Island Paradise Day 6

“Why is everything so #4%*@#$ hard here!?“

This comment from the guy who a day ago was so enamored with the crystal clear waters of Utila that he was ready to sell all and never leave!

Until you spend a lot of time in the developing world, doing real life, day to day things, you have no comprehension of hard things can be. Take our credit card fraud for example: First of all, we had to call the credit card company. Easy right? Nope. We do not get cell phone reception here in the house…only about twenty meters down the beach with the local phone the property managers gave us. But that phone cannot call Canada. So we tried our internet phone, but it kept cutting in and out due to the signal not being so strong. So it was an extremely frustrating call to say the least. Then the credit card company said, “no problem, just give us an address and we will have new cards couriered.” Easy, right? Nope. There are no addresses here, and certainly no courier service. Not even in Utila town. There is no such thing as a mailbox, or an address of any kind. If we want our new cards sent to us, we have to have them sent to the FedX office in La Ceiba, Honduras – on the mainland. They will receive them, and then when they have enough stuff to make it worth sending over on the ferry (could be weeks) they will send it in a taxi to the ferry. Someone will put it on the ferry and send it to Utila where the ferry company will lock it up until we go claim it.

Something else I took for granted was fish. I thought being on the island would be wonderful – fresh fish every day! The small Cay off the southwest end of the island is settled by fishermen.

I heard that the little Cay catches almost all of the fish sent to Red Lobster restaurants in North America. So I had visions of fresh lobster, crab, snapper and grouper; big fillets of Mahi Mahi and fresh tuna steaks. Not so much. In fact, we have yet to find a fish for sale. Apparently it is too warm at this time of year and the fish go deeper in search of cooler water. So, it is slim pickings for fish these days – and if you can find it, it is expensive. So chicken it is - again! Sigh.

We take so many modern conveniences for granted. Another thing we take for granted back home is water.

Here on Utila, although it rains a lot, there is limited fresh water. The island does not have underground streams to draw from: only an aquifer that relies solely on rain to be refilled. Most expat houses here have no access to this aquifer if they are not on the town water system, so they have to have large cisterns with 10,000 – 20,000 gallon capacity. They collect the rain water off the roof, and store it. While it fills full in the winter months when it rains a lot, it can easily run dry in the summer. At that point, people have to buy water off of the few that have access to wells that tap in to the aquafer. Utilians complain that when the tourists come they use so much water that it literally endangers the supply and some development is being stopped out of concern for the water supply.

It is suggested if you live here:
• Only flush when absolutely necessary
• Reuse sinks of dishwater to wash other things
• Get wet in the shower, then turn it off to lather and wash, then rinse
• Never wash cars, decks, etc
• Only water essential plants
• Reconsider pools and bathtubs – they are an indulgence

Life can have its inconveniences and difficulties here - that is for sure, but every times we look out the window, we seem to forget.