Hey everyone,I've been back here on Roatan for a little more than two weeks and I feel as though I've seen just as much if not more than my initial one-month stay here back in September and October. The big island is truly starting to feel as though it were home, and aside from the occasional bout of homesickness and boredom, things are fitting together quite nicely. My spanish is picking up (although much more slowly than I had predicted), and I am learning the customs and mores of everyday life here.
Dad has since moved into a new house which he will be renting until his house is finished being built sometime in March. The place is MUCH bigger and more comfortable than the little room we somehow were able to share for five weeks. Aside from the seemingly constant barrage of barking animals, it's very cozy and hospitable. It is amazing what a difference a few hundred meters in altitude can make within the natural environment here! Although I miss the easy access to our ow private dock overlooking the Caribbean, we are now situated higher atop one of the numerous mountains ranges (or large hills depending on how you look at it). The Chit Chats (another type of lizard) are still omnipresent as they are all over the island, however the coconut and banana trees adorn our new yard in hoards and the area is saturated with humming birds and geckos. The humming birds are especially adventurous and will not hesitate to dart within inches between the eyes, fly still and stare as if to say "I know you got sugar in there, feed me." I am also happy to say that we are still in close contact with the Balle family and Dad has done much to help. Ingrid is now attending private school full time thanks to Dad's financial contribution and even assists with her math homework before he himself must "go to work" and teach high school mathematics at the same institution. Also, we met with Alex (the father) and discussed working and payment options for his assistance on laying concrete for the house's driveway as well as a wooden stairwell which will be essential during building, as the house will be teetering along a 60-70 degree slope... No kidding.
The main reason for my early/temporary return before my semi-permanent/temporary stay here is to assist at my current/temporary employer; The Bay Islands VOICE. If this doesn't make any sense, scroll down a tad and you'll figure it out. The work has been filled to the brim with activity. The elections on November 29 were an absolutely amazing thing to experience firsthand and I will never forget it. What an incredible opportunity to be a part of history! As you all know, Honduras experienced a political and military coup this past June. The Honduran government knew the world was watching, and they followed through with one of the most organized, strict, and transparent electoral processes I have ever witnessed. Even after our own historic elections a little more than a year ago. Journalists (such as myself) were granted full access to 
anything and everything. I still look back at approaching the first (heavily) armed guard at the polling station in Coxen Hole, Roatan's downtown district, showing him my business card and camera, and being lead directly in. No questions asked, no hesitation. "Periodista?" he asked. That was all. After that, all sense of avoidance and apprehension were gone. There is something about that experience which gave me the confidence for the rest of the coming afternoon to take on all that was presented. I can recall being in the streets with hundreds or maybe even close to a thousand National and Liberal Party supporters, surrounded by noise and craziness and colors and movement. All your senses overwhelmed, and I, being completely immersed with my camera and my subjects, the world in front of me, and somehow not being apprehensive a single tiny bit. 
We see these demonstrations turn ugly so often in the U.S. An authority makes the call and the next thing you know you are on the ground choking, gas fills your lungs and your body wants it out. This did not happen, and I never feared for an instant that it would. We were not only granted an inside view on the process of counting ballots, but actually asked to act as watchdogs. The Fourth Estate in full effect. The TSE (Tribunal Sepremo Electoral) asked us to photograph and document every final ballot form that held the numbers for each district in the Bay Islands. Although there are only three islands which make up the Islas, Roatan is split into two districts. Roatan and Santos Guardiola. "You are the only outsiders in the world which we are showing this," I can distinctly remember hearing from the Presidente de la Municipal. An incredible experience... 
Amazing. Of course there were widespread corruption rumors, there were stories of false voting records and AK 47's fired in the night. There always will be. If we were played by the system, then so be it. I have learned that this is very much part of life here in Central America. You either fight it and lose, or go about your business and blow the whistle when you absolutely know, within 100% that there is wrongdoing. And then you hide. The rumors and political infighting will be there always. What's that word again? Omnipresent.
Amongst other stories I have been working on, I recently completed a quick profile on the Island's Carambola Gardens, a wildlife sanctuary started nearly 25 years ago by a man from North Carolina who first visited Roatan while he was in the Peace Corps during the 1970's. Everyone you talk to that has been here for more than a decade will tell you how quiet it used to be. How the roads were just paved yesterday, and that the first
automobile showed up about a week ago. Yet, the one thing that never ceases to change is the wondrous natural landscape which a tropical island such as this can sustain. These gardens are breathtaking, bordered by a mountainous rim on all three sides except its entrance, it offers one of the most amazing views atop Carambola Mountain, overlooking Anthony's Key, which is yet another wonder amidst the turquoise waters and exquisite wildlife.
I'm also working on a lengthy and somewhat controversial piece dealing with the squatting laws which are a big debate not only here on Roatan, but also across the Honduran mainland. The legislation is often fuzzy around the edges and usually includes land disputed years and years old. From my understanding the law states that if a piece of land has some sort of structure built upon it and is not disputed with a valid title for ten years the property is automatically placed in the name of the said resident. Residency here could quite literally mean a two-story mansion, wooden shack, or rundown automobile. If there is a valid title but no 
dispute within twenty years, the previously mentioned law applies in this case too. While I was back in in Iowa there was actually a mass eviction of nearly 200 squatters in an area called Oak Ridge near the east end of the Island. Furthermore, there are some new bills being passed around in Tegucigalpa for review, making the story all the more timely. I was able to meet and befriend a family only about 7 or 8 kilometers from our office near a resort named Barefoot Cay. (You would be amazed at the squalor once can find within such close quarters to luxury property. It can be infuriating.) The family said they had been living in the area with no water or electricity for almost five years. Their reason? Wages were higher here on the 
mostly tourist funded region of Roatan. They had actually traveled here from Cortes (a section on the northwestern edge of the mainland) in order to raise money so they could... build a house! To think of having the vision and endurance to live by the most minimal means necessary in order to create a better situation for generations ahead. Sacrificing all personal wants and needs in an attempt at completing a common goal. I feel jealous at times when I think about their lack of selfish want.I sit here drinking coffee, on a half-day off from work. Thinking about the people I will be photographing later today. I plan to return to the Palmetto Bay garbage dump this afternoon to check-in on the family I met more than two months ago. They live off the land as well. Except their world is trash and smoke and stink. Their children have respiratory problems and I can only assume that they too, can not endure a life such as this for much longer. Life expectancy is not so long here, but these people are able to find solace in a sunny day, and the smiles of their children and neighbors.
I wish you all the best and I look forward to seeing many of you again very soon.
With love and prayers,
With love and prayers,
-Ben