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.
