IGUANA STAFF
THE HAPPY FOLKS WHO WORK AT CASA IGUANA
Actually taken February 19, this photo includes everyone on staff at that time. Grant and Cathy were off island when this was taken. From left: Yamilett, Ana, Martha, Maribel, Per behind Maribel, Camille, Bob, Pablo, Isidro, Uncle Bob and David.
IN THE KITCHEN
RONDON NIGHT
Maribel stands beside a big pot of Rondon on January 12th. Rondon is a local dish made of seafood and vegetables boiled in coconut milk.
Maribel and Matt make a good team in the kitchen. Matt, our chef hails from Florida and made his return to the States in February.
Maribel takes a break from the hot pot on the deck with Uncle Bob, our engineer and Per, our fisherman.
Uncle Bob, Zoe, Per, Lily, Charnelle and Tim enjoying pre-dinner ambiance while waiting for the Rondon to finish cooking. Zoe and Tim are the managers of the Dive Shop. Unlce Bob, often fills in as Dive Master as needed. Lily tends bar and Charnelle is the dive instructor.
A refugee from the New York night life scene, Lily bestowed a touch of elegance upon our rustic resort. Here she shakes up her version of the local drink of rum and milk. Lily has added a bit of simple syrup to the Vaca Borracho, or drunken cow.
Sweetened and shaken, the Vaca Borracho takes on a entirely different personality, resembling a creamy milkshake.
Lily and Charnelle have grown to be good friends.
THE LAST SUPPER
Matt invited Maribel’s mother and sister to dinner and served up lobster for all on his
last night at Iguana on January 17th.
EN LA MANA A
Ana, Martha’s daughter, is Maribel’s main breakfast back up and has become the cornerstone for our morning kitchen. She sets up the dining room, takes and serves orders, prepares the fruit bowls and washes dishes.
Dolores, Maribel’s niece helps out in the kitchen and in the laundry.
HABITACION
Ana and Martha, daughter and mother both head up the housekeeping staff, although Ana spends most of her time as backup in the kitchen. Martha is one of the original employees at Casa Iguana and is largely responsible for building it into the thriving business it is today.
LAVENDERIA
Yamilett takes a break from the laundry to tease David. She drew his portrait on a coconut and asked him to cut it open for her to drink.
In addition to laundry, Yami cooks breakfast, helps with dinner and cleans rooms.
Dolores is a class act who worked with us for several months before returning to the mainland. She helped out in the laundry, in the kitchen, and coached us with our Spanish.
Ellieth, Maribel’s daughter, also helps out in the laundry when she is not in school
on the mainland.
THE GROUNDS
Roberto, Pablo, Isidro, Tio Bob and David are the men (and boys – David is 15) who
manage the infrastructure for Casa Iguana.
David, Pablo’s younger brother, is one of the tres hombres who manage the grounds, vegetable garden and fruit plantation.
Pablo completes the trio. He also cleans the fish our Pescador, or fisherman catches for our table. Without Pablo on the grounds and Maribel in the kitchen, Casa Iguana would cease to exist as a going concern.
LOLO
Lolo helps out on a seasonal basis. Siempre feliz means always happy and that fits Lolo’s disposition. He is eager to take on more than his share of the burden and manages to smile his way through each and every day.
FISHING
Per is our main fisherman. The main ingredient on our dinner menu is fish, caught fresh from the waters surrounding Little Corn Island. Per holds a large barracuda. The firm, white flesh of the barracuda is best when grilled, but lends itself well to frying, baking and stewing.
Pablo poses with a rather large barracuda for a photo on the beach. We took this photo at his request for his father. This fish looks a lot larger in Pablo’s hands than it does in Per’s, above.
George fishes for us on Per’s day off. Here he holds a large kingfish from the morning catch. The kingfish is more delicate in flavor and texture, therefore we serve it baked and never freeze it.
Grant show Per how to rig ballyhoo for bait.
Matt holds a pair of barracuda caught January 13th before Pablo takes them to clean them for his kitchen.
DIVE SHOP
Tim and Zoe are the managers of the Dive Shop where they offer dive certification and boat trips for diving and snorkeling. Tim is from Canada and Zoe from Great Britain.
Karla minds the Dive Shop desk and deck. Jorge and Jose, not shown, take turns piloting the dive boat for tours.
GILLIGAN’S ISLAND MEETS LORD OF THE FLIES
It doesn’t take long for the island to exert it’s influence upon those who come here to work. Matt has gone a bit feral after several months at Casa Iguana.
As has Tio (Uncle) Bob, who stands with the other Bob outside casa viejo. Bob is now affectionately known as “Roberto” because the name Bob was already taken when we arrived. The two Bobs are discussing the facility and security issues of the day while Mike’s laundry dries on the line.
GOODBYES
One of the hardest things about life at Casa Iguana is the transitions. Matt and Charnelle prepare to leave the island after their three months of employment.
NEW LAUNDRY QUEEN
Martha stands beside Elizabeth, the newest addition to our happy staff. Elizabeth joined us in March, 2005.