December 15, 2022
Partly Cloudy and 81 Degrees
Ole, again to our followers. We have returned to our boat, s/v Island Sol on Dec. 7. Our flight to San Pedro Sulla, Honduras was fine and we were able to get all our luggage out with only one inspection. They wanted to know if we had food and of course we did. They had a look at our chicken sandwiches and put them back. BUT, then they found a Saran wrapped bunch of leaves. Mind you the drug/weapons dog had already sniffed our luggage. These leaves were Sour Sop leaves that a friend of Charlies gave him to make a tea for his Prostate health! I told the officer this and he just rolled his eyes and put it back and off we went to meet our driver, Oti. Oti has been picking us up here for years and driving us back to Guatemala. As I have mentioned in other posts the drive back to Rio Dulce is on a 2 lane highway with no shoulders or lights. The amount of 18 wheeler traffic is mind blowing and at night they are lite up like Christmas trees….so you can see them coming for sure. So we left the airport around 4:00 pm and made it to the Guatemalan boarder at 6:00pm…or rather we were half a mile from the boarder and stopped in dead traffic. We sat there for over an hour not moving an inch. Finally Oti said we needed to start walking to the boarder because he didn’t want us to miss checking out of Honduras and checking into Guatemala for fear the boarder station would close. So out we get and start walking half in the ditch, weaving around cars and trucks. We stood in line to for the check in check out procedure for about 30 minutes and then received all the necessary stamps in our passport and back to the car. There we were able to move about 50’. Then set until 9:00 when finally we got on our way. So now another 3 hours to Rio Dulce. It was quite a trip and of course we arrived in the Rio to RAIN. Luckily Oti got in touch with the marina and they sent a boat for us. We went straight to a cabin as we had 2 huge Pelican boxes, a large suitcase, 2 carry on suitcases, 2 bags and 2 backpacks. The McDowells do NOT travel light!
We are now ensconced in our boat where Charlie has begun finishing up some projects. Almost too many to mention. Of course we came back to the boat with our engine needing a new alternator and a new impeller. Both of our outboard motors are not working and the list goes on and on. But Charlie moves forward everyday. We have met new cruisers and have been reunited with old friends again. There is a Christmas Party planned by the cruisers on Dec. 23 for all the staff and employees here. Then another party for the cruisers on the 25th. No date in sight yet for our departure as we still have to deal with the SAT office to get our exit permit and pay our fine. All we know is that - don’t apply for the permit until your boat is ready to leave the country. They are giving boats only 5-10 days to get out after permitting. So I will return to finish this saga. Hope all of you have a wonderful holiday, don’t stress just enjoy. And health and happiness to all of us in 2023.
