MY UTILA LIFE

Saturday, August 4, 2012

DOLPHINS DOLPHINS EVERYWHERE

This month has seen a large pod of spinner dolphins to keep us entertained. It seems like they've been showing up almost everyday, most visitors to the island have had the chance to swim with them on at least one or two occasions. We generally see dolphins every week or so but to see them almost everyday for weeks in a row is a rare blessing. This photo was taken by our neighbor Brad and the video was shot by udc using a gopro2 camera on the front of their dive boat the old tom.

Monday, June 25, 2012

NICE ARTICLE ABOUT DIVING UTILA

http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler/utila/Content?oid=2306139

Sunday, June 3, 2012

WONDERFUL WATER

Another great shot by our neighbor Brad. He snapped this one of us arriving home to Treasure Beach after taking a group of guests out to the marine preserve at Turtle Harbor for some snorkeling and a little Lionfish hunting. We saw Eagle Rays and some huge Tarpon in the preserve but only saw (and killed) one Lionfish, hopefully that's a good sign.

Monday, May 28, 2012

SAM & TIZIANA RETURN TO TREASURE BEACH

Sam from London and Tiziana from Milan were our first ever guests at Treasure Beach and last week they returned, this time with friends John and Landi. Such a great time was had by all ( including us ) and by the end of the week they were already making plans for next year. What were a lovely group to have at the Pineapple House and a real pleasure to host. Here are some of their lovely photos 
 











Friday, May 11, 2012

LEARNING TO DIVE ON UTILA

expertvagabond.com/learning-to-scuba-dive-utila-honduras/


Nice article about learning to dive on Utila, the cheapest place in the western hemisphere to get your Padi openwater dive certification.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

FLATS FISHING AT TREASURE BEACH

Wonderful flats fishing is literally a few hundred feet from the shore at Treasure Beach.  Tarpon, Bonefish and Snook are the usual suspects but be prepared for a major fight in this catch and release game of cat and mouse. Wade in the warm gin clear waters or get a clearer view of your prey from a boat. Go it alone or allow us to arrange a local fishing guide to show you the ropes (and the fish).

Thursday, April 19, 2012

A WONDERFUL WINTER/SPRING SEASON AT TREASURE BEACH

This is the beginning of our second full year of offering vacation rentals at Treasure Beach and bookings have certainly sky rocketed. We were completely booked at Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year and when the Pineapple house became fully booked February through early May we decided to bring the Coral House into the rental pool. Within days of making the Coral House available we had received multiple reservations, all without using any of the big online rental services such as VRBO or FLIPKEY. It just goes to show the power of positive guest referrals. This year we have seen a number of return guests and a healthy dose of friends and acquaintances of previous guests
However what's even more exciting are all the positive comments we've been getting from our guests this season and the marvelous reviews they've been leaving online. Here's a sample from TRIPADVISOR:-
Our rental agents Dave and Trisha have decided to move full time to Treasure Beach (I knew they'd get hooked), so now they'll be handling not only the online reservations but also the day to day operations and guest services. Trisha will also continue with her role as director of BICA (Bay Islands Conservation Association).

Sunday, April 8, 2012

BEAUTIFUL ISLAND FACES

Treasure beach recently played host to world renowned underwater film maker Annie Crawley. Annie was under the water filming for most of her trip but generously took time to help me improve my basic video skills. On her last afternoon I took her to visit the nearby cays and she snapped these beautiful shots of the locals. 

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

COMING IN AUGUST, THE UTILA DIVE FESTIVAL

This is the first year of the UTILA DIVE FESTIVAL sponsored by Padi and various dive centers on the island. A full schedule of events are planned, let's all participate and make this a resounding success.


http://utiladivefestival.com/

Friday, March 23, 2012

Saturday, February 18, 2012

"PERFECT VACATION"

We just received another wonderful guest review on tripadvisor.com, our tenth five star review in a row. 


Friday, February 10, 2012

KAYAK UTILA

We provide kayaks if you want to go it alone, or we can arrange for Andi at Kayak Utila to show you the ropes. Andi also teaches stand up paddle boarding and yoga for those seeking a little physical activity while on vacation.  Check out the facebook link below to see the Todd family adventure,



https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.343794838978057.85385.211001158924093&type=1

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

A BEAUTIFUL JANUARY AT TREASURE BEACH



This January has been exceptionally beautiful on Utila. Lovely weather, clear warm water and lots of whale shark sightings. Some of my favorite photos from the last couple of weeks :-

Thursday, December 8, 2011






http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/vacations/adventure/swim-with-a-whale-shark-in-honduras/article2263571/print/

Friday, October 21, 2011

THE UTILA CAYS

Pigeon (Suc-Suc) and Jewel Cays are two small islands about half a mile from Treasure Beach.
These are the only two permanently inhabited cays of Utila (several more are uninhabited), these cays are a fishing village and were the original settlements on Utila. Easily accessible by motor boat or kayak from Treasure Beach, the cays have several bars/restaurants, small grocery stores and Captain Morgans dive center.
Treasure Beach is shown the upper right corner of the photo. Look at that water & those coral reefs!!!
Great photo Brad, i've tried to get this shot several times when coming in to land on Utila but never with such good results.

Friday, August 12, 2011

TREASURE BEACH AUGUST 2011, CAY FEST ON PIGEON CAY, WHALE SHARKS & DOLPHINS

yikes
What a beautiful month at Treasure Beach. The weather has been wonderful, low 90's with a refreshing sea breeze and the water has been a balmy 85f. Lots of whale shark sightings this month and there has been a large pod of spinner dolphins around the island for weeks, I think everyone has swum with them at least once.
There was a lovely day called "Cay Fest" on Pigeon Cay (5 mins by boat from Treasure Beach), lots of fun for the kids with games, races and contests and at night musical performances. 
Treasure Beach looks lovely with all the flowering and fruiting trees coming into bloom at the same time (there is a continuous cycle of blooming but once a year everything coincides), so there is lots of fruit to eat.
There has been lots of whale shark sightings this month and a large pod of spinner dolphins has been all around the island for three weeks. They've been seen at Treasure Beach, Raggedy Cay, Northside, in front of Deep Blue Resort, even in town. Its hard to meet anyone on Utila at the moment who hasn't swum with them! 


old fashioned egg & spoon race's

go oliver go











Thursday, August 4, 2011

THE BRAVE LITTLE RAY

this little chap has been hanging around treasure beach for the last couple of weeks. i've seen adult southern stingrays feeding like this before but never juveniles. there must be something pretty tasty under the sand at high tide !

Monday, May 2, 2011

UTILA 1ST LIONFISH RODEO AND COOKOUT



It was Utila' first Lionfish rodeo on Friday, organized by Bay Islands Conservation Association (BICA). Eleven dive boats participated and almost five hundred Lionfish were killed in a single day.
On Sunday there was a cookout at Chepes Beach, half a dozen of the top chefs on the island showed their stuff and all the fish were eaten.
We enjoyed sushi, soups, curries, ceviche, pan fried and potato cakes all made with lionfish, they're tasty little things.
Prizes were awarded to the people who caught the most, biggest and smallest Lionfish.
The event was very well attended and a good time was had by all, I think it was the social event of the season on Utila.

UTILA : MY TOP TEN PICKS FOR FOOD & DRINKS

  • DRIFTWOOD INN - great for a cool breezy lunch on the dock, bruce on the b.b.q. at night (his brisket is famous on the island but i like the beer battered snapper). a favorite amongst the expats, horse shoes on the sand & u.s. sports on t.v. sunday afternoons.
  • LUNCH AT THE CAYS- wether you choose beau's "fishburger" or mr. hermans "cay view", no trip to utila is complete without lunch on the cays. everyone goes for the fish burgers but i prefer the chicken or lobster (in season). great places to spend a surface interval, bring your camera.
  • MANGO INN-best pizza on the island, authentic thin crust italian style from the brick oven. beautiful gardens, watch the hummingbirds feed by day, bats at night.
  • THE INDIAN WOK- consistently good indian/asian cuisine, a welcome new addition to utila.
  • THE PURPLE PELICAN-my new favourite place for lunch. located at pine point one of utilas prettiest beaches. nice food, beach chairs and lovely water (i've never seen so many starfish). stay for a couple of hours, eat, drink, swim and relax.
  • THOMPSONS BAKERY- the place to stop on your way to that first dive of the day. great coconut bread and cinnamon rolls.
  • TRANQUILLA BAR- a favorite of backpackers and locals, great place to sit on the water and watch the sun go down. an eclectic music selection fuels the party as the evening progress', an institution on utila.
  • TREETANIC BAR- located in a treehouse on the grounds of the jade seahorse. atmospheric , hip bar thats a favorite of the divemasters and younger expats. things usually get going around 10pm,. nice crowd, good vibe.
  • ULTRA LIGHT - great falafel sandwiches and chicken schwarma . very reasonably priced, quality middle eastern food.
  • UTOPIA RESORT- for a special evening out of town, chef hugh prepares the best food on the island (probably honduras), his menu changes daily . try the blackfin tuna if its available, amazing ! accessible only by boat from town, contact the hotel to make reservations and transportation arrangements.

About Me

My photo
my adventures in island living . after visiting utila as a diver for four years (it reminds me of ambergris caye belize, 20 years ago) i bought some beach front land in 2005 and built a home for myself in 2007. i'm located on the beautiful southwest shore opposite the utila cays at treasure beach. now i'm in partnership with my builder Roger, designing/building beautiful homes for our clients (we've completed 5 so far) and living my island dream !