Robert McNab, along with his wife, Margret Crawford, immigrated to Cape Gracias a Dios on the northeast coast of Honduras. They arrived in 1835 from Edinburgh, Scotland. The English had a settlement on the cape, and there was a fort manned by British soldiers. A few settlers also tried to make a living there.

While there, Robert McNab heard about the Bay Islands to the west and decided to relocate there. The archipelago was beginning to attract British subjects from the Cayman Islands and beyond. When his party reached Roatan, they settled on one of the three cays inside the French Harbour channel.

There is an interesting account of the McNabs from a few years later. In 1840, an Englishman named Thomas Young, an employee of the British Central America Land Company, was on his way to Black River. His objective was to establish an English colony on the Mosquito Coast of Honduras. En route to Black River, Mr. Young’s schooner encountered a problem with the rudder and had to seek help in French Harbour.

Thus the town of French Harbour was started.

Mr. Young states in his writings that a Scotsman with a large family was the only person living there. The Scotsman that Mr. Young refers to in his writings can only be Robert McNab. Young describes the family as well-established in French Harbour. Since the Scotsman was a boat builder by trade, he repaired the schooner for Mr. Young. Mr. Young’s account states that the family was in the process of building a small schooner to trade with Belize, the Cayman Islands and other ports.

Around this time, the Jones family also settled in the town. The two island families began to marry into each other. Thus, the town of French Harbour was founded. Curiously, no one seems to know for sure why the town was called French Harbour, since it was settled by Scots. There is an old, commonly heard story that two Frenchmen were the first people to live there, and thus the place became known as French Harbour.

Robert and Margaret had a total of seven children: five boys and two girls. From 1840 to the present day, descendants of Robert McNab and Margaret Crawford have owned and operated all types of boats. They owned commercial fishing boats, such as shrimp trawlers, lobster boats, and conch boats, as well as general cargo vessels, freighters and, lastly, passenger ferries.

One of these endeavors was the Bay Islands University that was founded in 2003. There was enough enthusiasm to get the institution off the ground — there were willing American and Honduran professors, students, and money backers. The space was rented from the Seventh Day Adventist School in French Harbor.

For-profit universities came to the island in the late 2000s. UNAH-Curla tried its remote learning classes. The for-profit UTH has also filled a gap and has even opened a campus in French Cay in 2025.

In many ways, the for-profit universities serve as a catch-up for the ineffective government middle school educational structure. The semi-literate and under educated 18- to 19-year-olds see a university diploma as a way to get a job in the island’s tourist industry or a business.

Things should and could be much better. Nearby Cayman Islands, with a population of 90,000, has three universities, both state and private. They even offer master’s degrees. Bay Islands have a similar area as Cayman Islands, and the Honduran department’s population surpasses 130,000 people. Now is the time to act. The cost of opening a higher learning institution are much lower in the Bay Islands, but will rise as time goes on.

Future University of Roatan can focus on marine biology.

There is one particular and little-known example of a great Honduran private university that could serve as an example. Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School was founded in the Yeguare Valley east of Tegucigalpa in 1941. It serves 1,250 students with a focus on agriculture education, and while it is small, it is recognized by some as the best university in Honduras.

Similar to how Zamorano University has been one of the most renowned agriculture universities in Latin America, the future University of Roatan can focus on marine biology. With its proximity to the sea and reef, Roatan is a perfect place to establish a university with such specialization.

There are only a few schools specializing in marine science in Latin America, without the natural assets of Roatan. There is the Oceanography Department at the University of São Paulo, and the Marine Science Department at Universidad del Valle, in Cali, Colombia. Neither of them have the proximity to the sea, reef, or marine life that Roatan does.

In some respects, back in the early 1980s, Roatan found itself at analogous crossroads. Island families were getting tired of sending their children to the mainland to receive quality education. That required separation from families, extra expenses, and the loss of family contact. In 1983, Mrs. Cheryl de Galindo, Mrs. Mireya Warren, and Jane Austin had the initial idea for a Roatan private school. The classes started with 35 students; 40 years later, ESBIR has around 300 students, 37 classrooms, and sits on an ample 2.2-acre property in the northern part of Coxen Hole.

Someone thinking about an addition to the private grade school and high school education on Roatan is Dr. Raymon Schmidt, who had been superintendent at San Pedro’s Escuela Internacional Sampedrana (EIS) for three years. Establishing a similar school from scratch is not cheap, and according to Schmidt, it means a $15 million to $20 million investment. It also would require investors willing to back this institution financially for years to come.

Today, two big urban centers in Honduras take pride in having the best schools. Escuela Internacional Sampedrana (EIS), founded in 1953, has 1,800 students and is considered the best school in Honduras. The other large, well-known school is the American School of Tegucigalpa, established in 1946 by American-based companies based in the Honduran capital. “Those are the king and the queen [of schools] in Honduras,” says Schmidt.

Closer to Roatan and attended by some islanders in the 1970s is La Ceiba’s Mazapán School. It was established in 1928 by Standard Fruit Company on a sprawling five-acre campus and offers education to 300 students.

Schmidt believes that the benefits of such a school would benefit the island indirectly. There would be a boost in the intellect of newcomers to the island. There would be more families interested to come here from mainland Honduras just for the extra opportunities given to their children. There are other benefits: the prestige, the attractiveness of living, working and a better base for human capital. “[School] is the catalyst; that is the spark that will bring business to the island,” said Schmidt. “Even if the school doesn’t generate money, it will do so indirectly with all the other businesses it is going to attract.”

Schmidt wants to start with around 200 students, and a master plan is to have 1,200 pupils with grounds that have sports facilities and gymnasiums to match. Every week they have academic competitions. “We would actually teach core academics,” said Schmidt.

Knowledge, values and good habits are at a premium.

In many ways, academics and values are the essence of the issue, since formal education is not what it used to be. Modern education focuses on preparing students to be obedient and competent future workers who don’t question things.

The educational system in the U.S., Europe, and other countries have been weaponized against parents with traditional and Christian beliefs. The corrupting brainwashing made amazing strides in the U.S. educational system, catching many educators off guard. This in turn created a fertile ground for woke ideology of Cultural Marxism that has infiltrated schools even on Roatan. “Ten years ago, it wasn’t like this,” admits Schmidt.

Unfortunately, most parents, good educators, and well-meaning school administrators do not understand the origin of this war for the minds of the young. Often they are not even familiar with the techniques and methods used to undermine the authority of parents, traditions, and Christian values of their children.

The students are told that there is no objective, no absolute truth, and that moral values are all relative depending on place and context. Christian, Western morals and values have been either removed from schools or they have become an unrecognizable meshing of different, often contradictory and opposing religious views.

Let us hope that Roatan will be able to withstand the gradual advances of Cultural Marxism. There are still old islanders, well into their 80s and 90s, who recall receiving short, albeit classical education in one-room classrooms on the island. That education aimed at developing the whole individual by teaching and promoting virtue and aspiration of wisdom. The ultimate goal was for a pupil to properly know and glorify God.

The original, Christian educational goal of developing individuals have been replaced by making cookie-cutter, compliant students able to follow orders and fulfill tasks needed to get a job.

We now live in times where not education, but knowledge, values and good habits are at a premium. Using AI for teaching children or university students is problematic. In fact, much of this technology is enslaving and dehumanizing our children in classrooms and in our homes. The answer to the addictive presence of phones, apps and social media is not technical, but spiritual. It is paramount to recognize the need for both the divine and human element in education.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the quality evolved still and became more about clean air, clean water, and a nice reef. Starting in the 2010s and 20s, the economy and island population has exploded. There are hundreds of well-stocked stores, strangers, and foreign languages all around. All in all, however, life on the island is still fun, healthy, and exciting. There are several things that contribute to a quality of life on Roatan, and I list them below:

The Basics

Good, year-round climate is the reason why many foreigners come to move to or retire on Roatan. They escape the cold, wet winters of Maine, Minnesota, and Manitoba.

Roatan is blessed with good, clean air, far away from polluted urban centers. Island residents should feel blessed, as there are billions of people living in places filled with dirty, obscure, and toxic air. Except for a few weeks of Central American June grass burning season, the island’s air is clean.

The island’s water comes from a subterranean aquifer that while diminishing, still provides us with quality H2O. The drinking water companies like Sun Water and Ramirez pump the water and purify it through reverse osmosis filters. To the benefit of us all, they do not add fluoride or chlorine.

Culinary Delights

Honduras is also a serious quality food exporter, and this good food is quite affordable on Roatan. The supermarket shelves are filled with great Honduran, shade-grown coffee of various kinds – Honduran beans, seafood, and meats. Eldon’s Supermarket is the best-stocked supermarket in Honduras, if not Central America.

Over the last 20 years, the island exploded with quality and diverse restaurants. For example, in 2003, Atlantic Chinese restaurant in Los Fuertes was the only place on the island to serve oriental cuisine. When Atlantic closed its doors, there was nothing for several years. Now, there are three Chinese restaurants, four to five places that serve sushi, a Thai restaurant, and even an Indian restaurant.

Education

Private primary education on the island began in the 19th century with Royal Readers textbooks being taught to children in private homes. Private secondary education started with ESBIR in 1983, and continued with Roatan Alternative School in Sandy Bay in 2003. Now there are seven private schools: ESBIR, several Christian schools, and a Montessori. There are even two universities, and one of them, UTH, is finishing a campus in French Cay.

Island is still fun, healthy and exciting.

Fast Internet

In 2003, many customers still used telephone dial up for their internet needs. The island connectivity – along with the rest of the planet – has come a long way since then. There are now several companies competing for internet customers, and a fiber optic internet cable connected the island to the mainland and beyond in 2020. Internet speeds, reliability, and costs are now matching what is available in the USA or Canada.

Government Offices

In 1980, there were just a few government agencies on Roatan: customs officer, a port captain, and a police chief. Even in 2000s, if you needed something, you had to go to Tegucigalpa, or at least to La Ceiba to have it done. There is the immigration office and a tax office. In the 2020s, Roatan is booming, and a central government helping you to hand over your money.

Small Community, For Now

Life in cities or big towns can be hectic, stressful, and unsafe. The Greeks said life in a city of over 100,000 becomes unlivable and filled with crime.

Island life keeps one more connected to people that you see over and over again. People are friendly here. Your neighbors are ready to help in an emergency, and those emergencies do keep coming. Life in a big city, on the other hand, gives you a certain level of anonymity and insulation from people you don’t want to see. In a big enough city, you can cut someone off on the road, show him the finger, and expect to never to see them again. These type of actions have consequences on Roatan, so you see them rarely.

If you offend someone on the island, you are likely to see them the next day at a store, or stuck in traffic in Coxen Hole. You cannot count on anonymity on an island that is only 54 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide. Actions have consequences here, and that is a chief reason that Roatanians behave nicely to each other still.

Nature Above and Below Water

Today, the island is still green and relatively undeveloped. Out of 20,000 acres of Roatan’s surface, about 75% is still undeveloped forest or grassland. That number, however, was 90% just 25 years ago, and it is no doubt the island’s urban centers and gated communities that are growing in leaps and bounds.

As a warning to those who care, there are examples of many other Caribbean islands which were once just as beautiful as Roatan. These islands have overdeveloped, their resources were exploited, their trees were cut down, and their landscape became a jungle of concrete. Roatan is not that way yet, and hopefully never will.

Energy of Ideas

Roatan attracts energetic, entrepreneurial people with ideas. Some individuals arrive with novel ideas like charter cities and Bitcoin. Others come here with classical ideas that have been around for millennia, but need to be periodically rediscovered. Those people are about hard work, healthy food, dependability, and appreciation for small, tight communities that support one another.

Roatan has plenty of the free stuff.

Healthcare

Foreign expats retired on Roatan in their 60s, and as their health gets worse, a few years or decades later and in their 70 and 80s, they move back to the USA. They are typically in need of specialized health care and ease of care. These days they are on their way out, and a few people are even talking of an assisted living home being built on the island.
There are now small and large private health clinics all over the island that make life for the elderly much easier. There are dozens of medical specialists living on the island, and their services cost a fraction of what they would in USA or Canada.

Ease of Travel

Maritime travel to and from the island has gotten easier, quicker, and more affordable. You can head off the island on a fast catamaran five times a day. A weekend gateway to Utila or Guanaja is super easy to arrange. Dream Ferries has done a run connecting Roatan with Puerto Cortés via Utila.

That ease of travel wasn’t always the case. Back in the 1970s and 80s, the only way to travel to Roatan was via a dory, or a rickety airplane from La Ceiba. Things have changed greatly, and the island is not only accessible, it is also a hub for hopping to nearby Utila and Guanaja. There are regular flights to El Salvador, Belize, Cayman Islands, and Guatemala. Once a second airport terminal opens, that should get better still.

That is the great advantage of living 20 minutes from an international airport, which Roatan has. The island is separated by two flights from thousands of places around the globe. Islanders are just one flight away from Miami, Dallas, or Houston, and after a change of terminals, you could be on your way to Timbuktu.

Music Scene

Roatan has been alive with the sounds of music since the Garifuna arrived here in 1797. Today, there are a couple dozen bands and musicians that play and perform all around the island. The island musical scale ranges from Garifuna dancers to Country and Western music, with Bobbie Rieman, Muddy, The Happy Boys, and Londoners, to name a few.

Value

In the end, it all comes down to the bang for the buck. In 2025, things on Roatan are still affordable, and land and many homes can be purchased for a reasonable price. While you might have to fork over a hefty $9 million for a three bedroom villa in Saint Barts, you can own a mansion for 5% of that, or $400,000, on Roatan’s east end.

As many of us tend to forget: the best things in life are free, and Roatan has plenty of the free stuff. So let us
appreciate and enjoy the things we have.

Roatan is not Honduras, and if someone really wants to see this Central American country, they need to leave the comfort of the English-speaking island and venture to the mainland. There you can appreciate the full beauty of Honduras, and the entrepreneurship of its people that are the engine of the country’s economy.

Honduras is filled with bountiful natural beauty. Its northern part is framed by 400 miles of stunning coastline, with virgin forests of the mountains touching the often uninhabited white sand beaches.

The country’s northern coast has been blessed with three agricultural valleys that are its breadbasket. The biggest valley is the Sula Valley, then comes Bajo Aguán Valley, with 100,000 acres in size, and then Ulúa Valley near the Guatemalan border. The main agriculture driver is the cultivation of African Palm oil from farms belonging to Honduran Dinant Corporation, founded by Miguel Facussé Barjum.

Hondurans are still firmly rooted in land, as 40 percent of the 11 million citizens live in rural areas. There are also between 1-2 million living abroad. By most projections, Honduras is projected to have 15 million inhabitants by 2050. This will be a huge jump for a country that counted only 1.5 million people in 1950 a 1,000 percent increase in a century.

Honduras is important not only for its growing population and central geostrategic location in Central America and the Western Caribbean but also for its emergence as an economic power. The country is like a little tiger quietly rising to rival its neighbor Guatemala, surpassing the struggling Nicaragua, and outpacing the smaller economies of Costa Rica and Belize, as well as Bitcoin-booming El Salvador.

The country has a thriving, organically growing economy in several economy sectors: retail, manufacturing, forestry, and agriculture. The retail sector of the country is doing well and serves as a barometer for overall economic growth. There are indoor malls popping up not only in big cities, but medium size cities. There are malls in Siguatepeque, Catacamas, Juticalpa, El Progreso, Tocoa – many towns with barely 40,000 people.

Life in cities and towns around Honduras is becoming easier and more fun to live in. Tocoa is about the same as Catacamas with 63,000 people and both cities are home to Division I football teams and corresponding stadiums that fill to the brim every two weeks. Tocoa’s Real Sociedad has been Division I since 2012.

Newly paved roads connect Honduras’ two million-plus inhabitant cities, as well as numerous other cities of 100,000-200,000 people like La Ceiba, El Progreso, Comayagua and Choluteca. You can spot trucks moving pine and hardwood from Olancho to Tegucigalpa, cement from San Pedro Sula to Puerto Cortés, and coffee from Santa Bárbara to San Pedro Sula.

Traveling on the new roads that cross the country is a civilized experience. There are smart rest areas for travelers on Honduras’ main roads. There are tasty restaurants next to coffee shops, gas stations, and pharmacies.

As a signal of economic growth, new shopping malls are springing up all over Honduras, even in medium sized cities. Mega Mall, City Mall, Megaplaza, and Metro Mall at the biggest mall developers, but there are others as well. There are dozens of private mall companies constructing retail spaces all over.

Every mall has a children’s playground next to the food court. Every large highway stop with a couple of restaurants also has a children’s playground. The entrepreneurial Honduras that didn’t leave their country, tempted by the American nightmare of working construction and McJobs without the ability to visit their families, are the engine that drives the country.

Honduras has several home grown supermarket chains, like the Tegucigalpa based and 50 year old La Colonia, with 69 stores, Colonial, Juniors, Supermercados Extra, and Del Corral. Filling the shelves of these Honduran-owned supermarkets are several national lactose companies making cheese and milk products: Sula, Leyde, Zamorano, and Lácteos Boquerón. All of these companies grew in geographically different parts of the country, and became nationally distributed as supply chains and clients’ desire for bigger selection grew.

In another impressive feat, Honduran meat companies are feeding practically all of the country. The country has reputable and growing companies such as Pro Carne, del Corral, Delicia and Pollo Norteño. Honduras, outside of Bay Islands, has no need to go to US for hormone and steroids-filled meats. While the European Union banned this type of unhealthy meat in 1989, the US has focused on Latin America, where no such bans are in place, as a dumping ground.

Honduras grows while the government is either on holiday.

Pizza Hut and Burger King have had a foothold in Honduras since the 1990s, but in the last 10 years the multinational giant’s dominance was replaced by a regional start up. The fast food internationals got replaced by Guatemala-based Pollolandia Express, with hundreds of stands in town and villages across Honduras.

Honduras has a dynamic banking sector, with most of the banks being in domestic hands. There it is the oldest Banco Atlántida, dating back to 1913; Banco del País, with 75 branches and growing fast; Banco del Occidente, with 170 branches; FICOHSA and BANHCAFE.

There have been a few efforts by foreigners to take advantage of Honduras’ resources and economic marketplace. In San Pedro Sula, the Chinese are displacing Americans. The building that used to be a San Pedro Sula KeyMart is now hosting a Chinese trinkets goliath – Great Wall of China. Most Honduran family businesses are not willing to sell easily to Americans, and now Chinese bidders are appearing on the horizon.

Hondurans are not relying on foreigners to determine their economic future. The country has its fair share of innovation, entrepreneurship, a reasonably priced labor force, and the resources needed for the country to boom. All that is taking place despite the corruption and misguidance of the Honduran central government.

Honduras is also exceptional in Central America for being an air transportation hub, now with five international airports. Palmerola airport was added to that mix in 2021 and now not only is the airport thriving, but the nearby historical Comayagua is booming.

There are also, of course places that time forgot. Trujillo and La Lima are quaint, picturesque towns with great history that are now sitting on the sidelines as nearby municipalities boom. In both population and economy, Trujillo has been eclipsed by its valley neighbor Tocoa. La Lima’s energy has been sucked up by nearby San Pedro Sula. La Lima was given a blow of double hurricanes in 2021 that destroyed its Canal Maya and displaced tens of thousands of its residents. The so-far neglected role of rebuilding and improving the Maya Canal rests in the hands of the central government.

All in all, Honduras grows while the government is either on holiday or strike. The country grows economically not because of its governmental policies and cartel corrupting its presidents, but in spite of these things. It’s a bit like Florida in the 1980s: growing thanks to the energy of young Floridians, as well as cocaine smuggled from South America.

Gilbert Reyes, an American suspected of killing three Roatan women: Maria Antonia Cruz, Nikendra McCoy and Dione Solórzano, is attempting to fight extradition from Dominican Republic to Honduras. Reyes was arrested on March 31 in Santo Domingo on an INTERPOL warrant related to the murders that took place in José Santos Guardiola. The three women went missing on January 7 and their bodies were found two days later in French Cay, inside a vehicle known to be driven by Bermudez earlier. Bermudez had left the island for US on a flight before the bodies were found.

BELCO in Crisis

The management of Bonacca Electric Company [BELCO] has been taken over by ENEE after Guanajans were left without power for two days on May 17. BELCO was set up in early 1990s as a co-op and was bought out by Desarrollos Energéticos [DESA] several years ago. ENEE is not set up to run a company like BELCO long term and likely BELCO will be placed for an auction sale just like RECO was in 2008. RECO is likely eyeing BELCO’s 8000 customers, located on the undervalued and les developed than Roatan Guanaja Island, for purchase.

Wildfires vs. Airports

Several of Honduras’ five international airports were closed in May due to low visibility caused to wildfires. As of May 20 there were 30 wildfires reported burning through the country on an area of half a million acres. Tegucigalpa international airport was closed for five days as air quality caused the authorities to declare a state of emergency in the capital.

Sandy Bay’s Juventus Reignites Island’s Football Fever

It all began with Juventus winning the island’s 12 team departmental III division league. “It is the third time we are champions in the departmental league,” says Nelson Solis, who works with the children’s teams in Sandy Bay, with 8, 12, 14 and 18 age groups. “It’s a lot of work to make it into second division.” José Santos Guardiola has its own divisions III league with Pandy Town and Santa Helena having the top teams this year.

2024 was the second time Roatan’s Juventus made it to inter regional finals. After beating CD Sampdoria from Sonaguera, Colón, in the semifinals Juventus now found themselves fighting for the championship of the division II “Zona Norte.” On May 12, Juventus hosted the first game at home. It is the first game against El Carbonal FC of Bonito Oriental. Bonito Oriental, a town of 10,800 people was known as the primary location of Paul Theroux novel “Mosquito Coast.” El Carbonal won the departmental championship of III division in Colón.

After eliminating Sampdoria Juventus, the winner of the Northern Region, faced Cuervos FC of Santa Bárbara, a strong team and the winner for the Western Region. In 2023 Juventus reached the finals as well. They lost at home to San Juan de Santa Bárbara and then tied their remaining games in division III. A year later things were looking similar. Two of its better players were sold off and left the island to a division I team.

Islanders are in line to see better quality football.

On May 26 Juventus, led by coach Herlin Hotta, faced off with Cuervos in a home match in Corozal. The setting of the island stadium was impressive – carved out of a hill, on two of the fields four sides, the long southern and short western side, have steep sides covered with trees and bush.

The fans either have to squeeze in the concrete stands to the north side of the football field, or pull themselves close to the 16 foot high chain foot fence that surrounds the football field. The biggest fans get to the Juventus games early in order to get the best car parking spot. Hours before the match a hundred cars pull up next to the field fence on it eastern side, and spectators sit on tailgates of their trucks while watching the game.

After creating some scoring opportunities Juventus took on a 1:0 lead. In the second half Cuervos counter attacked and after a turn-round volley number 20 scored on Juventus’ goal. A few minutes later, again, Cuervos Number 20 player scored when his shot deflected Juventus defender and went above the Juventus’ goalie.

The Sandy Bay team didn’t give up though. After a corner kick the Juventus’ player sent the ball in the right side of the Cuervos’ goal. The game ended with a 2:2 tie.

Roatan had three teams that made it into division II.

The final match took place in Santa Bárbara on June 1. Two times Cuervos took the lead, and both times Juventus caught up. Juventus was a bit lucky. During the game Cuervos hit the Juventus post four times, but couldn’t convert the shots into more goals. After 90 minutes the match stood at 2:2, went into 30 minute overtime and finally into a penalty shootout. In the last minute of playtime Juventus substitutes their goalie for Jean Medina. Goalie Jean Medina is usually a key player in Juventus matches. After Juventus made five goals, Cuervos was faced with a final penalty kick. The Cuervos player shot over the bar of the net and Juventus won the match and qualified into Division II.

The Sandy Bay’s team qualification is especially impressive, before the tournament two Juventus players left Juventus for Olimpia, Honduras first division team based in Tegucigalpa. Sill the young Juventus team is filled with talented, young players that should grow in skills when II division play begins in August. “They [Juventus] have 20 good players, but they will need to bring on some guys for the second division- one forward, two middle fielders and a goalie,” said Leyland Woods, owner of Arsenal Football team and president of associations “Leyland Woods Categories A”. “They also need good, strong sponsors.” Woods has 14 years experience of managing a division II team.

Since 2003, Roatan had three teams that made it into division II. French Cay’s Arsenal team, founded in 1999, qualified in 2003 and stayed there until 2018. At its height in 2007 Arsenal came within a goal of beating Santa Rosa de Copán Deportes Savio and almost qualified to division I.

Roatan’s football pinnacle overall came in 2017 when French Cay Arsenal and Los Fuertes Dortmund owned by Ray Mayorquin competed in Honduras’ north II Division. Dortmund was sold to Tela, and Arsenal was relegated to division III.

Honduras has a well structured football league. It has 10 teams playing in division I, and 36 teams playing in Division II, also known as “La Liga Nacional de Ascenso.” That league was created in 1965 and reorganized in 1979. Below them is the III division called Liga Mayor de Honduras. That division is subdivided into departments and those are divided into region North and South. A winner of each region goes onto division two.

Because of FIFA pressure that is supposed to change in 2025, when four teams from third divisions III will advance to II division. Also, the number of teams playing in Honduras’ divisions I will increase from 10 to 12.

Currently second division is more static than Honduras’ division I, where one out of ten teams leave the league every year. In Division II, out of the 36 teams two teams descends and one ascends. This will also change in 2025, when a winner of each of Honduras’ division III conferences will ascend to division II.

Once the Julio Galindo stadium stands are finished and covered with artificial grass they should accommodate 800-1000 spectators. The stadiums in Corozal and Sandy Bay, with large enough pitches for divisions II matches, are also in line to receive upgrades courtesy of municipal funds. The Roatan Municipality could expand the Los Fuertes soccer pitch making it FIFA regulation, but that would be an expense of major engineering work on the gulley on the east side of the stadium. It is not on the agenda right now.

Competition of Bringing in Maritime Passengers to Roatan is Heating Up

The daily maritime transport of several hundred passengers, sometimes as many as two to three thousand, between Roatan and the mainland is a multimillion-dollar business. Paya Magazine estimates that the annual gross revenue from moving such passengers is well over $10 million. The customer base for the island-to-mainland ferry market is plentiful as Roatan has well over 100,000 residents, Utila around 7,000, Guanaja about 14,000, and there are typically an additional 4,000 visitors staying in the archipelago at any given time.

On October 3, 2023, Dream Ferries inaugurated its Roatan to La Ceiba passenger ferry service. “The island has grown 10x [times] over the last ten years, but the ferry service hasn’t really improved,” said Kenny McNab, founder and CEO of Dream Ferries. A young, driven Roatan entrepreneur, McNab also owns several key island businesses, including a chain of BIP (Bay Island Petroleum) petrol stations, BIP Gas distributors and Dream Ferries.

The Roatan Dream catamaran that services the Roatan to La Ceiba route is the company’s newer, larger vessel. Measuring 140 feet and weighing 186 tons, it can seat 300 passengers and has a total capacity of 520. “We see the need for better connectivity between the islands,” says Kenny McNab. “Our next goal is to connect the islands.”

Until October, Galaxy Wave practically monopolized maritime passenger transportation to and from Roatan for three decades. The only brief period of competition took place 1998-1999, when a boat named The Nautica, owned by Ervin Dixon, competed with Galaxy on the Roatan to La Ceiba route.

Galaxy launched in May 1994 when their boat Tropical undertook its initial voyage between Roatan and La Ceiba. The captain of the boat was the company’s founder, John McNab, Kenny McNab’s older cousin. Today Galaxy is run by John McNab’s two children, Jennifer and Ron. Jennifer McNab serves as the company’s general manager. Ron McNab, who is also the current mayor of Roatan Municipality, serves as the operations manager.

Customer base for the island-to-mainland ferry market is plentiful.

Galaxy has been playing things very close to the chest when it comes to their next moves. Based in Dixon Cove, the company operates two catamarans that run twice daily to La Ceiba and on weekly schedule to Guanaja: the 2006-built 160-foot Galaxy Wave, with a passenger capacity of 450, and the 150-foot Tropical Wave, capable of seating 350. It seems a logical next step for Galaxy to introduce a bigger, faster, and more efficient boat for their Roatan to La Ceiba route. “Safeway has been serving our community and clients for 30 years, innovating and evolving right along,” said Jennifer McNab. “We plan to continue to do so while providing the best service we know how.”

In mid December 2023, Galaxy made a strategic shift, evolving from a maritime passenger company to encompassing both maritime and air travel. Galaxy acquired a substantial stake in CM [Cielo Maya] Airlines, an airline that boasts a fleet of six airplanes. CM Airlines serves eight destinations within Honduras and, in partnership with TAG [Transportes Aéreos Guatemaltecos], offers international flights to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Belize.

CM Airlines, with a hub in San Pedro Sula, now considers Roatan as its secondary hub. Following this acquisition, Dream Ferries faces competition not only from Galaxy Ferries but also CM Airlines for its Roatan, La Ceiba, and Utila routes.

The Galaxy Roatan to La Ceiba ticket is priced at $35, or around Lps. 860, subject to dollar fluctuation. Dream Ferries offers a competitive edge by pricing their tickets for the same route at Lps. 800 per passenger, and Lps. 720 if purchased online. “We have to compete with the airlines. It has to be cheaper for you to take the ferry than to fly,” says Kenny McNab.

The increased competition has greatly benefited Roatan residents. The options for travel to the mainland have doubled, and now there’s even the option to transport two cars to and from Roatan on the larger Utila ferry. “We saw an opportunity to come in with newer, more efficient boats, and with a different schedule,” said Kenny McNab. “There are a lot more options [now] for locals and for tourists.”

The Dream Ferries features newer catamarans with more efficient designs. The Roatan Dream and the 104-foot, 295-passenger Utila Dream are powered by two propellers, in contrast to Galaxy’s catamarans, which are driven by four motor jets. “I have been all over the world and I have seen what they are doing and what we are not doing,” says Kenny McNab. “Step up your game or cease to exist. (…) It’s good for us and it’s good for clients.”

Roatan passengers have certainly taken notice. “It’s super clean, and there is great attention from the staff,” said Paola Dolmo from Coxen Hole, commenting on her first voyage with Dream Ferries. “They even bring umbrellas to you so you don’t get wet getting out.”

Kenny McNab has made strategic land purchases for the Dream Ferries terminal, located directly adjacent to Galaxy terminal in Dixon Cove. He plans to build a hotel for business travelers right next to the terminal. Dixon Cove is on track to becoming a central hub for passenger travel, cargo, and business accommodations in the Bay Islands. In the future, passengers might be able to walk just a few yards from a Dream Ferry to the Galaxy facility to the east.

The design of the Dream Ferries terminal stands out for its minimal use of walls or barriers, embodying a different concept of how a ferry terminal should look and feel. Similar to their setup in Utila, passengers on Roatan can now purchase a Dream Ferry ticket and proceed directly to the boat. Dream Ferries opts not to spend time scanning for weapons or drugs, resulting in cost savings for the company and time savings for passengers. “It’s an open concept design, access is more free. If you want to come up to the ferry and take a photo, you can,” said Omar Martínez, manager of operations at Dream Ferries.

Kenny McNab launched the Dream Ferries project in 2013 with his friend Richard Watler. “He saw the need for improved service from Utila to La Ceiba,” said Kenny McNab. Watler, a Utila native who had lived in New Orleans for most of his life, was also a golf buddy of Kenny’s. “It took us six months to design and 18 months to build,” said Kenny McNab. The inaugural service started on October 29, 2015, with the route from Roatan to Utila via the Utila Dream ferry beginning in early 2016. The company launched its ferry service with a brand new 104 foot Utila Dream, capable of accommodating as many as 240 passengers. “It was a struggle at first. I remember days we had one or two passengers,” Kenny McNab recalled. Watler sold his share to Kenny McNab about a year after the launch of the Utila Dream ferries. “The competition was heated when we started,” Kenny McNab remarked.

The company responsible for building the two Dream Ferries catamarans is also a partner in the business. Midship Marine, based in New Orleans, operates a yard specializing in the design and construction of lightweight aluminum watercraft up to 225 feet long. Midship Marine has a track record of notable projects, including the construction of the 118-foot Utila Aggressor II and a ferry servicing the route between Puerto Juaréz, Mexico, and the islands of Isla Mujeres and Cozumel.

There is plenty of room for growth for ferry services in the Bay Islands. “The long term mainland [goal] is car passenger [ferries],” said Kenny McNab. “Roatan has a lot better roads now than before. (…) We are already moving cars on Roatan Dream.” The Roatan Dream catamaran can carry two cars, charging Lps. 9,000 per car, with the driver traveling for free. It’s an attractive option for tourists coming with a luxury vehicle to Roatan. According to Martínez the ferry moves around three vehicles a week.

Kenny McNab is exploring using Puerto Cortés port as a base for reaching Roatan. “The car passenger ferry would have to operate out of Puerto Cortés,” he said. “It would be a five hour run, compared to an hour and a half.” While Puerto Cortés is an extra 47 miles farther from Roatan than La Ceiba, its port ties in to a brand-new road network in Honduras and offers much better port facilities.

He plans to build a hotel for business travelers right next to the terminal.

The Roatan to Puerto Cortés route would circumvent the congestion and delays of travelling to La Ceiba, and makes travel to Roatan more feasible for visitors from San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa, and even Guatemala. The La Ceiba port has faced challenges with inconsistent dredging of the port entrance, leading to issues with vessels scraping the bottom, needing to turn around, or even sinking. “If it wasn’t for that, we would have even bigger boats,” said Kenny McNab.

There are still additional passenger and car passenger ferry routes that could be developed. One such route is Roatan to La Mosquitia. With thousands of Misquito natives living on Roatan, a passenger service to the less accessible Gracias a Dios Department is in demand. Island Shipping, based in Brick Bay, is another player in maritime transport along Honduras’ north shore. It’s possible that this company could expand to passenger services on their already existing services between Roatan and Puerto Cortés, or even Puerto Lempira and Cauquira.

The “Cuero y Salado” National Park with a View of Utila

The Cuero y Salado National Park is located 10 kilometers west of La Ceiba, along the coastline facing Utila and Roatan. Designated as a protected area in 1987, the Foundation of Cuero y Salado was established in 1989. The park spans 32,700 acres and features a diverse range of ecosystems, including forests, grasslands, mangroves, beaches, and sandbars. The Cuero River winds through the park before emptying into the Caribbean Sea, and it also branches off into multiple water channels that serve as habitats for manatees.

The measures taken by the Honduran government in 2020 and 2021 to protect its citizens from the COVID-19 virus have had some unintended consequences for the park. The lockdowns led to the closure of the Cuero y Salado tourist train, which now sits abandoned behind a fence in La Unión. Previously, this simple but reliable train would depart for the park entrance at 7 a.m., 9 a.m., and 11 a.m. daily.

“La Burra” remains the only way to reach the Cuero y Salado.

Visitor numbers to the park have dwindled significantly. There is no signage directing people to the park from the main highway near La Unión. Two communities are situated near the park, and residents use motorcycles or burros to bring in supplies from the nearby town of La Union. As of mid-2023, the only way to reach the Cuero y Salado station for locals is via a narrow path running parallel to the former train tracks, which is just wide enough for a motorcycle or bicycle.

For visitors, “La Burra” remains the only way to reach the Cuero y Salado station. As primitive as railway transport can get, “La Burra” consists of a wooden platform set on two train axles, which themselves rest on wooden planks. The vehicle is propelled by a person riding a motorcycle, who pushes it along with one foot.

The burras are privately owned. For Lps. 700, a local individual propels the burra the 7-8 kilometers using a 125 Genesis motorcycle. The metal narrow-gauge train tracks are worn, and their spacing varies. The vibration of metal on metal reverberates through the passengers’ backs as they travel.

As the burra approaches a small bridge, the motorcycle rider gives it an extra push, allowing it to coast across to the other side. The century-old narrow-gauge train track winds through cow pastures and fields for several kilometers before reaching the station, which serves as the tourist departure point for the park.

At the end of the train line lies the small village of Salado Barra, where residents are descendants of workers from the Standard Fruit Company. The community features old wooden houses built on stilts. There is a school, as well as the headquarters of the Cuero y Salado Park, which serves as the departure point for boat tours into the park.

Motorboats can be hired for two or four hours, accompanied by a guide knowledgeable about the flora and fauna of the trees and forests surrounding the waters.

The park’s biggest attraction is the bashful manatees, which are also the most difficult to spot. These shy creatures are most often seen during early morning boat rides. “Last year, one manatee was found dead, likely from natural causes, as no cuts or impacts were found,” says the guide. “It took 20 men to pull it ashore. It was examined and then buried.”

The crocodiles are nearly as elusive as the manatees, but they are more numerous and can often be seen with their heads above the water’s surface, even at midday. The crocodiles lay their eggs on the sandy islands that separate the park from the sea.

Hundreds of crocodiles reside within the park’s boundaries, and their red eyes can be spotted just above the water’s surface during nighttime tours. The shy American Crocodile, which can grow up to 20 feet long, is sometimes seen basking in the sun on the sand. In 2023, the first-ever recorded attack on a human by a crocodile occurred in Cuero y Salado. A person was hunting a crocodile with a harpoon when the reptile acted in self-defense, slashing the man’s leg open. This unprecedented attack baffled many as crocodiles usually stick to a diet of fish and feed at night, avoiding humans unless provoked.

Giant white mangroves tower over the canals, reaching heights of up to 40 meters. Red mangroves are smaller and line the narrower branches of the canals. Coco lobo trees and coconut palms also manage to thrive along the water’s edge.

Large trees serve as vantage points for dozens of bird species attracted to the brackish water of Cuero y Salado. The loudest bird calls come from the omnivorous Montezuma Oropendolas, which can be heard and seen living in hanging woven nest colonies on large trees adjacent to the mangroves. These striking birds produce loud “cack” and “crrrk” calls.

Several families of Howler monkeys, consisting of 10 to 20 individuals each, spend their days foraging for fruit or simply resting. Their only natural predator is the jaguar, whose tracks have not been seen in the park for many years. White-faced monkeys can also be observed in the park.

Several families of Howler monkeys, consisting of 10 to 20 individuals each, spend their days foraging for fruit or simply resting. Their only natural predator is the jaguar, whose tracks have not been seen in the park for many years. White-faced monkeys can also be observed in the park.

Another community located in the park is Boca Cerrada, which is much more remote and situated on the banks of Thompson Lagoon on the west side of the park. Although Cuero y Salado has fallen somewhat into disrepair, the animals inhabiting the park don’t seem to mind.

Plastic Bags will Not Save Us

When the previous Roatan Municipal administration banned plastic bags and transparent plastic containers, I was not happy. Not because I dislike nature, am particularly lazy, or even poor. This municipal exercise in virtue signaling seemed pointless beyond allowing Roatan’s local government to signal that they too have joined this global psychosis.
The cost of not being provided free plastic bags by grocers is passed on to the consumer. I’ve done the calculations and every year it costs me $90 to keep up with this “no plastic bags” virtue signaling. I lose about $20 by having to buy bags at 10 Lps. a piece. When there are no bags available, I have to pay someone to pack my food items into a cardboard box and carry it to my car. Sometimes that carton breaks apart, spilling and ruining its content. The estimated cost of these lost items? $30 a year.

It costs me $90 to keep up with this “no plastic bags” virtue signaling.

We don’t only lose money in the name of carrying out this virtue signal, we lose time. I spend extra time waiting for the supermarket store packer to locate a box and tie it down with black plastic string. The entire process can extend each visit to the supermarket by an extra 1-2 minutes. These minutes add up. I go to Eldon’s every other day on average, which is about 182 times a year. Multiply that by, say, 1.5 minutes, and you have 273 minutes or 4.5 hours a year.
For having groceries packed, I have to pay a grocery clerk to carry the boxes to the car, which that was not always the case. When I got a few bags, I would carry them myself.
I miss the convenience of the always abundant, available, and strong plastic bags for my groceries. Those of us who wanted to bring their own bags were welcome to do so. I feel almost melancholic about them. They had several different sizes and featured white and orange stripes.

The “So Very Much Caring” Banks

Another virtue signaling exercise has been performed for nearly three years by Honduran Banks. Since mid- 2020, when the COVID lockdowns began, these banks begun pushing the illusion that wearing masks is essential for conducting business and that they care about public health. Banks forced everybody to participate in this psychotic masquerade and outlasted even government institutions in its enforcement.
Honduran banks have been enforcing a “no hats” rule in banks for two decades. The logic behind “no hats” in Honduran banks is somewhat sound, as hats can obscure the face and could aid in staying stealthy during a robbery. However, if you follow simple logic, requiring wearing a face mask negates the need to remove hats. Apparently, for the banks — supposedly logical economic institutions — logic has very quickly reached its limit.

From Church of Hope to Church of Fear

The virtue signaling in Catholic churches in Honduras and on the island has also reached a crescendo. During the COVID operation, the Honduran Catholic Church authorities somehow convinced their faithful that taking Eucharist in their hands and then placing it in their mouths is somehow safer, and that we are less likely to fall ill and die from the Eucharist this way.
This “virtuous” act is revolutionary. Allow me to explain. One of basic Catholic tenants of faith is the dogma of Transubstantiation. Since the Council of Trent in 1551, according to Catholic Church teachings, “the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of the whole substance of wine into the substance of the Blood of Christ” is central to the faith.
This transubstantiation takes place through Eucharistic prayer and the actions of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the treating of the consecrated host is of utmost importance for a Catholic. The consecrated host is venerated and guarded and all costs. For millennia, it could only be touched by the consecrated, purified hands of a priest and was delivered only onto the tongue.
In 2020, when Church authorities in Honduras and Roatan virtue signaled that they are concerned about those accepting the consecrated Body of Christ, local churches began enforcing that the Body of Christ be taken onto often unwashed, unsanitary hands before placing the host into one’s month. That Honduran bishops introduced this idea — that the Body of Christ could kill you — is peak satanic manipulation of the frightened masses.
The Catholic Church, which for 2,000 years reminded us about the transcendental value of faith and the importance of the afterlife, has suddenly and incredibly convinced us that, in reality, this physical life is most important. Just like that, the Church has gone from being a shepherd of souls to administrators of fear in a religion of scientism.
We are constantly pressured by media, authorities, and friends to despise classical virtues and to glorify and celebrate vices. We are taught to despise moderation, temperance, chastity, beauty, and life. We are pressured to glorify pride, gluttony, sodomy, ugliness and death. We may live in transvaluated times, but I, for one, refuse to adopt those values as my own.

We are taught to despise moderation, temperance, chastity, beauty, and life.

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