While on an island tour doing research for National Geographic Traveler’s Intelligent Travel blog, I stopped by the brand new Roatan MegaPlaza mall in French Harbor and saw this sign plastered outside the new Wendy’s (yes, Roatan now has a Wendy’s): How far will globalization go? Baleadas at Wendy’s? Surely the Apocalypse is upon us……..

I’m leaving Roatan in six days. Don’t worry, it’s not because something is wrong with this place! I LOVE ROATAN! It’s just that after nearly five years of working here, I need a break this rainy season to see other parts of the world. Believe it or not, life on a tiny Caribbean island can occasionally become stressful. It’s during these stressful times that I like to return to the United States and remind myself how fortunate I am to live in paradise. Therefore, I’m taking off on a walk-about up the eastern seaboard to see friends, explore a bit, and hopefully ride out the rain. Meanwhile, I’m going to continue to update TheScubaGeek.com with local news and nostalgic stories » read more «

Thankfully, curfews are over in the Bay Islands as of 3pm and life seems to be back to normal, albeit shakier and with even less tourist activity. The 24-hour nationwide curfews following Mel Zelaya’s surreptitious return to Tegucigalpa remain in effect for the Honduran mainland. Upon receiving the good news of the curfew’s end, we laughed, swam in the sea, played poker, drank rum, played trivia, jumped in the pool, and laughed again. It was as if all of West End was celebrating an early release from house arrest. Spirits were high, the beer flowed, and, for a brief instant, life as usual resumed. But then we stumbled home, tuned in to the world news, and recalled how despondently screwed » read more «

A 24-hour curfew is currently being enforced for all of Honduras thanks to the surreptitious return of ousted President Mel Zelaya to Tegucigalpa, which has prompted small riots and protests across the country. News of Zelaya’s return hit West End, Roatan, around noon yesterday (21 Sept 2009). Phone and internet connections became jammed by the heavy bandwidth load of people logging on to find out the news. The facts were scattered, but one thing loomed certain: Zelaya was indeed back in Honduras. At 4:00PM, Roatan Municipal Police drove down West were ordering all businesses to close and everyone home. An curfew was in immediate effect until 6AM today. Both Hondutel and TIGO internet connections dropped out by 5:30PM. Digicel phone » read more «