On the 2nd Anniversary of Mitch
News from the Honduras Bay Islands and North Coast
28 October 2000
By Pierre Renaldo, The Coastwatcher©

It seems like much more than two years ago. The day started almost like today, with light rains in the morning, a soft breeze from the east, but nothing ominous. We had decided to goof off this one afternoon, being prompted to do so on the feeble excuse that it was our neighbors birthday. I had invited her to a lunchtime cookout, and we could use that as a 'legitimate' reason to idle away the last half of the day at home.

The idea was short lived. We had hardly finished eating when a neighbor came bearing very unpleasant news. I didn't really believe what he said about a killer hurricane heading right for us, so I tuned in to the weather channel just in time to see the tropical storms forecast. A very pretty lady was reporting that a hurricane hunter aircraft had dropped a device into the eye of this storm that indicated the surface winds at 200 mph. This hurricane christened 'Mitch' had been upgraded to a category five classification.

How could this be so? Late October was not a traditional time of hurricanes, especially around Honduras and of such magnitude as to challenge Hurricane Andrew of September 1992? That was a category six, and here we were looking into the eye of a fiver!

At that very instant the power failed and that was the last 'official' weather information we would have access to for the next two weeks. The weather was visibly deteriorating before our eyes. The seas were breaking over our barrier reef, like it did not exist. Then the boat dock next door virtually exploded, as a large comber swelled under it causing it to disintegrate, in the blink of an eye.

We had a full cistern, and a full freezer. Luckily, and unintentionally we were well prepared for a long power outage. That is something you usually anticipate as an island dweller anyway. Our oil lamps are always full, and we have plenty of candles on hand. I have a back up freezer at the office, because I purchase my meat and poultry by the month, so we were in luck.

With a gas stove and a gas bar-b-que, I managed to produce some pretty upbeat meals during our six day power outage. I have promised myself that one day I would write a book about cooking by candlelight during a category five hurricane. It would include dinner menus for a six-day siege.

Some of the guests who sat at table on one occasion suggested the idea and encouraged me to do it. I came up with some gourmet repast in the near dark, with the wind howling and water leaking everywhere. Besides, it was a good way to keep my mind off the conditions outside.

When I was in the Navy, I had the wonderful experience of being in a typhoon out in the Central Pacific, while on a ship. There were no names for typhoons or hurricanes in those days but everybody agreed it was a doozy.

Typhoon Doozy, the first named tropical storm. Now that I think of it, we called the second one that hit our island paradise, Doozy too.

Last week I had an opportunity to do a little exploring along the North Coast. I have promised many readers of 'Coastwatcher' and 'Roatan Insights' to give them a first hand account of what was happening in the Puerto Cortes area. I drove the new concrete boulevard (still a few small gaps) that connects this port city to the Guatemala border. As you may recall, the Omoa resort area features some nice beaches and resorts. There is also an old Spanish fortress there for the history buffs.

We stopped in at the Hotel Playa in the little halfway community of Playa Cienaguita, located on the beach just off the Omoa exit of the new highway. Little did I know what a pleasant and unexpected surprise had been awaiting my discovery. It is a very well maintained seaside resort, with a huge freshwater pool and great outdoor cabana-like facilities. We sampled some 'ceviche caracol' (raw conch, marinated in fresh lime juice with onions, chili peppers, pimento and picante seasonings) in the main dining room, where I was introduced to the Owner/General Manager, Sr. Roberto Alvarez Cervantes.

He explained that there is a special discount card that you can purchase which entitles you to a 20% discount on food and beverages. If you went there with a small group for dinner, you would save the fee in one sitting. The beauty of it is that the discount card is good for a year. I intend to go back for a sampling of the food. The menu was especially oriented toward seafood, and from what my taste buds told me about the ceviche, I'm confident that a dinner would be a very pleasant experience at Hotel Playa. You can e-mail them for information at: hotelplaya@hotelplaya.hn or see their webpage at www.hotelplaya.hn

The rainy season seems to have arrived slightly early this year. We have had a good deal of stormy weather, which has played havoc with our road building in progress. The high road from Flowers Bay to West End was a quagmire all this week, giving good reason to own a four wheel drive vehicle. The areas where the new culverts and catch basins are being installed are especially vulnerable to erosion during the excavation stages, in which several of them seem to be stalled.

Beginning November 1, 2000 we will no longer be using the Hondutel e-mail address. Their service is worthless and non-existent, so I have terminated the monthly donations to that silly bureaucracy. We have only one e-mail address now and that is: elouis@globalnet.hn

Be sure to visit my site at: www.eroatan.com/pierre/. You will find detailed information about building, third world construction and third world retirement/living for those who may consider being involved in any of those endeavors at some future time.

That's it for today. The November issue of Roatan Insights will appear on this site in the next few days.

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