Building Our Place in the Sun: Utila : The Undiscovered Carribbean

Rental Website Posted

2008-11-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-08T12:13:00.001-07:00

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)

2008-08-26T16:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-04-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

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

2008-01-23T13:19:00.001-08:00

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

2008-01-23T13:12:00.000-08:00

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!!

2007-12-03T12:04:00.001-08:00

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.

Dock's A Building!

2007-07-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

I owe anyone routinely checking this blog an apology. I can hardly believe that it has been almost eight months since I last updated. It isn’t that things haven’t been happening, its just that I’ve been too busy to post the fruits of our labor. Regrettably, it takes money to make it all happen and I’ve been busily trying to earn it.

Not that you care why, I’ve not been updating, but rather you want to know the status. So, here’s the news-

Last summer we designed our ideal dock. Some of the features of the dock include the following:

CONSTRUCTION:

No dock is cheap on Utila, but I am learning that whether you get a poorly built dock depends on finding the right people to do the work, and, almost as important, get the right people to oversee the design and construction. To that end, I worked with the good folks at Utila Land Co. on the design and, my now good friend, Carlos Brooks on the construction. ULC and Carlos have worked together often and Carlos’ talents are much in demand. In fact, Carlos has been shuttling between Big Rock and Roatan where he is working on completing one of the new cruise ship docks being built there. My original thought was to design an “U” shaped dock with the boat house in the middle. After much consideration and discussion, we altered the design to a square design with the boathouse on the western side of the dock. This permits two things: (1) more storage than the original design and (2) a much more stable and rugged design.

As you can see below, the old dock decking was completely removed, while the base remained intact. It simply made no sense to expend the resources and labor to remove the old dock completely when the old dock base would add stability to the new dock, which is considerably higher than the old dock. Carlos and crew poured a new concrete foundation out to the end of the walkway. The concrete was poured around new ten inch PVC posts. The PVC posts were also filed with concrete and reinforced with multiple 1 inch rebar. As you can tell, we are building this one to last.

Although all of the wood being used for this project has been marine treated, I was particularly impressed with the 2 by 16 joists Carlos has used to underpin the dock as well as for horizontal cross bracing. I truly believe that over engineering is the key here. We want this dock to be able to take a terrible pounding, all the while, hoping that, because we are generally south of the hurricane belt, we won’t have to test that theory. Although each of the PVC posts underpinning the main deck of the dock are filled with concrete and 1 inch rebar, the foundation is not solid concrete. That would just not be a practical (nor environmentally responsible) method of construction. We have just recently shipped stainless steel wire south so that the dock piling can be vertically cross braced via 4000 lb test wire and turnbuckle. As I said, we are building this one to last.

This is the new dock walkway. Compare to the old one below.

Old dock walkway leading to caretaker's cabin.

Working on the new foundation. Note the old dock underneath the new one.

The main dock area begins to take shape. Most of this is just temporary framing as you will see in the following pictures.

Note the big 2x16s running the perimeter.

A view from beneath the dock frame.

Looking down in the the PVC pilings. Filled with concrete, reinforced with rebar and bolted with stainless steel.

Main decking complete, storage space beginning to take shape, and my own personal "stairway to heaven."

View of the floor of the recreational area on the 2nd floor.

The view looking back from the 2nd floor.

BOAT LIFT:

In this part of the world, travel by water is almost as important as travel by car, if not moreso. This is particularly true when where you need to go is accessible only by the water. To travel by boat, you have to have someplace to “park” it. Big Rock is protected, to some extent, by the fringing reef. However, we are not in a protected cove or harbor and on many days, the water is simply too rough to just tie the boat up. So, the solution to this problem of needing a boat, but yet, being unable to tie it up on someday, turns out to be simple: Boat lift. We included this in the design of the dock. Truth of the matter is, if you are planning a dock on any water where you will leave the boat in place (as opposed to trailering it), a boat lift only makes sense. The boat will be subject to less wear and tear, your maintenance costs will be lower and your boat is more secure.

STORAGE: It is simply impossible to have enough secure, protected storage and enough water storage. We designed the dock to encompass both by incorporating a second level. The second level is described below, but the advantage of this added deckspace is the storage space underneath. You will note in the above pictures the two doors leading into that storage area. One section will house a “small” thousand gallon cistern. This cistern will be fed by runoff from the boat house roof which will be a coated aluminum (the main roof will be thatched). This water at the dock will permit a fish cleaning station with running water, wetsuit and BCD/Regulator wash tanks and an outdoor shower, without depleting the main reservoir on shore. The storage area, which will be made secure by an number of methods, will serve as a general storage area for items that we prefer not to haul back and forth to the beach/cabins. All in all, an ideal setup.

RECREATION SPACE:

This is my favorite part of the dock (well, with perhaps the exception of the dive platform). As those of you who have spent time in the Caribbean know, the key to staying cool is to find the breeze. While the breeze blows on Utila most days, when it doesn’t you need to look for it. This recreational space will be covered and screened The roof will be thatched by those from the mainland with old world skills. I am told that among the roofs that survived Hurricane Mitch, it was those that were thatched that did the best. While I hope not to test this theory, I also like the true tropical fee that thatch delivers. The wooden posts you see that form the foundation of the roof are special indeed. These are posts harvested by farm with which ULC has a relationship. These are marine treated Honduran hardwood ten inch posts. These posts are a primary reason for the delay in finishing this project, but we decided it was worth the month’s wait for the marine treated posts. These posts should last far longer than we own the property.

The recreation area is elevated and well out over the water (more than 100 feet). This will allow a social congregating area that is off the beach and up into the breeze. The water is surprisingly deep here (approaching 10 feet in some areas) so docking the boat should present few, if any, issues. When we make the trip in August, we’ll bring back pictures of the final set up and post them, but I hope you can envision relaxing in the hammock, a frosty beverage from the cooler, and the prevailing easterlies cooling breeze.

FUNCTIONALITY:

Although designed to be a place of recreation, we have kept in mid that there may be many many uses for this property as time progresses. As a result, we have designed in a number of features that are to be added as construction wraps up. They are:

Fish cleaning station w/running water
Rinse tanks for dive gear
Dive platform, which will permit a diver to giant stride into the water from the end of the dock (recall that the reef is a short (20 yard) swim away from the end of the dock
Fresh water shower

I hope you enjoy the updated pictures. I expect the dock to be complete in the next two weeks and will post final picture then. The next project is renovating and updating the cabin in the below picture. The plans are coming together and I will post again soon with drawing and thoughts on this next project.

Let There Be Light

2006-10-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

Wow-almost two full months since my last post. Sometimes life gets in the way. That said, lots of things have happened and lots more are happening in the coming months....

Lets get right to it.

And then there was light. Hopefully this you can see from this picture that the lights are actually on. I know that to you and I, flipping a light switch is a little thing, but the truth of the matter is that on an island 18 miles off the coast of Honduras, several miles from the nearest civilization, getting power turned on is an exercise in ingenuity and patience. Above, you will see Andy demonstrating his handiwork. Andy, a native of Utila, is the prime example of the spirit and kindness of Utila. He is honest, hardworking, and eager to learn. Hard to find a better combination than that. Thanks for getting the lights on Andy!!

Now lights are nice, but water is the key to life right? Well with the installation of the above pumping system, we have running water. That's right, now all things are possible. Showers, toilets, cooking, etc. The pumping system is installed in the new pump house which is attached to the cistern.

Above is the pump house. You will note that this is literally built right onto the cistern.

So, this is just a teaser of what is to come. I expect to post pictures of dock reconstruction/expansion in the coming days. And let me tell you, this will not be your ordinary dock. No indeed, it will be something special.

As a little teaser, we have named a couple of the favorite "spots" on the soon to be constructed docks:

My mother's name is June. An amazing woman really. At the age of 60, she recently was certified to dive. There will be a "giant stride" step from the dock and you can swim out to a wall that drops to about 300 feet filled with fish and beautiful reef. Now our dive site has a name... "June's Jump"

My father's nickname is Crow. Crow is one of the most amazing people I know. A true Renaissance man who knows something about everything...and isn't afraid to let you know it. He has, however, been known to enjoy a martini or two. As such, we expect to soon christen the "Crow's Nest"

That's all for now, but as we come to the end of the year, I hope to have lots more to show you in the coming days and months. Stay tuned and, as always, feel free to pose a question or thought.

Utopia Dive Village

2006-08-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

Its been a crazy summer on the "real world" front, but things in paradise continue to move forward. Here are some pictures that detail our progress as well as some of our neighbors'. Enjoy and post with questions.

When we last saw the Tonia C. she was dropping off some of the posting materials for our neighbors to the west. For those of you who don't know, a small boutique dive resort is going up just down from our beach. The owners of this dream are a some folks also from Texas. You can learn all about them and their project at www.utopiadivevillage.com Note that the Tonia C.'s load is wood, not posts this time around.

Lots of wood in the water.

Here is where I look forward to having an number of serious geopolitical discussions with Kyle, Angelika, Debbie, Phillip and crew (and perhaps a drink too). This is the beginning of the Champa Bar. The progress that they are all making is fantastic!

The main floor of the hotel building begins to take place. Its going to be a heck of a view.

Almost the whole Utopia crew! See you guys in December!

As to the Big Rock, the recent infrastructure project is complete. We are now in the dock re-design phase which will progress in the coming weeks.

Ain't No Stopping Us Now

2006-06-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

The progress of installing additional infrastructure continues. I've attached some additional pictures so you can get a better feel.

Who says you can't get things done by hand anymore?

Looks like the electrical trench is coming along nicely. We are putting the electrical underground to limit any storm damage that we might get. If we lose the power pole, at least we shouldn't lose the electrical run.

This is the water/electrical trench to the front of the property. Notice the structures in the background.

This is a better view of one of the cisterns we have on the property. This is the largest. We are currently having it drained, cleaned and capped. In addition, a pump house is being installed. Once that is done and connected to the piping, voila, running water.

Water Water Everywhere and Soon a Drop to Drink!

2006-05-18T05:52:00.000-07:00

Another month, another post. Seems traffic to this blog is slow at best but we are working to increase the flow. Feel free to link to us if you like (heck just pass the name along if you like what you see). Now on to major new developments!

With the help of Kurt Halverson and Tony Pacatte of the Utila Land Company( http://www.utilalandco.com ) we are making great strides in our quest to prepare the property for use.

You will recall that we were successful in erecting a power pole on the property (see below). Well there aren't any outlets on the tower, so now its time to begin running line. Also, while we have lots of water storage via two cisterns and a well on the property, there was no method of pumping and pressurizing the water. Finally, we will be plumbing and wiring the future caretaker's cottage so that Mario, his bride and lovely little girl have a place of comfort to spend their free time.

Below are pictures and comments showing the most recent progress:

The beginning of many deliveries to our dock. This is PVC pipe for water delivery and for electric conduit.

Apparently Kurt and crew decided that unloading some of the materials would be easier right on the beach. Kurt is in the white hat (it keeps his hair from getting messed up). This is the kind of hands on service you can expect from these guys.

Here we see the beginnings of the septic tank. This is on the far western rear part of the property and is sloped to drain into the rear of the property. All of this work is done by hand. We sure appreciate these guys' hard work.

See the trench being dug? If you notice, it runs right back to the power pole. This is where the electrical wire will run. Underground is better for any number of reasons, mainly to avoid branches falling and disrupting power. In the foreground, you can see the well that is already on the property. Its wet and has water that is usable for irrigation and other non potable uses.

One final shot shows the amount of material that has been transported out to the property. While we've accomplished alot, there is lots more to do. Thanks again to Kurt and Tony with an extra special nod to Andy who is making it all happen on site.

Diving and Lots of other Reasons to Visit Utila

2006-04-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

Lots of things going on these days. Hopefully we'll have some pictures of the infrastructure going in soon. However, I want to give you a better idea (other than the obvious beauty) of why we chose Utila to buy our little piece of paradise. We are divers. When we think vacation, we think diving. I also grew up on the coast and around boats. A day on the water, with as much spent under it is the best way I can think of to live life.

The diving on Utila is amazing. Its known for its whale sharks (Mr. Big) and they are the most amazing creatures. But it should also be known for its massive walls (Duppy Waters is a dive site on the north side that signals the beginning of the Cayman trench. The wall drops some 6000 feet into the abyss, but it is one amazing dive) and its macro sea-life (sea horses, pipe fish) and beautiful coral.

The town is a great spot too. Small, friendly and where everyone (before long) knows your name.

Below are some photos of the things I like best about the island along with a caption or two:

The above picture was taken on one of my first trips to this paradise. I took it. We were on the dive boat and headed to the north side (where the diving is better, but the weather is iffy) and a pod of dolphins charged out of rock harbor to say hello. Our boat driver put us right in front of them and let us slip into the water. They hung out for about 15 minutes before they had enough of us. Amazing creatures.

Some divers suggest that one of the problems in the Bay islands is that they have been overfished. I'd beg to differ. Its true that there are fewer fish on the south side of the island (kinda--see the next picture) but I believe this is due to the fact that the entire population (a whopping 6,000 people) live on the south side and rely on fish as a primary part of their diet. The above picture was taken on the north side. Plenty of fish here.

These are horse eyed jacks. Very tasty if you have a rod, very photogenic if you are underwater. I took this picture just off the south shore at a dive site called Black Hills. Its a seamount, but it goes to show you that there are lots of fish, big fish, to be found.

Not shy are they?

As I said earlier, the coral formations are amazing. My wife swims by one of the larger barrel's I've seen.

Lets go topside. Every summer, Utila celebrates Carnival. Its unlike any Carnival parade I've ever been to. Here are a few photos to give you an idea.

Here are some photos of the Carnival Parade. Enjoy.

The Utilian are not afraid to enjoy (express?) themselves. Note the church in the background.

I'm not sure the little man is looking at the same picture as above, but something sure has his attention.

Perhaps he was checking her out.

In any event, Utila is a fun spot. Hope you enjoy.

Updates, Power and Docks, Oh My

2006-02-09T14:16:00.000-08:00

Its been a bit since the last post, but there's been lots going on in front of and behind the scenes.

Here are some pictures along with captions you might find interesting:

Power! Really, its installed, now we just need something to power.

All good things come with something of a price. Some friends of ours needed to use our dock because of high winds. Looks like the captain might have been a bit aggressive with his landing. No worries Deb, we'll figure it out.

These are two of the structures on the rear of the property. We expect to ultimately transform these into the caretaker's cottage. Note the small cistern attached to the smaller building. Ideally we'll turn the small building into the bathhouse and the larger into an air-conditioned cottage with all the comforts of home.

One of my best friends, Josh, has a place on the beach already reserved. If we can find another palm tree close by, I think this might be renamed "Josh's Spot". The water here is a mystery. Note how truly calm it is on this particular morning...

I am working on getting a picture of Mario our caretaker, but here's a picture of Kurt's wife's best friend from Germany, the little tyke is Haydn and our property manager's rottie. One things for sure, all three of them are sweet little pushovers...

More pictures soon I hope. More construction this fall for sure. If anyone knows a really great customs broker in Honduras, I'd love to get the reference.

Enjoy and be liberal with the questions.

Some additional pictures of what we have already on the property

2006-01-25T12:50:00.000-08:00

These are some additional pictures with the appropriate captioning.

This is the caretaker's cabin. The insides of this cabin are not suitable for rehab. We will likely tear this building completely down to the foundation.

This is an interior shot of the caretaker cabin. You can see why its not in a position to be rehabbed.

This is a shot of the roof of the caretakers cottage. Again, its suitable for shelter, but not for rehabbing.

This is a picture of a cabin built by the previous owners. This cabin is directly behind the caretaker's cabin. This cabin is in much better shape than the caretaker's cabin, but at this point we have not decided exactly what wer are going to do with it. We may well pull this cabin down to its foundation and incorporate the foundation of this cabin and the foundation of the caretaker's cabin into a completely new structure.

Another view of the cabin behind the caretaker's cabin. You can actually see the right rear corner of the caretakers cabin on the left side of this picture. We are a bit confused by the layout of this cabin behind the caretakers cabin, but having taken measurements of all of the foundations, we believe that we can incorporate the piers into a new single place.

This is the interior of the small cabin behind the caretaker's cottage. These "bedrooms" are about 10x10 and are separate by a small bathroom. We can only guess that these were intended to be "staff quarters". While the structure is probably serviceable, the location is where we would like to build our first place and so it will in all likelihood come down to the foundation.

So, what are we thinking about putting up in place of these structures? We've not decided as yet. BUT... we do have some ideas. I was surfing the net and came across this idea:

Instead if the stairs of the deck from the kitchen going to the ground, they would simply be incorporated into the dock.

Its all still in the planning stages at this point, but we are making progress. Let us hear your thoughts.

Welcome

2006-01-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

We've just returned from Honduras, a wonderful country whose vast tourism potential is just now being discovered. This wasn't our first trip. My wife and I are avid divers, we'd rather do that on vacation that just about anything else. On our last trip to Honduras we came across this stunning windswept piece of beach that just happens to be for sale. After a six month negotiation, we successfully completed the purchase of the parcel on January 10, 2006. What a way to start the new year.

I've always been fascinated with those who are able to plan the logistics of creating a home in the tropics that, in many ways, is more comfortable than those we create at home (for us that's here in the great city of Dallas, Texas). This blog will follow our progress as we transform this very rustic piece of land into something that we hope our family will enjoy for many years to come (or that someone comes along and makes us an offer we can't refuse).

A brief property description: the beach frontage is 640 feet of white coral sand interspersed with "ironshore". Ironshore is a sharp rocky outcropping that makes up the base of Utila. Over time it is exposed by wind, rain and tidal surges. The total acreage is exactly 3.0. The property currently has several small structures that, while needing work, appear to be relatively sound and will hopefully provide a base as we begin to develop our ideas. The property already has two large cisterns constructed (water in this part of the world comes from the sky) and town power is available and in the process of being installed. The property also has a very solid dock already in place which is a valuable addition given that the property is currently only accessible by boat (the new mayor has made promises of a road within 2 years).

To help you better visualize the property, pictures are posted below. I look forward to comments, thoughts and suggestions as we begin this process. Thanks for reading.