Goodrich – A local author and his wife lived out their dream on a tropical paradise island.
And survived to tell the story.
Inspiration for most stories by Eugene Renaldo’known as Pierre Renaldo since World War II buddies dubbed him ‘Lucky Pierre?’is gleaned from adventures shared with his wife, Gloria Renaldo.
For more than five years, the couple lived on Roatan, the largest of the Honduran Bay Islands in the west Caribbean Sea.
‘It’s very laid back,? says Pierre, 77, a general contractor from western New York who specialized in Florida hurricane-resistant structures. He met Gloria, a native of Saginaw, Mich. on a Florida beach in 1983. They married the following year.
‘When I went from New York to Florida, I had a great deal of problems adjusting to the laid-back society,? said the intrepid Pierre.
‘When we went from Florida to the Caribbean, we found out we didn’t know what laid back was. Down there, they’re laid flat.?
Gloria says her adventurous life began at 40 when she married Pierre, joining her husband in skiing, playing tennis, scuba-diving, snorkeling, skydiving, cooking, and traveling, eventually moving nearly 2,500 from her North American roots to Central America.
A Catholic missionary, Gloria was contacted by the church to take in a woman from Honduras, along with the woman’s baby.
‘It was interesting, we were going to go to Costa Rica,? said Pierre. Their plans changed course when they accompanied their charge back to her home country.
‘We discovered the Bay Islands and liked Roatan…besides, the people spoke English because it used to be a British possession. The people that live there are descendants of emancipated slaves from Jamaica who established colonies, (the black race is) called garafuna there.?
Except for widespread crime, Roatan would truly be paradise, says Pierre, gazing at a photo on his computer desktop. It shows a three-story home, rising above sparkling turquoise waters into a pure pastel sky.
‘The sky really is that blue. It’s unbelievable,? says Pierre. ‘The sound of the sea we heard day and night.?
‘It was absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous,? said Gloria.
‘The water was so clear it was like air,? Pierre said. ‘From up in our tower you could see fish swimming around.?
With a ready supply of fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as fresh tuna, crab, lobster, and conch, the Renaldos often held dinner parties.
‘We eat our tuna raw, sashimi style with dipping sauce,? says Pierre, describing another chopped raw fish dish, ceviche, prepared with lime, hot chili peppers, and onions.
‘It’s traditional in almost all the cultures down there,? he said. ‘They sell it in little containers for snacks, but you don’t buy it from just anybody.?
When visiting the mainland, Pierre would always carry his own eating implements and purchase the dish, which could be stored in the refrigerators some hotels had.
While most restaurants weren’t considered good, the couple frequented an establishment where an American Embassy chef fixed whatever their hearts desired.
It was there they met the character of Pierre’s first book, ‘Felix Prince of Cats and Mitch the Great Storm of the Century?.
The book began as a series of letters to the grandchildren, based on true stories of an unusual stray cat Gloria persuaded Pierre to adopt. The gray cat could open doors, play hide and seek, tip a tumbler to drink, and keep pace with the manuevers of a visiting monkey. He also taught other cats some of his tricks.
‘I would have never considered owning a cat,? says Pierre. ‘Felix is an extremely intelligent animal. I just have never run into anything like it.?
Pierre’s letters-home style translates well to another of his books, ‘Coastwatcher?, a series of short vignettes on life in the Caribbean based on a newsletter and e-magazine about the Bay Islands.
It’s toned down for tourists, admits Pierre, who openly discussed the dark side of life in paradise.
‘It becomes noticeable by degrees, a little at a time,? he said.
‘At first you don’t want to believe it, you say, ‘Here I am, I’ve made this commitment to be here.? Then you get angry. We were here trying to help these people, they’d accept our help but didn’t put it to good use and reverted back to corrupt philosophies.?
Theft is a way of life on Roatan, where residents soon learn it’s not worth it to own anything of value. Strangers will even disconnect one’s paid phone service, expecting money to turn it back on.
‘Even little kids are corrupted? and steal jewelry tourists are wearing, says Pierre. ‘They’re told, ‘Don’t come home unless you bring something.??
Shortly after moving to Roatan, Pierre and Gloria were shopping in a bookstore with 30 to 40 other shoppers early one Saturday afternoon.
‘Three guys came in with automatic weapons and suddenly I had a gun stuck on my head,? said Pierre, who called the incident a lesson in awareness. The armed men robbed the store, and without calling the police, business continued as usual.
The local police chief–originally from Ohio–advised them to shoot thieves. Pierre didn’t find police as helpful on Roatan as what U.S. citizens are used to.
‘If you want a thrill, get caught in a road block,? he said dryly. ‘It’s trigger-happy young guys with automatic weapons working for the national police. They take your driver’s license and you have to go pay for it.?
Bribes are common, and jail time doesn’t deter residents well-connected, or younger than 18. Youth are hired to commit crimes since there’s no consequences for them, Pierre says. Those who do land in jail should arrange for someone to bring food, since it’s not provided.
Banks and post offices may have lines that go on for hours, and run out of money or stamps, a situation that led the Renaldos to start their own shipping service.
Food expiration dates aren’t honored, and expired food is often shipped from the U.S. for sale in Honduran markets.
‘We’d rarely get a Jiffy mix without bugs,? said Gloria.
Meals couldn’t be planned until shopping, since they could never count on regular items at the stores. They flew monthly to the mainland to purchase provisions.
The couple is well acquainted with how it feels to be part a minority.
‘We were the only white people there, we were definitely the minority,? said Pierre. ‘We know what prejudices are like, and exclusions.?
As gringos,they paid higher prices, and were unrelentlessly subject to swindling attempts, like the girl who asked for college funds, only to try cashing the check for a higher amount. When the bank refused, she asked for a second check. Later they found she’d spent the entire amount on clothes.
Every person they hired stole from them, says Pierre, including a woman and her eight children they let live in their home.
Fortunately, most locals avoided the house they lived in, since it was steeped in superstition. The setting for a grisly murder, the house inspired the author to write another well-received book, ‘Ironshore?.
The Renaldos live in Goodrich ‘by chance,? says Pierre, 77.
When Gloria’s kidneys failed during a 2001 Goodrich visit with her grandchildren, she stayed in Michigan for medical treatment.
Gloria now performs peritoneal dialysis at home–or on the road–about five times a day, checking in with hospitals as needed. She’s also on a list for a kidney transplant.
‘There’s nothing in Honduras to keep her alive,? said Pierre, who was compelled to remain on the island until 2003 to finish up projects’like a veterinary clinic’and dispose of property. They were able to sell their home, but had to abandon their vehicles and furniture, and find homes for their cats.
The couple was already considering joining others in moving to Thailand due to local’s hatred of Americans.
‘It was a good time to be leaving,? said Pierre.
‘I don’t think we’re as well liked outside of the U.S. since 9-11. Our appearance to other places in the world isn’t what it used to be, and we have to be aware of that.?
Despite the corruption, the Renaldos miss Roatan, an ironic blend of a slow pace and constant adventure that kept them sharp.
They miss the quaint sight of mountain streamed flecked with women laundering clothes to a sparkling white, or men washing cars; the gentle smiles and greetings exchanged by strangers; the sight of grass being cut with a machete.
Despite their poverty, the locals took pride in making their old corrugated homes beautiful by planting flowers that grew several times larger than in North America.
‘The people are more real down there,? says Gloria, lamenting how Sunday morning recreation seems to have taken the place of character-building church attendance here.
‘The people here in the U.S. seem to have a facade. Everybody seems to be worried about how big their house is, how big their car is, how many teams their kids are on, how fancy their dog is.?
Since the Renaldos have moved to the U.S., phone calls have become less expensive, making it easier to stay in touch with companions and get reports on feline friends they’ve left behind.
Despite the negative side, they cherish their memories of paradise.
‘If anybody had told me what was going to happen I wouldn’t have gone,? says Gloria, ‘but I wouldn’t want to change it now for the world.?