Hooray! I can bake at last!

For the past  months, I have been without the service of an oven.  The electronic igniter on my Amana stove went out (actually when we removed it, we found it had broken quite possibly just from being old) and the oven would not work.  Unfortunately, when we purchased the stove in the U.S. before moving to Guanaja, we purchased an Amana gas range not knowing that it was necessary to have electricity to operate the oven!  Some ovens made that year by other

 manufacturers had kits wherein you could change the unit out and operate them without the aid

 of electricity.  Not mine however!  This was a little disheartening as we are on solar power and ovens take a lot of electricity.

Whenever I wanted to use the oven, my husband would  instantly be by my side wanting to know exactly how long I would be using the oven and if it was necessary!  I discovered that if I was making an apple pie, brownies, bread or any of some of the other treats he likes, no matter if the sun was out or not, I was allowed to operate the oven.  All other dishes, especially those with eggplant, zucchini and broccoli were frowned upon if the skies were overcast!  So, for 10 years we played this “what are you baking now?” game.

I love to cook.  I love to make deserts and I love to entertain.  So with my oven out of commission in August of  2008, I was looking forward to a bleak holiday cooking session.  You must understand we CANNOT celebrate Thanksgiving and/or Christmas without my 

pumpkin bread.  I mean, it is a staple of life in our family.  So, I got on-line, found the part and had it sent to a friend that was coming to the island in September asking him to bring the part.  Well, we were not aware that this particular part was EXTREMELY FRAGILE and our friend removed the item from its box, left it in its bubble wrap and packed it between his clothing in his suitcase.  Imagine our surprise when we received the $45 part to find it broken.   From the photos you will see that the extended piece is ceramic and apparently does not take well to any pressure or jiggling.

Well, we ordered the part again and had it sent to us via DIP.  We received the part intact. However, when my husband went to slide it into the

metal casing that holds it, it was a tight fit and he had to jiggle it sideways a bit and, yup, it broke!

We ordered the part a third time and had it sent with some more friends that were coming in December!  They arrived, I picked up the box from them, got home with it and handed it over to my husband thinking, boy now I will be able to bake!  He opened the box and lo and behold the part was not wrapped in bubble wrap but placed between two pieces of foam.  Apparently, when they placed it in the box and closed the cover, they must have tipped the box slightly as the cover came down on the ceramic piece and broke it!  I was ready to cry.

We gave up and decided to go to LaCeiba before Christmas (Dec. 2nd) to look at stoves.  Well, Mother Nature had other ideas and it rained all day in Ceiba, cancelling our flight from the island to the mainland.  We decided it was not worth the hassle of trying to get a flight off the island during the holidays and decided we would go in January.

Ahh, January 8th arrived and off we went to LaCeiba.  I had a list of stores to go to but as luck would have it a friend returning to the island caught us before we got on the plane and told us that he, too, had been there to buy a stove.  He went all over and found the best price and biggest selection at Electra.  We got to Ceiba, took a taxi to Electra and after looking over all of 3 stoves to chose from, we decided on a Mabe, made by GE.  I had considered the stainless steel model but the broiler was far from acceptable, so I chose the white enamel stove which had a better broiler set up.  The Mabe stove can be lit with a match so we were happy to hear that.  

I wanted a space between the burners on the right side from the burners on the left side, but the only arrangement that could be found was with a grill in-between.  Lucky for me, the Mabe

 stove we chose had a removable gas orifice and by removing the orifice and the burner, we could lay the grill top flush on the stove and I would have my spoon rest, etc.  After all, I did not want a grill as that was just one more thing to clean.

We arranged to buy 2 stoves; 1 for a friend building a house on the island.  After about 20 minutes of phone calls, the salesman informed that there were 2 stoves in San Pedro Sula which could be delivered before the weekend, thus making it possible to take them to the shipyard and put them on the boat bound for the island the following week.  I paid for the stoves, paid for a man to take them to the ship and left hoping everything would work out.

Of course, this is Honduras and nothing goes smoothly or as expected.   We discovered, the following Monday, that only one stove had been delivered to the store.  In my infinite wisdom and/or knowledge of how things work here, I had a friend go to the store and check on the progress and to make sure that I was getting the model I ordered!  He discovered that they had shipped only one stove but they assured him that the other would arrive on Tuesday in the afternoon.  The boat was scheduled to leave LaCeiba on Wed. evening.

Tuesday my friend checked and they still had not received the stove but said they thought it would be in that afternoon.  I called in the afternoon, spoke to the salesman and he said that there were 2 stoves there for me to be shipped to Guanaja.  I was relieved.  Little did I know that he lied to me!

So, relief was short lived.  My friend went to the store on Wed. to find that no stove had come in and that they had decided they would wait for the second stove to arrive and ship

 both together.  I guess they knew more than I exactly how badly I needed or did not need the stove!  He told them that they must ship at least one and we would just pay for the second delivery the following week.  They told him they expected the stove in by 3:00 p.m. that day.  He asked if they would have sufficient time to get both stoves, or at least one, to the boat before it departed.  The salesman assured them they would!  Didn’t inspire a lot of confidence in me however.

Thursday came and I spoke to my friend once more.  He had called Wed. afternoon and they told him the 2nd stove came into the store and both stov

es were sent to the boat.  Hooray!  

Friday I went to town, found a couple of strong (and, I might add, handsome) young men and employed them to come with me in my boat, pick up the stove and bring it to my house.  The other stove was left at a “warehouse” near town until needed in February.  We were successful with loading the stove into my boat and made our way to my house.  My husband met us with the cart, the stove was loaded and wheeled up the hill.  I returned to the town to drop the young men off, after paying them and thanking them profusely.  I had a few more things to pick up so I did not return home immediately.  

Upon my return, my husband had removed the old stove, installed the new one and now all I had to do was rearrange my cupboards as the new stove did not have a drawer for my pots and pans.

Saturday morning I made bread and brownies and a sauce for lasagna which I will make next week.  Then I will make my pumpkin bread and we will have turkey and the trimmings on January 26th to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

I am pleased!

Even Santa made it!

Yes, Santa made it to Guanaja. He showed up on the front porch of Manati just in time for the big Christmas party.

This year was even more special. A long time resident to the sland, Captain Al, turned 80 on Dec. 25th and we turned out to wish him the best. The place was fully decorated and a special corner was dedicated to Capt. Al. Thanks to Geri for being the creative genius behind the decorations; she made a gingerbread house, German sweets for desert, a replica of Capt. Al's first boat and spent many, many hours putting everything together. Her trusty helper, Cathy, helped put up the Christmas tree and hang the crepe paper, streamers and balloons. Santa was donated (for the day) by George and Ginger along with other Christmas decorations.

There was, as always, food in abundance. Most everyone brought a dish and we had a veritable vegetarian paradise at one end of the table. Two turkeys, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, salads and vegetable dishes, complete with collared greens, rounded off the great meal. Our friends, Annette and Claus, who run the bar kept everyone's glass full! There was a whole table of deserts and Geri brought a special treat - Malaysian Pear Apples. Her 5-year old tree finally bore fruit this year and she brought a whole crate to share. Wonderful to look at and delicious. Thanks Geri and Al!

People were dressed in their Christmas finest, from hats, ties, earrings, Christmas shirts, etc. The people were a mixture of islanders, residents, sailors and, of course, lots of children. Gifts were handed out and new stories were shared among friends.

To round out the evening we had our regular band members present: Claus (bass), Ian (keyboard and drums and accordion) and Mike (harmonica and hand instruments), plus we were graced with a former resident of Guanaja, Leach (guitar), along with Doyle (guitar), Barry (keyboard) and David (Ian's father) on banjo. What a wonderful sound they made!

Towards the end of the evening, the children were allowed to "demolish" the gingerbread house so that it would not go to waste!

So, now we look forward to New Year's Eve, calm seas, good weather, more food and music and mingling with friends.

Happy New Year to all and my best wishes for a prosperous and wonderful New Year!

Ruins on the Island

We have on the island what my husband refers to as "ruins," uncompleted construction projects left untended and unworked for years creating an eye sore.  Unfortunately, if seems Honduras does not require a bond as they do in the States wherein if the builder does not complete the job there is money left on hold to do it for him.  Therefore, we have boisterous plans at bigger and better resorts, regular old resorts and housing projects, all of which are abandoned and left as a blemish on the landscaping.

Along with the ruins, we have just acquired another one, but this is not due to the builder's apathy nor intention to leave the project unfinished.  This one was created by fire.

Fire on this island is one of the most dangerous and disheartening things to see.  There is very little the people can do to control it, especially if it is on the main part of the island in a densely forested area.  In populated areas it is still difficult to control as we don't have fire hydrants and very few people have pumps to pump water at an instant's notice on the Cay where buildings are built inches apart.

The island experienced a fire on the Cay of Bonacca many years ago wiping out a good portion of the town and causing untold damage.  Most people, at that time, had no insurance and rebuilding was an arduous project.  We had a fire station on the Cay for a while a couple of years ago and a water pump was donated to be used to control a fire if one started.  It sat in an unopened crate for a long time and, at this writing, I don't know who has the pump as there is no one manning the fire station and, therefore, no one to take charge of the pump.  Heck, I'm not even sure they ever took the pump out of the crate!

During our almost 12 years here, we have seen several forest fires ravage the island and one fire on the Cay which destroyed the Spanish Seven-Day Adventist Church.  So, Friday morning (Dec. 15th) at 7:30 a.m. we were surprised and apprehensive to see a huge column of smoke forming in the sky in the direction of the Cay.  When we arrived on the Cay there was no signs of a fire and the majority of the citizens were unaware that something had been burning.  Later, my husband, in speaking with various people, was informed that an uncompleted dive resort on the island proper, Castaways, had been burned to the ground.

Little information was available and the next day I spoke with an individual who had gone over to the burned out resort to look around.  He noticed that at least two large freezers were missing from the kitchen area and a generator had disappeared.  He surmised that people had stolen the items and then torched the place.  As yet, the reason for the fire is unknown.  Things are stolen around here all the time but seldom do the thieves then burn down the building.  Apparently the fire must have burned out on its own as there are no residents living close by.  So, lucky for the island and other areas around this building, there was little if any breeze that morning.

Now, you may ask "Where was the owner or watchman?"  Sadly enough the owner has experienced financial and personal difficulties and has been absent for several months.  Until recently he had a watchman but let him go a couple of months ago because of money problems.  So, with no one to watch the buildings, expensive machinery inside, you have a blueprint for thieves.  However, why they felt the urge to burn the place down is a mystery to which I will not speculate.  This destruction was a very sad thing as the island desperately needs tourism if it wants to survive.  We have few functioning hotels and, as a matter of fact, I think there are more hotel "ruins" than there are operating hotels!

I took the boat over to Castaways to take some photos on Saturday and am submitting them here as a sad omen to a once interesting "resort".