West End, Roatan, Honduras

3/17/19
sunny. 84 degrees

Oh my...what has happened?  I have fallen off the blog entries.  So sorry.  Our time in Guatemala before our departure was filled with angst.  We had to replace all 6 of our batteries, which was a big hit to our sailing budget.  We had just replaced all of them 2 years ago in Panama and now we are here again....they should have lasted at least another 3+ years.  But there you have it....BOAT...Break Out Another Thousand! 

Then we were on a time restraint with friends arriving in Roatan on March 7th and our new dingy was not finished yet.  So, as that was being completed we got busy and prepared s/v Island Sol for leaving the Rio.  We got our new and improved dingy in the water and headed out for Livingston to check out of the country on March 4th.  We had called ahead to the agent, Raul, and he had one of his employees meet us at our boat, collect our passports and boat papers and in less than an hour, they were back with our exit papers....Wham Bam Thank You Mam!  An then off we went sailing non-stop to Utila, Honduras.  It was a miserable 24 hr. sail, or rather motor sail due to mixed up seas and an unfavorable wind.  But we arrived in Utila around noon on the 5th.  We were glad to be able to check into Honduras here as it is a one-stop shop, so to speak.  But as luck would have it that was not meant to be.  Their immigration person did not exist, so we were unable to check in and had to do that in Roatan....a much more lengthy ordeal.  Charlie stood in line at the bank for about 45 mins. so we could exchange our US $ for Honduran Lempiras.  One Lempira equals 4 cents US.  We ended up taking a tuk-tuk....the international motorcycle with a covered back seat...to Mango Tango for Tapas Tuesday.  We were not sure what to expect, but it was fabulous.  We picked 5 different tapas and with 2 cocktails under our belt, it was lights out on our return to the boat.

The next morning we got underway early and made a 4-hour sail to Roatan and the mooring field at West End in the Roatan Marine Park.  As we approached our entrance into the cut in the reef we were not sure if we would find a mooring ball as there were a lot of boats there.  But, we did find one and what a relief to not be on an anchor where you worry all night if you are dragging or not.  It is a high probability that you will remain in place on a mooring ball, which offers a good nights sleep. 

So we arrived on the 6th and our friends, David and Steve arrived on the set date of the 7th.  We were cutting it close and the sailor quote of...."You can pick your time and you can pick your place, but you can't pick your time AND your place" was not a problem.  So the next week we toured the island, drank and ate and ate and drank.  A sail to Cayos Cochinos, 4 hrs. toward the mainland, some snorkeling and just in general a good time was had by all.

Ola from the Rio

2/20/19
Rio Dulce, Guatemala
95 degrees and sunny

Hello everyone, Charlie and I have now been on the Rio for 2 weeks.  Our flight was really nice, Charlie brought 4 little bottles of vodka and we bought 2 cans of Mrs. T's and took off into the friendly skies.  We chatted with 2 women behind us with 2 dogs and a Honduran "singing Dentist" in the aisle across from us.  The steward on the plane talked to us at length about Roatan as he was going on a cruise the next day and that was one of his destinations.  All of this made for a quick flight.  Giovanni, our driver/friend picked us up in La Ceba, Honduras and after cramming all of our bags into his Toyota we started off for Guatemala.  This turned out to be a 4 hr. trip with several stops by military police to check the trunk and our passports, a stop at the border with immigration and then finally arriving at 7:00 pm.  Here Luvi and his son Rodrigo (owner of the maria) picked up us in his launcha and took us to our floating home, Island Sol.  It was a long day and we were exhausted, but Charlie got the AC up and running before we finally fell into bed around 11:00.

Life on the river has not changed much.  On our trip into town the next day for some food and provisions we ran into several old sailing friends.  The expat community here is big and well, it was like a reunion.  The town is still busy with people and trucks and cars up and down the streets.  Things are still stinky and dirty and you have to be really careful as the 18 wheelers are only inches from you as you walk the street.

Life in the marina is much slower and definitely cleaner.  Luvi, the owner of our marina was and his wife Amy were making coconut milk for soup.  No can opening here, this is the real thing.  Very interesting.  After shredding the coconut meat from the shell, they place it in a blender and add a little water ....then coconut milk.

Time to Sail Away Again

2/5/19
Cat Spring, Texas

Yes, it is time to head south.  This season will be shorter due to a lot of things, but we are getting ready for our 7th sailing season.  It is hard to believe we have been doing this for 6 years so far.  On Feb. 12 we will fly to San Pedro Sula, Honduras where our favorite driver, Geovanni, will pick us up and drive us 3 1/2 hrs. back to Rio Dulce, Guatemala, where s/v Island Sol, our floating home will be waiting for us.

Charlie is toying with the idea of building a rigid fiberglass dingy to export to the US to sell.   Since we had our Colibri (our fiberglass dingy) shipped back to the states for US Coast Guard inspection we need to have another one built before we take off to Roatan, Honduras.  So we will be hanging around the "Rio" for a few weeks.

So stay tuned and I will promise to blog this trip and hope to encounter more fun on the "high seas" and also under the sea as well.