Hello again from the Caribbean!After a somewhat unintentional month-long blog hiatus, here I am. At first I was just feeling uninspired, with not much to say. Then I was feeling censored, as there were a lot of things happening here on Roatan safety and security-wise that people were asking me about, but I couldn't write about it on my blog. I'm sure many of you don't know this but there are plenty of islanders who have found out about my blog and read it. While I'm always happy to have new ...
Living Abroad
An Ode to Rainy Season
*sings* IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!!!Nope, not Christmas. Christmas as I used to know it barely exists for me anymore - there is no tree, no family and presents on Christmas morning, no hot chocolate and skating and snowmen. Christmas is just another day that I take people out diving (and I am totally okay with that). So, while that song might evoke images of Christmas in your mind, the most wonderful time of year on Roatan for me is rainy season.I will take a moment here to ...
This Island is Trying to Kill Me (Or: That Time I Got Dengue)
This is not the first time Roatan has tried to kill me.There was the entire first year that I was here and had allergic reactions to the sandflies and mosquitoes, had several staph infections in the bites on my legs and earned the somewhat unsavory local nickname of 'Sore Legs' from the islanders....There was the time I fell down a concrete ramp...There's been a few more I haven't mentioned due to legal issues and/or my mom's sanity.But this one has been the worst. You guys, I got ...
Two Years as a Scuba Diving Instructor in Paradise
You guys. I've been a dive instructor for two years today. TWO YEARS. What the hell!? Where has all this time gone? I feel like I was just writing about how I wasn't sure I'd even get my other courses done in time to do my instructor course. And now I've been teaching people how to dive for two effin years already!the first day of my instructor course in october 2012... so happy that i am still in touch with all my fellow candidates!I have written a few posts about being a ...
New Tourist Visa Procedures on Roatan
had mentioned the new-ish Honduran visa procedures in a previous post, but I am getting asked a lot of questions from readers planning to visit, move to, invest in, or retire to Roatan.Let me first be VERY CLEAR that I am not an expert, a lawyer or any other kind of official. I am simply someone 'on the ground' who has been through the procedures and has seen how it has been working since it's been put in place (late August 2014). I am also not making any sort of statement of what I ...
How Taking a Walk at Night Was a Revelation
The other night I felt like taking a walk.I used to walk everywhere before I moved to Roatan. When I lived in Vancouver, one of the biggest cities in Canada, I regularly walked to/from work downtown to the neighborhood I lived in (Kitsilano). I walked home drunk by myself from downtown after going to the bar with friends. I walked to concerts, dinner dates and shopping. I never had a problem in 5 years of living there, and I never felt unsafe.When I first moved to Roatan it was a ...
How to Become a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor
People ask me all the time how I became a dive instructor! I can say that it is not an easy (or cheap) process, but if you have a passion for diving and have the right personality to teach, it's an amazing way to do what you love - and if you want, live in some pretty interesting and exotic places.Since I can only speak for my own experience, this post is focused on how to become a PADI dive instructor. There are many training agencies around the world for basic certification all the way up to ...
5 Things I Love About Roatan
"So, do you like living here?" I get this question from tourists on a near-daily basis, usually after I tell them I've been on the island for two years. Uhhhh... if I didn't like it, would I live here for two years? Now don't get me wrong, this place makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes. But so did every place in Canada that I lived at some point in time or another. (Can I be any clearer to people that paradise does not equal no problems?) But that doesn't mean there aren't amazing ...
Things That Are No Longer Weird To Me.
I'm coming up close on 2 years full-time on Roatan, and in that relatively short amount of time I have found myself noticing things that were shocking at first, but I no longer bat an eye at now. It's funny how your entire perspective can change when you're immersed in a place that is very different from home.Leaving out 'please' and 'thank you'.Politeness is implied in Island English, and at first I was taken aback at being ordered around so rudely by the islanders. Then when I asked, they ...
Roatan FAQ – Part 1
The #1 thing I receive emails about is questions from people who are visiting or thinking about moving to Roatan. And they all ask me the exact same questions!! I thought I better start putting together from FAQs so that people can read through these first before emailing me since I just don't have the time to give full, detailed answers over and over. I hope people find this helpful! If you have other questions you would like answered in Part 2, please leave them in the comments ...