Island Paradise Day 28

Our time in Utila is almost half over. I do not know where the time has gone. I truly thought I was going to be really bored here, but in the past four weeks I have not felt that way. In fact, we have been so enamored with our front yard (the amazing coral reef) that we have not done any of the things we thought we would, and truthfully we have very little interest in doing so. We want to stay here and soak it all in for another month. I mean, really, how can we be bored when we can look out over an ocean that is as still as a lake to see the dramatic mountains of the mainland staring back at us?

We may go to Roatan this week for a day or two. Stephane’s sister is there for a week at an all inclusive, and she brought down our new credit cards. Besides, the weather forecast here is for rain for the next two weeks! That is weird at this time of year. I suspect we will see mostly pop up thunderstorms as a large low pressure system has formed east of here. It has a 20% chance of becoming a tropical storm – but it is Florida that would bear the brunt – not us.

Also, I am curious to see how Roatan has changed these past 11 years. I have heard it has changed for the worse – but how bad can it be? They have a real wine shop! I also wanted to show Stephane the house I tried to buy there in 2009. It was just a few hundred meters from where his sister will be so I thought it might be fun to go see it. It’s strange - twice I have tried to become a home owner in the Bay Islands, once when I bought the lot here in Utila in 2007, and again the house in West Bay in 2009, and twice I was thwarted – through no doing of my own. Maybe it was not meant to be?

I went to town today to look at some houses for rent. I wanted to see how things compare to the place we booked in Bucerias, and see how they compare to here at Jack Neal. The only one I liked was ocean front – but not on a lovely beach like we have here. However, it is on the ocean just east of town – so one needs not hike and ferry to get groceries. The apartment is part of a larger house and it is brand new and is a two bedroom. We really want a two bedroom so that we can have friends and family come stay for a visit. The property manager does not know the price yet, so we will have to wait and see if it is on our budget. Only then can we see how it compares to what we have booked for next winter in Bucerias.