Roatan Insights © May 2001
News from the Honduras Bay Islands and North Coast
May 2001
By Pierre Renaldo, The Coastwatcher©

On the Road Again: Roatan Style

I am very pleased to report that the road building process between Flowers Bay and Coxen Hole has turned serious. I have been telling you for the past year that the survey crews have been out here looking through those things that look like telescopes all last summer and many times so far this year.

That usually doesn't mean much around here because guys have been doing that for years. Someone has somehow gained access to a transit and a bunch guys want to look through it just in case it's focused on a delightful damsel. I suppose they may have even been able to pick a little loose change that way but this time they meant business.

There is a place in Gravel Bay where two little streams come down out of the hills about two thirds of the way into town. And those little babbling brooks have a couple of rickety old wooden plank bridges over them that looked like they had seen better days. Well all of sudden this road building company that been messing up the roads for the last three summers had got this crew of bridge builders together to do a service for the driving public of Roatan.

Now I certainly do not wish any of you out there to think of this as any kind of complaint. It is merely my way of reporting important events as they unfold on our beautiful tropical island. I am merely an observer, informing my readers first hand. I am going to title this little news item and after you read it you may want to suggest a different name, so I am open to suggestions. I know some of you may be tempted to be snide or even clever enough to invent a double entendre`. And maybe we'll just call it a boring story about nothin'.

The Bridges of Gravel Bay

I was just driving along early on Monday morning about a month ago, minding my business and watching for the familiar potholes, washboards and other wheel busters along the coastal drive that takes me into Coxen Hole. There is usually nothing much different going on along this familiar byway of Roatan but as I turned the bend into Gravel Bay I could distinctly see several big trailers loaded with gigantic culvert pipes, that they were actually unloading onto our island.

Next, a guy waving a red bandana was standing right in the exact spot where there had been an old wooden plank bridge just the day before. He was waving at me so I just waved back, which I thought was the polite thing to do. But this nice man was directing me to drive my truck over along the beach, through a little stream that was flowing into the bay. He was smiling so I knew everything was going to be all right, and I proceeded as directed.

Seeing that I was about to enter saltwater I slowed to idle speed so as to not create any kind of bow wave that might enter some critical part of my drive train or wheels and brakes. 'How absolutely quaint,' I though to my self. 'What a wonderful tourist attraction this will make.'

Imagine these nice people going through all that trouble just so that some tourists could go back home and brag to their friends at the very next cocktail part. "I am serious Ruthy, there was one place were Jack actually had to drive right through the ocean to get to the other side of this river? It was so adventurous?"

You know how some people talk like they are always asking a question?

The next day they had placed the old wooden plank bridges in a new location where you were supposed to (temporarily) drive over them while the new bridge abutments were being formed. They would be poured concrete as would the roadbed and beams of the new span, so you know they will be safe to cross, no? I intentionally drive slow every time I go across these now 'temporary' crossings just to see what's going on, typically like a sidewalk superintendent.

I have never built bridges, except the occasional fun kind of stuff where a driveway or walkway crosses some obstacle that requires special conditions. So I am not really much of a critic when it comes to bigger bridges. The only big stuff I have ever seen were the concrete kind, the highway bridges and spans around the expressways, and the Sunshine Skyway at St. Pete, Florida. All those bridges had one thing in common. They used tons and tons of reinforcing steel. Big diameter re-bars.

Well now friends, I must report a new method of bridge building technology that has evolved on Roatan. It is called los roccas construccion. It means the rocks, in Spanish. These guys would mix up a little concretos, in their putt-putt mixer, then dump it into the forms and then they would throw in a pile of rocks. Next more concretos, and then more roccas. Then when they got to the top of the pier (abutment), instead of re-bar sticking out, ready to be tied to the steel of the span, they just placed a cute row of rocks on top. If that had been a garden fence it would be the prettiest thing you ever saw.

They must have thought better about the roccas on the pier, so they later finished off the top with a layer of concrete, and the "coup de grace"; they placed one vertical piece of # 6 re-bar projecting out of each pier to be the connection for steel reinforcing bars that (I hope) will be used in the deck of the roadbed that we will have to drive across when the bridge is completed.

I am anxiously waiting for the next phase of construccion that will be the part we drive on to cross the bridge. The beams and platform that form the new roadbed. It should be quite interesting. But that's not all. They were digging holes in the road up by the big pier where the cruise ships come in, so they could install those new culvert pipes onto the ends of the exiting culverts; that way they can widen the road around the big public boat dock where the cruise ships dock when they call on Coxen Hole.

(Did you know that some of the old island maps called it Roatan City? I wonder why they changed it to Coxen Hole?)

I guess they are trying to make room for another 150 taxis to fit in, on cruise ship days. If we don't have enough taxis on Roatan to fill up the new parking spaces that are being created by the new wider road, we will have to import some from La Ceiba.

This part of the new roads project must be pretty important because they have flat out quit the paving up on the West End-West Bay road, which seemed to be very important last month. They were even working on Sunday to get that road done in record time, but something must have come up, because it is just about two fifths done and there isn't a single guy with a red bandana to be seen anywhere.

I wonder if these road builder guys have anything to do with running Hondutel.

Stay tuned and I'll keep you informed of the progress.

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On a more serious note I have had many people ask about the cost of living here. There are two major influences on our cost of living.

One: We are a vacation resort area, and it will always cost more to live in or near a resort community.

Two: We are an island thirty-five miles offshore. It costs more for everything when you live on an island. It is because of the added transportation, the merchants and building supply people tell us.

True to an extent, but you can bet your last centavo that they all put in some extra for having to go through the expense and inconvenience of transporting things to the island. Let me assure you my friends, it is a big pain chasing boats, getting your stuff unloaded and then getting it to where you want it delivered, to say nothing of the cost of the ground transportation and handling. There is breakage and pilferage to add to the equation as well.

When people think of third world they think that just because the country is so poor that everything will be cheap. Right! But if you want to live cheap, then you have to live like the locals. Not many of you would be willing to do that. A diet of rice and beans and living in a hut with dirt floors is not exactly what most of us had in mind when we moved here.

Nothing brought into this country from someplace else is cheap. In fact, you will find manufactured things to be very expensive in Honduras, especially after you add the importation duties and twelve percent national sales taxes!

Don't forget Honduras manufactures very little compared to other countries on the isthmus. We have a small 'manqila industry' in the 'zona libre' (duty free zone) at Choloma, north of San Pedro Sula, where people sew garments together for the big boys in the U.S. Standard Fruit Company is about the biggest employer in this country.

Rentals on the island range from very cheap for the most basic shelter, which may not include water, electricity, or indoor plumbing, to quite expensive if you are looking for a more grandiose lifestyle. There is no free lunch here either.

Another common question is about becoming employed here. That status is attainable under the right circumstances, but each individual situation is different so one size does not fit all, if you get the corralary. You should check with the Honduras consulate closest to you for specifics. Just a word of warning to those of you who may be thinking of giving Roatan a shot.

You may have many talents, but you will not be paid anything like you may expect for your unique expertise. Many people from the U.S., Canada and Europe find it difficult to make ends meet here. Some get into trouble as a result.

There is no land of opportunity anywhere on earth equal to the U.S.A. You have a better chance of making a good living there than anyplace else you can imagine. Unless you have something very unique and unusual you may be in for disappointments by coming here to find a job.

Now I will print the remainder of Chapter I of my book

"How To survive in Third World Retirement: The Handbook"
You can purchase the entire e-book on my web site at: http://www.eroatan.com/pierre/books.html

There are two other books in the trilogy that offer sound advise for those of you contemplating building your dream home in your hometown or in a third world paradise. The titles are: "How to Avoid the Pitfalls: Building Your Dream Home"
This book is written for the benefit of those persons who want to jump into the construction process but who know little or nothing about construction. Don't be among the sorry group who laments, "I wish I had known about that before I built."

And: "How to Build Your Dream Home in a Third World Paradise" This book covers the unique differences involved in building on an island in the third world, in a Spanish speaking country. It covers the logistics rarely ever discussed or understood for those who have not done it before.

"How to Survive in Third World Retirement: The Handbook"

Chapter One

continued from April 2001.

Rentista Status:

The documentation for this status is similar to Retirement status. Check with your consulate to make sure. The main differences being as follows:

a.) Proof that you have a permanent income of $1,000. per month.

Additional residency information you should authenticate through your consulate:

1.)There may be other documents and exhibits required depending on whether or not you may be coming here to work.

2.)You may not take employment under retirement status, but you can administer a business.

3.)You may own a business under either Rentista, or Retirement status.

4.)You may be granted a long term working visa or temporary residency in some circumstances, i.e. coming to Honduras as a manager or key management for a corporation that has been in existence for at least two years. Check with your consul, who will be able to best decide how to handle your particular situation.

5.)You may qualify for residency status if your are investing in priority development/businesses advocated by the Honduran government. F.I.D.E. is the name of the promotional group.

1.) You will be required to appear for an interview before the bureau of Turismo, in Tegucigalpa before your residency request begins processing. The interview consists of a short lecture about exchanging the required amount of currency each and every month and some other inane chit-chat. Your attorney usually arranges interviews, and either he or a member of his staff will accompany you.

2.) The minimum income requirements for your type of residency must be converted from U.S. dollars to Lempiras, and the Bureau of Turismo must be notified by your bank that this has indeed been done, each and every month. The bank will do the necessary paperwork for you for a modest fee.

The Dispensa:

Some types of residencies will allow grantees to import their household goods to Honduras duty free. The document that grants this privilege is called the dispensa. It is basically a copy of your manifest of household goods which has been approved by the Ministry of Finance giving you permission to import those items listed and approved, duty free. Here are some important facts about the dispensa process.

1.) Your must have attained the required residency status before your dispensa will be processed.

2.) You may import ordinary household good and one vehicle into Honduras duty free. (1-vehicle duty every five years.)

3.) You may bring your household goods in more than one container at differing intervals, providing it is done within one year from issuance of the dispensa.

4.) You should bring all the major appliances you will want for the foreseeable future, under the exemption of your dispensa. They do not have to be used appliances to qualify. Merely state: 24 cu. ft. refrigerator on your manifest. Or 1- 30" electric stove. 1- upright 15 cu. ft. freezer. Do not mention ice maker, or any other 'exotic' features.

5.) You can import your goods prior to issuance of a dispensa if you put up a cash bond* equal to the value (as assessed by the Aduana) of your listed goods. Your bond money will be refunded upon issuance of the dispensa.

6.) I suggest you employ a customs broker if you decide to go this route. In fact, it is a wise move in any event. They more than earn their modest fees. *You may forfeit your bond money if you do not have your dispensa within a reasonable time after putting up the bond. Ask for details from your customs broker or the Aduana.

7.) If you bring your goods into Honduras in two phases make sure you have them listed on two separate manifests, but process them all together initially. If you do not know for sure that you will be bringing in all goods listed on the second manifest, make it part of the original paperwork. You will not be penalized in any way for not bringing in something listed on the manifest, but do not over do it.

8.) Make sure all your documents are reviewed by a competent attorney in Honduras, well versed in residency work. Use only real attorneys. Avoid the people who hold themselves out as being coordinators and expeditors. They will cost you more time and money.

9.) Most attorneys here have fixed fees for residencies and the fee should include the processing of the dispensa. Always ask for the total price for all services required. If you are not importing anything then the fee should be lesser. Verify.

10.) Luxury is a dirty word here. Do not make any of your possessions sound as if they are luxurious.

11.) Unless you enjoy rubbing elbows with the bureaucracy and are very fluent in Spanish, I suggest you turn your dispensa over to a customs broker (Agencia Aduana). They will even handle getting your vehicle registration and your Honduran driver's license. They know the regulations, and have a good working relationship with the Aduana and the policia. There are two very good customs brokers in Coxen Hole. You will find them listed at the end of this book.

The Residency Card:

When your residency is approved in Tegucigalpa, a temporary residency will be issued by the local immigrations office in Coxen Hole. You must bring in your approval letter, along with several (4) passport photos. Always have many on hand. These people love you so much they all want your picture. Every time someone tells me to take in x number of photos, I carry a few extras, and more often than not I have needed them.

You will have to have a local civil judge 'authenticate' your initial paperwork. The rules change from time to time but bring money and be prepared to do a little running around to the bank and the judge's office.

You will first be issued a temporary residency letter with your official number on it at the local immigration office. The permanent card will come in about four to six weeks later. Your new card is good for two years. Renewal is simple and inexpensive. Be sure to bring in several more photos at renewal time. You don't have to go back to see the judge for renewal.

The renewal of your driver's license requires a trip to the police station, and it takes a little time and some money. Bring the required photos (At least four just in case). As I mentioned earlier, your customs broker may have already obtained you initial driver's license. Should you make application for your first driver's license yourself, the process is simple.

Filling out an application is all that is involved and paying the fee about $20, four photos, and it is good for two years. No test, no eye exam, no judge required here either, but you may have to 'humor' the police Sargent if he can't 'make the right change' for your large denomination bank note.

Take a few small notes in Lempiras so you can almost make the right change with a little extra for him. What the hey! We all hafta make a living! This might be a help the first time you are stopped at a roadblock and you don't have your drivers license or car registration with you and your old pal the Sargent happens to be there. Dum de dum-dum!

Getting It Here:

There are two major shipping companies serving Roatan from ports in Florida. Hybur/Hyde Shipping operates out of Medley Florida, and Jackson Shipping operates out of Tampa. Your will find their U.S. addresses and telephone numbers listed at the end of this book.

There are many other major carriers serving Puerto Cortes from ports in the U.S. on the Gulf Coast of Alabama, Louisiana and Texas. International moving companies are frequently affiliated with shipping companies, or at least they can direct you to them. If you live close to one of the shipping companies, you may be able to arrange for your container(s) to be brought directly to your residence for loading. If not you can arrange for your moving company to pack your container(s) at the shipping company's facility.

Shipping rates vary. I suggest you do a little shopping before you make a decision.

Once your container(s) arrive on Roatan they will be stored dockside until released by the Aduana. If your containers are not emptied within a specific time, you may have to pay demurrage, usually quite reasonable.

Getting your goods from the dock to your residence requires hiring some locals with a truck to take care of the transportation and move-in. There are no companies here that specialize in moving, even though they may try to convince you otherwise. People at the shipping terminals will be able to make suggestions. I would encourage you to ask around and get the names that people have had good results with. You should plan to be present for the unloading of your container(s) and moving in process at your residence.

I earlier mentioned several times that using a customs broker is a good idea. I think it would be a mistake for you to try to go it alone, unless you are very well versed in Spanish and have a thorough knowledge of the workings of the Customs Department. The brokers will more than earn their money and save you time and much frustration. They know their way around the obstacles and the 'mordida'* when necessary. Remember, you are coming to the third world where bribery is an everyday fact.

*Payola. Bribe

_________________________________________________

Now a special bonus for those of you who plan to build your dream home in a third world paradise, sooner or later I will print the Introduction to my book:

"How to build Your Dream Home in a Third World Paradise"

INTRODUCTION

The intention of this book is to help guide those of you who wish to embark on what could perhaps be one of the most exciting and challenging adventures of your lifetime; building your dream home in a third world paradise. You may be retiring, or preparing a future place of retirement for yourself and family, but this is the beginning of a new part of your life and hopefully the best part. It will be a new experience in a New World. Change is good.

Many have gone before you, so it is not really pioneering. After all, if they could do it, why not you? You don't have to be a rocket scientist just to do a little building. What could be so complicated about putting together a retirement home for yourself?

For some of you, especially those for whom this will be a first attempt at building anything, you may be facing a most bewildering prospect, but it is something that you need and want. You have never done anything like this before and now you are faced with trying to put your dream into being, in a foreign country.

It is a major process about which you know little or nothing and you don't even have a grasp of the language yet. You wish you had somebody to help you, to guide you through this great unknown, so that you can get on with the things you really are coming here to enjoy.

These dilemmas and others are shared by many. You are not alone. I have had countless people make this statement: "I wish I had known about that before I built." And that statement has prompted me to write this book and others about the subject of building, written in a non-technical manner so that it will serve a guideline for people with little or no construction experience.

I first wrote , 'How to Avoid The Pitfalls: Building Your Dream Home'. A simple step-by-step guide through the maze of new construction for people who don't know anything about building anything.

The response was so enthusiastic that I have gone a step further, to help those bold and brave enough to build their dreams in a foreign country, where the language, the culture, the methods of doing business and the lifestyles are at great variance to our ways in America. There are other factors in third world cultures that add greatly to the challenge of doing any kind of business among them.

The most profound difference I have noted here is the total confusion I seem to generate in these people when I make the most simple requests. It is almost a certainty that whatever I ask turns out in complete reverse of what I wanted to have done. I have even had doors hung upside down by people here who consider themselves to be 'superlative' carpenters. In this particular instance there were a pair of doors, one upright and one upside down, next to each other in the same opening, and the guy did not even understand that something was not right when I pointed out the obvious error. ("What is it with this stupid Gringo, can't he see I have installed both doors?")

We are dealing with a whole new equation, a society of under-educated, unmotivated, apathetic people, whose average educational level is four grades of elementary school. The government offers six grades of free public education, but many never get that far due to life circumstances. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say that we are doing business in a country with sixth grade mentality.

Now add the language barrier and the fact that the thinking here is very far removed from any kind of logic. We are dealing with an entirely different acumen than we have become accustomed to, and one to which we must adjust in order to make our way.

We are the only part of this equation that we can change. We must adapt our mentality, our mindset, and slow our inertia, to cope with the retarded pace, the lack of understanding of the most simple things. There is no 'Golden Rule' here. Survival is the prevailing factor in the lives of most. This is not the 'land of tomorrow' as the cliches` depict. There is no tomorrow, only today and what it can produce for these 'have-nots'; the here and the now is their only reality.

I do not encourage you to attempt to go it alone doing a building project on Roatan or other Caribbean islands unless:

You are very well versed in construction and have some knowledge of Spanish or other official language spoken where you are going;

You have a thorough knowledge of the logistical aspects of island building, especially third world islands;

You have great intestinal fortitude and money with which to gamble. Building in the Caribbean in not for the novice. Get your experience stateside, get it out of your system someplace where you have a greater chance of success.

There are no consumer advocates who will go to bat for you in Honduras if you get burned. There is not much in the laws that will discourage the devious, the sharks and the crooks from trying to fleece you. It's all part of the 'game' as it is played 'island style'.

To those of you who have had experience in the trades or as builders, come on in and have at it.

There is an old cliche` that applies to doing any kind of business anywhere.

"Knowledge is power" and yet another, "Forewarned is forearmed", and the oldie that everybody knows, "caveat emptor", "Let the buyer beware", all of which I hope you will keep in mind while you are living and trying to make your way into paradise.

It is my cause and my purpose, to educate, to inform, and instill in you just enough paranoia to make you want to investigate everything first hand, before you make decisions. That may keep you out of financial trouble and make your story have a happy ending.

Though the thrust of this information is about Roatan and Honduras, it can be applied to almost any other foreign entity anywhere. The basic rules are the same. Just change the names of the places, the money and the languages; the name of the game remains the same.

"He who lightly makes a promise will find it hard to keep his faith."
Laotse
http://www.eroatan.com/cgi-bin/pierre.cgi?logistic

_________________________________________________________

I mentioned this fact in one of the recent Coastwatcher issues. April turned out to be the dandiest weather so far this year. We had warm breezy days with low humidity and beautiful cool nights and it is the nicest April we have had since I lived on Roatan. We usually get the very hottest weather of the year around Easter time but not this year.

We did experience one bit of disappointing reality however. It is the time of year when the hot weather will come along any time now. And so as a reminder of rolling daily blackouts during the summer months, Reco, our sometimes reliable electric company treated us to two consecutive days of power outage. Saturday was just a prelude for 30 minutes, but the big banger came without notice during the wee hours like a thief in the night, Sunday and lasted till 2 P.M. 12 hours with no juice.

If you are coming here to live, bring a gas refrigerator/freezer. They are still around and they are a wonderful backup for these worrisome days, like the days of old when there was no power on Roatan at all. Just remember to get the orifices changed over to LP gas, or 'Butano' as it is called here.

______________________________________

Every month when I send out this E-magazine I am notified that several of your addresses are in error. Since I copy to my address book exactly what you send me in your subscription requests, there must be some Hondutel reason I'm not getting through to you.

So if you are reading this edition of Roatan Insights on a Web Site and you think you have already subscribed to it previously, please try to let me know. Address an e-mail to Steve Hasz at www.roatanet.com. I'll see if we can set up some alternate method of getting your subscription to you.

Some e-mail addresses will just not work from Honduras. If you do not receive a response it is because our inferior telephone company is not capable of the electronic marvels enjoyed by the rest of the world, not because I ignored your requests.

Many of you have asked to be put on the subscribers list to receive "Coastwatcher: Caribbean West" the weekly newsletter I do for www.Roatanet.com. I do not send out the weekly newsletter as a subscription as yet. It is always available there and you may access that publication on my site www.eroatan.com just by clicking for it. If you have any problems receiving it just let me know and I'll be happy to e-mail the current copy to you.

I have been deluged with wonderful comments on the three part series I wrote about the old public well on the beach at Sandy Bay West, where I used to live. Thank you all for your kind words. I hope to have more fun stories to share with you soon. This is really a funny, crazy place at times.

One little tidbit I'm going to let you in on. It is one of my pet peeves about this place, and it has to do with the "Black Hole of Calcutta," which is my nickname for Coxen Hole. Ready? Okay here it is:

Never, never, ever go shopping in Coxen Hole on Monday. Never! Remember to stock up on Saturday for whatever you might need on Monday, so you never, ever have to go anywhere near that place on Monday!

As of May 1, 2001 the exchange rate on Roatan was
$1 U.S. = LPS 15.32

If you have questions or comments just drop me a few lines at: elouis@globalnet.hn

There you have it.
Best wishes to all
Ciao,
Pierre

By Pierre Renaldo, Mountain Coastal S.A,. General Contractors, Construction Management and Construction Consultants.