Saturday, September 27, 2014

buccaneer repair update: adding the "bar mud"

Countless guests have asked us about the material we use to create the nice, smooth surface of the Buccaneer seaside decking. This series of photos shows the process of collecting and laying "bar mud," a natural construction material that is part of Bay Islands culture. Bar mud is simply clumps of sea grass, including the roots, fine silt, and sand the grass grows in. While wet and soft, the clumps are flattened and molded to create a nice, flat, even surface. After drying out for several days in the hot tropical sun, the combination of silt, sand, roots, and other organic materials "hardens" into a smooth, cement-like surface. Because of its high content of organic materials (mainly grass roots), bar mud never completely hardens, always having a sort of "sponginess" to it. It gives slightly under the feet, with a rubbery quality that is a pleasure to walk on. As an added bonus, the coral silt and sand in the "mud" bleaches white over time. The final result is an even, smooth, "soft" surface dusted with a thin layer of white coral sand that is slowly released from the material as it weathers.
 






Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

Friday, September 26, 2014

the black iguana: new bar stools!

This afternoon our full-time master builder and carpenter, Miguel Padilla, delivered the complete set of new rustic bar stools for the Black Iguana beach bar. The reddish tint of the furniture is the natural color of the island wood used. Beautiful!





Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

my adventures

Davinci, I've been following your adventures through your blog for a while now. I finally decided to come and visit this place. All I can say is, "WOW! Congratulations! You guys have done such amazing work here!"
- Robert, a walk-in guest, earlier this week

perfect day

Similar to August, September is one of the end-of-summer months when we have some of our best weather here in the Bay Islands. Today was one of those perfect days. This morning I photographed special guests Mike and Marie as they departed Bliss Beach on kayaks for the new snorkeling station 350 meters (yards) offshore.






The good energy and the beauty of the morning reminded of my wonderful Atlanta, GA friends, and this classic Lou Reed song. (May I suggest playing the tune and enjoying the above photos again? Click on the images to enlarge.)


Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

Monday, September 22, 2014

400,000 yays!


NEW YORK -- More than 400,000 people turned out for the People's Climate March in New York City on Sunday, just days before many of the world's leaders are expected to debate environmental action at the United Nations climate summit.

Early reports from event organizers are hailing the turnout as the largest climate march in history, far bigger than the Forward on Climate rally held in Washington, D.C., last year. High-profile environmentalists including Bill McKibben, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jane Goodall and Vandana Shiva marched alongside policymakers such as Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former Vice President Al Gore were also there, and more than 550 buses carried in people from around the country.
- Huffington Post

Friday, September 19, 2014

buccaneer update

The Buccaneer Landing repair project continues to advance. The new seaside deck will be significantly wider than the original one.





Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

photos of the day




Tropical plants flourish in an unlikely spot near Secret Cove. Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

be happy now

You must be happy now to bring happiness into your life through the law of attraction. It's a simple formula. Happiness attracts happiness. Yet people use so many excuses as to why they can't be happy. They use excuses of debt, excuses of health, excuses of relationships, and excuses of all sorts of things as to why they can't use this simple formula. But the formula is the law.

No matter what the excuse, unless you begin to feel happy despite it, you cannot attract happiness. The law of attraction is saying to you, "Be happy now, and as long as you keep doing that, I will give you unlimited happiness."
- lessons from The Secret

Monday, September 15, 2014

upcoming wellness events

Mark your calendar and plan your 2015 vacation(s) around these awesome Wellness Events at PBR! Click each banner for more information.




Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

buccaneer update

Cesar, Arnold, and Josue have made great progress the last few days on the Buccaneer Landing repair project.






Hard work. Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Thursday, September 4, 2014

repairing buccaneer: the final push

I'm very happy to inform that the repair of Buccaneer Landing is once again in full swing. As many of you know, this awesome section of the resort's grounds was severely damaged by the "polar vortex" storm phenomenon this past winter.  The repair project had to be put on hold several times as team members were needed to assist with other major maintenance projects we had on the agenda for 2014 (re-roofing key buildings, for example). Completing the Landing's repair will be the full focus of Paya's Grounds Team during the present month of September. Cesar, Arnold, and Josue restarted the project yesterday and they have already made good progress. It's hot, arduous work. As can be appreciated in the photos, it's all manual labor. That said, I suspect Buccaneer will be even better than before when these hard-working guys are finished with it!






Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

enjoying the ocean

After some stormy weather, Thelma and Louise play in the surf. Thelma loves the ocean more than Lou-Lou, who tends to keep a prudent distance away.





Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

Monday, September 1, 2014