This month’s departure of a Williams Lake couple is the region’s loss and Roatán’s gain.
Recently the Cariboo Regional District manager of communications Shelly Burich and her husband Mic sold their home, quit their jobs and left for a new life in Honduras.
They headed out by vehicle last week with their canine pals Molly, Paige and Willy in toe.
Their belongings went ahead of them in a shipping container the week before.
For just over 10 years the Buriches called the Cariboo home, after moving here from the Lower Mainland where Mic grew up.
Shelly is originally from Oakville, Ont., and was a third-generation professional horse jumper.
Last November her father Doug Hood was posthumously inducted into the Ontario Equestrian Federation’s Jump Canada Hall of Fame in the category of coach.
Both Shelly and Mic loved their work in the Cariboo, but the warmer climates of places they travelled began beckoning them as time went on.
“We’ve been vacationing off and on in the Caribbean for 14 years,” Shelly said one Friday morning as the couple took a break from packing boxes for the move.
“Seven years ago we began researching the laws about maintaining our Canadian citizenship if we wanted to leave the country.”
Then two years ago they vacationed in Honduras for the first time and were hooked.
“Hondurans are amazing,” Shelly said. “It is about 80 degrees there all year round, and we are located below the hurricane belt.”
Eventually they connected with a real estate agent in Roatán named Edward du Monceaux.
Originally from White Rock, B.C., he moved to Roatán permanently in 2003.
Monceaux knew the Buriches were interested in moving to Roatán so when he heard someone was selling a 10 year old Balinese-style home, he contacted Shelly and Mic.
“It has lots of wood, vaulted ceilings, a huge deck and a splash pool,” Mic said of the home they purchased, noting the beach is only a two-minute walk.
As far as tourism goes, Roatán is like the Mayan was 20 years ago or where Belize was 10 years ago, Mic added.
“Where we are it’s very multicultural,” Shelly said of their Mangroe Bight neighbourhood in the West End area of the island.
“We have Americans, Germans, Texans and a chocolatier living just down the road.”
The area is very touristy with many restaurants so the Buriches may eventually turn a smaller home on their property into a bed and breakfast, they said.
Mic has experience working in hydro excavation and running vacuum trucks, but he’s also a few steps away from becoming a professional diver so there are many options for him to work for a local diving company,
In the meantime, he plans to start a small security gate business and build a workshop on their half-acre property.
Shelly also plans to “hang out her own shingle,” doing communications on a freelance basis for local governments back in B.C., corporations and major horse shows in Canada.
“I’d also love to help develop an emergency communication system in Roatán,” said Shelly, who will draw from the experiences she gained doing that very work for the CRD during local emergencies such as wildfires.
Aside from work they anticipate there will be volunteer opportunities on the horizon.
The local fire department is completely underfunded and firefighters have to buy their own turnout gear.
“We’re also interested in helping the Roatán Marine Park with its efforts to protect the Misoamerican Reef,” Shelly added.
People hoping to follow their adventure more closely will have the opportunity because the Buriches are going to be featured on HGTV’s House Hunters International.
“A year ago we got an e-mail from Ed du Monceaux asking us if we wanted to be on the show,” Shelly said. “We thought he was kidding and said, ‘yah sure.’”
Half an hour later, she received an e-mail from one of the show’s producers solidifying the request.
At the end of August 2015, the show’s film crew came to Williams Lake to film the back story, which will also promote tourism in the region, thanks to help from the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association, Shelly said.
Then in November, Shelly and Mic travelled to Roatan for another four and half days of filming for the show.
Viewers can expect the episode to air in April or May of this year, she added.
Shelly’s also started a blog about their new life — All Paths Lead to Roatan — and has already written a couple of entries.
“For the most part it will be about practical every day stuff, and the intricacies of things like taking our pets with us,” Shelly said of the blog.
“I want to share good information and tips in a fun way.”
