Fly Fish Guanaja

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Week 2 / Day 6 / Growth

I am 15 years old and this is my first time in Fly Fish Guanaja’s student program. I am the youngest one here by at least 5 years. Many experiences, thoughts and revelations have come along with this past week. Each Day we sit in a circle talking and connecting our experiences.  The other day, Steve asked us to relate where we are in life in reference to somewhere in the water cycle. I took some time to think about our new writing assignment, finally I was ready to put my ideas to paper. I wrote that I was a water droplet stuck in an eddy at the river mouth in the lake just waiting to burst into the river. I connected the lake to childhood which can be very repetitive and unchanging like a lake, but the second I was released from the eddy, I would burst into the river of adult life in college and whatever I want to pursue after that in the big ocean at the bottom. Once we all discussed all our metaphors, everybody helped me build off what I had already said and expanded it to more than I could ever imagine. Just last night for our next circle, Steve told us the power of listening and gave us another writing assignment. Our task was to listen to the ocean, describe what it sounds like and see what metaphors and revelations it brings with it. Once I got outside, I sat down, closed my eyes and just listened. After close to twenty minutes, I still heard nothing eye-opening, no way to connect what I heard to anything in my life, just the ocean and its sound. So, all I did was describe what I heard in as much detail as I thought possible, when we all met up again to discuss what we heard, everyone had some metaphor or heard their passion but me, except when I read mine instead of criticism, the other people helped me turn what I heard into something more. This showed that because everyone here is so much older than me, I can use them for advice and they can help me whenever I need it because they have all been through exactly what I am presently. The largest lesson I have learned in the past week. Has been that I can always ask for help from people who have already gone through what is troubling.  For me they will help me work through it, or even when I am succeeding at something, those people can make me so much better than I was before just by asking for help.
By: Jack Rose

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Week 2 / Day 2 / Guanaja Speaks

 

On Day 2, I woke up to an incredible morning thunderstorm. Light rain and claps of thunder filled the air as I took in the morning from the back porch of the lodge, something I did often during my first trip to Guanaja 5 years ago. We got a little bit of a late start to fishing, but that didn’t slow anyone down. Light rain continued throughout the morning, however, I had just enough light to get a shot at a permit on the North Side of Guanaja. All the stars aligned and I was very fortunate to land my second permit and my first here at Fly Fish Guanaja.

 

After our morning of fishing, we grabbed some lunch and ventured into Mangrove Bight to get to know some of the local people. Our mission was to find a random person and ask them a series of eight questions to create a profile for them. All of the people I spoke with were more than happy to share a little bit about their everyday life and their experiences on the island. One thing that always blows my mind about this place is the openness and hospitality of the locals. Three people in particular, Troy, Lenny, and Emmie, all had incredible stories to share with us, and I am thrilled to be able to share them here:

 

Lenny

Lenny moved to Guanaja from Connecticut in the 1970’s. Lenny worked as a US military helicopter mechanic and then was a pilot. His time in the US military sent him all over the world and instilled a desire to travel. At 79 years old he has been content with living in Guanaja since he first came. He has survived helicopter crashes, stage 4 throat cancer, and Hurricane Mitch. After Mitch hit, Lenny recalled the destruction. “A wild rabbit could be seen from miles. The jungle was destroyed and swept away, and the land was barren. But the people pulled through.” Lenny has found his home in this tropical paradise and loves connecting and trying to reach the local kids. He shares a similar vision to the students and staff at Fly Fish Guanaja, as he hopes to change the community through developing lasting relationships with the people and he hopes we can keep coming back.

 

Troy

Born and raised on The Cay, a village on stilts just off the main island of Guanaja, Troy has worked all of his life on the water on fishing boats and dive boats. Troy sees the beauty in the serenity of Guanaja and is thankful he doesn’t have to worry about violence. The biggest challenge Troy sees facing the island is the fact that it is difficult to bring people together for a common cause when the day to day necessity of sustenance is the biggest worry. In his many years in Guanaja, Troy recalls times on the high seas in storms and uncertainty and once his small snapper boat was even hit by a ship while returning home with a huge haul. “It’s just another great day to be alive and well.”

 

Emmie

Though only 14 years old, Emmie has been through more in life than most people can imagine. She was born in Guanaja but crossed the border into Texas, where half of her family remains. Back on Guanaja, Emmie helps out by helping clean homes and appreciates the fact that young children can roam free and safe, as everyone is caring and sweet. Pictured here with Emmie is her younger brother Jayden who is actually a US citizen having been born in Texas after Emmie and her mother ventured across the border.

 

By: Jake Wood and Knox Kronenberg