Current Rock of Residence:
Roatan, Honduras
Island Girl Since:
2012
Originally Hails From:
Saskatchewan, Canada
Originally from the Great White North, land of the Eskimos and igloos (that’s what’s really up there in Canada, right?), Rika arrived on a Caribbean rock called Roatan in early 2012 on a holiday and learned to SCUBA dive. Then she came back a month later. Then she came back two months later. Then she came back and forgot to leave. Over 1200 dives (and rum punches) later, she is now a PADI Master SCUBA Diver Trainer and still gets a kick out of her divers being scared of nurse sharks. She’s learned many things from island living including how to live with slow internet, navigating muddy roads on a scooter and a fairly dirty dance move called the “wine”. She can now understand Spanish and speak island English like a local (her parents are very proud). Known around Roatan for being fearless (hacking up tarantulas with a machete when they venture too close to her house, or jumping off the top of a bar into the ocean for free shots), Rika has made many bad decisions on the rock that have turned into great stories…if you ply her with enough rum or a freshly-caught tuna, she’ll share. Follow her adventures and misadventures over on her blog, Cubicle Throwdown.
Explore posts by this writer:
First World Island Problems with Basil and Zucchini
This year was my first year in Turks and Caicos during Christmas. And every Christmas I make "sort of" homemade lasagna. I also make a yummy zucchini/truffle salad to go with it. This year was different. We were now in Turks and Caicos away from the friends we usually...
Reflections of A Former Island Celebrity
When I was a child growing up in Maryland during the 1950’s and 1960’s, I had dreams of becoming a mega stage and screen star. Back then, Mom worked for a former dancer who opened a dance studio. So from the ages of 5-7, I trained as a ballerina. Then, seeing that...
THE COFFEE QUEST….
“ There is an awful lot of coffee in Brazil……”The Coffee Song of 1976" by Osibisa (YouTube) springs to mind as I am in the starting blocks of my latest story. Yes, after 2 wonderful, freshly brewed, cups of coffee. Beans from…..no, now I need to back up…. We, my...
Never Trust A Price
So, I had to buy a bottle of rum today. Not a rare occurrence, pretty typical actually. "Why is it $38 Theresa? It was $29.99 last week?" "Oh, Meez Vic, it's because itz de last bottle of dat rum on da shelf" "Are you planning on ordering more?" "Oh yez, Meez Vic"...
“SIMPLE JOYS OF POST STORM LIFE”
Seems as if recent climatic events and other disasters seen on TV news reports, have triggered a multitude of residual emotions in me which I thought I had gotten rid of during Irma/Maria Recovery. The following is an excerpt from my published Hurricane journal “TWO...
The Gift
When my husband and I decided to uproot our family from Kentucky- from the only place, people, and life we have ever known- and move to a tiny island in the Caribbean, it was of course met with so many remarks to the tune of "Oh My Gosh, THAT'S AMAZING!", "You are...
