Friday, January 30, 2009

JUCA'S GONE WILD !



everyones favorite divemaster juan carlos, aka ricky ricardo, aka juca, has been going through the idc (scuba instructors exam) for the last week and a half in utila town. its very serious stuff with the examiners flown in from the u.s. and although juca claims its nothing but work, work, work, the reality is there's an awful lot of partying at the end of each day (divemasters are infamous boozers).  seems one night he (or a friend?) had some fun with the clippers and not just on his head.  he has a group of twenty divers arriving from the states on saturday and three of my friends too, should give everyone a surprise that first day out on the dive boat! 

Thursday, January 29, 2009


well it looks as though the rainy season may have finally come to an end. sunshine for four days now and a new moon and stars at night. the school of squid i'd been snorkeling with in the evenings seems to have disbanded , just a few stragglers still around. it seems they liked the dark cloudy nights with no moon or stars better. the pineapple house is progressing nicely, the ground floor bedroom floors are being tiled now and i have more plants arriving on the supply boat today. this house is going to be the best one yet, absolutely beautiful. addios amigos x 

Friday, January 23, 2009



hola , well its still a bit rainy and the west wind has been blowing for a week (very unusual, the east wind is the norm) but we had some sunshine yesterday which allowed me to paint some gingerbread trim that's going on the coral house.  we had a beautiful sunset last night, the two catamarans are anchored in the calm waters between treasure beach and the cays. germans on board cruising the caribbean for a couple of months. it seems our end of the island is becoming a popular place with the sailing set,  there's been up to six of them here at a time this month, they like our calm waters and they make the view even prettier. 

Thursday, January 15, 2009

january showers make flowers



i'm back at treasure beach after spending late november and the beginning of december on my honeymoon with beth, my gorgeous new bride. we were in the maldives and had a lovely time, then back to chicago before christmas and new year, brrrr. its good to feel the sun again and see my utila friends, peter, amanda, john, bine, hugh, ryan and roger. january is the tail end of the rainy season on utila and the weather is very changeable, well its either sunny or rainy anyway, its always warm. i've been doing some planting and in the last couple of weeks i've added a dozen baby coconut palms and some bird of paradise around the coral house, next i'll be adding bananas. the construction of the pineapple house is going great and we're starting some of the interior painting this week, fingers crossed if everything arrives from the states in time we'll be completed by the end of february. its a great house and it feels nice and roomy, i kind of hope someone wants to buy the coral house so i can keep the pineapple house instead. 
snorkeling has been good and a school of squid have been hanging around the pier all week, snorkeling with them at night is especially fun, they are very curious and are definitely interested in me, they change colours constantly like chameleons of the reef . there has been lots of whale sharks this month, the second year in a row that january has been a good month with lots of sightings and tagging being done by the researchers in town. henry and victoria have opened harbor house out on pigeon cay and its very handy, a gym/restaurant/bar/internet cafe, the food is good and it's a nice spot to eat lunch or watch the sunset, definitely a welcome addition to the neighborhood !

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 !