Nadine & Kurt

That’s right–all of our wedding photos taken by Bryan Steiff are now available for your viewing pleasure!

Check them out at here.

Mom and Dad–you can order prints and framing from this site!

Not only does Salva Vida mean Life Saver in Spanish, it’s also the name of our favorite Honduran beer. We feel like Chicago is a life saver right now—we’re really happy to be home. Our trip was great, interesting, and full of surprises, but the surprises got frustrating after a while and we are just glad to be back to normal!

Our last night on Roatan was eventful—we checked out of Palmetto Bay and got a room at the Pasado Arco Iris in the West End. We loved out little room with its collections of Honduran crafts, until we found out that we could not flush ANY paper. Then we thought it was only OK. At least we had hot water and a beach across the street.

That night, we ran into our friend Lee from Brooklyn by chance on the street. We met up for drinks with him at Sundowners—a cool little shack on the beach. We sat in old wooden boats turned into comfy little benches and drank Salva Vida, of course.
The next morning we woke up to a bright, sunny, beautiful day. It figures that the sun would finally come out after days of clouds on the day were leaving…But really, the weather made a HUGE difference! It was easy to see why people love Roatan. We went swimming in the Caribbean, finally, and we sat on the beach until it was time to go to the airport.

We took a flight out of Roatan to San Pedro Sula. We had not heard one nice thing about this city and we did not know what to expect. Well, the rumors were true. We were happy to be there for only one night. We reintroduced ourselves back into the mainstream by going to the CityMall and eating at the food court. It was great! Some things are the same any where in the world.

Now that we’re back home, it is obvious how thankful we are—and should be—for our privileged and convenient lifestyle in the U.S. We will never, ever forget the wonderful times we had in Honduras, but we will also remember how wonderful it is to live in Chicago!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Well, the trip took a turn for the worse with Kurt having a fever of 102.4 on Saturday. After a trip to the clinic, he is feeling much better now. Turns out he had a pretty bad bacterial infection.

The clinic in Roatan was interesting, to say the least. In the waiting room was a bariatric pressure chamber with a man inside being treated for The Bends! We were told that the man was probably from the Mosquito Coast where they free dive for lobsters. Yikes. Kurt cost a total of $29 for his doctor visit and test. Oh, and let’s not forget that extra $2 that was charged to Nadine for the blood sugar test after she almost passed out in the examination room and threw up her M&Ms.

So the weather is still kind of crappy. Kurt is too busy being sick to care but Nadine has been pretending that it’s sunny. Too bad it always starts to rain as soon as she gets comfy on the beach. Plus it’s still covered in schmutz from the storms.

Not much else to report right now. We’re checking out of the resort tomorrow and heading to the West End. Another post soon!

After a few raindrops yesterday morning, the sun came out in spurts and we were able to lie on the beach for a couple of hours. The weather was still up and down, with overcast skies throughout the day but pleasant and warm. Still a little too chilly to go swimming.

We decided to take a journey to the West End for dinner last night. Arnoldo gave us a ride in the resort’s van and we realized the roads are only getting worse, not better. It was a long trip and very bumpy, but worth it once we got to our destination. Arnoldo dropped us off at the First Baptist Church and we walked through the West End. West End is like most tropical coastal towns, it looks like a Jimmy Buffet song. There were many shops, restaurants, and bars, and the street was bustling with tourists and locals. We bought a few souvenirs and gifts and then headed over to The Lighthouse—a famous restaurant recommended to us. The food was great—we both had the Coconut Fish—and the view over the water was impressive even though it was dark. Then it was time to get back in the van and head back across the island. Again, a long and bumpy ride.
It rained again last night, but we hope the weather clears up today so we can enjoy the beach or some snorkeling. It looks like the sun is trying to peek through the clouds, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed.

Yesterday was like a George Harrison song. In the morning after a long day of traveling, the sun peeked its head through the clouds and warmed the earth beneath us. This is paradise! (With some sand fleas and a slight chance of malaria.) We are surrounded by hibiscus blooms, palm trees, and other brightly colored plants and trees. Geckos are everywhere, frogs sing all night long, and we spot colorful birds when we walk out the front door.

We spent most of the day (since the last post) poolside, soaking up the sun, drinking some local beer and telling riddles and jokes with the bartender, Harlan. Later in the day we had our first experience of Honduran life—a trip to the grocery store. You know, we needed essentials like coffee, beer, and snacks. The store was just like those in the states, it had most of the same products and they were in both Spanish and English. Most people on Roatan speak English and they love American money, so we don’t have to try too hard. However, we have met a few people who speak only Spanish and we like the challenge.

Honduras played Mexico in a qualifying World Cup match yesterday, so there was a lot of excitement in town. The locals were wearing Honduran jerseys and waving Honduran flags while standing up in the back of their pick-up trucks. It was just like Humboldt Park!

So the thing about our resort is—it’s hard to get to! A long (20mins or more) ride on a dirt road with plenty of dips and holes from all of the rain gets us only to the main road that circles the island. We don’t really mind it—we just have to plan our day accordingly if we want to go anywhere.

It’s interesting to see the way of life on Roatan. We passed by a lot of brightly painted homes with any number of horses, cows, goats, chickens, dogs, and cats in the yard. Many people travel by bicycle or on foot and everybody waves as you pass by. Hondurans are very friendly. As in any tropical locale, there is a pretty big divide between the haves and the have-nots. There are several resorts here and more are being planned. There is a booming real estate business, and we are tempted to buy our own little piece of paradise. We’ve been told that Roatan has been put on the map recently because: 1. Some cruise ships now dock here. 2. International flights may soon land here. 3. They are planning a golf course. So basically, it’s just a matter of time until you hear all about this place.

So far, neither of us has gotten typhoid or malaria or hepatitis (thank you vaccinations!), but we have been bitten by sand fleas. (Nadine much more so than Kurt.) Apparently the locals don’t understand that the gringos have a problem with insect bites—the owner of the resort advised us to ignore them and put on lots of repellant. We saw a sign when we got into Roatan that told us not to use DEET so as to protect the wildlife, so we’re feeling a little guilty. However, the bugs are vicious and we need relief. We’ll give some money to the lizard and sea turtle funds when we get back to Chicago.

Unfortunately, it rained all night last night and it’s raining again this morning. The locals are slightly optimistic for us; but alas, we know what to expect…rain.

More pictures and another post soon…

Just wanted to let you know we made it our resort in Roatan, Honduras. It was a LOOONG trip. We left Chicago at 7:50 am on Monday and then to Miami without a hitch. But once we got to San Pedro Sula (on the Honduran mainland) there were no flights out to the islands and all flights that went to La Ceiba (a costal town where we could take a ferry to the island) were canceled. (Bad rain & winds.) We ran into another American, named Lee, and he got us onto a bus to La Ceiba (for free). The 3 hour bus ride got us to La Ceiba and we found a hotel since there were no other ferries that day (it was 7pm after all) and had dinner with some new American friends we met on the bus. (Lee, from Brooklyn and Sean from Cincinnati.) It was rainy and dark in La Ceiba and we could not contact our resort on Roatan so we missed a day at our beach front villa. Boo.

In the morning there were no ferries to Roatan once again due to the rough seas. So, we headed to the airport to get on the first flight to the island which was at 12:30. That got delayed twice (once while we were on the plane) and finally took off at 2:45pm. The 15min flight (that mom could NEVER do since it was over open water and in a semi-small plane) was a white-knuckler for me and landed safely. After a 20min cab ride (the roads were bad) got us all but 50ft from our hotel. The roads were bad due to all the rain and the cab could not get us up a muddy hill. By chance, the hotel’s van (with a giant scorpion decal on the rear windshield) pulled up behind us and after some conversation in Spanish, attempted to get to the top of the hill by gunning it to gain momentum while we cheered it on. Finally, after squealing tires and sputtering mud all over, it made it to the top of the hill! We had to get our luggage out of the cab and walk it through the mud to meet the van. It was able to take us the rest of the way to our resort, Palmetto Bay Plantation.

So we finally made it to paradise. Our resort is on the beach and we have a villa that is a duplex unit with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. There were hibiscus and champagne and fruit to greet us. It was lovely, until we found that ants loved the flowers so we had to throw them out the front door. Oh well.

Last night’s dinner was DELICIOUS! Fresh red snapper, chicken curry with veggies and bananas (!) and fantastic Honduran beer. The bartender and the rest of the staff are really nice. We’re glad we’re here.

This morning was the first sunlight we’ve seen since North Carolina. A short morning walk on the beach made us realize that the hard effort and patience paid off. We ordered brunch to our room and have been relaxing all morning. Today, we’re off to explore the town and get a few things for the villa. (Beer, food, supplies, and whatnot.)

Hope all is well back home. See attached pics that I’ve take so far. More will come. You can check out our Flickr page too:
http://flickr.com/photos/kurty_p

We are so excited to share our wedding day with you! We know that October 25 is going to be a great day if we are surrounded by family and friends.

Now onto business: BOOK YOUR HOTEL ROOM BY SEPTEMBER 26!!!
Time is running out on booking under our wedding block at the SpringHill Suites and Courtyard By Marriott. If you plan on staying downtown at these locations, you need to do so by Sept 26th.

If you don’t plan to stay at either Marriott, then be sure to check out our HOW TO GET HERE AND WHERE TO STAY section.

If you have any questions, please DROP US A LINE.

The wedding date is set and the planning has begun! Our family and friends are the most important things to us, so we hope you are able to join us on October 25th!

Our website will hopefully tell you all you need to know about the wedding and what to do in Chicago while you are here. We have listed places to stay and places to see, but there is so much to do here that we can’t possibly list them all. If you want more info, email us and we’ll respond ASAP.

We’re not finished here, though. We are still adding to the site all the time, so if you are so inclined, subscribe to our RSS feed and check back often!

We can’t wait to see you on October 25th!