Anyway, here on the island we were going through our regular weather cycle - the rainy season. This year I believe we had more rain filled days then normal but the end result - our island is SO GREEN! Heck, even Grant's peak was not longer the drab brown up to the top. The color green prevails everywhere.
Some friends and I made a couple of trips to the coast already this year to buy items we are in need of or just to get away. I will tell you this much, when living on a remote island we are appeased by the simplest of things. I looked high and low for Scotch Brand tape in La Ceiba. None to be found. Oh, finally I found a store with a clear roll of tape which one can use in place of the Scotch Brand but 1) it is not in a dispenser 2) it is hard to get off the roll and 3) when you do get it off it comes off in shreds. Well imagine my excitement when a friend recently went to the coast and came back exclaiming "Guess what I found in Ceiba?" None other than the much sought after Scotch Brand Tape!
Now, see how excited we were with this find! I had to put up a photo of the treasure!
Living here at least causes us to stop and really appreciate some of the wonderful things this word has to offer - and I don't mean just nature! We have Internet (which I would never, ever give up), we have e-Readers so that here on the island we can read up-to-date novels without having to wait for sailors or tourists to arrive and leave a worn out paperback (even though we thank you very, very much for these books). We have phones now (as much as I dislike the way people cannot seem to get them unglued from their ears in any locale) where it was simply VHF radio for communication. We have more variety of food stuffs to be purchased, thus making our diets even more healthy. The list goes on, but I think you get my drift.
Of course, on the downside we still are limited when it comes to parts for engines, various construction materials and tools and then, hey, they only carry Loveable brand bras in this country! Now, if you are a perky little teenager or young adult, these bras are wonderful. Bright, cheery, sexy but support - forget it. Most clothing is polyester and having something in 100% cotton is to be treasured.
To change gears here, the island elected a new Mayor who was installed last week. After many, many years (I believe some said 12 or 16) under the same party, our townspeople finally decided they were ready for a change. Mr. Spurgeon Steven Miller Molina is our new Mayor and has a lot of work ahead of him. From what I hear (and I stress the "hear" part) our Municipal is deeply in debt, past employees have been unpaid for the whole month of December and may not get paid for that work at all if they are dismissed, thievery is still mainly not investigated nor are the thieves prosecuted due to a lack of the proper Judge, taxes have been raised 3% and non-taxable food stuffs have now been reduced.
Of course problems of government are pretty much the same world-wide. Too little, too late, too much corruption and taxes are always rising with less and less being sent back in service to the community. Unfortunately, after living here for going on 17 years I have come to the conclusion, more and more recently, that the Government of Honduras has no interest whatsoever in their citizens. Those in high office do nothing to help their fellow man and it seems that their only goal is self-gain and enrichment for themselves. We have a hard-working people here, for the most part, who struggle daily and are constantly pushed down by bureaucracy. We just hope that with a "new" start for our little island problems can be addressed and solved or at least a more open-door policy will be put in place. So, good luck to Mayor Miller and we hope that he will be able to prioritize and solve some of our woes.
Next, we have seen new people arrive on the island in the way of new land owners and/or supervisors over presently-held property.
Just recently we had a party at our house welcoming the new caretakers (temporary) to Clark Cay, Steve and Julie, and some guests that were visiting Wilmont Bay, Forrest (and yes, he has heard all the jokes) and his wife Debbie.
We were also saying farewell to Selyna and Markus, Hanspico's daughter, She and her companion had been here for several months but were now returning to their studies in Germany. She is going for her Masters in Psychology and so will not be returning for at least another 2-3 years! Good luck to both of them and it was wonderful seeing these two young adults who have been a part of our lives for so long.
We were fortunate on the day of the party that we had wonderful sunny weather with fairly calm seas. The day before and the day after we had rain and overcast skies! It is really invigorating to greet new people on the island and we enjoy the contribution they give in the form of news, information and just exchanging insights about a variety of topics. Welcome and to those leaving, please return soon!
Meanwhile we are awaiting the delivery of new batteries for our solar system and we might quite possibly have to buy a new solar refrigerator. The old batteries are 17 years old and in spite of the projected 20 year life span we are pleased that we have gotten this far and are still happy that our choice was solar. Of course getting the two 450 lb. batteries out of their container and out of the house presents another challenge. A new set up with 5 new 150 lb. apiece batteries will replace the two fork-lift batteries and so while the weight will be less, it will be a lot of work. Our solar refrigerator may be losing its insulation base and, therefore, an big chunk of the budget will have to be used if we decide that now is the time. Either way, we are very happy we have solar and after seeing all the problems that are present on the island with Belco, we would do it again if presented with the choice!
So, we look forward to a good year and hope that it will be more beneficial to all people living on Guanaja. Good luck to those in charge and we will keep our hopes high.
Yes the desert is still brown, but with the coming of spring the colors are indeed coming out. We are getting our carpet of green grasses then the yellow,red,blue,orange and gold flower's will be here soon. Life here is not all brown, you just have to be here when the colors do come out oh yes the color of white (SNOW) is here now. You have to go into the MT. for that.
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