Happy Holidays from Roatan!

So it turns out that it’s kind of hard to get in the holiday spirit when it’s 80 degrees and you’re dressed in a bikini and snorkeling fins. That probably doesn’t sound too bad for all of you in the States (where I hear it has been below 0 on a regular basis), but I do personally miss the warm, cheesy, sappy holiday traditions back home. So I’m trying to get in the spirit.

A couple of weeks ago, I put up two Christmas trees in the lodge restaurant. I thought it would help us get in the holiday mood. The trees are really cute and are adorned with island-appropriate ornaments. But for the most part, they just look funny. Here are a few pictures from the tropical tree:




And here are some of the pirate tree (you know how I love pirates):


We’ve also been listening to some Christmas music on the satellite radio, but it all just seems wrong. Although I hadn’t thought much about it before, I’ve realized that Christmas music is really cold climate-centric. All this talk about sweaters, snow, fireplaces, and reindeer … We don’t have any of that on Roatan.

Even the food doesn’t work for well us. The past few days, I’ve whipped up a few batches of toffee, peanut butter balls, and fudge (some of my family’s traditional holidays candies), but as soon as I take them out of the freezer, they begin to melt in the heat and humidity.

But we’re still trying. Last night, Driftwood, a sailboat that is currently moored in front of our restaurant dock, was lit up with Christmas lights. That made me smile.


Tonight, we’re having a Christmas Eve happy hour event on our neighbor’s over-the-water palapa bar. And tomorrow, we’re having all the gringos in the harbor (and all of the visiting sailboaters) over for a big Christmas potluck dinner. Beforehand, we’ll watch my favorite Christmas movie: A Christmas Story. Santa thoughtfully sent me a copy last week via air parcel service. I think it’s just too hot here for the reindeer.