La Costa Cascada (CoastWatcher: Caribbean West)
News from the Honduras Bay Islands and North Coast
23 February 2001
By Pierre Renaldo, The Coastwatcher©

Translated it means the Cascade Coast. I was marveling at the thousands of little cascading waterfalls I could see from my window this morning. We have always referred to this coastal area as ironshore, but the spectacle I was watching was more than the ancient magma formations along our side of the island. We are on the "Bayside," facing the mainland. The body of water on which the property fronts is the Bay of Honduras, from whence the Bay Islands get their name.

The Caribbean was totally wild, and the huge combers were crashing against the irregular rock formations sending thousand of spiraling geysers into the sky at varying intervals along the shoreline. The airborne water, falls back onto the rocks, forming pools and then it runs back into the sea, creating a multitude of little cascading waterfalls. Walking the jungle trail along the coastline this morning would have been a saltwater shower.

So I renamed everything I could see to the west, "La Costa Cascada". I can call it that if I want to, right? After all I can call it something different than ironshore if I feel like it. In fact, I can name it something different every day if I want to. I think I'll even show that name on my map of Roatan that you can see on my web site www.eroatan.com, La Costa Cascada. It has a nice poetic ring to it, don't you think? I can say to anyone who inquires, "We live on the Bayside of Roatan, along the Costa Cascada." Hot stuff, no?

When I mentioned my idea to Felix, he voiced his agreement and continued to stare at the scene in trance-like rapture. My cats love to watch the sea, especially when it is rough and wild. Buddy was staring too, probably trying to figure out how to capture one of those waves so he could bring it into the house so that the little ones could play with it.

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So many people have asked me about land and home prices on Roatan that I though of a new feature that I will begin to include in Roatan Insights and The Coastwatcher. When I run across something better than average in land or homes, I will give it mention so that those interested can keep tabs on prices here, for future or immediate reference.

While I am primarily a builder, I have been a licensed real estate broker in both Florida and New York over a forty-three year span, so I have a pretty good eye for the more realistic situations that occasionally crop up. When I look at land, I immediately envision how a home could best be oriented onto that particular site. I will even make reference to the best type of home that could be built there.

I am just beginning a series of articles in my monthly E-magazine, Roatan Insights, that will describe the land purchasing process and things to look for when considering a particular parcel. The series should condition you into being a smart buyer, aware of the pitfalls of property purchasing at home in the U.S. or Canada, as well as in a third world, non-English speaking country.

You would shudder reading the e-mails I receive from people who have jumped in feet first, eyes closed and then regretted their haste. I have written two books on just that subject, to help people circumvent the avoidable problems of land/home purchases, by being informed in advance. You can preview them by clicking below:

"How to Avoid the Pitfalls: Building Your Dream Home" http://www.eroatan.com/pierre/pitfalls.html
"How Build Your Dream Home in a Third World Paradise" http://www.eroatan.com/pierre/logistic.html

Both books are an excellent step by step outline for those of you who have little or no experience in the land acquisition process and/or building a home, where you live now or if you intend to venture into the course on Roatan. Being well informed is a smart way to stay out of trouble, and not make costly mistakes.

We have had many discussions about the best time of the year to visit Roatan, and I will cover that subject more explicitly in the next issue of Roatan Insights. I have been receiving some excellent feedback, which I will share with you then. However, let me assure you that the rainy season here does last well into February. You can't count it over until you are looking at March on your calendar.

I had several visitors from the frozen wastes of northern Michigan during February. The were lucky, weather wise until they tried their luck at fishing about halfway through their stay.

After arriving at the appointed rendezvous, before sunup and getting to the appropriate place outside the reef where they would load the boat to the gunwales with some yellowfin tuna, they were greeted by a hurricane like interlude of wild wind and torrential rains which churned up the seas and sent them back to shore empty handed, wet, cold and disappointed, to say the least. The same song played on the following morning, but to a much more ferocious storm, and a long power outage afterward.

That afternoon, we went down to the fish market so I could keep my promise about fixin' some down the river kind o' fish fry, South Florida Style, with some greens and spuds like the old timers like to cook on Marco Island. Hog snapper and grouper is mighty hard to beat even if you didn't catch it yourself.

I got to cook it and eat it, without all the hassle of getting soaked and skunked out there in those nasty storms.

The point of this story is that the rainy season can run well into February, ever though you may get many days of beautiful weather. All's well that ends well. So there you have it.

If you have any questions or comments just drop me a line at elouis@globalnet.hn

Ciao, Pierre

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