Guanaja update

Hello family and friends!

Hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day.  Valentine's day has a special meaning to me and not for the same reason as you guys.   Valentines Day 27 years ago my Dad gave up drinking and 26 years ago on the same day he gave up smoking cold turkey.  So, as you can imagine this is a huge accomplishment for my father.   He's a strong willed individual and has stayed true to his goals all these years and some days are harder than others he tells me.  Well Dad, I tell you... "I'm very proud of you and love you very much."

My dad and his beautiful fiancee, Ester.

We spent our Valentine's Day with some special friends.
Sharon and Mike hosted a very nice luncheon at their place.

They have a great island house.  Loved it.

A fantastic garden that leads down to the water.

Both are big animal lovers but Mike has  a special

bond with birds.  He has 4 of them.

Sharon showing some love to one of the 3 dogs they own.

Sharon prepared a fantastic Cuban cuisine.

Hot pressed cuban sandwiches, delicious black beans and

a fantastic cabbage salad.  Amazing!

Also, Sharon is very "Martha Stewart" with her place settings

Name tags, homemade baskets filled with a candle and candies for the ladies

Sharon and Mike, Thank you for inviting us to your home and

making us feel so welcomed.  You guys are very special to us.

 

Bob and I have been on the island for a month now.  Time goes by

fast even on "island" time.

It has been wonderful so far.  We've met some really nice

people and of course we've met some folks that are just out there.

As you can imagine island life brings all kinds and everybody has

a story.

We love hearing everyone's story at our favorite watering hole,

Manatees, a bar/restaurant owned and ran

by a few wonderful Germans.  The Germans have a pretty

strong expat community here

and have been some of the nicest people yet.  Who knows

we may come back to the states speaking German.

Hansito and Bob.

Hans it the owner of Manatees and has been on this island for 23 years.

Annette and Klause

They are the operations and cooks behind Manatees. 

Absolutely lovely people

Jerry and Capt Al.

Capt Al has all the stories.  He is a hoot.

Jerry is a very kind and warm person.

Bob and Andy.

Andy is Capt Al's son.  He spends half his time here on the island

and the other half working in New Orleans.  

Mike and Sharon.

They too have been on the island a long time.

These guys started building their home just before Hurricane Mitch (Oct. 98),

which decided to hang around and destroy most of the island of Guanaja.

They basically had to start over.  Heartbreaking but they hung in there.

Manatees is the place to be on Saturdays.  It looks like it

will become a ritual for us for have yet to miss a Saturday. 

The expats openly welcome one and all, newly anchored sailors,  

yachties and those staying for the day or the rest of their days.  They            serve up excellent food and has great views.

Well, we've hired out the job of clearing our land.. woohoo.

Soon we'll be able to walk the property and design

our layout.

As you can see...it's way over grown.   Bob is assessing

if he can take the project on himself.    I'm telling you,

the boy is tight.

Bob did clear a 10 x 10 area with

his very own machete.  But decided it

best to leave it to the professionals.

Our little piece of paradise.  Can't wait till

we can walk the property. We'll of course

try to keep as many big trees as possible and our

fruit trees as well.   We have mangos, avocados, and

pinepple growing already.

While Bob walks the property with some guys;

I hung out on the dock and basked in the sun.

This is our view across from our property.

Absolutely beautiful and nothing around but a lighthouse.

So, do you think you could live this lifestyle?   I'll be honest,

it's not for everybody.   What's to do here?

Diving (some of the best), snorkeling (this island is surrounded by reef),

fishing (we have deep sea, reef and bone fishing), kayaking, hiking to

some nice waterfalls, and lots of time to read and nap.

Most of the folks here come to "retire" not start a new

job venture.   There are very few restaurants, bars, and minimal

shopping.   Groceries are delivered to the island once a week. 

Thursday's is our big shopping day for fresh produce.

Local people would love for the "tourist" to come down.   Some

of the expats would love to keep it as is.

We still plan to continue with our dream of small beach bar and

a few cabanas.

Stay tune for upcoming events.

Hugs,

Bonnie and Bob