We had the privilege of riding with Captain Vern between Utila and Roatan a couple of years ago. We didn’t get to see the dolphins on our trip but appreciate the video.
We will miss Capt. Vern…
How do you spell: R E L A X?
I love to sit on the beach and just listen to the waves roll in,,, hear the occasional bird 
chirping over the sound of the wind
I t always takes me a few days to get used to the heat. (Especially coming from 30 degrees and snow to 80 degree weather.) But nothing like feeling the ocean breeze playing havoc on your hair! 
)
From the moment we land until we return to the states, my hair is frizz city! But that’s okay. I love that this island is so laid back and shorts and T-shirt and frizz are quite acceptable.
Next is island time… It moves at about the 10th of the pace that we are used to. I sometimes feel like I move in slow motion and after about a week am right in step with the pace.
Looking forward to slow motion for another week!
The Lord has blessed us richly in 2012 and we look forward to seeing His plans unfold for 2013.
Mountain biking in Utila Honduras! (One of the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras.)
According to Wikipedia,
A ”’palapa”’ (a Spanish word of Malayan origin, meaning “pulpous leaf”) is an open-sided dwelling with a [[thatch]]ed roof made of dried [[Arecaceae|palm]] leaves. It is very useful in hot weather and, therefore, very common in Mexican beaches, such as in [[Acapulco]]. It is perhaps one of the most important architectural contributions of Philippine culture to Mexican West cultures.
It is also common to see in one of the Bay Islands,Utila Honduras.
Here is the outside of the palapa:
These pictures show the construction of the palapa:
If you look closely you can see how this palapa was constructed. They start with a wooden frame of four poles that meet at the apex. Wooden cross-poles (parallel to the ground) are placed at intervals between the apex poles.
Palm leaves (dried) palm are layered over the frame.
Pretty cool!
I have several pictures of the view of us under the palapa.
Every morning has been like this: Enjoying watching the waves come in to Paradise Cove and watching the sun rise. The Lord has created a beautiful place!
We have breakfast every morning under the palapa watching the waves come in and the sun rise.
Typical breakfast is scrambled eggs, zucchini and coffee. This morning we had left over rolls from the local bakery.
Here is the view from the palapa! 
What a beautiful place! We are having so much fun here.The weather is hot but it is July!
Pumpkin Hill Beach Utila Honduras
Pumpkin Hill is the highest point on Utila, Honduras. The other Bay Islands, Roatan and Guanaja, rise right up. Utila is relatively flat and has Stewart Hill and Pumkin Hill.
It isn’t very hard to walk to the top of Pumpkin Hill. The challenge is knowing where the trail is!
Here we are at the top – with my best friend and husband of 27 years!
From top of Pumpkin Hill
I used the Flip Camera to show you the entire island
Going down the hill, we came across these horses. (I only took the pic for my niece who is an expert with horses.)
Horses on Pumpkin Hill
This was a fun day! We rode mountain bikes through mud puddles to the base of Pumpkin Hill. Then we walked the rest of the way up to the top of the hill.
I just saw this video that Brad took – swimming with a whale shark!
This is real – stuff you don’t get from visiting an aquarium!
This is what you saw most of the way up to Pumpkin Hill:
Road to Pumpkin Hill Utila Honduras
I always bring a pair of old sneaker when I come visit. You can now see why…
Legs are mountain biking to Pumpkin Hill
This was a hard ride! The roads are very bumpy to begin with and then you add a lot of rocks and mud – it creates a very challenging ride. You never knew whether you are going to hit a rock or sink in mud!
We managed to make it in and out of there with no problems. My husband really enjoyed the ride.
Here we are at the base of the hill. Will have to leave the bikes and walk to the top.
Next post I’ll show some of the views once we hiked to the top.
You know how much Doug likes to bike! Well we had to go mountain biking while we were in Utila!
Biking is Utila is a bit different. Since there is only a few miles of pavement on the island you have to give up on any notion of road bikes. There are many dirt roads and trails.
One more thing, it is rainy season! )
Road behind Big Byte - Utila Honduras
Here are some pictures of Big Byte…
Big Byte Beach - Utila Honduras Bay Islands
Big Byte Beach - Utila Honduras - looking toward Paradise Cove
We rode past Big Byte and on toward the airport. It was nice to get off the muddy road for a bit. But it wasn’t long before we were on another muddy road – worse that the ones we had just been on!
Will post more soon…
