New Life new adventures!

Life is different here, As moving To Roatan renewed my energy. The choice was balanced by a friend of mine that had moved here in the first part of April. She hadn't planned on moving here but fell in love with Roatan, bought a business like that! and then just came back to Costa Rica and packed up and moved. SMART LADY! soooooooo about a month or so later she emailed me and said Marianna I am thinking about remodeling this little Ice cream Shop called Caribbean Creamery. The first person I thought of is you. She said I am not going to spend a whole lot of money but I am willing to pay your airfare, and a little bit for you to do it. I thought about it for like three or four weeks, I had a project going so I couldn't just up and leave. I did some research and checked out hundreds of photos of Roatan, and read lots and lots on the Island before going. I booked my flight, long flight by the way from Costa Rica costing about 500 dollars. Came in and was not that impressed right away. But when we got to her house and I saw the area she bought in I thought to myself my god this would be perfect for a business I have had in my head for some three years.

I didn't have much time to look around, since I worked pretty hard long hours to finish up in a weeks time. The last day she gave me money for he water taxi and I took a few hours before I flew out to check some things out. I went out in the taxi in the clean, clear Carribe.. My God was it ever so preciously beautiful. The driver ask me if I wanted to snorkel out there, I said yes but I didn't have the 50 bucks for the rental of the mask, flippers and snorkel. He opened the cabinet on the boat and showed me he had tons of them. So I took one took off my dress, which my bikini was on under it and put it on and dove in .

The water was cooler than Costa Rica and way cleaner, I swam a ways to a point near the end of West Bay.( Which is where I am at now) there is a point its all lava very strange formations. I swam and came near it as I know from my past snorkeling experiences, that most fish hang out in that area. Well the water there appeared to shallow but it was a mistake. It was deep deep deep.. I looked down and saw huge fish, Seriously HUGE! and it scared me so bad that I began to breath really hard in the snorkel. I swam fast as I could, faster and faster.. scared as hell! Got the boat and they guy was laughing hard. I said in Spanish what? he asked are you afraid? I said yes he said why? I said cause I saw something huge and I have no idea what it was.. he said was it shark? I said I didn't take the time to identify it I just ran in the water pretty much! he was laughing so hard I said get me in the boat.. I flipped my flippers as hard as I could getting up some what then only to sink back down.

I kept kicking and kicking but couldn't get my self up enough to get in the boat, he suggested use the motor on the back, but I took one look at that blade and the fear that was in me and SAID NOOOOOOOOOOOOO no way! With my luck I would cut my leg or foot off, bad enough I have a bad foot that constantly hurts, there was no way In the world I would step on that. So he helped pull me in laughing the whole time while I was practically hitting him to shut up.

I laid on the floor of the boat exhausted and he was still smiling. He told me not to be afraid but I couldn't help it that was the first time in my life I felt fear like that, well I lie maybe the second time the first time was when I was kayaking and a shark came up to my kayak an swam right along next to me for the longest way.. but anyhow! We drove around the Island I saw how beautiful the sites were and the homes the mansions, and the poor areas the ghettos, the Beaches and hillsides, with forests and jungle mixed and I thought, hmm I could find some kind of work I'm sure in ROATAN.

So he dropped me off on the beach in front of Banana Rama, a lady came up to me asking for massage, I said come and get me in a hour. I wanted to swim more before I left so I swam, she came back to retrieve me, and then did the massage right in the sand on a sirroung. It was good not great, but my body was so tired from painting and fixing for a week that anything would have felt good.

A touch is needed on the human body and rarely do I get touched so I was loving it!!!

Then I loaded up my things and flew back to Costa Rica, thinking all the time about Roatan and how could I get there how much money would I need? and what could I do. NEVER REINVENT THE WHEEL. Do what you love have passion in what you do and success will come to you! thats what I heard in my little now blond head.( brunette for years age has cause me to die it blond) So it was weeks of thinking and planning and putting out the energy to the world, and to my friends that I would be moving to a place that is unique in the world! ROATAN

Moving on

Well I was right about Moving on, the things and the life in Jaco became so miserable, the crime so high and the tourisum low. Rates of crime higher than I could remember, the shot two people the weekend before I left in the place I always would frequent to dance, then I made up my Mind to seek out a better option. I friend of mine had bought a small shop in Roatan Island Honduras, beautiful tropical Carribean Island with calm seas. She wrote me to come and remodle her little ice cream shop I thought about it and decided that would be a good idea. I went spent a week and fell in love with Roatan. At that Time when I returned to Costa Rica the incidents were getting worse, I had one small contract doing a landscape and building a outdoor kitchen and bar and an outdoor shower for a client from Cananda, I was thinking the whole time I wanted to move, weather it was back to USA with my sons, or somewhere More tropical and safe that could be more supportive of my work and I could exsist a little better.
We finished the job in a month, it was not easy. We hauled all the tools on the bus, I woke up early every day drug things to the bus stop, in dirty clothes for work in the garden, Picked up all my workers on the way in the bus and paid there way. We rode for miles to an area Called bejuco. This is right near Parrita, that is outside of quepos near Manuel Antonio. Tiny little beach town, everyday walking from the bus more than two miles to the house in the heat early dawn hours, finishing at 2 or 3 walking back the two miles with the guys. Now remember I am a hands on person, besides with out me the guys hardly work. So I dug and pick axed, and hauled and lifted and planted right along with them.
ONE MONTH OF THIS, missing the bus now and then having to wait for hours in a dirty stinky four walled bus stand in the heat, garbage every where.. I thought each day my god if people really knew what I do to exsist, sometimes I would have flash backs of the life I had before, the hard work in the floral and event business but how glamorous and beautiful it was I would find myself remember events and reliving them as to not see the situation I was in. The lady we worked for, found me on Facebook Marianna Love, she found out I did all kinds of things and hired me site unseen on Facebook!!! THANK GOD FOR HER DENISE! she let me be creative and was so kind to us, when she finally came to see the work was in shock! loved it and me and all of us. She treated me like an angel. She saw how hard I worked and was amazed that I had the stamina to keep doing it, I told her sometimes in distress you keep going no matter, that I was happy to be working and I was glad she trusted me.
We bonded and Im so happy she came from Facebook into my life.

So I told her I was thinking of moving to Roatan she was curious, but I didn't give her details of when or how.
When we finished I made a goal, I told Clint my friend and life time assistant, that I was going to sell everything and move to USA or Roatan, depending on what happened. I would wait 6 weeks to try to find more work and if in that time I didn't I had to leave, I had to get out of Jaco or I would be dead soon. Not just the threats or the style of life but the work and the lack of work the lack of food and money was scaring me and practically distroyed me.

So that six week mark came, I was tyring to find work I had a job for a bar I spent hours on the design working with this guy from Canada but he failed to come through and in fact shorted me of the money he owed me for the time and design, the interpetations, the sourcing and more. So I said Im not waiting on him Im moving on.

I placed and add daily on Facebook I talk to people, I chated on msn, I posted on Craigslist and with in Two and half weeks I had sold everything I owned including some of my clothes and shoes and even all my plants, 17 orchids, huge large Potted palms beautiful outdoor furniture I designed, Even my paintings I painted. I had very little left

Only three suitcases I could bring on the flight. I contacted several places in Roatan and I got immediate response. From several resorts for Wedding designer and events, and from Carnival Cruise line to help with Decor for the ports. So I thought ok thats positive, nothing from Portland or Vancouver area where I was thinking to return. In fact I got lots of negative responses and the thought of going back to gray days, rain constant, buying a huge new wardrobe of heavy clothes and boots, and facing bronchitus yearly was not exactly my idea of my retirement.

Soooooo I chose Roatan, And wow what a flight and experience before that So stay tuned I plan on catching everyone up and I hope you enjoy these adventures, they are true to life, many times I dont tell all the really bad things because Its so sad or depressing that people would not believe it true but as for NOW I HAVE MOVED ON TO ROATAN HONDURAS