Canada! One couple from Ontario and one from Kelowna.

We decided to head to West Bay on the far west side of the island. We went with the couple from Kelowna and they knew their way around the joint. We had a nice snorkel and saw some great fish, several of which we’ve rarely seen.

Pam saw only her second ocean triggerfish, a large-ish fish that is quite majestic in the water. He was swimming with a school of tangs and surgeonfish, and we didn’t even spot him right away! We also saw a hogfish that we’ve never seen before.

Driving around the island is lots of fun. Lots of sights and smells and action. People walk on the road, as do animals and pets. Dogs and children play in the streets, too. Lots of people have bbqs going and you can stop for a quick, inexpensive bite to eat.

Here is a movie of a couple of big beautiful grey angelfish. They came around us, and just drifted majestically.

Roatan, Vacations

Sunday In Roatan

November 16, 2014 Maurice 3 Comments

Well, we got here safe and sound on Saturday, managed to get our rental car, and out to the resort, the Parrot Tree Plantation, by two pm. We got checked in easily. Just an absolutely lovely room. 25 or 30 foot ceilings done in open beams of Honduran Mahogany. Beautiful granite everywhere. Wonderful Honduran Mahogany kitchen cabinets. The Bathroom is amazing with a huge soaker/jetted tub, a huge curved standalone shower, with dual vessel sinks in the vanity. The bathroom is as big as our master suite!

It has a really nice deck looking out over the lagoon. Comes with a round, tall table and three tall chairs, with a lounger for suntanning.

The only drawback is the lack of a safe… not impressed by that. And the internet is not good. In public areas it’s fine, but in the suites, it’s spotty at best. If I sit on the balcony, I can get a decent enough connection.

We did a snorkel today just around the resort. It was quite amazing. Lots of coral, lots of fish – even different fish than we’re used to seeing. We saw a cool eagle ray – that is one fast fish when he wants to boogey! Took off like a shot.

I’ll put in a longer report later, but right now we’re enjoying ribs on the edge of the ocean. We’ve been joined by a couple of cats and Pam is feeding them!

Lots to say about Roatan, but we have three weeks here, so I won’t overload you on day one.

Roatan, Vacations

Taking a trip

November 15, 2014 Maurice 1 Comment

We’re heading to Roatan, an island off the coast of Honduras, in Central America. It’s in a different reef system than the Southern Caribbean island like Bonaire, Aruba and Curacao. They say that this reef has over 92% of the world’s sea creatures visiting it over the course of a year. That seems like a lot of fish!

So far we’ve gone from Vancouver to San Francisco on a small “commuter plane,” then on to Houston in a big Boeing 737-800. We’re grabbing a nap on a nice sofa arrangement here in terminal B. Both flights were nice and simple. Hope that tomorrow’s flight is as nice.

The wifi here in Houston is wonderful. Smoking fast, but then the terminal is nearly empty since it’s nearly three in the morning, so not that surprising, I guess.

Something About Us

Remembrance Day 2014

November 11, 2014 Maurice 5 Comments

Here is a poem written by Pam’s Dad, Vernon Amero.

DON’T FORGET FLANDERS FIELD

Flanders Field where our brave men and women lay;
Where they died for freedom, we enjoy today.

Our men and women, we shall never forget;
on Remembrance Day, shake the hand of a Vet.

As years go by, and our parades diminish;
what someone else started our Veterans finished.

Let’s teach our children, what war was all about;
and when they see the parade, there will be no doubt.

Teach them to pray, there will be no more war;
and to always remember, those that went before.

Holidays

Halloween 2014

November 1, 2014 Maurice Leave a comment

This year we were a bit under the weather. We’ve been getting some immunizations and they have just knocked us out! Who knew going away could hurt so much?

But the weather in the week leading up to Halloween was full of rain and windstorms, so our display took a bit of a hit. But the funny thing is, the couple of new things we did really hit it big with people. We got more compliments this year than ever.

A big part of that was Pam’s costume. She did a nasty witch, and I tell you, she terrified the kiddies! Her ghoul in previous years was scary, but kids kinda know that a ghoul is “fake”… but a witch!? They’ve read Hansel and Gretel, and seen enough Disney movies to know that witches can’t be trusted!

I apologize all over the place for the pictures and video. I was so wiped out by getting the display up, I had time for one quick pass then needed a nap!