LIFE IS GOOD

Sometimes it takes a vacation (or moving to another country) to remind us to stop......... and smell the flowers, watch a sunset, or just remember how beautiful the world really is. Somehow those moments just come more often on Treasure Beach.

OUR NEW SUNBATHING/STAR GAZING DECK

With the dock completed we now have the perfect spot to watch the boats go by and the sunrise and sunsets over the caribbean sea. The deck above the boat house is the ideal spot to catch a cool ocean breeze when sunbathing (don't forget sunscreen) and is my favorite place to star gaze and watch the bioluminescent fish on the reef at night. I've even slept on the deck at night several times, although not deliberately.

THE SUN AND THE MOON

Late afternoons usually find me out on the pier at Treasure Beach. After a hot day the cool ocean breeze is a god send and the late afternoon light has an amazing quality about it. As the sun starts to go down the reef comes alive and you never know what you might see swimming past. The cycle of sunrise and sunset, the moonrise and its waxing or waning really sets the rhythm of my life here, something I rarely even notice when i'm back in the Chicago.

RETURN TO COPAN RUINAS

My wife and i recently visited the Mayan ruins at Copan and once again we had a marvelous time. We rode the Hedman Alas bus from La Cieba ($30 for a first class ticket) and were thoroughly impressed with the service and the comfort of the Mercedes Benz buses used. We stayed at Hacienda San Lucas just outside of the town of Copan, it's beautiful and in my opinion the best hotel and restaurant in Honduras. The Hacienda oozes old world charm and the nature is breathtaking (great bird watching). Flavia the hotelier is an amazing woman (she spent thirty years in the U.S. before returning to the Hacienda that her grandfather built) and her family and staff are delightful.
As in past trips we hired a guide at the site of the ruins ($40 for 3-4 hours) and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the company of our guide. Apart from the ruins themselves, the nature and the way it's grown on and around the site is beautiful (the ceiba trees are enormous), a little bit of Ankor Wat in Central America. If you visit, be sure to go to the onsite museum, it houses probably the greatest collection of mayan stone carvings in the world. Copan may not be the biggest city of the Mayan civilization but it was certainly a center for the arts.
A perfect Honduran vacation? A week at Treasure Beach followed by a couple of nights at Copan gets my vote!

MY FAVORITE LUNCH SPOT

My favorite place to eat lunch on Utila is the Purple Pelican on Pine Point beach. It's one of only two buildings on about two miles of water front and its the perfect spot for a long leisurely break. I like to kayak from Treasure Beach (it takes about half an hour) the water is so clear and there are hundreds of big orange starfish, it's truly spectacular. The Purple Pelican is built over the water so it gets a nice cooling breeze most days. Kurt and Amy (owner and manager) have put up a volley ball court and lots of sun beds on the beach, so it makes a great place to spend an afternoon, eating, drinking, snorkeling, relaxing. And paddling back to Treasure Beach on a kayak helps to burn away some of the fish taco and beer calories !!
If you've come out from town, stay later and watch a spectacular sunset over the sea and cays, something you won't see in town.