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Years ago, I found several long, thin pieces of obsidian that, at the time, I only knew were old. Now, with research and the help of archaeological studies, it’s clear what they are: prismatic obsidian blades, razor-sharp tools shaped by the Pech people, one of the oldest Indigenous groups of Honduras. These blades aren’t random shards. They were made intentionally, struck from prepared cores to produce long, thin pieces with edges sharp enough to handle everything from food

September 6th, I had the opportunity to visit a small community in the capital to attend a Honduran Fair. During September, communities across Honduras gather to celebrate Independence Month, and this event was a small example of that tradition. The streets were alive with energy: locals of this community came together to sell traditional Honduran foods. I tried the famous pastel borracho, "drunk cake" made with rum. Bria enjoyed the delicious carrot cake and tacos. What stoo

The Bay Islands are full of history, sometimes in the most unexpected places. At the Wesley Methodist Church and School in Coxen Hole, right behind the basketball court, there’s a broken tombstone that many people barely notice. My sister went to school there for two years, and when I asked her about it, she, like others I spoke to, didn’t remember ever being told whose grave it was. Students just recall seeing it there, often sitting on it during lunch breaks. It turns out t

During the summer of 1939, R.W. Feachem paid a visit to the Bay Islands, joined by Mr. Derek Leaf for most of the time. They did an expedition out there. For local and European reasons, the expedition was cut short, but in the time available, they were able to accomplish much. The support of Lord Moyne of the Royal Geographical Society, the University of Cambridge, the Faculty of Archaeology at Cambridge, and Trinity College made the expedition possible, and the generosity wa

Every old map has a story to tell, and few do it with the elegance and precision of the 1775 work titled “Ruatan or Rattan, surveyed by Lieutenant Henry Barnsley, with improvements by Thomas Jefferys, Geographer to the King.” Printed in London on February 20, 1775, by Robert Sayer, this map is more than a piece of parchment with ink, it’s an image of a world in transition, when empires were staking claims, sailors were risking everything on the sea, and the Caribbean was in t

When people picture Roatan today, with paved roads across the island, it’s hard to imagine a time when getting around was next to impossible. But in the late 1960s, roads were little more than muddy scars in the floor, usable only in dry weather, and in the rainy season, nearly impassable. To build a resort on the north side of the island back then meant more than vision and money. It meant carving a road through some of the roughest terrain in the Bay Islands. That’s exactly

When you think of Roatan today, you usually imagine beaches, coral reefs, and the growth of tourism. But life on the island hasn’t always revolved around visitors. In fact, for much of its history, survival depended on traditions that may sound unusual to us now. One of those was the practice of child lending. You read that right, child lending. According to David K. Evans, a researcher from Wake Forest University who published the paper Recent Sociocultural Change in Roatan,

Roatan’s economy today is quite diverse, tourism and diving usually come to mind. But just a few decades ago, life on the island revolved around very different industries, coconuts, shrimp, and eventually overseas jobs. According to David K. Evans, coconut harvesting was once the main source of income across the Bay Islands. Families who owned land with coconut trees could count on steady harvests, selling their crops for export, often through contracts with Miami importers.

How this dessert made its way from Southern United States to the Bay Islands, I don’t know exactly. I remember trying this Banana Pudding out on a few occasions while I was a little girl during holidays in Roatan. As an adult I came to find it in Utila. Mrs. Annie Rose sent me the recipe she uses which is as follows: You’ll need: 1 8oz of instant vanilla pudding mix 2 cups of cold milk 1 small can of sweetened condensed milk 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract 1 small contamines

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been working on something very close to my heart, an essay about one of the Bay Islands’ most beautiful yet fading traditions: the dance around the May Pole Tree. For generations, this dance was one of the liveliest and most meaningful community celebrations on the islands. It represented unity, joy, and a deep connection to who we are as islanders. Sadly, like many traditions passed down orally, it has been eroding in recent years under outside

For the last couple of months, I’ve been working on the culture interviews of ARC+ News , a new media project that came about from few conversations among island friends and colleagues on how much the Bay Islands needed a media that digs deeper, runs investigations, and focuses on stories that really matter. We felt that news in general has become sensational and misses the chance to highlight people doing real work for our communities. This is a platform that showcases truth

I came across an old book during a trip to Covington, Louisiana; a gem Lani Mcnab luckily owns. It is called "MacNab: The Last Laird" written by Roland Wild, published back in 1938. It’s a rare one, packed with stories about the origins of the MacNab clan. If you're unfamiliar, the MacNab family, now spelled McNab are one of the British families that made their way and still exists on the Bay Islands, more specifically of Scottish descent. The opening tale grabbed me instantl

Over the past few years, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Chef Liz Paz at the University of Unitec Honduras , where she teaches within the Gastronomy career. Each visit has been a treat for me, I've gotten to sample incredible dishes. Recently, Chef Paz invited me for a new kind of experience. She now teaches courses in Food Conservation and Sustainability, and she wanted to explore the island’s culinary techniques and unique local ingredients to inspire future dishes. Durin

My latest read is The Appeal's May 22nd, 1897's paper. The piece on the left-end opens with a look at how the Mosquito Coast used to be one of the most talked-about regions in Central America. For centuries, Spain and England fought over it, with newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic treating it like a place full of conflict, beauty, and political drama. They explain how the territory eventually fell out of fashion, even though the land itself never lost its appeal. I'll s

The Appeal's 1897 paper on the Bay Islands of Honduras has quite a few stories. The following is another story I had yet to share from thatvery same paper. I've taken the time to write it out as it is read in the paper you can gaze upon, that which I have shared with you a few days ago. Old English is quite naturally a beautiful version of the language and it would sound much less enjoyable if I were to modify it. It reads as follows: For many years they formed part of Spain’

If you grew up in the Bay Islands, you’ve probably noticed something funny about the way we write English. Our place names still carry the old British spellings: French Harbour, not French Harbor; oftentimes we use colour, favour, honour... all those words that hang on to the “u” the way our grandparents did. People sometimes ask why we write it that way when the United States doesn’t. The answer goes back a couple of hundred years, and it has more to do with identity and ref

Did you know England referred to the Bay Islands as the "Garden of the West Indies", the "Key of Spanish America" and "The New Gibraltar"? Carrying on with the stories found about the Colony of the Bay Islands in The Appeal's May 22nd edition of 1897, here is how those names came about. To this day, 1897, England claims some rights over the islands in connection with her very questionable rights in Belize, based upon nothing but an ancient treaty with Spain, which simply gave

I’m thrilled to share that I was featured on the cover of the April 2025 edition of Caribella Magazine ! This feature was an opportunity to talk about my journey—not just as a content creator, but as someone dedicated to preserving and sharing the history, culture, and traditions of the Bay Islands of Honduras. What started as simple social media posts to answer friends’ questions about beautiful beaches grew into a lifelong project focused on celebrating the richness of the

I had the honor of participating as a guest speaker in the first edition of True Utila , a new annual event created to highlight and protect the heritage, culture, and natural beauty of the island. The gathering took place on Utila and was organized by Trey and Marichi, the owners of SafeSpot, who greeted us warmly from the moment we arrived. Their vision for True Utila is to create a space where history, culture, and conservation come together, and it was inspiring to see t

Journalism once again received well-deserved recognition during the third edition of the “Honduras es Así” Tourism Reporting Contest 2025, organized by the Honduran Institute of Tourism (IHT). This competition highlights the creativity, rigor, and dedication of those who showcase the country’s cultural, natural, and historical richness. The awards ceremony, held on Thursday, September 25, reaffirmed the importance of promoting Honduran tourism through both journalistic and di