West End Girls and Boys

We had some time to kill before leaving Roatan for mainland Honduras, so we left the cushy confines of the resort and wandered out to the street to catch a taxi to West End, where the budget-minded travelers tend to congregate. The taxis work two ways: you can take a regular taxi for $5, or…

Field Trip

When I was in high school, the kinds of field trips we took were to the art museum or the zoo. And as you might imagine, the highlight was eating lunch at McDonalds. For 18 students from Worthington Christian High School in Columbus, Ohio, the highlight of their field trip to the Roatan Institute of…

Ups and Downs, and a Few Bends

My day started with a trip to the medical clinic located at Anthony’s Key Resort (AKR), which not only services guests, but also members of the community. Because the public health system is limited in what it can provide–plus, the hospital is subject to frequent power outages–AKR’s owner, Julio Gallindo Sr., founded the clinic at…

On the Boat Again…

“A bad day diving is better than a good day at work.” Various stickers are plastered at the AKR dock where a boat shuttles resort guests between their island cabanas and the main resort. But this sticker stands out among them, especially today. Based on the previous day’s experience, Chris couldn’t disagree more. However, he’s…

Dive In

Roatan is a mecca for scuba divers from around the world, and Anthony’s Key Resort (AKR) is a mecca for divemasters looking for a job on the island. Serge, a divemaster, has spent two years living in Roatan, working at various dive shops, but when he had the opportunity to work full time at AKR…

E-mail Changes

I want to apologize for my rusty blogging skills. I haven’t been on the blog since last August, and in that time my e-mail address changed. However, I didn’t change it in the Yahoo Group settings until after I posted yesterday and realized my error. So, if you responded to the e-mail you received from…

V!VA List Latin America Released

I’ve written my first book. Well, that’s not exactly true. A travel essay I wrote about the Lord of Sipan was accepted for publication in a compilation of travel stories. V!VA List, Latin America is the first-ever armchair travel book created by an online community of travelers, writers and photographers. Packed with colorful essays and…