I'm back in the US and don't have a tentative date for heading back out to Guanaja. Below should fill you in on why.
The main reason for this page is to show the construction of the hillside cabana I designed and built at The End of the World Resort. The resort had a full service bar and kitchen, which is why you'll notice I have no kitchen in the design. You may notice it isn't like most houses in the states. They build them cheap and simple there in case of natural disasters as well as rowdy tourists! With no building codes to consider either, it makes the building process a lot less painful.
As for the layout of the island, Guanaja doesn't have roads so everything is doe by boat. That makes things a bit more difficult since we're reliant on weather and at times we get bit by it, but it makes it all the more interesting!
Anyway, the main reason for building the cabana was to make a little money renting it out but with the bad economy now in the US and the political situation in Honduras, the tourist industry in the Bay Islands and Honduras has tanked. That means I wouldn't have made any money to speak of anyway. Plus Brian seems to not have the best reputation lately so even if things beyond our control hadn't killed the tourism industry in Honduras, he probably wouldn't have gotten much business anyway. I think he's missing the fact that with the age of the internet, you really have to treat your customers well or it's gonna get posted on Trip Advisor for everyone to see!
So now I'm basically considering this cabana a painful but also a valuable learning experience. I broke my #1 rule and did business with friends and that was my mistake but I did learn about building on an Island and that may come in handy again soon!
05/04/08 - It took me a while to decide if I wanted to post these details but gotta vent... Brian and I hadn't been on the best of terms since I had the boat accident last fall. When I was down in LaCeiba in January, he has the balls to call me and tell me that if I didn't come out and finish the cabana up by the 18th of January, he had a buyer and was going to sell it. I don't respond well when people threaten me so after that conversation, I decided to stop any further expenditures on the money pit until he maybe comes to his senses. I then came to realize if he's gonna threaten that, I'm probably never going to see a cent off my substantial investment. I've also spent quite a bit of time out there helping him and never made a cent so after giving it lots of thought and not hearing anything from him since January, it's not looking promising for me recouping anything from this project either. I don't know when there will be any more news on this project but if I get any, I'll post here.
01/11/08 - Due to several factors, I haven't made it out to finish the cabana yet but will eventually get there! Keep an eye out here for updates.
01/01/08 - I arrived in Honduras on the 29th and stayed the first night in a resort who's name I won't mention but let's just say it was pretty bad. I'm back to the ‘ol reliable Grand Hotel Paris in LaCeiba now. Since things move even more slowly than normal during holidays, I figure it will be hard to get a flight so I'll probably be here at least a couple more days. I will update this page when I get out to Guanaja and start the finishing touches on the Cabana. Once I get something together, I'll also be sending out a link to another page for my continuing (mis)adventures here as well.
12/19/07 - Today I purchased a ticket and will be back in Honduras on the 29th of December. I'll be on the Mainland until after New Years then back to Guanaja around the 2nd. My ticket is pretty much an open ended deal with no exact limit on how long I'm going to be in Honduras besides funds of course!
I'll be bringing with me enough wire and a few misc items to pretty much complete the cabana with the exception of furnishings which will be built on site. I hope to have the wire ran fast and power to the place but expect things to move a bit slower this trip since I'll be staying on the South side of the island and transportation can sometimes be tough to get worked out. As work progresses, I'll post the progress and pictures as always!
12/7/07 - My leg is getting better now and after a visit to the Cleveland Clinic yesterday with X-Rays and an MRI (thank God for health insurance!), it looks like my leg will be ok and I'm cleared to head back to the Island when ever I can get out of here. The only thing that sucks is I have to wear a neoprene band around my thigh basically 24 hours a day and man that's uncomfortable!
I'm still shooting for returning to Honduras around the 20th so will update once plans are firm.
11/15/07 - After a bit of an ordeal arguing with Continental, I had them put me on an earlier flight that got me home the same day so back in Ohio now. It's really cold and crappy so I'm not exactly thrilled to be here but good to see the family and friends again!
I have lots to do and about a month to get it done so I can get back to Honduras again. I'm shooting for mid December but we'll see how it goes. I also plan on getting an apartment when back in Guanaja but not sure where yet on the island. I also need my own boat there and have to figure that one out as well. I'll also be helping Brian run the resort occasionally when he's swamped as well. Much to do now and will update the page occasionally with progress on getting out of here and back into the salt and sun!
11/12/07 - The weather as well as my leg aren't that great but I got out of Guanaja this evening and now am in La Ceiba. The international flights I need to get back home are pretty full but I'm hoping to get out of here on Wednesday so will hopefully be back to full speed on Thursday and really busy catching up on business that I'm way behind on!
11/09/07 - The weather looks like it's finally clearing up! Now for the bad news... I managed to injure myself in the skiff Wednesday night and did a number on my right leg. Since it's extremely rough here we run it up so it doesn't get sunk. What you do is to press a small lever and that allows the motor to kick up once you hit shore at full throttle. I did that but when I went to run ashore, I had seaweed around the engine causing me to cavitate and couldn't get up speed. I decided to turn around and clear it so I put the boat in neutral and the weed fell off. What I didn't know was when you put the Yamaha 15 in neutral, the lock lever resets! So I go blasting ashore and the motor doesn't kick up because it's locked down. Instead the boat comes to a very quick halt and I fly forward under the middle seat, with my right leg actually breaking the fiberglass seat that's about 1/8" thick. Don't worry... that's the last time I'm running that boat ashore!!!
11/05/07 - Since I can't tell from any weather sources when this wind and rain mess will be done here, this morning I called Continental and they cancelled my return flight. Once this persistent weather system passes and I decide on a day when it looks like there's going to be good weather here, I have to call again and they'll reissue my ticket (for another $100 of course). As soon as I have a return date, I'll post here.
As for the cabana project, I finished up pretty much everything I could do yesterday. I painted the closet wall and varnished the doors and some other woodwork then closed off the house until the next trip down.
11/04/07 Weather Update... As I mentioned previously, the weather is REALLY bad today and now looks like there's no hope of getting any better in the near future. Part of our dock actually washed away earlier this afternoon!
Brian spent all afternoon trying to contact the airlines to see if they are running then found that mainland Honduras is having big flooding problems (bridges out, power down) so that may be why no one is answering at ANY of the local airlines. As I said previously, there's only one flight (Atlantic Airlines) that gets me to the international airport in San Pedro so if that one is cancelled or delayed, I'm stuck here or on the mainland in LaCeiba. Since we can't even confirm if the flight is coming tomorrow and it's about an 8 mile boat ride from hell in these seas to the airport, I'm planning on rescheduling my flight tonight via internet and will change to Wednesday or Friday (only early flights from here are Mon, Wed, Fri). Since it gets expensive at $100 a crack to change my flight I want to make sure I don't have to do it again and I'm not really sure it's going to be much better Wednesday so have to make a decision tonight about the exact date of my return. Once changed I'll update this page again.
11/04/07 - After a trip to Banaca Friday to buy wire, I've decided to bring it from the ‘states instead. They wanted over $400 for 300 feet of wire and that was a bit too much for my budget at this time! When I return in December, I'm also going to bring a couple other small items to finish the place as well.
11/02/07 - Today I finished painting the main room. Weather has been really bad but has cleared up for the moment so I'm headed to the Key this afternoon to pick up the wire I'll need to connect the house to the rest of the resort. Hopefully I'll be able to start running that today (weather permitting).
What still needs done...
10/31/07 - I was scheduled to leave this morning for home but due to some problems with the boat (our only means of transportation), I had to reschedule my flight out. The flight I need from here to San Pedro Sula only runs Mon Wed and Fri and since it costs me $100 to change, I decided to stay until Monday so I can get a little more done on the house.
Today I finished painting the bath and we got about ¾ of the main room painted with a first coat so it's looking better & brighter now. Tomorrow I hope to finish the paint in the main room and maybe do some varnish and wiring work (main line to house) as well.
10/28/07 - Although the weather has been really bad here for the last several days, today we managed to get most of the bathroom walls painted. Tuesday I'm hoping to also get the main room painted as well as connecting the septic to the rest of the resort.
My flight out of Guanaja is scheduled for Wed (31st) at 6am but we'll have to see since as I said previously, getting out of here is tricky this time of year since weather cancels lots of flights in Honduras, especially on the mainland.
10/25/07 - Not much done since the last post (Amy has a very humorous opinion on why) but I hope to get some more work done tomorrow. Brian has a valve I need to finish connecting the septic so that's on the list. More paint if all goes well too. Weather has been really rough with no boat in the water for the last couple days but looks like it might calm down tomorrow.
10/22/07 - Since I'm not done with all the projects yet, Saturday I changed my flight and extended my stay so now will be coming home on the 31st.
Yesterday the girls & I finished painting the ceiling and I also built a cabinet door. This week I hope to get another coat of paint on the ceiling and stain the main and cabinet doors so I can varnish. I'm hoping to also get the walls whitewashed and a coat of varnish on the floor as well before I leave.
10/20/07 - I dropped Christina (the magazine photographer) at the airport yesterday morning and she's off now to Roatan then Costa Rica. We went all the way around Guanaja and she took some great shots. I took my camera along as well and some are below. Also included is a pic of a snake (boa?) that the girls shook out of a tree this morning!
As for progress on the cabana, I'm hoping to get some paint applied tonight or tomorrow but have had to deal with some plumbing issues (my toilet doesn't work) so don't know for sure when more work will be done. It's not all fun and games here! Below are also a couple pics with the storm shutters removed and door/closet finished.
10/16/07 - Today a surprise guest arrived so that threw things into some chaos here! She's from Spain and shooting pictures of the islands resorts for Islands Magazine (Spain circulation) and possibly the Madrid Newspaper as well. I'll be running her around for a couple days so that should be rough!
Anyway, yesterday evening we cleaned up the construction debris and I snapped a shot of the door (see below). I'll get more pics as well next time I'm up there. As for future work, I bought paint today for the interior but can't say when it will get applied since we're dealing with our photographer guest for the next couple days.
10/15/07 - Sorry for the delay but I had 4 tourists here for the weekend and was kept busy with that. Last Friday the workers built and installed a main door and I'll add pictures this evening or tomorrow. I'll also be cleaning up the construction mess today and the girls will be painting for a couple days. That should make it almost habitable. The only projects left are connecting power and the septic and those are jobs I need Brian here for. He's due back in around the 18th.
10/11/07 - Today they finished the railings as well as built the bracing for the hurricane shutters and also built a closet. Tomorrow will be the last day I have them here and they plan on building, framing in and installing a main door which will take some time since the whole thing will be made out of scraps lying around. Should be pretty cool once finished though!
10/10/07 - More work done today on the railings and pics are below. They should be finished with those tomorrow and start on the inside of the house.
10/09/07 - Now we're in business! The weather has finally turned for the better and the guys arrived this morning at about 7:30am to get started. Once we went up, we found we had no nails so they started cutting wood while I ran to the Key for a sh*tload of them! They got quite a bit done today on the railings and pics are below.
10/08/07 - As I pretty much figured, Marcello didn't make it here today to start work. We probably have 3' waves breaking (that's pretty good for inside the reef) so hopefully the weather will calm down and clear up soon. Keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow!
10/07/07 - Not much going on today due to bad weather and it looks like more is on the way as well. The woodworking guy is supposed to show up tomorrow to get started on finishing up some of the loose ends on the place but we'll see if that actually happens since everything is done by boat here and it's pretty rough!
10/06/07 - After an inspection of what's been done in the year I've been away, Brian has had several important things built. The hurricane panel system has been built and installed and just needs a little work to complete it so it's functional and easy to get on/off. The septic tank has been completed and connected to the house but still needs connected to the rest of the resorts system. The ceiling has also been painted although not all of it so that will need completed.
What I hope to get done this time...
What needs done - Build the storm shutter system, build the bar area, build a closet in the corner by the main entrance, finish up rails and misc. deck areas not completed, whitewash interior walls, have a couple leaks in the roof fixed, and have the septic tank constructed.
I'll say this about my next trip (whenever it may be). I'm not planning on heading down again until the following is finished by Brian and the construction crew.
08/17/06 - I received my trim for the front and installed some of it. I also stared the track system for the storm panels. Unfortunately not nearly enough got finished before I ran out of daylight as well as battery power for the inverter and time (I'm headed back to the States on the 18th).
The water was really calm today so I decided to head out in the boat for a couple pictures from there. Below is the cabana from the water!
08/15/06 - I got up there yesterday and spent several hours doing projects which included painting the hopefully final coat on the shower so I can use it soon. I also got the electrical wiring pretty much completed including the water pump hooked up (need one since the house is 10' above the water holding tank). It's a demand pump, but I also connected it to the bathroom lights so that way power isn't left on when no one's in the bath. I also have the breaker box wired up and ready to accept generator power once we run it up there. For now, the cabana is being powered by an 800 watt inverter and that works well.
On a design note, I've decided to build a removable panel system to close the front using 5 sheets of 3/4” marine plywood and have that planned out. I'm waiting to hear about getting the trim pieces that need to go on the beams where the screens are stapled since those have to be on before the plywood can be installed. With any luck, that will be in the works by Thursday.
08/13/06 - I haven't got much accomplished in the last couple days since Brian's back and we have 6 guests here. Tomorrow 4 are leaving so will hopefully get back up there to get more done so check back tomorrow evening!
08/09/06 - Today the guys dug the hole for the septic tank. It's about like it is in the States... one guy digs while the other two watch! Anyway, now I need to order the materials for the tank and it will hopefully be completed next week!
On another note, finally heard from Brian today and am picking him up tomorrow afternoon at the airport. Hopefully with him back, I can get busier on my projects!
08/08/06 - Yesterday and today I basically worked on the wiring and have most of it done, although I have to get a breaker box still. Not much has been done that's worth a photo but I have a guy coming tomorrow (wed) to start digging a hole for a 5'x 5'x 5' septic tank so will get shots of that!
Although my lumber arrived last Friday, it's been a chore getting it off the big boat and to me. I received the plywood which was most important, but haven't got the 2x4s or other misc. wood yet. Once I do, hopefully I can get a couple of my construction guys in to complete the wood projects I have in mind.
My buddy Brian is sort of missing since I haven't seen or talked to him in person since I've been here. Actually haven't heard from him at all in 5 days and have no idea where he is. Now we have customers today and a honeymooning couple tomorrow coming so am getting a little concerned about him not being here. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's nothing serious! Running this resort is lots of work so hope he's back soon!
08/07/06 - Today I took Adriana to the airport for her return to the States so I'm pretty much here by myself now. One funny note... her alarm didn't go off this morning so she frantically wakes me up and we jump in the boat for the 15 minute trip to the airport. Then the plane takes an hour and a half to show up. Later I find out that Honduras has decided to change the time again! Last time I was here, they decided to do daylight savings and it threw the country into chaos then last weekend they changed it back but most here didn't know it!
Yesterday I didn't get a whole lot done although I did get a second coat of paint on the shower and ran some wiring through the ceiling for one of the wall outlets.
Today I got a new drill bit and plan to run more wiring and connect some outlets. I also hope to get some woodworking done as well. There will be an update later this evening.
08/05/06 - Today I did some electrical work including wiring the main room lights with switch as well as one outlet. I was moving along pretty well on the wiring until I broke my Chinese drill bit drilling through a 2x4 and that brought me to a halt. I need to get a couple new ones before any more wiring can be done.
Since I was stopped on electrical I decided to work on the screen door. It turned into a measure once, cut 4 or 5 times type of a project but it ended up coming out well considering I built it out of some scrap lumber!
Tomorrow I plan to work on the bathroom and maybe a bit of woodwork as well.
08/04/06 - Today I didn't do too much but did install the cable lighting in the main room so now I can work after dark. I'll get a picture of the lighting system tomorrow. Tomorrow if I can, I plan to build a screen door so the bugs don't carry me off after dark!
08/03/06 - I went this morning and paid for the lumber order and they tell me it will be on Friday's boat! The way things work here, it will most likely be to the resort Monday or Tuesday but that will work!
Today I finished installing the water pump and plumbing and man do I have water pressure! The toilet flushes although still needs connected to a septic tank to be built next week. I also painted the shower area with concrete sealer so just need to caulk and finish paint. Finally tonight I installed the bathroom track lighting and it really works well!
Tomorrow I'm going to also attempt to build a screen door and install outlets and switches as well as the main room ceiling lighting. We have guests that arrived today so working with power tools has to be done when it won't annoy them, so that may kill my idea of working later in the day when it's cooler.
08/02/06 - I lucked out today! I went to The Key (main town off the coast of Guanaja) to get a Marine Battery for my 800 watt inverter as well as some other miscellaneous supplies and a plane ticket for Adriana. It ends up I got delayed by the daily 12-2pm break where all stores are closed. So I did what most locals do... head to the bar for a noon beer! There I met a lady who with her husband is building a house on the east end and she walked me through ordering lumber. So I now have an order ready and all I have to do tomorrow morning is put some money in the lumberyard account at the bank and the lumber should be on Fridays boat (the Carminda). I also talked to the work foreman and lined up workers for next week as well as a guy to build a septic tank. So not a bad day today even if I didn't get any actual work done on the house! If all goes well, I'll be doing some painting, plumbing and electrical tomorrow.
08/01/06 - Today I had the typical island problems. I went to order a bunch of lumber for the various projects and found out the boat isn't going to the coast this week. That means I have to find another source (unlikely) or order the lumber next week. If I order next week, the lumber would be in on the 11th, giving me less than a week to do what needs done. It's still possible though and if I can get a couple of the construction guys in, it should go pretty fast!
In the mean time, I plan on connecting the plumbing, wiring the house, painting the bath and doing a couple woodworking projects that can be done with what I have here.
On a final note, some (really nosey) people have asked about why the mattress was in the room... Brian had to rent out the cabana Adriana (the Divemaster) stays in so she slept up there a couple nights. Must have been pretty miserable with no lights, plumbing or door!
07/31/06 - Flew back to Guanaja today and it was a bit of an ordeal this time since it turns out I didn't have a commuter flight reservation and it was booked full. It's amazing though what waving a credit card in front of a ticket agent will do! They sold me a seat on the packed plane and I made it here around 4:30 this evening.
Once here, I went up to take pictures of the last work the workers did shortly after I departed last time. Shots are below and it looks good!
05/20/06 - By now I should be used to the screwed up way things sometimes go here, but I'm really wound up today! I went to get my lumber and it's still not here! They have no clue why so I have to get Brian or Joe (contractor) to check on it Monday. I guess no decking will be laid down any time soon.
05/19/06 - The guys finished the steps and most of the railing today. There's still work to be done so they're coming back one or two more days next week to finish it up.
My lumber, toilet and sink are waiting on The Key (main town of Guanaja) so I'm headed over there Saturday to pick it up, then Brian from the airport.
05/18/06 - The guys spent all of today (Thursday) building the framework for the window screens. They turned out really nice and should work well. I went up when they were about done to check on progress and forgot to take pictures so I'll add those tomorrow!
Tomorrow they'll be really busy trying to complete everything on the list below. I don't think they can get it all, but they say it's possible. We'll see...
Brian has been gone all week so he left me in charge of resort operations. He's due back tomorrow along with a Toilet and Sink he bought for my place. Those as well as my deck lumber are on a boat due in at noon tomorrow so if all goes well, I may be installing those items myself this weekend!
05/17/06 - Today the guys worked mainly on the bathroom construction and completed quite a bit. If you recall where we had to cut a foot off the hardwood louvered windows, I decided to use that scrap to build the bathroom cabinet and you can see it in the picture below. Once it's completed, I'll get a better shot. They also built the bathroom door today as well.
Tomorrow they're hopefully going to get to work on completing all stairs and rails outside, as well as working on the screens for the windows.
05/15/06 - I have a crew of four on the site today so they can knock out most of the hard items on the list from Friday. Today they will be building the main steps as well as starting bathroom construction. On Tuesday, they'll continue with the main steps as well as bathroom and other projects.
On one other note, I know Mom worries about me not getting enough to eat so I thought I would post a picture of my 3 pork chop lunch I'm eating as I type this!
05/08/06 - The lumber arrived this afternoon and since I haven't shown how it gets here, thought I would add the pictures below. Tomorrow morning I have a couple guys carrying it up the hill for the crew so they can get busy on the final structure woodworking. Somehow the decking wasn't ordered (my fault) but it will be ordered this week and will be here on Monday so we don't miss a beat on construction.
02/24/06 - The crew came today for the last day of work before I leave. Yesterday the bath walls were completed and today they finished bolting the crossbeam supports to the pilings. Lastly, with a bit of instruction from me, they framed up the lower deck. It most likely will be completed in a couple weeks along with the windows when they come in.
The final thing that will be done before I leave is to paint the roof on Sunday. Once that's complete, I'll climb the hill and snap another panoramic shot and post it.
Brian and I are leaving Monday morning for the mainland, where we're renting a car to drive to San Pedro Sula. Therefore, there may not be any further updates after Sunday unless I decide to post some mainland pics once I get to Fort Lauderdale on the 28th.
02/23/06 - Sorry for the delay but we've been having internet troubles. The workers are back here today and Friday to finish up with everything I need done before I leave.
Since not much is going on, I've been ferrying Dougs' Kayak tour group around. Yesterday I took them and dropped them off on a key called Grahams. After that, I just goofed off and killed some time drinking at the bar and at the in-water tiki table with one of the guests who's from Australia and is on a one year around-the-world trip. Then I capped it off by taking a swim in a turtle pen and snapping some pictures. This work is rough!
Worse yet, I had to go back there again today and ended up sleeping in a hammock for a couple hours while I waited for the kayak group to return. I hate this job!
Tomorrow I'll be posting pictures of what's been completed on the Cabana to date so check back then!
Below are some pics from the Grahams Key trip.
02/16/06 - My final lumber order for this trip arrived last night and now have it set out to dry since it was pretty green. Tomorrow we have 8 guests arriving so will be busy this weekend with diving and bartending. Next week, we'll have the crew back to frame in the bathroom and start on the deck that will go around the left side and front of the cabana. Will post more info soon!
02/14/06 - We've had crappy weather since last weekend and just now clearing up. The same front that slammed the northeast hit us (no snow!) and brought big waves and cold temps. Got down in the 70's and we had to dig out the long pants!.
Anyway, below are some pictures I shot of the aquarium we set up in the bar as well as other miscellaneous ones.
02/10/06 - The ceiling was completed today (with the exception of being 2 tiles short) and the siding was completed. I have a lumber order in now and am waiting for it to arrive. Once it does, next week sometime the workers should start on framing up the bathroom and building the outside decks.
02/09/06 - The roof was completed today and the ceiling tiles were being installed. They made it about half way by days end. Tomorrow they will finish the ceiling, finish the outside siding and start on framing up the bathroom.
02/08/06 - The walls are going on today! I decided I wanted a picture of the back of the cabana so started up the hill behind it. After one big climb (I know it's hard to believe I put out that much effort!), I reached the top and took the panoramic picture below. What's cool is the pirates used to keep watch up there and alert their buddies of approaching ships. Today you can still find pottery and artifacts up there!
I've never actually seen something I've designed be built so it's pretty cool so far! Once I hiked up the hill, it actually looks larger in person that on paper so that's also a bonus!
The original idea was to build the unit on top of an existing water storage tank which would have made for a quick foundation. After some thought though, we were worried about the structural aspect of the tank. Not sure if it would have held the weight. We therefore decided to build next to the tank. My thought was to use the tank for my deck, but that wasn't feasible. So now the pictures at the bottom are what's currently being built. Not sure exactly how we'll work the deck into the plan, but I can come up with a plan!
Below are some pictures and info on the cabana being built now!
Cabana framed up looking at front of structure.
The front screened wall and forward part
of the roof isn't in yet.
Cabana framed up looking at rear of structure.
No windows, wall planking or floors installed yet.
Original concept (cabana on tank)
Second design idea (cabana still on tank)
Final design we went with (cabana off of tank)
View you'll see out the front of Cabana
View as you'll see out the side of Cabana.
Location in relation to the beach.
