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 we are.
I » 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 «

They’re here!!!
Lionfish, the beautiful and venomous fish from the South Pacific, have appeared on Roatan. This invasive species has spread at unprecedented rates across the Caribbean and Eastern Atlantic over the last few years.
The Roatan Marine Park is asking for everyone’s help in reporting, capturing, and killing lionfish around Roatan. If you have seen a lionfish on one of Roatan’s dive sites, please submit a lionfish report directly to the Roatan Marine Park.

Feces, meet fan.
West End police have imposed a curfew and barracaded the intersection in order to promote the public peace during this night of political upheaval. Though grossly inconvenient for West End business, the move is justifiable given the recent turn of events on the Honduran mainland. Police patrols are currently strolling the streets, blaring messages to “stay in your homes” over their crackly loudspeakers.
Ousted Honduran President Mel Zelaya’s attempts to land in Tegucigalpa today sparked civil unrest in the nation’s capital, as thousands of pro-Zelaya supported rushed the airport. Zelaya is currently in asylum in El Salvador. Two people have reportedly been killed in Tegucigalpa, drawing the first blood in this otherwise peaceful coup (or Constitutional balance of powers, » read more «