The roads in the Roatan Municipality have more potholes than asphalt. Traffic is getting worse and I’ve even seen drivers attempt to navigate around giant in a failed effort not to leave their bumpers behind. It is embarrassing to drive around with visiting friends while explaining to them why, with so many quality attractions for the tourist they have to break their back getting to them.

I say we are at total collapse of infrastructure. Roatan, the biggest tourist attraction in Honduras, has the second worse roads in the entire country. The dubious first place title goes to Copan, the country’s second largest tourist attraction. Ironically, the rarely visited department of Lempira, birthplace of our commander-in-chief has a brand spanking new highway that no one is transiting and an airport where no planes are landing. That doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense.

To top it off, we also have a small-understaffed hospital that is over 20 years old and no serious plan to deal with the trash situation on a long-term basis. But I digress. Opposition Alliance (Alianza de Oposición) have been calling for peaceful marches or protests on Roatan. But what would they be protesting?

Should we be protesting elections fraud, the roads, the garbage situation, corruption or should we be doing more than just that?

But, why haven’t “they” fixed the roads? Last year prior to elections (AKA political promises) I was present at a meeting with the President of our country Mr. Juan Orlando himself, where he announced the creation of a trust fund to finance the new Roatan road. Not repairing one mind you, but a brand new road from West Bay all the way to Diamond Rock and Camp Bay.

They want the golden egg and goose soup

Now we have 30 million Lempiras arriving on Roatan from central government via INSEP with additional funding coming from tourism budget and local funds from ZOLITUR. Another 20 million Lempiras was added to this fund from the INSEP to address the lack of infrastructure on Roatan’s sister island of Guanaja. There I suggested we follow a plan I first read about years ago in an editorial on the pages of Bay Islands Voice where a railway and train system was suggested for public transport. Haha.

Here we are in 2018 with the same re-elected president and still no roads. How much patience should we the people have? How long before the cruise ship industry pulls out? And just for myself: how much longer can the suspension system on my car hold out?

I am tired of reading the online reviews about the poor conditions of the road. I made a comment to a friend recently; we cannot continue to be the goose laying the golden egg for Honduras if they are going to starve the goose. His response was classic: “They want the golden egg and goose soup.”

I don’t have all the answers to these questions, but surely we should ask more of our authorities, and I don’t mean a hand out or some political favors. I am optimistic for the Municipality of Roatan as, at last, we are getting a change in the local government and I, for one, am happy for that change.

For centuries Roatan was the stomping ground of the Paya Indians, the island’s original inhabitants. It was the Paya that welcomed Columbus to Guanaja on his third voyage to the New World in 1504. The Paya supplied Trujillo town with food and helped the English and Dutch pirates careen their boats in Port Royal. In 1650 they were rounded up and village by village transported to Rio Dulce.

The Paya didn’t completely disappear. We sometime come across Indian burial sites, their clay yaba-ding-dings and words in the island vocabulary originating from the Paya. Paya Magazine wants to revive the Paya spirit further.

Our aim is to produce a magazine that is top notch: accurate, inspiring and beautiful. We want our readers to learn about Roatan’s past and understand its present so they can shape the island’s future

We want our readers to learn about Roatan’s past and understand its present so they can shape the island’s future.

For a long time Roatan was a place that welcomed everyone: desperate pirates, unwanted Garifuna, Cayman Islanders in search of new beginnings, eccentric Europeans and resourceful Ladinos. Roatan Became, and remains, a place for refugees, explorers, desperados, artists and visionaries.The island culture is a syncretic amalgam of Garifuna, Cayman Islander, Spanish and Ladino traditions, beliefs and histories.

I came to Roatan in 2000 to dive and I came back in 2003 to launch the then bi-weekly Bay Islands Voice. I had the privilege of creating a publication that educated, entertained and occasionally amazed islanders and visitors for 12 years. While Voice’s mission was to “report on the culture, news, spiritual life, sports, education, business,” Paya magazine will be a polished publication featuring in-depth stories that matter.

On the pages of Paya magazine we will capture the forward-thinking vitality and diversity of today’s Roatan, explain its history and culture and help to paint a picture of where the island is heading. We want to capture what is the essence of what Roatan is: its people, history, nature and traditions. Paya will feature good writing and inspiring photography presented in beautifully printed, attractive layout.

The success of Paya Magazine will likely match the success of Roatanians themselves, our readers and advertisers. Paya Magazine will only grow as our readership and advertisers grow. In other words: our futures are intertwined.

So we only ask that you give us a chance, be patient and consider supporting us. We encourage you to read us regularly, give us your feedback, and support those businesses that advertise with us. We surely will end up making mistakes, but we will be humble enough to admit them and correct them. We will aim to practice good journalism and hope one day to not only be respected, but loved. That respect will only come if we stay true to our goal of engaging in truthful, empathetic, balanced, and responsible journalism.

As we begin this journey a quote by president John F. Kennedy comes to mind:“To the recorder of men’s deeds, the keeper of its conscience, the currier of its news… that we look for strength and assistance.” I hope Paya can become such a recorder and keeper. But that will take time, and every journey begins with a single step. So let us begin. Welcome to Paya.