client feedback: "we could have stayed here a week and been happy"

We had a day pass but it took everything we had to get back in the car to head back to the boat. We could have stayed here a week and been happy. This isn't luxury, but it is naturally beautiful. Perfect time for reflection. Soft sand with clear water. Or hike up to one of the private palapas on the cliff side to hear the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks. Lunch was perfect, drinks were outstanding. This is the place to escape from everyday stress. Where the mountains meet the sea and the sunshine meets the rain. I didn't take pictures out of respect for other guests and I had no desire to have anything electronic out. Just take everything in this place had to offer. A special thanks to Eric that took such great care of us all day! Give Chestnut a scratch behind the ears for us! One Love

- Dena W on TripAdvisor.com

Learn more about Paya Bay Resort's (limited) day trip / shore excursion / day pass program here.

husking coconuts for organic coconut oil

This morning I spotted Gerson, a member of Team Paya, husking coconuts that will be used to make organic coconut oil for use in the resort's restaurant. Learn more about the traditional method of making coconut oil.

Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

This video explains why the coconut palm is considered the Tree of Life.

bring back the seashells!

This photo and the larger phenomenon it stems from breaks my heart. Hermit crabs recycle the abandoned shells of sea mollusks that wash up on the beach after their original creators and inhabitants live out their natural lives. Over the decades, humans have collected most of these beautiful sea shells, taking them home as mementos of their visit to the beach. Problem is: What about the hermit crabs? The crabs have to change shells every so often as they outgrow the last shell/home they found, but because most of the larger shells have been taken from their natural habitats, they are eventually unable to find new "homes" to hermit in. Desperate crabs end up using whatever they can find, including -- as can be seen in the photo above -- plastic trash pill bottles that come in with the tides. This is a sad commentary on human beings for many reasons. First we rape and pillage nature, and then we rub salt in the wound by polluting it. Anyway, I'd like to request that if you happen to have any seashells lying around your home or hidden in a cabinet (maybe long forgotten), PLEASE bring them back to the beach. That is where they belong. Think how much more amazing our beaches would be with beautiful seashells crawling around their shady edges. After all, that is the way Mother Nature intended it to be...

Won't somebody think about the hermit crabs?!!

music video: becky g: mayores

The sensual, sultry energy of Latin America. Come visit!

"if nature isn't kept healthy, humans won't survive"

it's nice and cool in Roatan

Or as North Americans might say, "It's nice and warm." ;-)

Source: Google

think before you hit send

During a conversation with the poet Elizabeth Alexander, [Michelle] Obama offered young people some simple advice on tweeting: Think before you hit send and use spell check. "When you have a voice, you can't just use it any kind of way, you know?" she said at the Obama Foundation's inaugural youth leadership summit in Chicago. "You don't just say what's on your mind. You don't tweet every thought. Most of your first initial thoughts are not worthy of the light of day." As the audience laughed, Obama clarified that she was not "talking about anybody in particular, I'm talking about all of us." Obama described Twitter as a "powerful weapon that we just hand over to little kids." "A 10-year-old, 'Here you go. Tell it like it is,'" she said. "No you don't. You need to think and spell it right and have good grammar."

- CNN

the fall in love series

Fall in love with Paya Bay for the first time (or all over again!)...

Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

thelma and louise at the tidal pool

The girls always enjoy visits to this beautiful, exquisite spot on the property, the tidal pool near Fire Island.

Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

a new, better idea

This CNN's Christiane Amanpour interview of Phillip Pullman is absolutely brilliant.

blissful bliss

This is one of my favorite photos of Bliss Beach and the Black Iguana beach bar.

Paya Bay Resort, Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.

the flambo project 2.0

Continuing the Flambo Project, we currently have another 120 young flamboyant (also known as royal poinciana) trees to plant along the main island road here in Roatan's East End communities. This year we want to get the children from the local primary school involved in the project. I'll post reports as the project progresses during the next couple of weeks.

Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras.