Rental Website Posted

Hi All-

Short posting here. Just wanted to let you know that Big Rock Cabana is now available for rent. I have created a new website and you can find it here: Cabana Rental

Please feel free to send me any comments or questions on the new site.

Updated dock pictures

Here are a few more updated dock pictures. No huge changes, but we are getting very close to completion of this project.


This is the finalize catwalk area of the dock that will allow easier loading and unloading of the boat. It has become apparent that overnight docking at the dock is not feasible. When the sea gets up, which it can do with little warning, we get 2-5 foot waves on the beach. Therefore, the dock is for loading and unloading only. We are installing a mooring buoy in front of the dock where the boat will stay while we are on the property.



Railing on the 2nd story.


Here you can see that the roof on the western side of the dock has been added. This will serve as shade for our workspace (rinse tanks, sink, fish cleaning station, etc.). It will also serve as the catchment for the storage of water on the dock which will be in cisterns in the bodega. The cisterns will service the washdown hose, freshwater shower after a good swim and for the rinse tanks/fish cleaning station. I've learned you can never have too much water.


The fish cleaning station and sink in progress


Lastly, the dive platform. Aluminum ladder is on its way. With a 7 rung ladder we should be able to exit as well as enter from the platform. Whoo hoo!

Finally, A Place of Our Own (and yes, its in the sun)

It has been a long time coming, almost as long as my inexcusable lengths between posts about the property, but we finally have a place of our own.

The cabana is finished. 900 air conditioned square feet of Caribbean goodness. In addition to the air-conditioned space, you will find a screened in porch of approximately 300 square feet and over 1000 square feet of sun deck. They say that pictures are worth a thousand words, so without further delay, here are some pictures:



Here is our kitchen. This is the view from the outside. We realized that the kitchen was going to be incredibly small and not very user friendly unless we figured out a way to open it to the outside. So, here is our solution. Note the “swinging” door that opens to the outside. The pass through bar allows for an intimate dining spot for two.


This is the kitchen from inside. Again we were looking to find the most usable space while making the space practical. Note that we are still missing the cabinet doors. They should be here in a week or so.


Looking back from the sun deck to the screened in porch.



Bathroom with all the amenities.




Bedroom with the standard Caribbean mosquito netting

And the dock is coming along too (finally). Here are some shots:

The second story if finally added, complete with railing, and a roof.



You can see the Champa has been added with full thatch and a catwalk that runs around the rear of the dock allowing for better access to and from boats pulling in. The dock will have electricity and running water as well.



In this shot, you can see the diving platform soon to be christened “June’s Jump.” And the “Crow’s Nest” (the 2nd story) is already well completed.

There is still a bit of work to do on the dock, including finishing the plumbing and electrical work and finishing the diving platform. But we now have a very usable and enjoyable space.

We are now entertaining inquiries from those interested in renting the property for vacations. This is not your normal rental and it is certainly not for everyone. If you are interested in renting the property, please drop me a note and we can discuss it further.

I will be drafting some rental information over the next few weeks and will post a link to that information when it is completed.

Video Trip Report-Galapagos

Well, 7 months after the trip, I have finally edited the video. It was too large to upload in one file to youtube, so its been broken down. Enjoy...

Updates on the property coming soon.

Movin on Up!

Its not exactly a deluxe apartment in the sky, but it is coming together nicely. The major work is done and now it is just a process of finishing out the cabana and it will be ready for occupancy. I am posting a few more pictures so you can see some of the detail that is being put on the cabana. We hope to have it available for rent in a couple of months. Details, costs and packages are still being worked out, but if you have an interest in being one of our first guinea pigs, drop me a line and we can figure it out.

So here are the latest pictures:

Here you can see the foundation skirt that has been trimmed with coral giving the cabana a much more finished look.

This shows the kitchen viewd from the screened in porch. The kitchen is open to the porch through a "pass through". This should work to cool the kitchen as well as allowing the cook to converse with those relaxing on the patio. Looking forward to cooking up some tasty meals.

The bathroom takes shape. Its small, but modern!

And one last picture. My favorite site. Yes, these are dive boats from town tied up to mooring buoys right off the beach. This is how close the diving is from the beach.

And Now a Commercial Break....for a Report from the Galapgos

Disclaimer: This post is not about Utila, Honduras or any developments on the property. You can click on all pictures for better viewing. Have a speedy connection as they are large.

My wife and I returned from the Galapagos a couple of weeks ago. If you haven't been to the this amazing location, go. I've been alot of places, but never seen the wildlife I saw here. We spent a week on the Aggressor II and dove some of the most remote islands on the Planet, Wolf and Darwin Islands. If there is a better dive experience than this one, I will have to see it to believe it. Truly amazing.

I will start with the Boat. This was our first trip aboard a liveaboard and it surpassed every expectation. The Aggressor II and its twin, the Aggressor I are 105 foot luxury yachts purpose designed to cater to divers. In addition to the diving, we were treated to 3 fantastic meals daily, including a cooked to order breakfast, lunches and dinners included beef tenderloin, bluefin tuna, snapper, and other fresh fish, wonderful vegetables, and deserts to blow your mind. The Tres Leche' were a particularly big hit. After diving, you could expect hot chocolate, warm towels and freshly baked cinnamon rolls. Truly decadent. The boat and the staff did everything they could to make our experience a memorable one and it was.

Our home for the week....

The Aggressor I with the Aggressor II in the background

Winter, our steward, and Lenin, our divemaster pop the cork for the "Welcome Aboard Cocktail." It was five star service all week.

Some of the other staff enjoying the conversation. They were a great group, always quick with a smile and very knowledgeable.

As mentioned above, the wildlife was spectacular. Even more amazing was the absolute lack of fear exhibited by any of the land animals. Most have no natural predators on land and therefore completely ignore your presence, allowing humans to approach them very closely.

Blue Footed Booby in the midst of a mating ritual

Blue Footed Booby with young.

Sea Lion exiting the water....

Sea Lion pup sleeping.

Me and a new friend.

Marine Iguana. They actually swim and eat algae from underwater rocks.

A Land Iguana

Enough of the land creatures you say? What about the diving you want to know? Oh there was diving, diving indeed. Diving to exceed my wildest expectations. Diving that may well have ruined me on diving anywhere else. I'll just post the pictures as no description I can give them does the diving justice. All picture below were taken by me or my wife.

This is just a smattering of pictures. We took more than 19 gigs of pictures and 40 gigs of video. I am working on a video and will post a link to it when it is finished. Hope you enjoyed the photos, I sure enjoyed taking them!

Cabana Update

Well the cabana continues to make great strides towards completion. We are hopeful it will be completed in February. Here are some pictures of the progress.

What a view!!

Short but sweet. More pictures soon.

An Actual Place in the Sun!!

Seems like it really is six months between each entry here. It really isn’t because things aren’t happening, its because I’ve been all over the country for work this year. That cuts down on time (and motivation) to write. Nevertheless for all of you intrepid readers, things are indeed happening at Big Rock.

The dock is not quite finished, but will be soon. While the dock is being finished, the Cabana renovations are in full swing. Here are some pictures that give you an idea of what is being done.

When all is complete we’ll have a big new deck, screened in porch, living room, bedroom, small kitchen and bath.

During the course of the last six months, we’ve also arranged for access to a boat seen below, which will be available for diving. The "Down Time" is a quick way to get around!

Once the cabin is completed and fully furnished, we are going to be putting together a rental package that will include a private divemaster for each day you are on the island as well as a boat captain. So, if you, or anyone you know, has an interest in renting the place feel free to shoot me an email and I’ll keep you informed.

Thanks for continuing to read along and don’t hesitate to ask questions.