July 18, 2010

Since arriving back to Guatemala we have been very, very busy. First we enjoyed a great day celebrating the US 4th of July at Marios Marina. Complete with volleyball, blind dingy races (And, that is a whole other story), a wonderful pig roast, beautiful fireworks, and dancing into the night. All with a great group of cruising sailors.

On July 6th we thumbed a ride aboard Sea Star and traveled back to Texan Bay to enjoy the company of Gene and Brenda from Queen Mary. We spent two nights swapping stories, playing great music, and just enjoying great friends. We helped Gene and Brenda ready Queen Mary for her summer at the dock at Texan Bay. They do not expect to be back to her until mid-November. We gave hugs goodbye and of course, I shed tears, because these are two of my favorite people in the whole world and we don’t know if we will ever catch up with them, again. That is the bitter sweet part about cruising that I find the hardest to cope with. I hate goodbyes!!!!

Back at Marios, we got the battery charger installed and it is working flawlessly. Of course, when you have someone as meticulous as Tom doing the installation…… I have been successful in both ant extermination and elimination of the mold/mildew that had decided to take up residence on Footloose. Tom has been doing his own eradication of rust on the stainless and we have fallen into a pattern of chores in the morning then finding something to do in a shady, breezy spot at the marina. Including mahjong, volleyball, swimming in Mario’s wonderfully cool pool, playing cards, working on monster jigsaw puzzles. I even hosted a jam session that I hope will turn into a weekly event.

In addition, we joined about 14 other cruisers on a trip to the Ak’Tenamit School. This is a private school run mostly by volunteers with grant money and money they earn through sales of Mayan crafts, operations of a number of restaurants, and fundraising efforts. This is a great operation, doing important work, and we both hope to find ways to volunteer to assist them, while we are here.

The trip started by boarding a launcha and taking a trip through the Golfetti to the Ak’Tenamit clinic located just beyond the edge of the Rio. This clinic houses two doctors as well as two nurses and a number of Mayan liaisons who assist the medical people in the communication between patients and medical staff. There are dozens of small Mayan villages in the surrounding 10 miles of jungle and in teams of two or three, the medical staff treks into the jungle to visit and dispense medical help. The clinic staff visits each village every three months. Their primary focus, at present, is to provide family planning, prenatal care, and HIV education. They also have a floating dental clinic manned with a dentist who volunteers his time. The launchas that the clinic has are used to move people to and from the school site, which is few miles away up a tributary of the Rio Dulce, and to get more serious medical cases to the hospital in Puerto Barrios. We wandered the grounds around the clinic observing dozens of young children at play. We were told that the elementary students attend the Government school which shares the grounds with the clinic. We saw one of the Ak’Tenamit girl’s dormitories, which looked like a typical teenager’s room. And, we visited the “kitchen” where the meals are prepared for staff and students. Beans, corn tortillas, and rice make up the daily diet.

We left the clinic and made our way down river to the school. We were met by the school’s English teacher and one of the senior students, who acted as our tour guides for the visit. The English teacher was a young man volunteering his time at the school and acted as our interrupter.

The school’s main source of funding is grants, but in general, the grants only cover the major projects. The simple things like gas for the launchas and launcha repair, are not funded and so the project looks for other sources of income. They act as selling agents for the Mayan villages with their handicrafts. In addition, they conduct various fundraisers. We, the cruising contingent on the Rio Dulce are hoping to do a fund raiser later in the year.

We visited classrooms, the “kitchen”, library, the farm where students learn agriculture, and actually witnessed a number of senior final presentations while on the school property.

The final leg of our journey was a visit to one of the School run restaurants in Livingston right on the Bay of Honduras and the mouth of the Rio Dulce for an excellent lunch.

It was an amazing day and this is a group that deserves any help that is available.

The very next day we visited the Mayan ruins at Quirigua, but I will save that for a separate post.

All in all, we are really enjoying our summer in the Rio Dulce.

caption id=”attachment_848″ align=”alignnone” width=”300″ caption=”Unbelievable Rio Dulce River”][/caption]

June 7, 2010

Whew! What a week!

We did get our package, including the new battery charger, on the last day of May, so we bid our friends goodby in West End and headed toward Guatemala.

Our first day of travel was an easy one that we were able to sail, between West End, Roatan and Utila. We choose to clear in and out of Honduras in Utila, because the officials there are so easy and accommodating. They are all in one building, which is a couple of steps from the dingy dock. It cost us nothing to clear out, except the $10 harbor fee. We left West End at around 6 a.m. and had anchored in Utila, cleared out, put the dingy engine back on the rail and lifted the dingy on the davits all before noon! Easy

We were underway on Wednesday, by 5:30 a.m. and so when it was time to perform my final net control duties, we were well away from Utila. As there was a Pacific Tropical storm, Agatha, which dumped torrential rains on the Honduran coast, causing devastating flooding, it made the trip very challenging. Unfortunately, the closer we got to the coast of Honduras, the more debris we had to dodge floating on the water. The ocean was littered with large logs, then an amazing assortment of abandoned human trash, and finally, 20 to 30 foot trees, almost intact. Quite a challenge to avoid and believe me, avoiding was a life or death matter for the boat. Some, were easily 24 to 30 inches in diameter and would have made a boat sinking hole, should we have made contact with them making 5 to 6 knots. There would be no traveling safely at night on this leg of our journey. Fortunately, we were headed to the bay at Punta Sal, Dia Monte. Which is sheltered from all weather. I think you would have been amazed, though, if you had seen the water, once we rounded Punta Sal. The ocean became the color of weak coffee with a lot of cream. Ugly. But, we avoided all the trash, had a nice breeze for the evening, and spent a restful night in Dia Monte.

Again, by 5 a.m. we again started toward Guatemala, this day brought the worst of the floating debris. The floating trees appearing on the horizon could easily have been mistaken for boats or ships, they were so large. It was really a terrifying thing to see them pass the boat, knowing the devestation they would cause to the boat, if there was a collision with them. It demanded constant attention forward, to steer around the hazards. Not to mention the sea was littered with all forms of other trash. Plastic bottles, shoes and flip flops, small to large pieces of Styrofoam, small floating islands of reeds and leaves. Amazing. It was late in the day when we finally cleared out of the floating remains of humanity and got to clear ocean, again. We dropped anchor at Tres Puntas around 5 p.m. this evening.

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Friday morning brought our quick trip to Livingston, the ocean entry point for the NW Caribbean coast of Guatemala. Here the officials all arrived to our boat en mass. They were all very courteous, expedient and even though we had hired an agent, they were all still very concerned with our welcome to Guatemala. We hired Raul who runs an agency called ServaMar to get our paperwork in order and he was well worth the small fee. I was even able to pick up a Tigo SIM card for my phone, so I could be connected with the world, again.

Once checked in, we began our Rio Dulce adventure, heading up the river toward Fronteras. This river is amazing, with twists and turns around towering walls of jungle encrusted granite. The feeling was like traversing a fiord. Beautiful and intimating.

All the while traveling upriver, we passed local fisherman, working the river in tiny little hand made dug out canoes. The water is fresh, so it was a beautiful trip. We opted to stop in a small bay just beyond the entrance to El Gofete, called Texan Bay. What a beautiful and protected spot.

Tom and I took a slip at Texan Bay marina, although we could have anchored out. But, the lure of shore power and perhaps a nights sleep in air conditioning, was too irresistable. We spent a delightful evening with the cruisers there, eating a delicious, affordable meal and enjoying happy hour at Texan Bay.

Saturday we again started up river and finally made it to Marios marina, our home for the summer. Marios staff and other cruisers have made us more than welcome. Today, we are moving to our permanent slip, so I will take photos, soon. We have been so busy since arriving here, putting the boat away for “marina” mode, trying to keep cool in the near 100 degree heat, cooling off in the delightfully cool pool here, and getting dragged into afternoon volley ball, can you believe I am playing volleyball!!! (And, really enjoying it too, even though I am a burden to my teammates as I really stink at the game) But, I can learn!!!

We have reservations to fly to Michigan on the 14th and will leave here on the 13th and stay overnight in Guatemala City (or “the” city) as it is referred to, here. By the way, Mom is doing very well, and should be out of the hospital before we arrive in Michigan, next week. She is certainly the toughest individual I have ever known!

June 9, 2010

Well, we are now in our permanent “home” for the summer. It is a great slip, with afternoon shade, a premium in this Guatemalan heat. The cruisers that are staying at Mario’s are an active group and so Tom and I have kept busy since arriving on Saturday. From volleyball, to dominos, learning Mahjong, and Tom even getting in some bridge. Not withstanding all the boat project that need to be completed before we fly out on Monday. All in all, I think our choice for locations, was very fortunate, we are not going to get bored.

May 31, 2010

We spent a few more days in French Harbor. Then, in company with Sea Star, returned to Jonesville. We had a great time showing Sea Star the sights. The Mango covered waterway that runs from just South of French Harbor all the way down past Oakridge. It is a safe passage to all but French Harbor and Port Royal and pretty dramatic in places with its tunnels through the mangroves and passing the small villages with most of the homes built on stilts over the water.

We ate some great meals at “Pookies” and spent some time with Bob at Hole in the Wall. Then we headed up the coast about a week ago and took moorings in West End. Tom and I have been making a dive a day since. We have seen more huge snappers, groupers, and on our last dive two magnificent jew fish. The coral here is beautiful, the under water canyons and valleys worth exploring, and the water clarity wonderful. With West End divers being so accommodating to us with drop off tank refills, a dip tank and hose to rinse our gear, and an outdoor shower to rinse ourselves, I could stay here forever.

Unfortunately, my Mom has had a few “bumps” in the health department, contracting shingles. And at 92, no health issue is simple. So, we have decided to call it a Spring and head into the Rio Dulce, where we can leave the boat and travel to Michigan to spend some time with her as she recovers. We intend to leave as soon as a package of parts, including a replacement battery charger arrives here in Honduras, hopefully today, and then move to Utila tomorrow and check out of the country. That should put us ready to clear into Livingston, Guatemala, by Friday. I will keep you posted on Mom and the trip.

May 1, 2010

Well, with a tropical low in the Pacific off the coast of Panama and a high pressure ridge North of us, the whole NW Caribbean is being subjected to a sandwich effect of gradients being pressed together, which translates to sailors as lots of wind. While we are on the very Eastern edge of it all, we still had winds in excess of 25 knots through the night. It made sleeping a bit of a chore, with a few adjustments to make the boat noises stay at a minimum. In addition, we heal over slightly when the boat sails around at the end of the anchor chain, which means we lean one way, sail back on the other tack, and then lean the other way. Not as bad as a rolly anchorage, but with the howl of the wind, not exactly perfect sleeping conditions. Such is the life of a cruiser.

May 6, 2010
Today finds us safely anchored in Hole in the Wall. It has been quite an amazing few days. We sat out the storm, well winds I guess, not really a storm but by Sunday they had died sufficiently that Tom and I made a snorkel trip and were moderately successful. Then we got an invite from Queen Mary to get together to play music and so we spent another wonderful evening, this time with all six boats in participation. Good thing Queen Mary’s cockpit is so big.

Monday we said goodbye to the two boats that had come in a few days ago and then all the rest of us, Sea Star, Queen Mary, Valentina, and Footloose all went on a snorkeling excursion. It was a great dive site and I had a shot at a Hog fish, right at the start. Notice I said shot. I keep shooting at them and missing! Anyway, I sufficiently frightened the fish so that he hung around long enough for Tom to get a spear in him. Then a little while later, my next shot bounced off one. Now, that one took off!!! Tom then speared a rather large Ocean Trigger and while he was sitting in the dingy getting the fish off his spear and his spear ready to go, I was just circling the dingy waiting. Wouldn’t you know that here came two good sized Hog fish! Well, I just swam down like I do it all the time, lined up the biggest of the two, and shot him!!! I got my first Hog fish. He was a beauty, too. I will include a photo, as I had Tom specifically take one of me!!!

We all agreed that we had a weather window and so while we bid Valentina goodbye, they are headed back to Colombia, Sea Star, Queen Mary, and Footloose pulled the anchors and headed West.

We were fortunate as we were just leaving the anchorage, we caught a beautiful bar jack. Then, about an hour later two lovely barracudas. Nothing else the whole trip. No one else even had a hook up. Fickle fish!!!

It was a 35 hour run and Queen Mary and Footloose were hoping to make it to French Harbor, Rotan, but when Gene called about picking up fuel in French Harbor, we discovered that there was none. So, we started calling around and Terry from Mango Creek found us fuel in Oakridge at Jacksons. We tied off a face pier, Queen Mary first, and filled our boats with diesel, one jerry can at a time! It took us two hours between the two boats to get fuel and so we dropped anchor in Jonesville, down near Hole in the Wall, just before six pm. A very long two days, but we are safely back in Rotan.

May 15, 2010

Let’s see, 10 days of update, wow have we been busy.

As we were anchoring in Jonesville, I discovered it was time for my night net duties, so poor Tom had to finish the anchoring all by himself as I governed the net for the evening. There were still a lot of boats underway that wanted to check in. But, before I could get off the net, two of the local cruisers, along with Queen Mary, were waiting at the stern to take us off for a drink and dinner. That was going to be indicative of our stay in Jonesville.

We had a lovely evening, but as we had very little sleep for the last 48 hours, it was an early night, thank goodness, because, Gene and Brenda were at our stern to pick us up again at 7:30 a.m. We visited former cruisers who have built a lovely stilt home right on the shore, Don and Yvonne. There we had coffee and admired the balance of the sunrise. Next Gene volunteered to give us a tour of the mangrove passage that extends for miles along the coast. It was quite a journey.

We had expressed an interest in getting shrimp, so we went the other way on the mangrove passage up to the shrimp processing plant in Oakridge. Where we bought five pounds of delicious shrimp. Then it was back to Footloose to drop off the shrimp.

Brenda wanted to introduce us to Bob who owns the famous Hole in the Wall restaurant, so we took their dingy over there and the next thing I knew, we had spent all morning and afternoon enjoying conversations with the islanders and cruisers alike. We got back to Footloose around 7:30 p.m.! Another very long day.

While visiting Hole in the Wall, Bob ask Gene and Brenda if they would play music the next afternoon, which they readily agreed to do. Of course, they insisted that I play with them. We had a ball!!! And, the Friday buffet at the Hole in the Wall was wonderful. We had planned to play for a few hours and finally packed the equipment up around 5:30 p.m. I had such a wonderful time. It was sooo much fun.

Saturday found us back to Oakridge for the vegetables at the huge market that they have. We were also able to upload minutes on our Tigo sticks and stop for an excellent lunch. While we were sitting at the dockside restaurant called Ellas, Terry from Mango Creek came in. He really wanted Queen Mary to come to Mango Creek and play again. So, after he left, we talked about it and decided it would be a lot of fun, if weather would permit us to get there. I guess we were supposed to play at Mango Creek because the next morning, the wind died and so we backtracked to Port Royal and Monday night we played a concert to a packed house. We could not believe it. On Sunday morning when we arrived in Port Royal, there were only two other boats, but by the time we were scheduled to start to play, another 10 boats had joined us! Amazing. The food was excellent, the company enjoyable, and Gene, Brenda and I had a ball playing music for hours.

We made a dive on the wall outside Mango Creek on Tuesday morning. We saw several large grouper and one very large dog snapper, which were so unafraid of us; we could almost go up and touch him.

On Thursday morning, we took advantage of the conditions and had a fast sail down the coast to French Harbor. Since then, we have made trips to town three times, enjoyed the cruiser’s happy hour at Fantasy Island, and hosted Gene and Brenda’s 39th Wedding Anniversary dinner. Sadly, Queen Mary have found their weather window, and now that their crew has joined them, will be leaving today for Cuba. So ends my music career. But is sure has been fun.

April 14, 2010

Well it was a good trip to Dia Monte. We were blessed to catch a beautiful mahi mahi which we prepared by marinating it in garlic, olive oil, and fresh basil. Then we grilled it along with potatoes and zucchini. Yum!

Today was my net control morning and we are under way, so poor Tom hand steers and we turn all the electronics off while I am conducting the net. A lot of work for him, but I got it done and we are banging away heading into seas and light winds. I am hoping that these conditions hold all day or improve, because if the wind comes stronger out of the East, which is the direction we want to go, it will take us hours and hours longer to get there, today. Unfortunately, we would love to wait for more favorable winds, but they are not predicted in the near future. It is now the weather pattern where the easterly trade winds dominate and so going eastward is more than just a challenge. But, we are both very excited to get back to the Bay Islands of Honduras and enjoy our last few months at sea until we run from the hurricanes and spend the summer in the Rio Dulce in Guatemala. We are hoping that our timing will allow us to accompany Queen Mary to the Viviroes Islands, which are almost pristine and purported to be wonderful snorkeling and diving. Today, we will probably not get into Utila until almost dark. A very long day considering that we started at 5:45 this morning!.

April 19, 2010

Well, it was a very long day on the 14th we traveled 11 hours averaging 4 knots. Wind, current, and waves against us. But, we finally made it to Utila. It was soooo nice to stop

We got checked into the country without and fuss or hassle, first thing the next morning. The Immigration and Port Captain personnel are always courteous and nice to us. We were out of their offices within 30 minutes so we wandered a bit and picked up a few things at the grocery store, including some more Salva Vida beer, which we have grown to enjoy.

Back on the boat Tom fixed the wind instruments, which had decided to be quirky on the last trip. He added some ferrites to eliminate any interference. Then he worked on the water maker. There is a “y” valve in the system which allows us to fill either the forward or aft tank. When we use it to fill the forward tank, that valve is leaking. So, he took it all apart and reworked it.

While he was working on that, I took down our US flag and restitched it in places where it was beginning to fray. I also repaired the Honduran flag so that it isn’t looking so tattered, as well.

Then, after lunch, we got our gear on and grabbed the scrub brushes. It was time to take some of the weeds off the hull. Well, we worked on it for 3 solid hours. Most of the time upside down at the bottom of the boat. We had grass growing which had gotten quite long and there were way more barnacles than either of us had expected. The prop had to be scrapped. But, once done, it looked a hundred times better. Boy were we beat when we finished. It didn’t take us long to fall asleep that night.

The next morning we started a sunup and were anchored in West End Roatan by 10:00 a.m. The boat went almost a full knot faster without all the weed on its bottom. Again, we were both really glad that we took the time and effort to get that done.

Once in West End, we talked with Queen Mary. The plan at that point was to leave on Sunday. So, at first we were going to move to French Harbor on Saturday to pick up fuel and groceries. But, we decided to try to get everything done in West End. Which allowed us to invite Wind Free and Living the Dream for dinner that night. What a great time we had.

Yesterday morning, we were going to begin our fueling and provisioning, when Queen Mary called to ask if we would be able to leave now. Well, of course, we made the decision to go. I didn’t want to miss the chance to visit the Hobbies and we really didn’t have to have either fuel or more groceries. Those were just our comfort layer. So, by 10:00 a.m. we were under way and had a great motor sail to Guanaja. We were averaging 6.5 knots most of the time, with pretty flat seas.

This morning we were under way by 5:30 a.m. and we expect to get into the Hobbies by mid morning tomorrow. This is our first overnight in a long time, but I am really looking forward to it!

We were several hours into our trip when the first bird landed on our boat. A very pretty, tiny, little green one. Looked a bit like a finch. Then a little while after that, another one flew into the cockpit and hid himself in the basil plant under the dodger. He was black and yellow with a beautiful orange and black face. Again, a very small bird. I finally shooed him away, as I didn’t want him down below. Finally, the yellow one pictured here landed on the outboard. He stayed with us for quite awhile before moving on as well. We have had a few birds visit us in the past. But not three in a few hours! I wonder if they are migrating from somewhere.

April 22, 2010
The trip over to the Hobbies was great! Well, except the wind, which didn’t really allow us to sail. I think we had the motor off for about an hour and a half during the 28 hour trip.

None the less, it was a safe and uneventful trip, just the way we like them.

But, the fishing out here was amazing. We caught three tunies and a lovely mackerel Queen Mary caught the biggest King Mackerel that I have ever seen. I bet it was 50 lbs.

When we got into the anchorage, Valentino and Sea Star were awaiting our arrival. Valentino and Queen Mary are great friends who have sailed together many times. It was a reunion for them and a great beginning of new friendships for us. We barely had the anchor down when Sonny from Valentino was there with his dingy to take us over to Queen Mary for a cold one. Then all eight of us had dinner aboard Sea Star that evening. What a welcome feeling!

Tom and I took a huge bag of the king and soaked it over night. Then it was on the grill all day, smoking. It is wonderful. We decided to smoke one of our tuna’s as well, I haven’t tasted it yet, but the king smoked is wonderful.

We snorkeled in the morning picking up four huge conch and then we invited everyone to Footloose for a late lunch of tuna, rice, salad, and one of the wonderful pecan pies that Kay aboard Valentino had made. This is a really fun group.

Another boat joined us late yesterday afternoon, so now there are five boats anchored out next to this little island.

After lunch, we all moved to Queen Mary and played music and sang until 11 p.m. We had a great time. There is something about playing music in the cockpit of a sailboat in the middle of the ocean with the moonlight shining on the water. I love this life!!!

April 26, 2010

Well, we are still in the Hobbies. Every day we are snorkeling and we still haven’t speared a fish, as we had such great luck on the way here. But, the reefs are filled with fish and they are varied and interesting. So, it keeps us going in the water.

In addition, we have shared meals with the other three boats almost every night. Great food and great company. We are certainly enjoying ourselves.

The next few days are supposed to get quite windy, so yesterday we pulled up the anchor and moved closer to the reef for more protection. Where we are anchored, we have almost total protection from everything but south west winds. And, it doesn’t look like we will be getting those in the next week. So, we are staying put, right here.

Tom has pulled a muscle in his back, so we may take it a bit easy for the next few days. It is something that has happened periodically through the years and takes a day or two to heal itself. So, I may put him on movie and book restrictions until he is not grimacing every time he moves. I am perfectly content to continue snorkeling around the boat. We are close enough to some small reefs to satisfy my need to explore.

Besides, it is time that I try something new in the cooking department. I am always making the same old things.

April 29, 2010

Well, today we made a dive and I missed a shot at the biggest hog fish I have ever seen. Then to add insult to injury on today’s dive, I took a shot at a beautiful dog snapper, which I missed. It really wasn’t a good shot as I was too far away and he was fleeing me. But, the worst was that I reloaded my gun and went back down because I saw a lovely hog fish hiding in a school of yellow tail snappers. I had the perfect shot, took it, and discovered that I had, in my excitement, failed to cock my gun, so when I pulled the trigger on this sure shot, the spear just trickled out the end of the gun. It only served to scare the fish away. I guess I still have a long way to go with a spear gun. I used to hit what I was aiming at with my Hawaiian sling, Maybe I should just go back to carrying it!!!! Tomorrow is another day, however. And I will be out trying again. Practice is what I need. I will get a hog fish. I will!

April 6, 2010

The night playing guitar and singing aboard Queen Mary was just so much fun! But, over night, the sleeping was tough because we got a swell into the anchorage on the West side of Long Cay which rolled us and made it pretty uncomfortable. So, after making a dive along the West reef, Tom and I decided to move Footloose back to the East side of Long Cay and along with Wind Dancer, took up “residency” back on that side of the island.

Friday found me with my spear gun, finally attempting to use it to catch us dinner. It was tough, though because there was not a lot of options in fish I felt I wanted to eat, were big enough to spear, and that I actually could spear. But, I did, finally, break in my spear on a nice sized grey angle. Nice fillets and along with the blue runner Tom got, we had a wonderful meal of sautéed fish, onions, and garlic. I served that over rice and it was a great meal.

Saturday, we made a hunt to spear fish and then, failing that, we found some nice sized conch which I made into a curry. It was one of the best meals I have created. I love being at Light House Reef as we can pretty much find some seafood to feed us, daily. It is a very safe anchorage, and really beautiful.

That afternoon, we heard from Lea Scotia, they were on their way to Light House Reef from Turneff. So, Tom gave them the way points to get around the South end of Long Cay and by nightfall they had safely joined our little anchorage.

Sunday was Easter. So, I invited the crew on Lea Scotia, Trevor, Karisa, and Kiera, along with their guests Sherry and Bill, and Dave and Debbie over for cocktails. Tom and I made a dive in the morning and gathered enough conch to make Tom’s , now famous, cracked conch. It was a great evening and nice to catch up with cruising friends.

Yesterday, Tom and Trevor, along with Dave in my dive gear, made a dive along the wall reef on the West side of Long Cay. Debbie and I snorkeled while they were diving and we all had a great time.

Today we are hoping to go hunting and finally bag myself a hog fish. I have heard from a number of people that they are great to eat. I have never speared one before and neither has Tom, so it is now one of my new goals. I will report back.

April 8, 2010

We did get a couple of hog fish on our excursion on Tuesday. In fact, we were out almost four hours. But, we lost the tip of Tom’s spear gun, put a small hole in the dingy and had our last meal with Dave and Debbie from Wind Dancer. All in all, it wasn’t my favorite day.

Yesterday found us saying good bye to our traveling buddies that we have spent the entire winter with. I cannot believe that we have traveled in company with another boat for that long. It seemed very lonely around the anchorage, last night. But, we got some projects done yesterday, I did my net control “thing”, and we fixed the dingy. So, we decided it was time to head back inside the reef of Belize. We have been anchored here at Lighthouse Reef for 14 days! I really do love it here. We can always find food and it is so protected and beautiful. But, I am out of most of our fruits and vegetables and we need a change of scenery. So, we are going to get started in an hour or so and head toward the Tobacco Cut through the barrier reef of Belize and travel toward Placencia. It really should be a nice day to sail and the wind direction is going to cooperate.

April 11, 2010

Well, we had such a wonderful day to travel that we ended up traveling 11 hours and making it all the way into Placencia. We caught a nice tuna mid afternoon, so while we were moving along, I made a batch of sushi rice and when we finally got anchored in Placencia harbor, just after dark, we put the boat away and sat down to a wonderful meal of saki and sushi. The perfect ending to a long day.

Friday morning we worked on a couple of boat projects, including defrosting the refrigerator. It seems to work so much more efficiently, once it has been defrosted. We are now doing it about every three weeks.

Next we gathered the laundry and took it in to the girl who has done my laundry each time we have been here. It is mostly our sheets, as they are so hard to wring out properly and get dry on the boat. I have really decided that I would rather wash everything else out by hand and do small batches of laundry every few days. They are so fresh when they hang in the air to dry.

We discovered a rum here that is better than what we can buy in Honduras, so we are taking a case of it along with us.

We had Ann and John from the sailboat Living the Dream over for cocktails that night. They are great people and we loved hearing all their stories. They started the opposite way we did and they have been out here four years, going first through the Eastern Caribbean and now the Western.

Yesterday was a boat project day, as the dingy repair was not extensive enough and we had to add another patch. Which we did first thing in the morning so that we can launch the dingy early this morning and go in for produce as soon as the truck gets in. Then we puttered on all sorts of other projects. I made gazpacho for lunch and we had grilled lobster and Bahamian beans and rice for dinner. Not a bad day at all.

Today is the reprovising day. Hopefully we can get it all done, today and get our zarpe to leave first thing tomorrow morning. Then it is back to Honduras!!! I cannot wait. I really do love Honduras.

April 13, 2010

It is amazing the fruits and vegetables you can get in Placencia. We went into town just after nine in the morning and then we had to wait for the produce truck to arrive. But, when it did, it was filled with affordable, fresh, (And, more importantly to a cruiser, never refrigerated.) fruits and vegetables. We actually made two trips as we couldn’t carry all that I wanted, in one trip. But, we stocked up and should have enough to last a couple of weeks. Then we went to the grocery and picked up a few things that we needed. I didn’t want to stock up on anything as prices and selection will be so much better once we get to Honduras.

Then I spent the afternoon soaking vegetables in an iodine solution to insure their safety to be consumed, Got them dried and stowed in the net hammocks I have for them and found storage for everything we purchased. I made lasagna for dinner and we spent the rest of the day catching up on phone calls, it is wonderful to hear voices.

Monday morning we did the “official-dom” dance here. It took a twenty minute dingy ride to Big Creek, then a walk up to the guard gate to summon a taxi to take us into town to the Immigration person. Then back to the port for the Captain’s paperwork and the custom’s official. After ninety dollars to the Port Captain, fifteen to Immigration and twenty five for the taxi, all in Belize dollars so the equivalent to $65 US, we were cleared out of the country. It took us from 8:30 am until 11:30 am to accomplish all of that. Then we made a last trip to the bank and exchange the rest of our Belize dollars for US dollars. We couldn’t do it before, as you never know what they are going to charge you. It is never consistent.

Then we finally got the boat ready and started out. We made it as far as Ranguana, where we decided to spend the night as the wind was right on the nose and we didn’t want to make a night passage, beating into it. Ranguana was a bit bumpy, as usual, but it was a good night, anyway.

We will start around 6:30 a.m. and depending on wind direction, either go directly to Utila, or stop at Dia Monte and make our way to Utila on Wednesday.

April 14, 2010

Well it was a good trip to Dia Monte. We were blessed to catch a beautiful mahi mahi which we prepared by marinating it in garlic, olive oil, and fresh basil. Then we grilled it along with potatoes and zucchini. Yum!

Today was my net control morning and we are under way, so poor Tom hand steers and we turn all the electronics off while I am conducting the net. A lot of work for him, but I got it done and we are banging away heading into seas and light winds. I am hoping that these conditions hold all day or improve, because if the wind comes stronger out of the East, which is the direction we want to go, it will take us hours and hours longer to get there, today. Unfortunately, we would love to wait for more favorable winds, but they are not predicted in the near future. It is now the weather pattern where the easterly trade winds dominate and so going eastward is more than just a challenge. But, we are both very excited to get back to the Bay Islands of Honduras and enjoy our last few months at sea until we run from the hurricanes and spend the summer in the Rio Dulce in Guatemala. We are hoping that our timing will allow us to accompany Queen Mary to the Viviroes Islands, which are almost pristine and purported to be wonderful snorkeling and diving. Today, we will probably not get into Utila until almost dark. A very long day considering that we started at 5:45 this morning!.

March 24, 2010

Let me cover the last 10 days. We made it to Utila in great time, no fish, though. We decided to get our zarpe taken care of so that we could leave for Belize as soon as we had a weather window. I picked up a few supplies and we left for Diamonte, on Punta Sol, Honduras the next morning.

Wow! We caught two beautiful small tunies and then a nice sized Wahoo. Wonder after so long with no success. The sail/motor to the bay was a nice one and we had Wind Dancer Over for cocktails and dinner on Wahoo.

The next morning, I was all for getting underway, as another cold front was coming and I didn’t want to be trapped. It was Thursday so that would give us Friday morning to get to Placencia and check into Belize before the weekend. They charge a premium to clear into the country on the weekends. Anyway, we started out with the wind behind us, but unfortunately, that was land effect and as soon as we were clear of the mainland, the winds came around right on our nose. It was ugly, so we turned back and decided to sit out a day or two.

The next day, found us cataloguing all of our movies, working on repairing things around the boat, and general boat projects. Dave on Wind Dancer set out in his dingy to fish and it wasn’t long before he was stopping by to show us the beautiful, large snook he caught. They invited us to dinner. It was a great way to spend a down day.

On Saturday we headed out early and had a great motor sail all the way to Placencia, Belize. We went in the next morning to Back Creek to clear in. They charged us an extra $25 to do so, but it was a Sunday, so you can hardly blame them.

Monday was spent reprovisioning so that we could spend our month in Belize at the Atoll islands. We got everything done, including filing and extension for our taxes, online!

Yesterday found us leaving Placencia and anchoring in Blue Field Range. A wide open anchorage which was safe, if a bit bumpy. On the way here, we caught a beautiful tuna and a wonderful Cavelle. The tuna I made into kabobs and the Cavelle we smoked. Both were delicious.

This morning we are finally on our way to Turneff Island. I am really excited to be back to where we can collect conch and lobster!

March 31, 2010

We headed out to Turneff and anchored out on the West side of the island just South of Blue Creek. It was a beautiful place to anchor with very good holding. So, we dumped the dingy in the water the next morning and made a dive out on the patch reefs.

There we saw lots of fish, too small to spear, and we did find lobsters, but they are out of season in Belize right now, so we just looked.

We spent two nights in Turneff, taking the dingy around to the South anchorage and picking up a few conch.

The morning of the 26th we got up to North Westerly winds that were pretty light, so we upped the anchor and along with Wind Dancer and a boat from Louisiana, Knot Now, headed out to Lighthouse reef. It was a great sail with good conditions and we made it in just under four hours. We slipped through the reef off Long Cay and worked our way around to the East side of Long Cay, which is just about the prettiest place we have ever anchored. It is protected by a long reef to the East and the Island to the West. Because the North is just shallow water, it makes this a pretty good anchorage in almost any kind of weather.

We had a cold front come into the area on the 29th, so along with 7 other boats, we endured the winds and rain snug in this anchorage.

Wednesday, we were invited to join Queen Mary, Gene and Brenda, for a jam session aboard their boat, so we all moved our boats to the West side of the island and enjoyed an evening of music and great conversation. I cannot believe how much I am enjoying playing my guitar with this group.

Yesterday, after our normal quest for food, (By the way, I finally used my spear gun and provided us with a meal. I have been only able to spear things with my Hawaiian sling up to this point. The spear gun has now tasted blood and hopefully will serve me will from this point forward) We moved back on the East side of the island. Unfortunately, the West side gives us more ready access to the deeper reef area, it can get rolly if anything is coming from the West, and we rolled all night on Wednesday night.

All in all it has been a great month of March. Diving off West End. Catching tuna, wahoo, mackerel, and a sail fish between Honduras and Belize, and now being able to get our dinner from the sea in this beautiful spot in Belize. Good times.

Journal Month 20

March 2, 2010

We left French Harbor, toting the Curious George Birthday cake for Kiera and made our way down to Port Royal anchoring in front of Mango Creek Resort. We transported the cake to shore in the dingy, no small feat, and it arrived intact and beautiful. It was a nice gathering of locals, cruisers, and guests from the resort. We had a good time and the birthday girl was all smiles when it was over. We stayed and enjoyed a gourmet meal along with Forrest, Suzanne, Paul, and Kathy all of Rejoice.

We made a dive on Sunday. It was a beautiful dive and I finally got to dive along with my favorite partner, Tom. We saw eel, a large grouper, a barracuda, and tons of schools of smaller fish. The wall here in Port Royal is a good dive site.

Yesterday was a wash day and a “sit out” strong SE winds day. I cooked all day and we just enjoyed the down time.

Today we are awaiting Wind Dancer to join us here with their guest, their daughter. It has been several days since we left them in French Harbor and it will be good to see them, again.

March 3, 2010

Wind Dancer arrived about mid day, yesterday and we enjoyed cocktails aboard Lea Scotia with all nine of us before moving to Footloose and serving Cornish game hens and lobster tails to all nine of us, along with Foxy the dog rounding out the total of souls for dinner on Footloose to 10. It was nice and cozy in the main salon, last night.

This morning, was my day for net control and about half the way through, someone in the anchorage was using their single sideband radio to send email, which completely covered up my signal and any reception I had from other boats. In frustration, I got on the VHF radio and shouted at the boats in the anchorage to STOP! Now, I am suffering remorse for being so blunt. They all probably think that I am a !@#$. Well, I guess sometimes, I can be.

Tonight, Tom has talked me into taking my guitar to shore and joining Gene and Brenda, from Queen Mary to play music in the cabana at Mango Creek. We will see how it goes.

March 11, 2010

Well, the guitar playing on the 3rd was sooooo much fun! Gene and Brenda are so good that anything I did was just background. But, we played for three hours straight and I haven’t ever had more fun with my guitar. Debbie even got up and sang a couple of songs with us.

On Thursday morning, we dropped the mooring ball in Port Royal and headed to West End. Since then we have been diving every day. I am so glad that Tom talked me into buying gear, as well. West End is the best spot we have ever been for ease of diving, great dive spots, a place easily accessible and affordable to fill our tanks and even a shower and fresh water rinse for crew and gear! We love West End. We have done a dive a day since we got here and sometimes two and haven’t dove the same place, yet. There are great wall dives and many underwater canyons to explore. We have seen turtles, gold spotted snake eels, and lots of beautiful fish and coral. I can’t wait to get into the water, again.

Plus, there are some really good restaurants here in the little town of West End. I can also find really good produce here very affordable. So I am going to stock up, before we leave here.

Tom threw a birthday party for me, last night. We had so much fun and ate some great food. What a way to celebrate. Good friends and good food.

We are going to move around to the end of the Island and join Queen Mary and Wind Dancer, tomorrow. Then there will be a jam session aboard Queen Mary on Friday night.

Like I said, we are loving West End…

February 2, 2010

Well, yesterday started with rain squalls and very overcast skies, so we made an excursion to town and then invited Wind Dancer and Dances with Dragons over for a pizza night. What a great way to enjoy ourselves.

I made three pizzas from scratch, with the exception of my pizza crust made with tapioca flour instead of wheat. Nancy brought a salad and Debbie brought coconut brownies. Yum!

Today is also too windy from the SE, which is where we want to head and very overcast, so we are going to stay in French Harbor, yet another day. Tom has planned an excursion to town so I guess after morning projects we will be off to town, again.

We have been invited to a dingy raft-up this afternoon, so I guess that will take care of today.

February 17, 2010

Wow! It is amazing how half a month can go by and I am not aware that I have not written in all that time.

That means I have to recap the last two weeks. Let’s see…. We left French Harbor on Sunday, February 7st and headed down the coast ending up in the middle bay of Port Royal. It was a nice sail and we anchored in the middle bay. Unfortunately, during the night the wind turned, so that we were on a lee shore. So, at first light, we picked up anchor and did a tour of the entire two bays, deciding to pick up a mooring in front of Mango Creek Resort. What a great spot! Mango Creek Resort has little guest cottages along the waterfront painted in a variety of bright colors. Their main building is also right on the waterfront and we spent a very enjoyable evening, the second night there, eating gormet fare and sharing cruising stories with Terry and Patrice the owners of the resort, who are world circumnavagators. What at great spot. On the 10th, we invited Mike and Gloria from Wind Free over and caught up with their fishing and snorkeling since we left them in West End. Two more nights on the mooring due to really ugly winds and then we set out for the second island group East of Port Royal, Guanaja.

Today finds us anchored in El Bight off the island of Guanaja, Honduras. This is a 10 mile long island with tall hills and beautiful water. Most of the homes are built right on the waterfront held above the water on stilts. I don’t believe there is a major road that makes its way the entire length of the island, but we have not been ashore to explore, as of today.

We arrived here on Saturday and were immediately greeted by Trevor off Lea Scotia . Along with his wife Karissa and almost four year old daughter Kira, have traveled from Seattle to enjoy the cruising life. He told us there was a cruiser happy hour ashore, so we joined them and along with Wind Dancer and Idle Island (Derek and Kathy) enjoyed a cruisers’ evening. On Sunday, while Idle Island picked up anchor and headed for Roatan, we moved our boats out to Graham’s Key, just a shore half hour motor from El Bight. What a beautiful little island with the owner/proprietor very cruiser friendly. They have cottages for tourists, a bar and restaurant, beautiful beaches, all manor of wild life on the island and sea life in the screened pools around the docks. It is a great stop and I wish we had have more time to spend there. It was a great place to celebrate Valentines Day! Monday morning, we invited everyone for brunch aboard Footloose. What fun! Then we hot footed it back to El Bight to prepare for the incoming Cold Front which was scheduled to arrive at day break Tuesday morning. On the way back, Tom caught a 25 pound pompano. What a beautiful fish. Firm, white flesh. We made steaks out of it and spent all even into the early morning smoking it. Yum!!!

Yesterday, morning, just as promised the cold front roared in with torrential rains and gusty winds. It pretty much has rained on and off since then. Last afternoon, we spent a few enjoyable hours aboard Lea Scotia.

Today it is still overcast and I awoke to torrential rains. Tom, being the dutiful husband, dragged himself out of bed first thing and started the generator so that we will be a full power, when I do my net duties, this morning.

We decided to make an excursion into the island town of Bonnaca Cay which is purported to have a population of 8,000. Amazing as there are small canals running through the island in various places, most of the homes are built on stilts out over the water. We were fortunate enough to make contact with a couple of fish processing families and purchased wonderful bags of frozen grouper fillets, red crab, cleaned conch, and lobster tails. All for less than $3 per pound, US. Wonderful. Tom and I feasted on the half of the crab that simply wouldn’t fit in our freezer, once all the other seafood we purchased, was in it. What a great dinner we had!!

February 19, 2010

Yesterday, we up anchor and headed back toward Roatan. It was a lively sail with pretty large seas in between the two islands, but we made great time and got in with plenty of opportunity to invite Wind Dancer and Lea Scotia over for a bouillabaisse dinner. We anchored in Old Port Royal where there are only the three boats and beautiful sandy beaches. With lobster, conch, fish and Tom’s wonder soup base, all seven of us ate like kings, last night. No one went away hungry.

Today finds us filling water tanks, I did our laundry and it is hanging on the lifelines, cleaning up after the dinner party, and preparing to make our way into French Harbor in the morning. Our package which was shipped by our son, back in January, is waiting for us at Roatan Air Services offices. Finally, we will not have to climb into the cockpit every time we want to start the stove. It is the little things….

By the way, Tom has become somewhat of a legend in the fishing circles. He seems to be the only one catching any fish. He thinks his luck has been bad, so you can imagine what others have been catching?!?

February 26, 2010

We moved back to French Harbor last Friday in order to pick up our shipment, which came in and has everything we need. It is so weird to be able to start the stove from the circuit panel, again. Quite a luxury!!!

We had a wonderful dinner aboard Wind Free a couple of nights ago. Mike and Gloria are great people. Gloria is the Net Control Coordinator and so knowledgeable in almost everything in the NW Caribbean. In addition, they had invited Gene and Brenda from Queen Mary. This was the first time we had spent anytime with Gene and Brenda. They are entertainers and tonight we are going ashore to hear them perform.

Wednesday evening a Cold Front blew through the harbor with very high winds, Gene said his anemometer read 51 knots! One boat, with two anchors dragged and they had a heck of a time getting the anchors up. They were finally able to get anchors stowed and tied up to the fuel dock for the remainder of the night. Another boat went up on the sand bank and had to be towed off yesterday mid day. Fortunately, we had our anchor with tons of rode out and we held like a rock. Good ole’ Footloose.

Last night, after the long sleepless night, we had Queen Mary, Wind Free, and Wind Dancer over for conch chowder. With home made bread it was quite a feast. Everyone headed home pretty early, though, because we all needed a good night’s sleep!

Today finds Tom creating a birthday cake for Kira, our 3 year old (Soon to be four year old) Lea Scotia’s oven has quite working just when Karissa was going to bake for Kira’s party. Anyway, once the Curious George Cake is created, we will head down to Port Royal tomorrow morning, to celebrate the birthday.

Tonight we are headed ashore to listen to Gene and Brenda perform. So, I will wrap up February and check in with you sometime next month!

January 7, 2010

In retrospect, I still think that living aboard is a great trade off to the day to day issues of living Stateside in a house. My current “home” is bobbing up and down, in a fashion not dissimilar to that of the motion of a hobby horse. We are anchored off this small tropical island that looks beautiful, but we have not been ashore as between the wind and waves, after we arrived here yesterday afternoon and the rain, today, we just haven’t had a chance. Still, I bet the snorkeling and conching should be pretty good, here.

Yesterday, after a few days in Placencia, we took the dingy over to Back Creek, to renew our cruising permit for another 30 days. The dingy ride is about a 2 mile one and because of the wind, the waves were a bit “bumpy” but it wasn’t a bad trip. Back Creek serves this section of the Belize coast as a commercial Port and they have tankers and container ships in and out. The creek comes directly off the ocean and is well marked as it winds its way through the mangroves to the coast. Once in the harbor, we motored between the tug and barge that were tied off the shore, where we found water deep enough for our dingy engine, all the way up to the sand and gravel shore. We beached the dingy and secured it with a cable and lock to an anchor chain on shore. Then we walked about ¼ mile up to the guard gate for the port. There they called us a cab, so that we could go into the Immigration office. It was about a 5 minute cab ride, for which the cabbie waited on us to finish our business and then drove us back to the port where we concluded our recheck process with the Customs official. The cab ride was $12.50 and our permit extension was $50. It was all accomplished expediently,, very friendly and courteously. All and all a very pleasant experience.

We are anchored off Ranguana Key, which is a small, private island. Although, they do allow visitors to shore, they ask for a $5 fee. Dave took Foxy to shore so he paid the fee, but we simply decided to enjoy the island from our anchored vantage point.

We finally got into the water and the reef around the island is really beautiful. But, unfortunately, with the easy access to both charter boats and the fishermen from the mainland, all we found here were small fish, empty conch shells, and no lobster. It really was pretty, though.

January 8, 2010

With the weather predicted to be very stormy in the next few days, we decided to head back to the security of Placentia for the cold front coming through.

Our trip back was great! We caught four beautiful mackerel and when we were just about into, while Tom was starting to reel in the last line out, we got a strike that took off and almost emptied the reel of line. I slowed the boat way down while Tom tried to reclaim some of the line. It took us almost 40 minutes to land the fish and most of the time I was circling the boat, trying to keep the fish on Tom’s side of the boat. When we finally gaffed it and brought it in it was a beautiful caravelle that was around 25 pounds of fish. Beautiful way to end the day. Although when we finally got anchored folks wanted to know why we had gone in circles for so long!

January 9, 2010

The strong cold front is expected this afternoon, so we got an early start. After catching all the fish, we decided to smoke some of it. So, after soaking it in a brine overnight, Tom used our hickory wood chips on our gas grill and smoked it. It took about four hours to slowly smoke the fish. In addition, we grilled some of the mackerel and passed along four helpings of fresh and smoked fish to friends on other boats. Tom loves to provide for all.

January 10, 2010

Well, fortunately the big storm was a “no show” here in Placencia. I guess we chose very wisely in coming in here, as report on the cruisers radio net this morning informed us that we were the only ones not to see real high winds and lots of rain.

Tonight we hosted five couples aboard Footloose and sampled some of the smoked fish. I mixed up fresh green onions, cream cheese, and a piece of the smoked fish. It was the hit of the night. Oh, I made bread sticks to go with it and they were a hit, too!

January 11, 2010

Well, our calm, comfortable anchorage here is now a rolly mess, so we headed South along the coast of Belize and anchored about 3 miles north of a little town called Monkey River Town. This is an excellent, protected anchorage and we are here with three other boats.

January 12, 2010

Today, along with the crews from Wind Dancer and E2 Motion made a dingy excursion to Monkey River Town. We were met on the dock by Buck, who is a local guide. He offered us a tour of the town and while it is a very small settlement, they have a wonderful school and pretty, built-on-stilts homes. We had lunch in the local restaurant and then decided to safari up the river.

The three dingys headed inland on the river and wound our way into the coast. Finally we were completely surrounded by jungle. It was quite and beautiful. We could hear howler monkeys in the distance. We even put ashore at the head of a trail and went on a hike. We all speculated on whether the trail was a human trail or an animal trail. We found evidence of both along the way. It is pretty intimidating to be surrounded by the jungle a long way from anything.

January 13, 2010

Well today was project day. We are still anchored near Monkey River and I finally made the seat cover and storage bag for the dingy. My little sewing machine has been so sturdy and dependable. It has traveled with us on every sailing trip we have taken.

It actually took two days to put the seat/bag together, but now I have a small cushion to sit on when we are banging along in the dingy and we have some dry storage for things like our lock and cable, the outboard tool kit, and the footpump for the dingy. Now we carry all the necessary tools to take a long trip in our tender.

January 14, 2010

Today we followed Dave and Debbie from Wind Dancer up into a canal with our dingys. We speculate that this is a man dug canal, but we could find no evidence of large equipment tooling on the sides of the canal. It was about 3 miles into the jungle and perfectly straight. It was a great exploration. Then we went to a small beach on the mainland, found and husked a dozen coconuts, and ate a picnic lunch. It was a really nice day.

January 19, 2010

Yesterday, we checked out of Belize after stocking up on a few groceries and produce. Then we moved out to Ranguana Key, catching a couple of nice mackerels along the way. We actually ran out the cut and saved our track on our chart plotter so that we could leave for Honduras at first light.

It is amazing how excited I am about having a new country to explore. Right now we are about 5 miles off Punta Sal. We are planning on anchoring in Bahia Escandido for the evening. It is purported to be one of the most beautiful bays along the Honduran coast. I am looking forward to being in another Spanish speaking country so that Tom and I can practice our Spanish.

January 20, 2010

Punta Escondito is an amazingly beautiful place. The high hills surround this small little bay which is quite protected. The inside of the bay is ringed ½ way around by a sandy beach which shoals out about 100 feet from shore. So, taking the dingys up close is not easy unless you raise your outboard and row. But, it was a great place to walk along the shore. The rest of the bay is ringed with rock walls that really recess up into a palm lined jungle effect. Beautiful. We swam, wandered the beach and grilled burgers to share with Dave and Debbie.

January 21, 2010

Well, we up anchored at dawn, went out through the cut and headed toward Utilia and the Bay Islands of Honduras. The morning started out very calm, I even did my net control from the boat, while we were underway. It was a bit more of a challenge, but it turned out ok. It was when we were a few hours from Utilia, that the wind started blowing in our face and we really started beating into it. The waves and current were opposed and along with the shallow water we were banging along with some teeth rattling pounding which when they hit us would slow us down to almost a crawl. Fortunately, it was only a short time and soon we were safely anchored in Utilia harbor.

January 22, 2010

I would highly recommend that anyone wishing to visit Honduras, by boat, coming from the North, clear in at Utilia. The officials are all in the same building on the waterfront. For $6 per person, we are now allowed to travel throughout Honduras for up to 90 days. We wandered around town, after clearing in. The local beer is quite refreshing and we walked up to the Glass Seahorse, which was at one time a restaurant and bar, but currently is only a bar. The owner is an expait who is a glass artisan and the grounds surrounding the bar and gift shop are a virtual art gallery of glass creations. We spent almost an hour wandering around and admiring the work.

January 23, 2010

On to Roatan. We had a quick trip over to West End, Roatan and are currently moored to a ball in this sea park. The water is crystal clear and warm. We understand that the snorkeling and diving is spectacular. So, I am sure in the next few days we are going to be in the water, a lot. This afternoon we have been invited to a barbeque on shore. There are about 20 boats here. I understand why, it is truly beautiful. We will explore the shore sometime, soon.

January 24, 2010

When we got into West End, yesterday, it was soooo… hot and the water is soooo… clear that I couldn’t resist just dropping over the side of the boat. With a mask and fins I assisted Tom in running a dock line through an eye on the mooring ball we are attached to and then, once that was finished, he threw me a scrub brush and I busied myself scrubbing light green scum from the bottom of Footloose. Every once in a while, I would feel a slight sting, but when I looked around me, there was nothing in the water. As the sting was similar to the small jelly fish I had encountered in the Bahamas, I really gave it no great concern. I told Tom later, there is some truth to the saying, “No brain, no pain”. As it turned out, whatever stung me left patches of “bites” on me which started out looking similar to a mosquito or flea bite. But, have now progressed to something more similar to poison ivy-like itching and burning. With hundreds of stinge, it is driving me crazy. I wish I had taken it more seriously at the time and gotten out of the water. We have all been swimming, since and have had no further stings, but boy am I a mess. Both arms from shoulder to thumbs have large patches of itchy red blotches. I used topical Benadryl, which cools it off and gives short term relief. But, it soon wears off and the itching is back. I tried baking soda and hydrogen peroxide made into a paste and that helped until it dried. I have made a paste of meat tenderizer and water and that made no difference. Then I tried just straight vinegar. That really stung when applied, but almost immediately gave a cooling-non itchy relief for about an hour. That is the best treatment, so far.

January 25, 2010

Today is my baby’s 23rd birthday. I cannot believe he was born that long ago!! (I guess I know how my Mom feels, now!) I can’t wait to hear his voice to wish him happy birthday!

Last night we had dinner ashore with several cruisers, all of which we met for the first time. Then, once back on the boat, I took two Benadryl tablets, to assist me to sleep with the still itching stings. It worked for the first few hours and then I was awake, again. I applied more treatment to the areas and finally fell asleep on the couch just before the wind shifted and piped up to 15 knots out of the West. Which makes this a very bumpy anchorage. So much for a good night’s sleep.

This morning the wind has risen to 20-25 knots and first thing in the morning, one of the boats anchored here started to drag. Tom got on the radio and warned them and they were able to get their anchor up and find a sandier place to drop it. No one thought that the wind would blow so hard from this direction. But, again, who can accurately predict mother nature? It is only a best guess.

January 26, 2010

Well, the patches of stings on my arms and legs have gotten worse. Now the itching and burning is so bad I told Tom that last night, as I was trying things to calm it down so I could sleep, that I wanted to rip my arms off! In addition, Tom is not feeling great, either. I guess it was something he ate. Anyway, this was a pretty low key day, with the wind still howling.

January 27, 2010

Today, along with Wind Dancer we picked up anchor and headed toward French Harbor further down the island chain. It was only a motor trip, but that meant that the water maker ran and the batteries are topped off. In addition, there will be hot water for showers, tonight.

When we got to French Harbor we wound our way in and anchored off Fantasy Island, which is a resort and marina. They cater to the cruising community.

Upon arriving, we saw that Wayne and Nancy on Dances with Dragons were here. It is so great to have a chance to catch up with them, again.

January 28, 2010

After completing my net control duties, this morning, we joined Wind Dancer and made a trip to town. French Harbor has a dock for dingys a short walk to a very nice grocery store. In addition, we walked about a mile up the main road and stopped at a wholesale liquor store and walked further to a small mall shopping area. There Dave and I spent about an hour and finally were able to purchase air cards for our laptops. They are very reasonable. $54 US got us the air card and because they were running a special, we got one month’s internet service free. So, we will be connected here in Honduras, whenever we are close enough to a cell tower. What a luxury.

This evening we joined about a dozen other cruisers for Happy Hour at Fantasy Island. This is a great cruising community. I am really enjoying our fellow cruisers

January 29, 2010

Today, Fantasy Island sponsored a Potluck dinner for the cruisers. I bet there were close to 25 people there. We all had fun sampling each other’s creations and swapping stories. We did a book and DVD exchange, as well.

January 30, 2010

Along with Dave and Debbie, we rented a car and drove all over the island, today. We visited a housing project with single family homes, condos, and I guess apartments. The location was right on the ocean, with a little back cove next to the condos. We peaked into the windows and they seemed like nice little units.

Next we drove down into a little town called Jonesville, with narrow, winding streets along the development right on the ocean front. There was a small harbor there, with commercial fishing boats.

Next it was on to Oakridge. Here we hired a colorful water taxi and he drove us through the mangroves, along the ocean reef and over to a restaurant called the Hole in the Wall.

This restaurant is run by ex cruisers and has a great deal of atmosphere. We even passed a floating bar which is reputed to be a place for other extracurricular men’s activities. Amazing.

January 31, 2010

Today finds the winds down and the weather beautiful. We are planning on picking up anchor and heading down toward Port Royal further down the island, tomorrow. Hopefully, we will be able to catch fish along the way and get into a little more remote anchorage for a few days. We have to return to French Harbor sometime in the next few weeks to pick-up Dave’s new generator and a package for us from Jeff.