a fresh perspective

Recent guests Erin and Joaquin shared these great photos they took of their Paya experience!

Learn more about our naturism program. Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

the best moments of last night's debate

She knew she had succeeded in unhinging the buffoon in front of millions. Madame Secretary is brilliant! Just more evidence that Mr. Trump is temperamentally unfit to hold the office of the Presidency of the United States. Read Wonkette's take.

MyRoatan Factoid: Living basketball legend Shaquille O'neal (shimmying with Mrs. Clinton in the hilarious gif above) was in two of my business courses at LSU. He would typically attend class the first couple of weeks and then pretty much only show up for the exams after that. Apparently star athletes (with their hyper-demanding practice, games, and travel schedules) had access to "notes takers" who attended class for them, took lecture notes, and then tutored them privately on the subject matters.

Shaq (who went on to have an outstanding NBA career) was about as big a college sports superstar as they come. A 900-pound bronze statue of O'Neal is now located in front of the LSU Tigers Basketball Practice Facility. I love the fact that this amazing man is one of my "peers," in the sense that we attended the same university, had similar academic interests, and -- on several occasions -- all 7'1", 300 lbs. of Shaq sat just a few feet away from me in a Baton Rouge classroom. How can one not strive for excellence with such awesome contemporaries as constant inspiration?

first presidential debate

the humanity a young child can display

a special moonlit dinner

Dinner under the full moon with friends and family on the Main Deck at Paya Bay Resort. Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

chef escalante

My friend José Luís Escalante is visiting Paya Bay this weekend with his partner. José Luís is a chef based in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. His excellence has resulted in him traveling extensively around the world showcasing Mesoamerican cuisine at international events. Originally from Guatemala City, he fell in love with Honduras and made it his home. He recently signed on to a project to help us transform our food service here at Paya. The first item on the agenda is the Feel Good menu -- a fresh new approach focused on healthier options, sourcing locally and sustainably, and offering our guests a genuine taste of Mesoamerica. Even though José Luís identifies simply as Guatemalan, his Middle-Eastern heritage is obvious, underscoring what a cultural and ethnic melting pot the Americas are. He agreed to let me take these photos focusing on his classic, beautiful, Middle-Eastern facial structure.

Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras,

viva méxico!

My Mexican friends, Óscar and Alex, are spending the weekend at Paya. Here they wrap up a blissful afternoon on Bliss Beach.

Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

happy 40th birthday, jason!

My good friend Jason, of Arizona, chose Paya Bay as the venue to celebrate his 40th birthday! He, his partner, and several members of Jason's immediate family (including his father and step-mom) did a "resort takeover" to celebrate Jason's BIG birthday. "I couldn't think of a better place to celebrate my 40th birthday than Paya! I just wanted to be in this awesome place surrounded by the people I love." In these photos, Jason and Luís enjoy blissful afternoon moments in the seaside plunge pool on Bliss Beach.

Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

punta dancing in punta gorda

This past weekend I took some of our guests to Punta Gorda to listen to some Garífuna drum music and watch punta dancing.

The Punta dance is performed by a man and a woman who evolve separately in a circle formed by the spectators. They begin facing each other and the figure varies with the ingenuity of the dancers, but always represents the evolution of a courtship in which first the man pursues, and then the woman, while the other retreats; and ends only when one of them, from exhaustion or from lack of further initiative, admits defeat by retiring from the ring, to have his or her place immediately taken by another. Punta dance is a mimetic cock-and-hen mating dance with rapid movements of the buttocks, hips, and feet, while the upper torso remains motionless. Couples attempt to dance more stylistically and seductively, with better hip movements, than their competitors. As the evening progresses, the Punta became extremely “hot”; while the spectators egged on their favorites with cries of: mígira-ba labu, “don't leave (off) under him!” or: mígira-ba tabu, “don't leave (off) under her!” which has the same effect as, “don't let him (or her) beat you!” 

- Wikipedia

Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

video: the health-safeguarding sea breezes of paya bay

Paya Bay Resort is located on a small peninsula that juts out from the northeastern side of Roatan Island. Near constant 15 to 25-MPH tropical trade winds flow across and through the property about 85% of the year, day and night. These balmy sea breezes keep ambient temperatures cool and insects at bay. This natural phenomenon results in Paya Bay being an extremely low risk place for insect-related concerns. This is particularly the case during the dry summer season. Here in Roatan, we call the easterly trade winds "Nature's A/C"!

papahānaumokuākea

In a gesture that speaks to his legacy of conservation, President Barack Obama traveled Thursday to a remote spit of sand and coral in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, to see for himself the very monument that six days earlier he quadrupled to create the largest protected marine area on the planet. Air Force One touched down on picturesque Midway Atoll ― the site of a deadly and decisive battle six months after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor ― at approximately 11:30 a.m. local time, according to a White House press pool report. After Obama “emerged from the plane smiling and wearing sunglasses,” the press pool noted, he was greeted by the atoll’s 40 inhabitants. The president then paid a visit to the Battle of Midway memorial before delivering a short statement at Turtle Beach.

- Huffington Post

I love me some Barack Obama. The best Leader of the Free World evah!