news details-
April 2008
Start-up Compay Plans a Sexually-charged Swingers Cruises
The cruises comprise of a sexually-charged voyage that is sure to raise eyebrows in the industry. Yolo has rented a Carnival vessel for sailing seven nights. The vessel is due to leave Tampa on the 26th of April. The Western Carribbean schedule includes stops at ports in Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Roatan, Honduras. Marlene Brustle, president of Yolo Cruises states that the idea is to offer swingers – people who support non-monogamous sexual experiences. A chance to get together with like-minded people. In her words, "an open erotic atmosphere. It will feature full nudity at the pools, daytime pool parties and specially planned sexually themed parties in the evening." Brustle adds that, designated playrooms will also be available "for the voyeurs and the more adventurous on board." Evening parties shall include themes like "naughty schoolgirl" and "masquerade". "Think Tom Cruise's Eyes Wide Shut" points Brustle. Using sex as a selling strategy for mass-market vacations has become increasingly popular lately. Many land based resorts like the Hedonism properties in Jamaica have been hosting swingers' escapes for years but comparatively, the conservative cruise industry has been slow to welcome this trend. However, with the cruise trend exploding and with the industry catering to the needs of more and more niche groups, it was probably just a matter of time before someone started pushing the idea, no matter how controversial it appeared. Brustle, who has been a travel indusry veteran and who has managed a travel agency for nearly twenty years, points out that swining has been growing in recent years and has begun getting more accepted by the mainstream. She further points out that, for evidence of it's popularity, one does not need to look further than CBS, one of the major TV networks, airing a show called "Swingtown" in prime time. According to Brustle, the company's research shows that there are about four million swingers living currently in USA, which is definitely a huge untapped market for cruising. Brustle adds that the company aspires to offer three or four swingers cruises a year with a variety of itenaries and ships. Prices for April cruise starts at $ 949 per person for an inside cabin.
25 April 2008
Tragedy hits Roatan's zip-line tour
A passenger sailing onboard NCL's Norwegian Spirit died due to a fatal fall when a faulty cable snapped on the 18th of March 2008. Barbara Sue Fojtasek, aged 44 fell along with her tour guide more than 30 feet below to the forest ground. Fojtasek was rushed to a private clinic where she succumbed to her injuries. The Gumbalimba Park tour guide was treated for serious injuries but he survived the fall and was relesased from the hospital on March 22.
Zip-line excursions have become increasingly popular of late among adventure cruisers who seek more than just a day on the beach. The tours provide breathtaking views with amusement park fun. Initial detail about the Roatan accident that was reported by various media outlets expressed that Fojtasek's harness broke and she fell from a height of 65 feet. However officials at the Honduras Institute of Tourism refuted the statement by terming it false. According to the officials, the zip-line tour consists of 13 platforms located at the beginning and end of each of the ride's 11 separate legs arriving at which the rider must disconnect from one stretch of cable and hook up to the next. A tourism spokesman stated that Fojtasek and the guide were travelling down the zip-lines in tandem that was joined together so that the guide was in control of the brakes etc. At the time of the accident, the duo stopped at one of the platforms when the guide mistakenly did not attact them both to a security line when connecting to the next cable. When they resumed their ride, the primary cable snapped for reasons unknown and with no safety line to protect them from falling, Fojtasek and the guide plunged 35 feet to the ground – not from 65 feet that initially reported but still a fatal height to fall from. Caitlizzle, a cruise critic claims to have been on the excursion with Fojtasek, had a slightly different version of what took place on that fateful day. "We heard that she got stuck in the middle, and a guide came along to help her. He undid her safety clip so that he could get in front of her to direct her along to the next platform. While this was happening, the line fell." The Institute of Tourism claims that the cable that failed was brand new and was only installed in February and could hold a maximum capacity of 3 tonnes. Fojtasek's tragic death is the first serious incident in the Gumbalimba Park zip-line's six years of operation and the first fatality ever to occur on any Roatan canopy tour.
May 2008
NGO Brings Relief to Ailing Roatanians
A non governmental organisation (NGO) has expanded into an indispensable contributor to the Roatan public health system within a year after the organisation by the name Medicines for Roatan began their operation. One NGO is responsible for supplying 20% of all medicines used at the Roatan hospital, about which the Honduran central government still has no clue. A Medicines for Roatan pamphlet reads, "in theory patients at public health facilities in the Bay Islands are entitled to free medicines provided by the Ministry of health. In reality upto 50% i.e. about 45,000 patients go home without treatment each year". The pamphlet further reads, "this results in unnecessary suffering, disability and death".
The 2007 Roatan public hospital pharmacy budget was scaled at $195,000, but they received only $ 135,000 worth of drugs from the government.
Medicines for Roatan added in the missing amount by providing 25,000 treatments. The Roatan Hospital has been regularly using these donated drugs as a fall back resource. Since the government sends drugs to all its hospitals on a quarterly basis, the last two weeks of every quarter i.e. every March, June, September and December are the times when medications at the hospital starts becoming scarce. Dr. Nora El Goulli, president of Medicines for Roatan recalls when her NGO filled in the gap in the supply of insulin, a life-saving drug for diabetics to 250 Roatan patients. She says, "we had the medicines donated and FedEx-ed from Mexico". El Goulli created an emergency fund of $2,500 for such situations.
One important aspect required for importing drugs to Honduras is that they have to possess atleast one year validity. However, some of the drugs donated to medical centers and clinics on Roatan comes packed in suitcases belonging to tourists and have sometimes crossed the expiry date. El Goulli states that these medications can be dangerous to administer to patients. She says "Humid and hot conditions can break some drugs like aspirin or certain antibiotics into toxins. At the very least they can lose their potency and fail to treat the patient".
Medicines for Roatan fetches over 100 prescription drugs by buying medicines at cost from intdernational non-profit drug suppliers. Dr. El Goulli says, " we are focusing on the rice and beans medicines: penicillin, painkillers, antibiotics-high volume, low cost medicines". The Honduran government still needs to provide all the less common and often more expensive drugs. One such drug is the cocktail of anti-HIV medications. Roatanians who are diagnosed with HIV on Roatan range from a 14-year old girl to an 87-year old woman. According to Dr. Cruz, "Family brought her in while she was in a coma, then took her back before we received results to the tests".
It costs the Honduran government Lps. 24000 or $1,240 per patient in a year to provide anti-HIV treatment. The patients on Roatan are mostly women and they receive medications for free. The number of patients taking the medication has risen from 10 to 35 adults and 5 children since October 2005.