MUM ARRIVES ON UTILA

this is my mums first visit from england to utila and i'm hoping it won't be her last . after yet more rain this week (this has to be the longest rainy season on record), the sun is finally showing its face again. despite the wet days, time is flying by and my mums three + week visit will be over, too soon.  we've been swimming and fish watching (her highlights so far have included squid and octopus), had lunch on the cay and we have walked to utopia resort for dinner a couple of times (mum got a ride home through the jungle on an atv, a first for her). she loves our house on the beach, this week i'm in charge of cooking and mums in charge of tidying up (works for me). beautiful star gazing from our pier last night, mum is looking for a shooting star as she's never seen one, i think we can probably arrange that. in ten days we travel by road across mainland honduras to the mayan ruins at copan, should be an adventure! 

THE THREE AMIGOS COME TO VISIT aka "welcome to hondo"

i've just wrapped up a weeks visit by three of my oldest and dearest friends, David, Mark and Buzzy (or Arturo, as he likes to be called on the island) . great fun was had by all(shame about the weather, the rainy season has lasted two weeks later than last year), David kept fit by running the length of the island and back every day and taking photos but actually he seemed rather relaxed which was exactly what he needed. Buzzy discovered a love of snorkeling , saw many spotted eagle rays and got some great video of an octopus one night (i shall say no more about Buzzy, i'm saving the rest for a book or "a family event") and Mark....well Mark made the week. he was sozzled from sun up to sunset and is probably going to experience the d.t.'s when he gets home (he set a record at Utopia Resort for the most shots ever consumed). a witty raconteur, Mark WANTED to rake the beach and sweep the verandas everyday, bonded with my construction crew even though he speaks no spanish and left his room cleaner and better furnished than when he arrived. it was like watching him set up our huge trade show booth in the old days.  a great week, the first time we've all hung out in at least two years. my current business partner Roger, was amazed that after all these years and all these business', the four of us were still such great friends.  i hope they'll all return soon .  i'm exhausted now, feels like leaving after a week in vegas, not utila.  i guess i just can't party like i used to.......but i ain't giving up! 

   rated p.g. for language... Buzzy got every excited. 

THE RETURN OF SPOTTED DICK.

most days last year at sunrise and/or sunset a spotted eagle ray came to feed at treasure beach. often he'd be in the shallowest water and would come within a foot or two of the beach, it was so predictable that friends would sometimes come by to see him in the late afternoon. i hadn't seen him this year and was getting a bit worried that maybe he'd met an untimely end. yesterday afternoon the sun finally came out and the wind shifted to the east, so i went to sit on the pier and enjoy the sunset. the water was calm and very clear but i noticed an area by the pier that was very cloudy and knew that meant only one thing: something was digging in the sand. for the next thirty minutes i got to watch "dick" foraging for shrimp, crab and lobster. he's grown a bit since i last saw him and his tail must be six feet long now. cheers, nice to have you back dick.