Topic Wiki

Below I will create labeled links to each section of the TR for an easier reading experience. I will also be linking my Flickr album so if you're not interested in reading it all, you can just enjoy the pictures.




1.Introduction/Planning 2.ORD-RTB 3.Arriving in RTB/Departing RTB 4.Arriving in UII 5.Arriving at the Island 6.Island Tour 7.Island Life




Videos

Takeoff from RTB video  Island Flyover  Island flyaround  Utila and cays video
« Last edited by as2 on February 27, 2019, 09:01:29 PM »

Author Topic: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape  (Read 17398 times)

Offline as2

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A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« on: February 26, 2019, 08:50:52 PM »

I will be posting this in chunks, and have links to each section in the wiki.

INTRODUCTION/PLANNING

This trip was taken by @Something Fishy , and detailed quite well, probably better than I’ll ever be able to, but nobody can say it all (he kinda did), so I’ll try to fill in what he left out.


When SF posted his TR, I immediately knew this was a trip I needed to take. I am more of a “relaxing” vacation type of guy, rather than the action packed type, so an island of my own to vegetate on for a few days was super appealing. My wife loves water/beaches (well, most of the time…keep reading) so this would appeal to her too. I showed her the TR and sold her on it almost immediately, and she agreed this had to be done. I decided to plan out our trip for the following January (2018) and began compiling spreadsheets for all our preparations. I mapped out every flight in and out of TGU, SAP, and RTB, with flight schedules, availability, cash prices, etc. As first world problems would have it, I ended up snagging some dirt cheap tickets to Israel and couldn’t bring myself to pass on such fares, so the island was put on the back burner.


Fast forward to October 2018. I had no real vacation plans, but when some sweet overwater villas in the Maldives dipped well below sale price, I booked one, and coordinated with my parents to leave the kids with them. As excited as I was, only 3/4 of me wanted those reservations to be honored, as this wasn’t the ideal time for me to go that far for that short a time. When the reservations were canceled (in some capacity, and for some) I decided this island adventure would fit the schedule perfectly. And so it began…


I emailed the Jackson family, who own the island, to reserve, and was pleased to find availability for the dates I wanted. I requested the night of Sunday, 1/20 through Wednesday 1/23, and we would depart Thursday morning. All “confirmations” (or lack thereof) are just email correspondences, so I did email them to confirm they got my money and we were set for those dates, to which the answer was affirmative. Previously I had seen that the Jacksons accepted payment exclusively through Western Union, but they now offered a Paypal option, which was more appealing to me, even with a fee. I sent them the $560 for my 4 night stay, and incurred a $16.54 fee. I didn’t realize until it posted, that it codes as “travel-lodging” with Amex, so I could have paid for it with A+ points. Oh well.

The rental codes as travel


I read and re-read SFs TR to collect as much info as possible, and heeded his advice (and many others agreed) to fly into RTB, so as to have the best chance of entering the country with all my food. Due to it being an island off the mainland, customs is typically more chilled than the other 2 airports. The flight schedule going to RTB is weak, and there was really only one option that allowed me to maximize my time. United has a Sunday flight from IAH to RTB at 9:55am (The same one SF took). I transfered 60k MT to 35k UA (during 10% promo), and proceeded to book ORD-IAH-RTB for myself and DW at 17.5k UA in Y, as there was no saver availability for J. I paid the $5.60(x2) on my UA Club card for the free bags. For the return, I wanted a bit more flexibility, so I decided to look into SAP and TGU. Ideally, I wanted to stop in PTY, but the only flights available either left me with an hour connection, or a Friday afternoon arrival, neither of which were too appealing. I kept searching, and came across a flight on Deltas site, flying Aeromexico, departing SAP and connecting in MEX for 30k DL in J. I don’t use my skypesos often, so I figured this was the way to go, but it was late, and I decided to take the night to think about it and to spend a bit more time weighing my options. I couldn’t find anything better, so the next afternoon I went back to DL to book it, only to find that the flights had disappeared! I managed to pull up the flight on FB for 34.5k + $83.37 in taxes, and transferred MR over for the booking. Of course, my stupid self had to regularly check back on DL and lo and behold the flights popped back up shortly after(I probably screwed something up, still not sure what). Guess that’s life.

I was now missing only the final pieces of the transportation puzzle, and that’s where I called upon Alice from One World Travel, to help out. Coming highly recommended by SF, and many others online, I knew I could count on her for my travel needs (and little did I know, but this would save a headache later). I shot off an email to Alice with regards to transportation from RTB to UII, and then from UII to SAP. For the RTB-UII route, there was a ferry, and my flight would be arriving a bit too close to the departure time, so I opted for option 2, the private charter. As for the return, I had Alice book us on Sosa Airlines UII-LCE-SAP.  Sosa Airlines shares that route with CM Airlines, but they both only operate every other day, so Thursday was a Sosa exclusive. These airlines are kind of a joke, and you can never be sure your flight will actually happen. They often cancel due to “not enough passengers” so booking via a travel agent is a nice safety net. World Wide Travel happens to be the local representative for Sosa Airlines in UII.
Total cost for the charter was $350, and the Sosa flights were a total of $120 per person (CM is the same price). I opted to pay with a credit card, which incurred a 4% fee. Alice was kind enough to split my payment between my CSR and A+, so I used my TC for the first $300 and paid the remainder with A+ points. If you don’t want to pay with a card, they do work with Chase, and I believe you can somehow pay them directly from your account.

We arranged with the Jacksons that a tuk tuk pick us up at UII, and we would meet Barry at the dock behind Bush’s, the local supermarket. There is a $50 fee each way, (more on that later) for the boat ride to and from the island, which I charged to my A+. Travel arrangements were now complete, and that left us with this:


And a close up of the Honduran legs:


Memories last forever, make them while you can.

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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2019, 08:57:07 PM »

ORT-RTB
Our flight to Houston was scheduled for 6:00 AM Sunday morning, so most of our prep had to be done before shabbos, leaving only the little things (like packing) for Saturday night. I spent some time Thursday night, cutting up a roast and marinating it for jerky, but unfortunately didn’t get it into the dehydrator before shabbos. We have 2 wonderful (usually) boys, who go through lots of clothes, diapers, etc, so we packed all their stuff up for the week, and headed to my parents for shabbos. We would be leaving before they woke up Sunday, so figured we’d just stay over the weekend. All 4 of us had brutal colds the whole week, but they were going away just in time. Friday night, the snow started coming down…more…and more. Being the flights to RTB are so infrequent, especially on any one airline, my primary concern, as the snow fell, was not making our 1 hour connection in IAH, or worse, a cancellation. Re-routing would be a HUGE headache, and would likely cost us a night on the island. Just after shabbos, I turned on my phone, and checked my reservation in the UA app. There was a note on the reservation saying something along the lines of “we found you another plane, so you’ll be flying after all”. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I noticed an email from united that must’ve come earlier in the day, with cancellation and possible rebooking options. Boy am I glad I didn’t have to see that until after I knew the flight was reinstated. We ran home and packed the last of our clothes, and packed the frozen items we were bringing. We finished with just too much time to head out, but not quite enough time to sleep, so we kind of just hung around for a bit remembering all those last minute things you forget about until you’re at the gate (no, we didn’t remember them all). A friend picked us up, and we proceeded to ORD, and thus, our trip was underway.
Between the government shutdown effecting TSA employees, and the weather issues, I decided to get to the airport a bit early. We Arrived at ORD at around 4:00 AM, and checked our bags. Precheck didn’t open until 4:15, so we hung around for a few to ensure we would not have to take off our shoes and belts etc. After clearing security, we headed to the under tarmac pedestrian walkway, which takes you to T1 concourse C.


Under tarmac pedestrian walkway


For those not familiar, the walkway has some cool neon fluorescent lights that run along the ceiling. Kinda cool. The UA Club in Concourse C opens at 4:30, so we were right on time, and apparently not the only ones… After waiting a few minutes, the lone, very overwhelmed lady behind the counter helped us out.
UA Club entrance ORD


The club is fairly spacious, and seating is plentiful, especially when they’ve only been open 5 minutes.
UA Club ORD
UA Club Bar ORD


We grabbed some fruit, a drink, and changed out of our “cold place” cloths as we wouldn’t need those for a few days.
Soon enough it was time to board. We were originally put on a 737-900, but with the cancellation and rescheduling, we ended up with an A320. Not much of a difference when you’re in economy. Thanks to my club card, we boarded in group 2, which helped us get the overhead space we needed. We took our seats, updated family and friends that we were actually ON the plane, and half listened as the FAs habitually did their safety thing. Before long we were at the head of the runway, gaining speed, and then, thousands of feet above the snow covered grounds of northeast Illinois, headed to a warmer place.

Shortly after takeoff, the sun began to peek out over the horizon…
Sunrise after takeoff


The flight was uneventful, and a short 2 and a half hours later, we were touching down in Houston. The flight arrived a bit early, and our arrival gate was not far from the UA Club, or our departure gate, so we stopped in to the club for a few minutes, in between flights.
View from UA Club IAH


Before long, it was time to head out once more. We headed to the gate where our 737-900 was patiently waiting for us. Boarding pass scanned, bag stowed, buckles clicked, and we were taking off again. Something I hadn’t seen before, but I thought was cool, was the line for takeoff at IAH. I’m sure it’s not the only airport of its kind. All planes waiting to takeoff, are lined up parallel to the runway, so you see them as you’re taking off.
Line for takeoff


And from the air...



The flight was smooth sailing at first, but then took a bouncy turn as we hit some rough air over the Gulf of Mexico, only to clear up once again. After not sleeping the night prior, I may have dozed off, or not, I honestly don’t remember, but we were soon beginning our descent into Roatan. It was cloudy and rainy as we pulled in, not making for great picture taking, but coming from the windy city, we were easy to please.
Approaching RTB


The landing was smooth, and we were quickly deplaning onto the tarmac.

Our ride in

RTB!
Memories last forever, make them while you can.

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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2019, 09:04:00 PM »

Arrival in RTB/Departing RTB

The line for customs moved fast, as our flight was the only one arriving at that time. The customs agents were quite friendly and moved us along quickly after some friendly chit-chat. Our bags were waiting for us by the time we reached the baggage claim, and we quickly retrieved them and made our way to the X-ray machine, to have all our stuff checked out. Just as fast as they went in, they were back out the other side, and we stepped into the “landside” of the airport. I thought I took a few pictures there, but I guess I didn’t, as I have nothing. The air was a bit hot, and oh so humid. We stopped for a quick bathroom break, and just a moment later, I noticed a short, round, Honduran looking fellow, probably in his 60s, holding a sign with our names on it. I wasn’t exactly looking out for him quite yet, as we were running a bit ahead of schedule. Captain Lagos didn’t speak much English, but nonetheless helped us to a small window next to the bar, to pay our airport fees. No clue how much it actually was, but I handed the lady behind the glass window a fiver, and she stamped some stuff, and handed me some Honduran funny money in return. Some gentleman who apparently knew Mr. Lagos then grabbed our bags to load onto the plain. Interesting bag checking process. Captain Lagos then led us to the security hall, where an agent checked our stamped papers, and sent us down to the screening area. No precheck in Honduras. Off went the belt, shoes, jacket and hat, into the grey bin. I made it through the metal detector on my second try, and we followed Dr. Lagos to the terminal where he exchanged some overly friendly welcomes with the agents guarding the doors to the tarmac. He instructed us via hand gestures to hang tight, as he headed out the doors to an area I couldn’t see. Until now I had been taking pictures with my phone, so I figured it would be a good time to pull out my camera. I snagged a shot of our “normal” plane taxiing for takeoff, as well as a CM Airlines turboprop. Or little plane can be seen just past the back end of the CM plane.

Bye!


A couple minutes later, Prof. Lagos was back, and escorted us out onto the tarmac, where the rain was coming down. Our bags were sitting off to the side, so we grabbed them, and headed towards our Cessna 206 that was parked across the tarmac. Senior Lagos gave no notice to the rain, nor the puddles during our short trek to the plane, but yours truly, gave many notices, as my bags were getting wet. We took shelter under the left wing, as Lt. Lagos opened what looked like a fuse box door, and proceeded to shove our 2 larger bags into this miracle compartment, located on the front most end of the tail. We loaded our smaller bags into the back seat, as my now uneasy, tehillim saying, wife squeezed herself in alongside them. Cl. Lagos then scootched himself into the left door, and, from the inside, flung the right door open for me to enter. I sat co-pilot as he leaned across my lap to shut the door and ensure it was properly fastened. I took a moment to survey the dashboard in front of me, and it wasn’t super reassuring. Let me pause for a moment to say, this isn’t the first time I’d been in one of these. The last time (actually 4 years prior, to the day. Weird…) was in a newer plane, with a certified instructor. I sat co-pilot then too, and what I saw here was veeery different.

73,661 flight hours

A worn control panel

For reference, this was my view back in ‘15. Sorry, my picture taking skills have slightly evolved.
Co pilot back in '15

The yokes looked as if they weren’t connected to anything. The dials and switches kinda looked like those on a dollar store toy, that never really worked. He had a flight GPS kinda velcroed to the yoke. The skies were grey and menacing, the rain was on and off, and the winds were out in full force, none of which made me feel any better, but I just brushed it off and decided to enjoy the flight.

We took off quickly, and right away you could feel the winds. Nothing too crazy, these planes get blown around much more than the big jets. Our flight continued, and I managed to take a few pictures out the rain splattered windows, but nothing substantial. I felt water hitting me, but never really located where exactly it was coming from. More than once, we were engulfed in clouds, or pouring rain, reducing our visibility to practically 0. This was a downer, because I’d seen some great pictures from flights like these in the area, and I wanted to take some of my own, but to no avail. The flight is about 15 minutes, so it wasn’t too long before we were approaching the UII landing strip.

Approaching UII

Memories last forever, make them while you can.

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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #3 on: February 26, 2019, 09:28:26 PM »
Nice, keep it coming

Offline mmgfarb

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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #4 on: February 26, 2019, 09:36:33 PM »
Nice start, can't wait to see what happens next
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Offline Something Fishy

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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #5 on: February 26, 2019, 09:40:43 PM »
Awesome! Can't wait for the rest!

That plane does look kinda sketchy, but hey, it's Honduras ;D.
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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #6 on: February 26, 2019, 09:42:37 PM »
Check out my site for epic kosher adventures: Kosher Horizons

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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #7 on: February 26, 2019, 10:33:51 PM »
Amazing, waiting for the rest. That Cessna is real old.
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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #8 on: February 26, 2019, 10:45:11 PM »
What are the odds? We both took our IAH lounge pics from the exact same window:

At least we finally know you photoshop you pics, even adding grass on an ugly tarmac!
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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #9 on: February 26, 2019, 10:46:16 PM »


Nice, keep it coming



Nice start, can't wait to see what happens next

Thanks! You don't need to wait long...

Awesome! Can't wait for the rest!

That plane does look kinda sketchy, but hey, it's Honduras ;D.
Yea...never again.


What are the odds? We both took our IAH lounge pics from the exact same window:
Ha! Like the LCE tarmac pics! Odds of this are lower though lol.


Amazing, waiting for the rest. That Cessna is real old.
Thanks! Yes, like "don't fly it" old.
Memories last forever, make them while you can.

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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #10 on: February 26, 2019, 10:51:55 PM »

ARRIVING IN UII
Around Utila, the weather picked up a bit, and the winds were blowing us all the more. My wife, who was having a series of mini panic attacks in the back throughout the flight, only took things up a notch. We lined up with the runway, and our trusty pilot balanced our speed and altitude as we approached. One hand on the yoke, the other on the choke (I think that’s what it was) and we were ready to land. The winds didn’t budge, and we were being shoved all over this runway. At this point, I began to think, “Well we made it across the water, only to crash and burn here.”  At points,with what felt like an altitude of 15-20 feet, we were practically sideways on the runway. We dropped, and several times, he gave it gas to pick us up a bit. My eyes were dodging between the runway and the attitude indicator, noticing in both, that both our pitch and roll were way off. We were quickly running out of runway, and the chances of a survivable landing were slipping away. In the movies, when a plane is crashing, there are all those beeping warning noises from all the meters and indicators in the plane...That was us. Things were beeping right and left, up and down. Somehow, one wheel hit the ground, and then the other,and with nothing more than a harsh swerve, we were safely on the ground. I turn to look at my wife, who I figured had exited via the window at some point, and saw her collecting herself. Mr Lagos raised his fists and let out a “thank you jesus” as we taxid to the “terminal”. That was enough for me, and as soon as we came to a stop, I showed myself out of that death trap, and hopped down onto the tarmac.

Utila "airport"


Waiting there, were a few military personnel, for what reason, is anyone's guess. Arin, our tuk tuk driver was waiting on the tarmac as well.

Arin was waiting fur us


I unloaded our smaller bags via the passenger door, while our big bags were removed from the tail door. We gathered our bags, wished President Lagos well, snapped a few pictures in front of the plane, and headed to the end of the tarmac where the tuk tuk was waiting.

Being that there were no other flights arriving, the terminal was closed, so we just hopped the little chain that surrounded the tarmac, and stuffed ourselves and our bags into the tiny tuk tuk.

Our tuk tuk beyond the guarding chain


With the weather being as it was, from here on in, I have no pictures, until we reached the island, so I’ll do my best to paint the pictures with words.


We rode through the somewhat crowded roads of utila for about 10 minutes, with some broken commentary from Arin about the places we were passing. All the while, I was wondering how in tarnation SF fit in a tuk tuk, as I regularly repositioned my oversized feeling knees and legs.


The streets in Utila were bustling with island life. Food stands were serving, a family packed onto an ATV passed us, and houses in all states of construction and ruin lined the properties on the sides of the road. We passed a few bars, a small grocery, another bar, some restaurants, all serving Central American foods of every variety. Stray dogs of different colors seemed to roam freely, occasionally getting in the way of tuk tuk and foot traffic. Utila is one of the only places in the world I’ve visited, where the potholes were worse than Chicago, and when you’re in a beaten up 3 wheeled vehicle, it just adds to the pain.


We bumped our way up to Bush’s supermarket, and hung a sharp right down a little alleyway to the right of the store. At the end of the alleyway, was the dock, where Barry and co, were fueling up for our trip out. Barry welcomed us, and politely declined a handshake as his were covered in fuel, but settled for an elbow bump. The rain was back again, so we placed our bags under the overhang to the left where a few picnic tables stood. Arin seemed to think our bags would get wet on the boat ride, which worried me a bit, being that I had some electronics in them, as well as our clothes. We paid Arin 200 Lempira for the ride, Which he graciously rounded up to $9, and he left. We left our stuff with Barry as he finished prepping the boat, and we headed into Bush’s for some last minute provisions.


I packed almost everything we needed, as I was not sure what would be available in Bush’s. We picked up some toilet paper (We didn’t know they provided this on the island), plastic forks, knives, cups, and plates. We grabbed a bottle of Pam and a couple dozen eggs to use with the pan we brought. There is a limited amount of freshwater on the island, but it’s used for showering and hand washing, and is not filtered for drinking, so we picked up 6 gallons of water as well. I grabbed a package of large garbage bags to put our luggage into, to keep it all dry. The fruit and veggies didn’t look very good there, but we picked out a few apples, oranges, and pears, that looked a bit better than the rest. There were a few kosher items there, like noodles, drinks, some random sauces and whatnot. A lot of normal items, like Hellman's mayo, for instance, was in all spanish packaging, and didn’t have a hechsher, being that it’s probably produced outside the kosher certified plants.


Our bill was a little over 1,200 Lempira (~$52), which we paid, and collected out bags. Back at the dock, Barry was waiting, and helped us bag up our luggage. It had started raining a bit harder, so we decided put our cameras and phones into our bags. We opted to put ourselves in garbage bags too so as not to arrive completely drenched (No pics of that thankfully!). Before we pulled away, Barry briefed us a bit. He told us the weather wasn’t too cooperative, and he would not be able to get off the boat to show us around, but his worker, who joined us for the ride, would show us the basics when we got there. Due to the rough waters, he warned us to carefully follow his instructions when getting off the boat, so as not to get crunched between the rocking boat and the dock. With that, we sped off!


The closest part of Utila, is a mere 1.1 miles from our island, but I don’t believe that area is inhabited at all. Bush’s is in the heart of the life, way on the other end of Utila, and measures a bit over 7 miles from our island, not factoring in the curved route we needed to take.

Map View


The waters started off calm, but the ride quickly got bumpy as we hit bigger waves. A warm salty mist would hit from either side, and occasionally would fly right over us and hit Barry square in the face.
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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #11 on: February 26, 2019, 11:08:06 PM »

Arriving at the Island

About 10 minutes in, we were able to see our island, and we kept our view locked on it as we fast approached. A few minutes later, Barry slowed us down, and pulled up alongside the dock. Paradise, this was our stop. We carefully climbed up onto the dock, as the boat rocked in the choppy waters. Barry’s guy unloaded our luggage, and we carried it onto the deck where we left it while he showed us around. First, he showed us the toilet pump switch, located in a little area on the back of the house.

Toilet pump switch


Being that the island is an island, it’s not exactly connected to any main. There is a pump, activated by this switch, that pumps saltwater into a tank on the roof, where it is stored and used for the toilets. I only ran out of water once, over my trip, and I simply flipped the switch to solve that problem.


Next, he showed us the power converter, the only source of power for electronics. It’s controlled by a simple on/off button, and has a power strip connected to it. This converter, pulls power stored in the batteries, charged by solar panels, and converts it to normal 120v power.

Power station


He then headed back to the boat, where Barry was waiting, and they headed out. I waved Barry off, and grabbed the last few items we had left on the dock. I took a moment to register what I was seeing, as we had been so preoccupied with everything going on until now. The rain was still coming and going, and the sky was overcast, but we didn’t let that take away from the true beauty of the place.


Our bags were still in a heap on the front deck, and my wife was itching to unpack, but I managed to convince her to walk the island with me and see the sights.

Memories last forever, make them while you can.

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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #12 on: February 26, 2019, 11:21:04 PM »
Island Tour
I’m going to break here to map the place out in both pictures and words, to help you better picture my references going forward. Let us start with the living quarters. There is a large 2 part cabin, connected by deck in between, and surrounded by deck on all 3 sides. One side, which I will refer to as “the sleeping side”, has 2 bedrooms, split by a small half bathroom. The second side is a bit larger, and will be referred to as “the awake side”. It is made up of a kitchen, a bathroom with a shower, and a living room. Here is an overhead view:

An overhead view of the cabin


I bought a premium membership for a blueprinting program to map it out:

Premium Blueprinting®


Next is the island as a whole:

Do yourself a favor, and kick these videos up to 720 resolution.





Full island overhead


The image is rotated to align with it’s true directions, so the dock is north, the point of the island is east etc. The north side to the right and left of the doc was probably the most “beachy” area, with palm trees behind you and plenty or room to walk in the sand. The area around the dock is pretty much all sand underwater as well, as it used to be shore, so it makes for a nice area to swim, dip your feet, or just hang out.  As you head east, the island narrows, and the sand slowly to turns water. You can see, on the east side of the dock, about halfway to the tip of the island, there is a bit of a wall that was put up to keep the sand from washing out. A quick side by side of my overhead shot, and SFs, shows that the island is, shall we say, moving.

Side by side


The water by that little wall, was very rocky, and hard to walk on. I tried entering there, and immediately made a U-turn when I stuck my head under to see the rocks below, covered in pointy urchins in every crack and crevice. The eastern point of the island was a great place to stand and watch the water. It also made for a great place to enter, as the reefs started literally as you stepped into the water. Below you can see the views both in and out from the eastern point.

The view out from the eastern point

An inward view of the island from the point


When walking from the front of the island (northern side) to the eastern point,  It was a pleasant walk on soft sand, along the water. Coming back on the southern side of the island, there is a bit more of an incline, so you’re either up on the island, or down on the beach, which was quite narrow, and almost nonexistent at times. The reefs on the southern side of the island, begin just feet from the shore, and you can often see fish swimming among the rocks even from the shore. When walking along the south side, to the south west, to the west, you encounter some rockier areas, that can be quite hard to pass without climbing back up to the main island and walking around the obstacles on higher ground. In the below front view of the island, you can see the rocky patch to the right of the dock, preventing you from walking up to the west side, from the north.

South facing view of northwest side

Northwestern rock patch


But just past that rocky patch, is a beautiful beach area, with an easy access route to the reefs.

The small western beach


You get the idea. Each part of the shoreline had its perks, and we utilized them all.

Now, let’s do a quick walkthrough of the cabin. We’ll start with a south facing view of the front of it:

Full Cabin


And of the sleeping side:

Sleeping side


Awake side:

Awake side


Now, we’ll take the tour of the interior, starting with the awake side. The largest room on the awake side, is the living room. The living room has a interesting little coffee table, some mattresses, for larger parties, and some rather odd but befitting decor.

Living room (facing in)

Living Room (facing out)


The power station, which I mentioned earlier, is located in the living room, on one of the few book shelves. There are some games and odds and ends on the shelves as well, which I didn’t really use.

Bookshelf


The inner doorway of the living room, connected it to a bit of of a hall, with connects the bathroom, at the back of the house, and the kitchen, at the front of the house. The kitchen, has a door in the front corner, as well as a bar/window, that can be let down at your leisure. The bar opens right up to the table and chairs on the covered deck in front of the awake side.

Kitchen (view from deck)


There is a full stock of pots, pans, cups, silverware etc in the kitchen, but it obviously isn’t kosher, so not much help. There is a gas range, as well as an oven, which I suppose can be kashered, but I doubt it’s worth the headache. I used the gas range only, and with my own pot and pan, as well as spatula, which I brought from home. As you can see above, the hall to the bathroom/shower, is just behind the sink, as well as the entrance to the living room.

Next, let’s have a look at the bathroom and shower situation. The first shot, below, is a view from the outside door. On the far right, you can see the doorway, connecting it to the rest of the house.

Bathroom 2


Our luxurious shower, heated only by the sun, and drained via a hole in the tile, to the sand below.

Shower


Showerhead


The throne…

Bathroom 2 toilet &amp; sink





That pretty much covers the awake side of the house, now let’s walk across the deck, connecting the two cabins.

Deck area between the 2 sides


On the sleeping side, there is a little area with three doors:

Sleeping side Bathroom &amp; Bedroom doors


Let’s head through the door on the left.

Bedroom 2


A modest little room with two twin beds, which we dubbed “the unpacking room” for obvious reasons.

The middle door is for the half bathroom.

Bathroom 2


Next we have the king bedroom. Note the windows on three of the four sides,which made for great climate control in the room. Sometimes a bit humid, but overall quite comfortable.

Bedroom 1 (facing in)

Bedroom 1 (facing out)


Back out on the deck area between the two sides, you can see the entrances to the awake side, the kitchen and bathroom doors.

Awake side, side entrances


If you continue walking, you come to end of the deck.
End of the deck at the back of the cabin


The shoreline is much closer to the cabin in the back of the islan, than the front, and it makes for great, relaxing background noise when going to bed.

Deck between (back view)


And here’s the not super nice, back of the cabin

Sleeping side (back view)

Awake side (back view)


The small area closed off with the fencing, is where the pumps, batteries and gas tanks are kept. That is where the switch for the toilet pump is located.


Battery, pump, &amp; gas storage area

Batteries and pumps


That pretty much wraps up the house tour, so back to where we were…
« Last Edit: February 26, 2019, 11:24:31 PM by as2 »
Memories last forever, make them while you can.

Offline SrulyS

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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #13 on: February 26, 2019, 11:32:25 PM »
Nice! Thanks for not making us wait between segments.

I am more of a “relaxing” vacation type of guy, rather than the action packed type, so an island of my own to vegetate on for a few days was super appealing.
With that plane ride it looks like you got some action on this trip after all.

Offline as2

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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #14 on: February 26, 2019, 11:34:17 PM »
Nice! Thanks for not making us wait between segments.
With that plane ride it looks like you got some action on this trip after all.
I hate waiting between segments! I intentionally finished most of the exciting parts before posting. Yes, that flight was a bit too much... :o
Memories last forever, make them while you can.

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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #15 on: February 27, 2019, 12:04:34 AM »
Awesome TR!
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #16 on: February 27, 2019, 12:37:03 AM »
Memories last forever, make them while you can.

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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #18 on: February 27, 2019, 01:00:34 PM »
boooo! where is my shoutout?!?!

on another note, great TR! loved seeing the video footage (again)
I bought a premium membership for a blueprinting program to map it out:
ALOL
(Quit) pulling out the flowers, and watering the weeds. -Peter Lynch

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Re: A Getaway to Paradise - as2's Private Island Escape
« Reply #19 on: February 27, 2019, 01:29:56 PM »
boooo! where is my shoutout?!?!

on another note, great TR! loved seeing the video footage (again)ALOL
Only one getting a shout out is SF, as it was all his idea. I'll give a thanks to everyone else, but there are too many others to thank by name Oh, and don't knock my blueprinting program. You may need to borrow it one day.
Memories last forever, make them while you can.