Roatan, Honduras

Hello... Hello...

Wow it is already March 2008... Please tell me how to slow time down! I have an answer... watch a sloth. Trent came home and said to me he just watched this animal take over 5 minutes to cross the road that a local called a bear. My response was "there are no bears in Panama". The kids and I ran to check it out ourselves and there we found a sloth S-L-O-W-L-Y crossing our neighbors yard. It was pretty cool, this was our first time seeing a wild sloth just roaming around and let me tell you they are unbelievably slow.

(keep going you can do it! As you can imagine the kids loved seeing this cute little sloth on our neighbors lawn)

March and the kids are back in school (I am happy for them, but I am sad) The kids have started a new school, they are going to a bilingual school Spanish/English with studies in Greek. It is a Greek school so the kids will have twice a week Greek language classes as well as Mass in their Orthodox Church. The first day went great! Everett was unsure at first but when we picked him up at noon he was so happy. We saw Emma & Easton when we picked up Everett and Trent asked Emma "have you met any friends?" her reply very casually was "I have tons of friends". We are so proud of them, they have had a lot of changes and they adjust amazing dealing with all kinds of situations. They are very special kids! Today is day two and they were excited to get to school. Emma has a Spanish test next week and I will be learning right along with her... I have no idea what the words were... wish me luck.

(the kids like these uniforms way better than their last school... Here they are on the trampoline right before heading off to school - their shirts should be tucked in but we were in a hurry. School starts at 7:30am here... early I tell you :- )

Since I last wrote we made our trip to Roatan, Honduras to meet the Richards and two other couples they came down with. Our plane landed on Roatan at 9:30am Feb 23, 2008 to a beautiful island! The first night we were on island we had no hotel booked because we came a day early. Trent found us a place to lay our heads for the night at the new Infinity Bay resort... oh my was it beautiful... the room was amazing, the beach was out of a magazine and the water was for sure some of the best visibility we have seen in a while.

(A view of the hotel from the water... it was beautiful)

(water taxis to venture to other areas on the island)

(the water is amazing as you can see)

The first night we were all in bed at 7:00pm and slept the whole night through since we left our house in Panama at 3:00am to catch our flight. Like any night before we leave on a trip Trent & I didn't really get any sleep packing, locking the house up... the usual stuff when leaving our house unattended for a few weeks.

(No Ginger, the beach and sand does not get old..haha)

The second day we checked into the Mayan Princess resort in the West Bay area of Roatan... again the beach could not be anymore perfect for the kids.... and the pool, well I have to drag the kids out to get them to eat and drink.

The Richards came a week after us as I mentioned with two other families. In total we had 8 adults & 10 kids ages between 18months - 8yrs. The locals around the resort called us the Army.

(Schmuland Family 3kids, Richards Family 2kids, Zeer Family 2kids & Stevenson Family 3 kids... it was fun... & crazy at times)

Trent had been fighting off pneumonia and into week two was still not improving. While on Roatan he went to the doctor and found out he had strep throat as well as an ear infection... it was a very long month around here. I am happy to report now he is all cleared up and back to being a healthy guy.. thank goodness! Trent was so sick that he was in bed by 9:00pm and was not even touching cervezas with his buddy Rob (that is how sick he was!) Trent did muster the energy to relax in the sun though.

(I kid you not, a gentleman came and starting serenading the guys... they look cute together...haha)

I have been asked "Where is Roatan?" Roatan is in Honduras, Central America. Roatan is the largest of the Bay Islands being 60km long and 8km wide at its wides point, the population is about 30,000 people. 126 years ago the British occupied the island so to our surprise many people spoke English on Roatan. There is no other obvious evidence that the British were here other than the English language. The cars drive on the right side of road and the structures are typical island buildings. The people are however very dark skinned and are mix of Jamaican, Antillie decent and some accents are very thick. It is a real blend.

We rented a car to explore at our own free will. The island has only two main roads which acts as a ring road so there is no way you can not get lost here... but is does take a while to get around. The people do not drive as crazy as the Panamanians but you still have to be cautious when turning corners.

Coxen Hole is the main town... it looked very rough the first time we drove through it but not to bad the second time. To the grocery store we went and oh my goodness groceries are expensive on Roatan compared to Panama, to my surprise though the stores had a decent selection of goods.

Cruise ships port at Coxen Hole 6 days/week with two ships on Wednesday. It was funny to see elderly people come off the cruise and arrive at a town that is NOT Americanized at all.. it is very local. When we have been in town the senior citizens walk slowly down the street and they do not seem very interested in going into the little dirty shops.

(some local boys hanging out on the street)

(this house caught my eye by the ocean on our way to Coxen Hole)

(a local street on Coxen Hole town)

(see all the laundry hanging above the deck... I love pictures like this)



(We found the hospital, not quite what you would expect in North America)



(local fruit stand... I thought it was a great example of reusing & recycling. The fruit was delicious and even cheaper than Panama)

Roatan is one of the top scuba diving destinations in the world. Trent did a lot of diving along with the other guys in our group. They started slowly by going on a regular dive then graduated to a ship wreck that Trent said was very cool. They dove down to 110 feet... way to far for me. They could not stop at a ship wreck... they decided to make things a bit more interesting by going on a shark dive. YES shark dive! Trent's exact words were "this was one of the top 5 things I have ever experienced in my life."

The premise of the dive went like this:
*arrive at the dive shop
*have a safety briefing finding out if anyone messes up the whole dive is called off
*jump off the boat and descend to the bottom of the ocean 70 feet
*notice sharks swimming around 10-15 feet away
*dive master signaled to swim with the sharks - CRAZY.... swam with the sharks within 4-5 feet
*prepositioned divers for TREAT TIME
*5 gallon bucket was tossed 20feet away from the divers and the sharks took turns diving their heads into the bucket. One shark got his head stuck on the bucket and thrashed around to get it off.
*sharks took all the food, then they disappeared
*safe to ascend to the top to return to the boat

Trent got a video of the whole things and it is pretty wild. He insists next time I am going with him... I might have to think about that!

NOTE: the sharks that showed up were Grey Reef Sharks traditional non aggressive sharks but they are still wild predators... no Great Whites travel the waters down here, how comforting.

(here you can see just how close the sharks are to the divers)

(this is the real deal... Grey Reef Sharks... none aggressive but BIG, 10 feet long big)

(the three amigos... Jason Zeer, Rob Stevenson & Schmu)

(he is still a comedian under the surface with Sharks lurking all around)

On to the next Adventure:

We heard on the island there was an Iguana Farm.... the iguana's on the island have been hunted to extremely low numbers and this farm is trying to populate the island again. However this is probably one of the most creepy excursions we have ever done to date. The kids LOVED it.

The Iguana farm... the local people hunt the animals for food, they told us they taste like chicken. There was just WAY to many iguanas scurrying around in one place for me. They were disgusting!!!!!!! The gentleman gave the kids mango leafs for them to feed the iguanas, it was just plan disgusting, the iguanas all came running grabbing the leafs and some even were climbing up Easton. I was content staying back and taking pictures. As you can imagine the kids thought it was AWESOME, Trent tired to be funny and put a leaf by my feet to get the iguanas to come close to me... I was not to impressed! Easton slipped and stepped on an iguana's head and I nearly had a heart attack. Trent told me to relax and I said "save it, there is no way I will ever relax here".

(it was interesting to say the least)

(my boys said they would like one for a pet... over my dead body I told them)

(East loved when they crawled up him... disgusting!!!)

(even my baby girl got into the action.. she is not GIRLY when it comes to creatures)

(look at this dinosaur related iguana... I wonder sometimes why God made some of these animals)

(this one liked to be pet, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment)



(Everett could not get enough of feeding them, we stayed forever for them to eat and eat the mango leaves. One of iguana's favorite foods are bananas.. they went bananas for them..haha)



(the kids loved the Iguanas so much that we went back with the Richard Family. Here is Jordyn fascinated with the built in leash of her new friend... it was really funny)

The iguana's mate once each year and this just happened to be mating season. Like any other creature the males fight for ownership if you will... who is chief. When the males are about to fight the large flap under their chin expands and they nod their heads up and down. Emma was in the middle of one of these alpha male episodes and I again could of fainted...

Once the female eggs are fertilized she goes in the hills to dig a hole for her off spring, she then covers them up with mud. It is a 90 incubation period then at night or early morning the tiny eggs hatch and out pop little green iguanas about 1foot long. This farm takes the little babies and keep them in pens until they are approximately 1yrs. old which then they are released around the island for re population. The farm is trying to educate the locals about extinction and the program is slowly working. It was a very interesting day.

The side of the island we stayed on is usually very calm and the wind blows from the east. For a few days though the winds took a turn blowing from the West, making the beach a bit rough. The kids could not swim and it was so cold I was in my jeans and sweater. Since we had a cloudy day we took advantage to explore another local park called Gambalimba . The kids love anywhere Pirates have been and this park displayed a bit of pirate history. At this park the kids held parrots and a few white faced monkeys... what kids don't love that?

(we are about to enter the unknown, the cave of pirates, a picture in case we never made it to the other side :- )

(East with his 1700's pirate buddy)



(This was a long swing bridge... Emma started to rock it and Trent (sorry honey) was yelling like a girl for her to stop... he did not like that AT all. Emma said she was acting like Shrek on the draw bridge over the lava and Trent was acting like Donkey... STOP THAT!



(I present Joshua & Barnie they were heavy. Easton had a hard time)



(these beautiful birds flew all around the park, can you say Free as a Bird)



(Trent made a new friend also, his name is Peter... he was 6months old. Trent mentioned he would like a pet monkey... NO WAY)

The absolute best part of the park was the Canopy Tour or know as a ZIP LINE... I did it again and this time I had two new partners with me ... Emma & Easton. They LOVED it. Easton told me it was now his favorite sport. Emma was old enough to go on her own but Easton was assisted by a guide on most lines. There were 18 platforms and one of the zips we went on we traveled about 60km.. it was fast... They are my thrill seekers, Everett would of came but I think he is still a bit to young to fly through trees.

(Me and my adventure seeking partners... East almost 6yrs. old and Emma 8yrs. old)

(Emma flying through the air... she loved it)

(it is obvious Easton L-O-V-E-D this. I think he will be a life long thrill seeker)

Tori Richards really wanted to go zipping so with a twist of our arm Em, East, & I went again zipping with Tori... I wonder if it ever gets old! However this time we went zipping they put a new twist on it, Easton and I flew like Superman for a few lines. I do have to say I was very nervous for this stunt, I could not buckle in my safety clip for this but I was with a guide. The part that made my stomach turn was not having anything to hold onto and I was unable to stop myself..CRAZY i KNOW!

(here is me flying like Superman... It was FREAKY, but a blast, I screamed the whole way)

(Tori said it was WICKED, amazing, so much fun, she is very proud she did it)

(here the view from up on the zip line, it is truely amazing here)

The view was breathtaking and it was alot of fun with Em and Easton... I wonder what they think about when they lay their heads down at night?

Before the Richards came we met another couple with their little 4yr. old girl from New York. Bless this little girl. She was born with one leg shorter than the other and this was their first holiday where she can just be a kid. Nicolette is her name, she is just learning to run for the first time in her short life because she has had so many surgeries and has been in a wheel chair to accomodate her large casts... The kids have had alot of fun with Nicolette.

(out for dinner at a pizzareia ... it was fun even when the power went out and it was pitch black. So black you can not even see your hand in front of your face.. no joke)

(everyday at 4:00pm we hit the beach for yummy ice cream)

Below are a few pictures from our condo and the amazing sunsets we were witness to each and everynight.

(here is our condo. There are three units ground level and three units above. Our unit was the top left one and the Richards stayed right below us. It was a great set up, you can't get any closer to this amazing beach)

(here is a view from our patio that we took in each day)

(then a picture taken during the sunset)

(Trent & Everett on a stroll at the West End - another little town on Roatan. It is a one dirt road town with huge pot holes, it reminded Trent & I of Phi Phi Island in Thailand)

(Emma doing some school work, she is not to happy about that. I told her to smile because the school setting could not get any better)

The pool area at the Mayan Princess was spatacular. If one day we ever get a chance to build a pool somewhere in this world I know what I would do. We spent every day in the pool with a minimum of 3 hours splashing, playing and tossing the kids around. Our Army seemed to be the only group in the pool most days.

(the kids loved when Trent & Rob tossed them into the sky to fly like birds. Here is Everett being tossed nice and high like he wanted. I had to close my eyes a few times it was so high)

(Rob got Easton so high that he looks like he is litterly flying with the birds)

(Boys will be boys... they could not keep their hands off eachother... practicing all their football moves from a LONG time ago)


(The boys always kiss and make up... It's good have a buddy)



(what is a buddy without sharing a stoggie to celebrate their wonderful lives)

Because of the beautiful pool setting I was able to get the kids to sit long enough for a few pictures, all it took me was a bribe of ice cream on the beach.

(Ev you melt my heart)

(oh how you guys are spoiled... you are sooooo worth it)

(a fun mid afternoon break with all the families - we took a tour of the ocean mysteries on a glass bottom boat, with a submarine like chamber below to look out through. It was fun looking out the windows trying to find all kinds of different fish. One of the best parts was seeing so many scuba divers underneath us)

Dolphin Time: I had no intentions of going to see the Dolphins here in Roatan until I heard first hand from a local and from doing some reading that the facility here is one of the best. The enclosure is large and the dolphins if they wanted could jump out of the pen. Dolphins everyday follow the scuba dive boats out for the fun of the dive and there is no riding the dolphins, which I was happy about.

One afternoon the Schmulands and Richards loaded into the car for yet another interesting day. The kids had such a great time. We were able to go right into the water with the dolphins and learn all about them which again was a great learning experience for our kids.

- Did you know a Mommy dolphin is pregnant for 12 months. The calf sticks with its' Mom up to 6 yrs. What I found facinating was that a dolphins sleeps in two folds, it rolls on its side for one half of the brain to sleep while the other side controls the breathing. When the left side of the brain is finished sleeping it rolls to the right to sleep that side of the brain. Very interesting!

(Rob, Jaymee & Trent on our way to see the dolphins)

(this is Bill, he is 6yrs. old & was very playful... he liked the camera)

(the Richards family taking in the moment)

(Tori & I had the privilage of going back to see & SWIM with the dolphins on an other day. It was amazing! Swimming with the dolphins ment snorkeling all around them and watching them interact with eachother. They are very curious animals. We were told they would come check us out and did they ever, they brushed up against us, wanted us to just play around. There were only six of us snorkeling watching them chase eachother and play around. Among the group was a baby who was a character. It was truely amazing and it was so great to see them just swimming freely being themselves. One even pooped right in front of me... I was not expecting that I tell you.


Trent & his fishing
What would our life be if Trent was not out fishing every chance he had. Sick or not he would be out on the water.

(Trent went flat fishing for Trigger fish, Bone fish & Permit fish. He loved it. In this picture he is holding a Trigger fish which gave a good fight (that is what he is looking for) Trent went out a few times leaving our condo at 5:00am to meet his guide. Nothing keeps this man from the fish! He did try deep sea fishing once while we were on Roatan but I think he has realized it is better to keep his money for where the big fish run in Panama. One day I will be have a picture of Trent & his Marlin)


A few pictures with no particular catagory except I like them :- )


(three munchkins dancing up a storm listening to the live band at the beach... they are great dancers)

(The boys are giving the HARD EYE just for Nick)



(Emma and her new friend Alex. They spent alot of time together in the two weeks the families were together... it was fun)

A few scenic shots I like... just because.


(I LOVE this picture of my little Monk Everett. I love it because I see a little boy walking towards the huge adventures that are before him... so pure, so innocent)

(we drove down to a local community on the otherside of the island and this is where I found this little boat. I wondered what the story is behind it)

(this picture was taken at Coral Cay Marine Park on Roatan. The chairs were lined up perfectly on the beach what seemed to be for a mile. There was not a sole on the beach because no cruiseship came in that day due to bad weather)


GOOD-BYE TO THE RICHARDS... It was a great time and we had so much fun with the girls, they are my little buddies... we spent alot of time together! Until we meet again xoxooxox.

(a nice picture at sunset on our way to Infinity Bay for dinner)


The last supper

For our last night together someone talked to Ramone (the Armies personal waiter basically) to set up a special dinner on the beach. Oh what a picture perfect spot to say our good-byes, enjoy some vino, lots of cervazas, daiquiris and of course rummers. Most of the kids syated up late running around the beach bearing eachother while the babies of the families laid their heads nicely against their pillows.

(our table being set up at sunset)

(cheese everyone... a great meal!)

(the kids playing around way to late... Isabell, Emma, Alex & of course Easton with the girls)


WARNING MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME... IT SURE WAS TO US... WE FOUND TWO MOONS ON THIS NIGHT... SOME VERY white MOONS... WARNING!!!

(I thought I had seen it all. But a bum kiss is the first for me.. p.s I told you I would put it on :- )

(our final picture with the adults & Ramon our server. At our last dinner we all paid and left a good tip for Ramon. He came to us after he counted the money and had tears in his eyes because we left approx. $150 dollars for his tip and he told us that is almost what he makes in a month. Now that puts life in perspective... He has a 2yr. old son & wife and he makes $200/month working 6 days a week)

Our final goodbye. It was a great three weeks. Again I could not be more thankful for my life, the safetly and health of my family and experiencing everything we are blessed with. On this trip we met up with our dear friends the Richards and met some new friends we will see in the future.

To everyone back in Canada... we miss you!!! Before we know it we will be boarding a plane again to come visit.

Thank you for following my journal and for all of you who think I write to much( Trent, Bonnie)... I do :- ) I like to not forget the small details because over time we all know we forget things. I have always been a somewhat detailed person but since the death of my Dad and subsenquintly the birth of the kids I do not want to forget anything... I find for me photographs and words bring me right back to that moment... which I love. One day I hope my kids will look back and the same thing will happen for them.

Take care, give your loved ones a big squeeze and until next time.

love Trent * Jody * Emma * Easton & Everett