The Convenience of Cell Towers Also Brings Health Risks

While some people are sensitive to radiation emitted by electronic devices, most can feel negative effects only after years of exposure.

One example of a community affected by living and working within 100-200 meters of cell towers are those who live in Colonia Winston Smith, just west of Tres Flores. According to Pablo Echeverría, teacher and Colonia Smith Patronato vice president, the colonia’s residents have an abnormal incidence of birth defects. Children are born with cleft lip, many mothers have miscarriages, and there is a high incidence of tumors. According to Echeverría, five children were born with cleft lips in the colonia. Expectant mothers also suffered an abnormal number of spontaneous abortions, which Echeverría said could be attributed to the strong frequency signals emitted by the cell towers.

While proximity to the tower is one issue, another is the strength of the signal emitted by the tower’s equipment. Echeverría says that having trees or other objects between the cell tower and a home helps reduce constant exposure to the frequencies.

What made things complicated for Colonia Smith residents was that the towers predated the housing community. “The towers were here before we came,” Echeverría said.

Since the late 1990s, there was a tower on the site, and eventually both Claro and Tigo cell service companies operated towers on the tall hill. Those towers provided cell service to Los Fuertes, Palmetto Bay and Crawfish Rock. Since 2011, the colonia’s residents have been building their homes and raising their children in the shadow of two cell towers.

Things changed in 2024 when American investor James Baum bought land just north of Colonia Smith with a Tigo tower on it. Baum plans to turn his land into a high-end development featuring attractive views
of the sea to both the north and south. Cell towers are incompatible with high-end developments, so he decided to discontinue the lease with Tigo, which had operated the tower there for around 20 years.

Then there is the issue, common knowledge in fact, that cell towers negatively affect property values. Given a choice, people simply don’t want to live looking at cell towers, even if they want to see five bars on their smart phones. According to William Gati of the New York Real Estate Journal, real estate values can decrease by as much as 20%.

While living near cell phone towers can be dangerous in the long term, working on the towers can also be deadly. On April 15, a worker died in an accident dismantling the Tigo tower at Colonia Smith. After losing its lease near Colonia Smith, Tigo located a much shorter, temporary cell tower just 200 meters to the east, next to an existing home.

Working on the towers can also be deadly.

After a few more weeks, the work was complete and the original Tigo tower was finally disassembled. Colonia Smith residents breathed a sigh of relief. The only tower currently functioning there is an internet tower, which receives signals from La Ceiba and transfers them to fiber optic cables.

Some island communications professionals admit there are issues with cell towers and health. “Cell towers use spectrum and frequencies just as any household device. (…) The vibrating waves of spectrum resonate on different levels and can be both harmful and beneficial depending on the individual’s body and how close that person is to the device,” said Duane McNab, owner of MaxCom.

Balancing the convenience and health dangers of cell tower signals is a tricky issue. There is also an inherent conflict of interest among stakeholders in the cell tower business and residents. Telecommunications firms, technology companies and real estate industry players have vested interests in minimizing information about the health dangers of signals emitted from cell towers. They make their living from the convenience and prevalence of the cell towers providing those signals.

Challenging Road Project Cuts across the Heart of Coxen Hole

The PO-35 passing across Coxen Hole is not just a national highway, it is a road that has the highest commercial use on the island and has to be integrated into the city walkways and drainage. “You need to make it [Coxen Hole] more of a city than a town,” said Ing. Castillo, infrastructure chief of the Roatan Municipality.

The road itself will be 15 meter wide with a 1.5 meter sidewalks, two meter wide cycling lanes. And finally a 10 meter wide motor vehicle road. The construction of the six month contract began in June and its goal is to be finished by Christmas 2024.

It is a road that has the highest commercial use on the island.

The new road will benefit drivers, business owners, increase land prices, create additional commercial lots, and provide a more first glance of the island four tourists arriving at the Juan Manuel Galvéz international airport. “In the end, everyone is benefiting because they have more roads and more urban spaces they can use,” said Ing. Castillo.

Whereas in other parts of the paving projects Roatan Municipality would do the groundwork and preparation for the road, and would bid out only the road paving portion of the project. This time the roadwork was too complex and coordination between the preparation and paving as well. “Given the complexity of this contract, we decided to give the entire contract to one company,” said Ing. Castillo. Elite, a construction company based in French Harbour, who won the bid for the project.

The cost of the contract is Lps. 59.9 million [$2.4 million] and the 1.5 kilometer road project is the most complex and expensive per kilometer the Bay Islands have ever seen. Part of the expense is because of the retention walls needed to be constructed at the site. “Half the road has a need for retention walls,” said Ing Castillo. Whereas prior only in French Harbour and in Los Fuertes the retention walls had to be built. Yet another expense paid by Roatan taxpayers via Roatan municipality was the supervision contract of Lps. 2.5 million awarded to Consultores en Ingeniería [CINSA].

The road rises from just a few meters above sea level at the airport to around 50 meters at its crest at Monkey hill road. The design of the new road attempts to lessen the hills and avoid blind hills. “We are trying to improve the vertical curvatures of the road,” said Ing. Castillo. “We are filling it in some spots and cutting it off in others. It is all about creating a win-win.”

The project is not just a national road construction, but building an urban road and with urban spaces that integrate the road with surrounding businesses and lots. Water and sewer systems have to be moved, and bridge boxes are being constructed instead of culverts.

Urban road project created several very happy land owners.

The urban road project created several very happy land owners. Elite has been filling in acres of land with earth that was shaved of the road. From what were some inaccessible and of little value lots, there are now very valuable commercial lots. “They get the benefit of the dirt and we get the benefit of decreasing the cost of hauling the materials to specific spots,” said Ing. Castillo. Several islanders have become millionaires

With rains and heavy construction taking place at the new municipal dump, there were changes as far as the road paving schedule. “We had an emerging situation from Kix to mud hole with the deterioration of the road,” said Ing Castillo. The Roatan municipality has begun the dirt work on the 2.3 kilometers between Kix and the dump. That is the last portion of the PO-35 that has not been bid out for paving.

Some other road projects were also delayed. One of them is the paving of the 4.3 kilometer road from Palmetto to Crawfish rock that is now planned for construction in early 2025. 750 meters from Próspera to Colonia Smith diversion has been paved and 620 meter in total from the Mall up towards Crawfish Rock.

So, in preparation of their arrival Dullie anchored the boat by the ble rocks at the entrance of French Harbour lagoon and crawled back into his hole. Dullie waited, but they never came. A new judge took over and decided to dismiss the case as no one got hurt. On another occasion some custom officials came to French Cay to search Dullie’s boat, but he fired a couple shots at the whole crew and the Official told the captain to turn around and get the hell out of there because that guy was crazy.

On one occasion, the custom officials obtained a life boat belonging to Charlie Osgood who got it of the SS Snyg that ran agroAZund off Crawfish Rock in 1899. Upon arriving in French Cay, the officers attempted to confiscate Dullies boat and contraband. They were soon greater by the shouts of his booming voice: “the first man to step foot on this beachhead will be a dead son of a bitch.”

Dullie had the reputation of being a tough, but fair man. Another islander once said something about him behind his back one day and he found out. Dullie confronted this man about it saying — “admit it and live, or deny it and die” — to which the island man shuddered, admitted it and then apologized, Dullie let him go.

Someone opened fire through the window.

A few years later the family was going through a dispute regarding property. Two cousins involved were scared of him and what the outcome would be so, one day these two brothers, a friend and a cousin got together.

After drinking all morning, they saw Dullie casually walking down the street with his gun over his shoulder in a sack and accompanied by his 12 year old son Joe. Someone opened fire through the window shooting Dullie. It was January 28, 1935.

My dad Archie Jones always said he didn’t think the man who took the blame for the killing actually did it, as this man was near sighted and not a good shot with a rifle.

This man ran away to Belize to live and his brother soon followed him there with his family. The third cousin in the group was a boy of 15 who went away to work on the sea and joined the US merchant Marines. Forty years later, this boy retired back to Roatan and on his deathbed, he told his son and other family members that it was actually him who fired the gun that killed Dullie and not my cousin who took the blame.

He said this was the one act that he regretted his whole life. This man’s son and Dullie’s grandson turned out to be really good friends and drinking buddies. One day at Romero’s bar and restaurant the man’s son revealed his father’s death bed confession to his friend, Dullie’s grandson.

They both agreed it was water under the bridge and that it would not affect their friendship in anyway. They embraced each other with this promise. Dullie’s family could now find closure to this story. All persons mentioned in this article have since passed on.

Bobby is Roatan’s Veteran Singer and Songwriter

His musical journey has been a long one. It began when he learned to play a few guitar chords when he was 12, back when JFK was president.
He played harmonica in Chicago’s north side blues clubs. “I got to jam with Eddie Robinson, Mighty Joe Young, and Magic Slim,” says Bobby. “I couldn’t play that good (sic) either, but they let me get up there.”

At 23 Bobby was working as a substitute teacher at his old high school when a friend of a friend mentioned an idyllic island in the Western Caribbean. He was quoting a letter he received from a man named Gordon Ford who lived on Roatan beach, and overlooked a development project for a developer named Bob Plombo.

Bobby tried to look up Bay Islands and Roatan in the local library, “but you couldn’t get hardly anything,” remembers Bobby. Still, the letter was intriguing enough that Bobby forsakes his fascination with Brazil and headed out to Roatan. “The island was a very remote place back then,” says Bobby.

It was 1973, and while hippies were discovering the hippie trail to Kathmandu, Bobby headed out to the Bay Islands. “I came for the adventure. I didn’t have anything holding me down,” Bobby remembers of his first Roatan visit.

For two weeks, he lived in a hexagonal beach house on Palmetto Bay before moving to Crawfish Rock, where he stayed for six months and bought an acre of land for Lps. 1,000 ($500). That purchase sealed his commitment to the island. On the overland journey back to Chicago, through Guatemala and Mexico, he played harmonica every chance he got.

He moved to Roatan permanently in 1974. He lived in Crawfish Rock and French Harbour, supporting his growing family.

Bobby didn’t have any carpentry skills when he first came to the island, but he got his first lesson by preparing posts for his thatched roof house. Within a few years he had a carpentry crew working for him, and, he has supported himself as a carpenter and builder since 1975. A couple of times he had to return to the US to earn a little extra and support his growing family on the island.

His Roatan music adventure developed gradually. His singing debut came in 1981 at the Roatan Yacht Club. It was a place where all the shrimp and lobster fishermen came. “I never sang in my life, but I knew three songs: Rivers of Babylon, Fishin’ Blues and [Me and] Bobby McGee.”

A friend had given him a folder for harmonica music, and someone else gifted him an Ovation fiberglass acoustic guitar that was left behind on a sailboat. His lack of inherent musical skills was overcome by his passion for the music, and before long Bobby’s solo musical career was off to the races. “They didn’t take a long cane and drag me off the stage,” Bobby remembers of his first solo performance at the RYC.

Roatan shaped Bobby Rieman just as much as they shaped his lyrics.

He performed solo from 1981-1996 and wrote his first song “The Roatan song” in the mid 1980s. He played in Bayman Bay Club in Guanaja in the 1990s, and on Utila during the island’s annual Carnivals. “Over the years we played just about everywhere,” says Bobby. “I was in my first band at age 46.”

In 1986 he finally purchased amplifiers. “I was learning, and I was very passionate about that,” says Bobby. In 2000 he recorded his first CD in La Ceiba: “Roatanified.” With Brion James, a professional musician living on Roatan, he recorded two more CDs. All in all, Bobby recorded 34 songs − 33 original and one cover song. “I am proud of that,” he says.

At 73, Bobby still writes songs. His last CD “Putting in Time” was produced in 2017. His song lyrics − just like their titles are melancholic: “Northwest Caribbean Sea,” “Lights are on, but nobody’s home,” “Six Days in between.” Roatan shaped Bobby Rieman just as much as they shaped his lyrics, lyrics that describe the island’s history, idiosyncrasies, quirks, and feel.

Bobby has heard some beautiful voices in his days. He has seen many talented musicians and singers, but one stands out above the rest. “Jeffrey James – that guy had the most excellent presentation and talent with the guitar,” says Bobby. “He was left handed and played the guitar upside down with the low string on the top. He made sounds that you just can’t duplicate.” The two musicians jammed a lot together over the years.

In 2023, Bobby’s band plays at Bananarama on Sundays and at AKR. Bobby’s trio of musicians is called “The Band” and includes two Roatan veterans. Junior Bodden plays the bass and Cornelio Güity is on drums.

Bobby appreciates being heard and creating sound that will live on for decades. “Seeing people moving to what you are doing makes you feel a connection,” says Bobby. “It makes you feel that you are inspiring people to move. That is what music does.”

You can enjoy more Bobby's songs on his Youtube Channel: @bobbyrieman1950

Roatan’s Charter City Project Grows Despite Controversy

Próspera’s planned towers on Roatan will easily surpass Cayman Islands where only a couple of ten story buildings have been built to date. The Colors, Cayman Island’s tallest building in Georgetown at 40 meters, is only nine stories tall. The Colors will pale in comparison with the Duna tower that is being constructed just east of Crawfish Rock.

Próspera had a busy 2021, and 2022 is looking even busier. The company acquired a joint venture in Pristine Bay, a development residential community located around a 18 whole golf course. The over 400 acres large investment by Próspera took place after its original Guatemalan developers lost it to its lender Banco Atlántida.

In spring of 2022 a school opened its doors on site of properties Próspera recently acquired. Guidepost Montessori, a middle school opened its doors under the company’s framework. The school is managed by Academy of Thought and Industry and it operates out of a building that used to house the Sky restaurant on the ridge above French Harbour.

There was not the business that took advantage of Próspera’s umbrella that sees itself as an economic development hub. According to Gabriel Delgado, Próspera’s Chief Development Officer, six other businesses already call Próspera their base.

While that expansion is impressive what Próspera is planning for Roatan in the next several years is nothing short of transformative and revolutionary. Próspera’s website sees its impact expand exponentially. Its projects “foreign direct investment of at least $500M and new jobs created (direct) of at least 10,000” by 2025. “We are working ourselves to the bone to get there,” said Delgado.

On an island of around 100,000 people theses numbers are staggering. If Próspera’s goals will ever be achieved the key will lie in tying the project to Honduras’ “Zonas de empleo y desarollo económico” [ZEDE] – Zone for Employment and Economic Development.

Próspera wouldn’t have been formed and the capital couldn’t have been attracted, if it wasn’t for ZEDE. These Honduran laws have come under a lot of criticism especially in the last two years. While Próspera is likely to be grandfathered in under ZEDE laws, current Honduran Congress is arguing that ZEDE law has not been ratified in a correct manner.

As of late legal uncertainty in Honduras’ congress abounds. It could be argued that current Honduran Congress, whose legitimacy is in itself questioned, is arguing that the last congress was illegitimate, and didn’t pass ZEDE laws correctly. Some argue that the ZEDE law needed to be passed with two-thirds majority of congress and it wasn’t. This confusion could spell trouble for Próspera.

What Próspera is planning for Roatan in the next years is nothing short of transformative and revolutionary.

One of the attractions of becoming part of Próspera and ZEDEs are the lower overall taxes: income tax of 10%, land tax of 1 to 2.5%, and 5% VAT sales tax. “Those are the taxes you pay to Próspera ZEDE. A percentage of these taxes are then paid to five destinations including central government and the Municipality,” said Erick Brimen, the man behind Próspera.

Erick Brimen is the company’s Venezuelan born and US educated CEO. His 2005 thesis in Babson College was “how one could direct market forces to solve social problems,” and he sees Roatan Próspera doing just that. While Brimen has been coming to the island since 2016, he has been thinking about Roatan since high school.

In 2002 Brimen heard a high school friend talk about Roatan and describing the island’s potential as being held back because of the lack of legal infrastructure that Cayman Islands had. That friend was Tristan Monterroso, a Roatanian pastor who now sits on Próspera’s council. “When Honduras passed the ZEDEs law and the Supreme Court ruled it constitutional it clicked on me that that could be a delivery mechanism for a place like Roatan to have more prosperity,” said Brimen.
Two islanders are now part of the project: Tristan Monterroso and Duane McNab, owner of Max Communications and Próspera’s Council Member.

Próspera has begun its operation on Roatan on an elongated, meandering 58-acre property just east of Crawfish Rock. The site has about 300 feet of beach but its 750-acre master plan calls for 1.2 kilometer beachfront. “Real estate is heavily financed with debt and other sources of capital,” said Brimen.

Próspera aims at not to be limited to one location on Roatan, and Brimen sees his project not only expanding around Crawfish Rock, but thought the island and beyond. “The idea is to have multiple hubs throughout the island that voluntarily annex,” said Brimen.

Brimen says that Próspera has already raised $17.5 million from investors, one of them being Pronomos Capital. Pronomos Capital bankrolls the construction of experimental cities on available land in developing countries. Pronomos is set up like a venture fund and is making investments in not only Honduras, but the Marshall Islands, Nigeria, and Panama.

Pronomos was founded by Patri Friedman, an American anarcho-capitalist transhumanist and a grandson of Nobel prize winner Milton Friedman. Pronomos in turn is financed by another transhumanist and billionaire Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal.

Próspera’s master plan on Roatan includes several high rise buildings, a Marine Center, a University and a Hospital that would provide jobs and create a hub and an “economic development platform” for entrepreneurs from around the world and Honduras. “A platform like Próspera is the future of the island,” said Duane McNab.

Smiling at the Future and Thinking About the Past

Mr. Jason Thomas Bodden was born on September 19, 1940, in Coxen Hole. He is one of 13 children born to a popular Pentecostal preacher from Coxen Hole, Mr. Joe Bodden. He was born at seven months to Evelyn Dilbert from Politilly.

Crawfish Rock community grew almost everything they needed to eat.

When Mr. Jason was 12 his father passed away, and his mother moved the entire family to Crawfish Rock. The small village would become a place where Mr. Jason would come back to time and time again.

There were not many people living in Crawfish Rock in the 1950s and Mr. Jason remembers quite a few of them. There was Jesus Puerto, Uncle Lou, Bill Minzenh, and Cecil Bodden. On the hill above Crawfish Rock a retired American seaman, Jack Luzig, built a big house there, and started a family.

Back then the Crawfish Rock community grew almost everything they needed to eat. They had plenty of yucca and cocos, and the plentiful fish in the sea provided for a good diet. “Those times you used to live in a bush house made out of cohune leaves,” says Mr. Jason. While building a bush house wasn’t difficult, keeping it over one’s head in storms was another matter. Mr. Jason remembers hurricane Fifi, that in 1974 destroyed all but one house in Crawfish Rock.

While Mr. Jasons first and second wife passed away, he had six children from the first marriage. He began working on a shrimp boat as a cook. His first boat was the “Maru” that was based out of French Harbour. Thanks to his work he was able to see a bit of Honduras’ northern coast and other Bay Islands. He visited Utila, Guanaja and Puerto Castilla. After 17 years of working on fishing boats Mr. Jason had enough and settled back on dry land.

You used to live in a bush house made out of cohune leaves.

In the late 1990s an American doctor hired Mr. Jason to be a watchman for his house and property located just west of Crawfish Rock. Mr. Jason and his family took care of the property for 21 years until it sold. Now Mr. Jason is renting a space in a small house on the edge of Crawfish Village.

A Large, Potentially Huge Development Project Breaks Ground on Roatan

Próspera’s website states that by 2025 the project will have a “foreign direct investment of at least $500M and new jobs created (direct) of at least 10,000.” On an island of 100,000 people theses numbers are staggering. If Próspera’s goals will ever be achieved they key will lie in tying the project to Honduras’ “Zonas de empleo y desarollo económico” [ZEDE] – Zone for Employment and Economic Development. Próspera is the first company to take advantage of this ZEDE laws passed in 2015. While many islanders dismiss the legislation as irrelevant to their lives, some see its potential as an opportunity for a business boom and others see it as threat to property ownership in Honduras.

The man behind Próspera is Erick Brimen, the company’s Venezuelan born and US educated CEO. His 2005 thesis in Babson College was “how one could direct market forces to solve social problems,” and he sees Roatan Próspera doing just that. While Brimen has been coming to the island since 2016, he has been thinking about Roatan since high school.

“Foreign direct investment of at least $500M and new jobs created (direct) of at least 10,000.” 

In 2002 Brimen heard a high school friend talk about Roatan and describing the island’s potential as being held back because of the lack of legal infrastructure that Cayman Islands had. That friend was Tristan Monterroso, a Roatanian pastor who now sits on Próspera’s council. “When Honduras past the ZEDEs law and the Supreme Court ruled it constitutional it clicked on me that that could be a delivery mechanism for a place like Roatan to have more prosperity,” said Brimen. Two islanders are now part of the project: Tristan Monterroso and Duane McNab, owner of Max Communications and Próspera’s Council Member.

Próspera has begun on an elongated, meandering 58-acre property just east of Crawfish Rock. The site has about 300 feet of beach but its 750-acre master plan calls for 1.2-kilometer beachfront. “Real estate is heavily financed with debt and other sources of capital.” Many of buildings on the master plan are five to seven stories tall being by far the highest buildings on Roatan. Próspera aims at housing a Marine Center, a University and a Hospital that would provide jobs and create a hub and an “economic development platform” for entrepreneurs from around the world and Honduras. “A platform like PRÓSPERA is the future of the island,” said Duane McNab.

Próspera aims at not to be limited to one location on Roatan, and Brimen sees his project not only expanding around Crawfish Rock, but thought the island and beyond. “The idea is to have multiple hubs thought the island that voluntarily annex,” said Brimen. “We don’t own it all; in fact we don’t have to own it for it to become incorporated.” Brimen says that Próspera has already raised $17.5 million from investors and aims to secure another $30 million in a couple years.

“The idea is to have multiple hubs thought the island that voluntarily annex.”

The project’s direct neighbors in Crawfish Rock seem to be supportive of Próspera, but deeply apprehensive of ZEDE laws and it is impossible to separate the two. Próspera wouldn’t have been formed and the capital couldn’t have been attracted if it wasn’t for ZEDES. “I’m in favor of Próspera. I believe they will take our island and Crawfish Rock out of the hole we’re in. I lived over 13 years in Crawfish Rock before I could get running water,” says Virginia Cecilia Mann, resident of Crawfish Rock. Mann says that 95% of Crawfish Rockers are worried of being displaced by the ZEDE laws.

One of the attractions of becoming part of Próspera and ZEDEs are the lower overall taxes: income tax of 10%, land tax of 1 to 2.5%, and 5% VAT sales tax.  “Those are the taxes you pay to Próspera ZEDE. A percentage of these taxes are then paid to five destinations including central government and the Municipality,” said Brimen.  

Launching of a company that as a first takes advantage of ZEDE legislature caused plenty of stir, pushback and questions from locals. A petition organized by “Alliance for the defense of the Bay Islands Territory” and in part by Irma Brady of BICA aims to repeal the ZEDE legislation. Using a change.org platform the group launched a appeal that has gathered 16,000 signatures by September 24. “We don’t aspire to become theoretical experiences of supposed libertarian investors,” stated the petition. “Expropriation (…) to expand the ZEDE territory, for its (sic!) Eventual delivery to foreign investors is unacceptable.”

While some opposing Próspera and ZEDE have put their discontent in words, others have escalated to physical action. A September 18 Brimen’s meeting with Crawfish Rock residents was interrupted by Roatan’s Municipal Police. “My security was threatened because I was seeking to explain how and why ZEDEs and in particular Próspera ZEDE cannot expropriate,” Brimen wrote on public Roatan Whatsapp security group. “I have been threatened by people in powerful positions so if something happens to me, please know it was not an accident.”

Próspera and Roatan are set for a bumpy ride during unpredictable times on a global scale. Honduras is increasing becoming a country of many laws and people who know how to use and interpret these laws are at an advantage. On Roatan alone there are PMAIB laws, ZOLITUR laws, COVID-19 laws, and now there is the ZEDE.  Seeing the big picture in all of this is not easy, but some try to see the positive. “Big projects like this going on despite the pandemic are a good signal,” said about Próspera Dino Silvestri, Governor of the Bay Islands.

Syng’s boiler is still above the reef north of Pristine Bay Resort.

A 120 Year Old Wreck Hides One of the Island’s Oldest Mysteries

The inhabitants of the village of Crawfish Rock were woken up in the middle of the night by lights and sounds of distress. There were oxen bellowing and mules kicking. Snyg was in trouble and its crew was trying to find the channel entrance across the reef. This proved not to be an insurmountable challenge. Boat navigation and weather were quite different 120 years ago. “Back then the only way to navigate was to use a sextant. You had to locate a celestial body and a horizon line. That was often not possible,” said Charles Osgood, 69, a retired boat captain and boat engineer from Roatan. “We used to have northern [winds] that would blow for four, five days. The island would run short of food. The weather patterns have changed now.”

George Edward Osgood, from Coxen Hole, was asked to help the distressed Snyg. “She was billed, and way on top of the reef,” remembers Charles Osgood, grandson of George Edward. George Edward was in his 30s at the time and ran a boat repair business on Osgood Cay. The Cay was strategically placed just south of Coxen Hole and it used to be named Bennett Cay, then Big Cay, then Osgood Cay and now it is called Maya Cay. The Cay belonging to Guillermo Bruchard was eventually purchased at a government auction in 1912. George Edward held it in family hands for a hundred years.

Charles Osgood with the last surviving wood piece of Snyg: it’s name plaque from its rescue boat and a motor that was fitted onto it couple years later.

After the rescue operation during which Edward fixed a metal crane that lifted the animals off the battered Snyg, George Edward received an oxen and a mule that would spin his winch on the Osgood Cay to move boats brought in for repair. He also received a 28 foot wooden lifeboat from Snyg. He fitted her with a six-horsepower motor he purchased from American navy officer stationed at the American Navy station at Punta Castilla. One Lung Marine Engine by Lathrop pushed Snyg’s life raft around Roatan until the 1960s. “Once she was hot she could run on kerosene, diesel, gasoline,” said Charles Osgood describing the engine. “It ran in both directions.” The Snyg lifeboat boat hauled cargo and passengers to and from Roatan until 1961 when she was left on Osgood Cay and eventually just rotted away.

Today the only non metal surviving part of the Snyg is a 12 inch wooden sign with its name engraved on it. The other lifeboat was taken by someone else on Roatan.

Crawfish Rockers have a special relationship with the wreck they see only 100 meters from their village. Until the 1990s its hull was still above water. “They called it old steamer,“ said Dulcie Woods, 69, who has lived in Crawfish Rock since the 1950s. “They would get some oyster type of shellfish from the wreck.” Despite the Snyg’s slow disintegration it is still a landmark and will likely continue attracting snorkelers and tourists from all around the north of the island.

A late XIX century steam boat similar to the Snyg.

Prior to the solar coming to Crawfish Jubi Stewart, a single mother with five children, used candles to light her rented home.

A Neglected Island Community gets a Boost

“While most people invite the president to Pristine Bay or West bay I decided to have the president over in Crawfish Rock,” said Governor Gino Silvestri then running as a Roatan Mayoral candidate on the same ticket at JOH. President Hernandez decided to make a lasting change in the village and reduce local energy bills. “Originally the president promised 100 solar units to Crawfish Rock, but we ended up with 60 here and 20 in Diamond Rock and 20 in the Bight in Oak Ridge,” says Governor Silvestri.

This free solar program is part of the Hondura’s national program: IDECOAS / Programa Nacional de Desarrollo Rural y Urbano Sostenible (PRONADERS) and aims at developing “self sustainability and to strengthen communities.”

Living on the island with sometimes frequent and prolonged power outages has made Crawfish Rockers somewhat stoic. “When the power goes out for a long time I tell myself: ‘‘It’s time to clean the fridge,” says Crawfish Rock resident Virginia Connor with a smile.

Free gifts are not always appreciated, but Crawfish Rock residents say it will be different this time. “People kind of value this as they value their eye,” says Palmer who noticed a Lps. 300 decrease in her light bill. That is something she definitely appreciates and she is not about to give it up.

Some village people didn’t have any electricity before this. “I used to just use candles and my house almost burned down two or three times,” said Jubi Stewart, a single mom who cares for her family in a simple, wood, one-room rental home.

Most Crawfish Rockers use the electricity from the battery at night to watch the TV for a couple hours or run a fan for the whole night. Still, the system was not designed to run a fridge or a washing machine, some of the biggest electricity guzzlers in the village.

Originally the president promised 100 solar units to Crawfish Rock, but we ended up with 60 here and 20 in Diamond Rock and 20 in the Bight in Oak Ridge

Not all programs work out. In 2016 the Roatan Municipality began giving a “free” small solar power systems to needy residents. The solar panels were tiny and taken from a security camera system installed by a prior administration to survey the streets of Coxen Hole in 2011. The new administration dissembled the security cameras and gave the cannibalized solar panels to some of the island “poor,” including five residents of Crawfish Rock. It didn’t work. “I had problems with it from the beginning,” remembers Stewart. “If something like that happens we pull all together,” says Connor.

The current solar system installation took 15 days and there were two inspections to make sure the systems worked correctly. One of the hardest things was deciding which homes in Crawfish Rock would not receive the solar installation. “I was getting a lot of blame,” said Rosemary Garcia who helped to coordinate the project in Crawfish.

While Crawfish Rockers were abuzz with excitement, managers at RECO (Roatan’s power company), were not notified about the installations for three months. “Nobody has contacted us. If it doesn’t work people will get their feelings hurt,” said RECO’s GM Richard Warren. RECO has grown from 9,400 accounts to 17,600 in the last decade and prides itself in having built a $67 million propane powered plant.

For Crawfish Rockers the savings are already here: monthly savings of Lps. 450 per solar unit, or around $240 a year. Some of this money will have to pay for a new deep cycle battery replacement in three to five years. If RECO offered the buyback power from low energy consumers, there would be no need for this. But things could be changing in a matter of months. Warren said that RECO is prepared to implement an energy buy-back program from small consumers once their propane powered plant is evaluated by the Honduran Energy Commission.

This could mean more good news for Crawfish Rockers. A consumer with a solar panel could be selling energy to RECO instead of storing it in expensive batteries with a relatively short useful life. “Typically it’s the avoided cost, which is fuel, now at 13 cents,” said Warren, suggesting RECO would be buying the energy back at around 13 cents and sell it at 35 cents. RECO’s AMI smart meters have a capacity to do net metering and there are already 250 units installed on the island with another 2,000 in line to be purchased. Warren also suggested setting a limit of maximum energy buy-back, perhaps close to 3% like in Cayman Islands.

People from crawfish rock builds a palapa.

Thatched Roof Construction Business is Booming

On the Jackson-Marbella road hundreds of cohoon palms are within an easy reach of the palapa builders. The younger harvested palms are around 25-30 years old, some are 50 feet tall and as old at a century. They were planted at the height of the Standard Fruit Company’s boom days in Honduras.

Around 150 palms from roughly a dozen cohoon palms are needed to build two large palapas. In order to get this quantity of palms a crew of four men works hand in hand. One man uses a ladder to climb the cohoon palm tree, and then with the machete he cuts the palm leaf off. Another helper breaks the fall of the cohoon so it doesn’t get damaged on impact. “There are many people building palapas, but Ramon [Armijo] is the best,” says Lucas Javier Martinez, a local helping Ramon load the palms onto a truck.

The crew brought a 12-year-old boy to help with work. “If you don’t teach the kids how to work they become thieves and robbers,” says Martinez. Once harvested, the cohoon fronds are then split into two down the length of the stem and dried for a week or more.

The palms are then attached with string to the wood structure of the palapa: rafters, ridges and posts. There are one-pole palapas, two-pole palapas and large multi-pole palapas. While Ramon Armijo was preparing to build a large 12 foot by 14 foot palapa, another experienced palapa builder from Crawfish Rock was building one over the dining area of a house deck. “You’ve got to do everything on full moon. You got to get the posts on full moon. Everything has to be done of full moon,” says Celso Connor. A palapa, if well maintained, can last well over a decade. The secret of a long lasting palapa is to quickly replace worn pieces of thatch.

There is a science and an art to building a perfect Roatan palapa. The palm leaves can be picked year round, but when picked during the full moon, they are said to be sturdier and last longer. “If you pick it right it will last six years, if you pick it wrong it won’t last six months,” says Armijo. “I didn’t used to believe it, but now I do.”

Scientific studies confirm this. “Palm leaves harvested during the full moon had higher total C, hemicellulose, complex C and lower Ca concentrations. These chemical changes should make palm leaves less susceptible to herbivory and more durable when harvested,” writes Kristiina A. Vogt in a Federal Food Safety report. These correlations between plants and animals based on lunar cycle has been known by natives for millennia.