Thursday, November 24, 2016

November 24; French Harbor, Roatan

On Saturday, the 12th, the Carltons flew into Roatan to spend a week with us aboard La Peregrina.  Their luggage, however, failed to show up.   About half of their baggage was their personal clothes and snorkel gear.  The other half was stuff for us:    It included several items for the boat that I could not obtain in Guatemala:  clear vinyl to replace a clouded window on our bimini, sewing needles, basting tape, and electric indicator lights for the boat’s DC panel.  To this, the very generous Carltons had added a bunch of goodies they knew we sorely missed:  sun dried tomatoes, quality cheese, nuts, a loaf of artisan bread, and some salted caramels!  Bob even packed a cutting board he had made out of teak and holly with “La Peregrina” carved on the back.   It was all missing.

The Carltons took it all in stride.  The airline had given them a toiletries kit and a $500 allowance to purchase items they needed.  And virtually everything they needed could be bought at one of the many t-shirt or dive shops in Roatan.   So they refused to let the situation ruin their vacation.  But I was a different story.  I was like a child who woke up on Christmas morning and discovered there was nothing under the tree.  I sulked all week.

Bob Carlton shares a beer with Cheeky, one of the monkeys that hangs around Fantasy Island Resort.  Bob is to left.
Unfortunately, it seemed nearly everything went wrong the week the Carltons were here.  We had hoped to take them to Guanaja or to Cayos Cochinos.  But the Honduran authorities took five days to give me a sailing permit, and the Carlton’s week was half over before I felt we could permissibly leave Roatan.  It was cloudy and rainy all week.  There was almost no wind.  We never got a chance to sail; we never even took the mainsail cover off.  And we spent hours and hours in a futile effort to find lost luggage. 

If I had a pony...

But we did get to see a good bit of the south coast of Roatan:  French Harbor, Port Royal, the little fishing village of Oak Ridge, and West End. We had many dinghy rides.  We snorkeled.  We had a fabulous lobster dinner at Mango Creek Resort.  Maribeth cooked excellent meals, and we drank, and laughed, and listened to music, and had stimulating, semi-intelligent conversations.   The Carltons were gracious, convivial guests, and though I regret we did not provide more sunshine and more adventure, we thoroughly enjoyed their visit.
Bob and Terrie aboard La Peregrina
We have since learned that the luggage was found and was returned to Nashville airport the same night the Carlton’s flew back to Nashville.  During its week on the run, it had been in Miami, Houston, Dallas, Mexico City, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Puerto Rico.  But never Roatan.

There was one more item in the Carlton’s luggage:  ashes of Robin Fields.  Robin was a dear friend, and long time companion of Captain Howard Toole.  She died one year ago, and Howard asked that we spread her ashes in the Caribbean Sea and “laugh, drink, sing, and dance.”  One reason so many of us loved Robin was because she was a free spirit, willing to try anything once.  She had spent part of her youth in South America, and was known there as Pahara, the Spanish word for “bird.”  It is hard not to think that Robin wanted one more adventure, one more wild and crazy Latin American tour.  She was going, and the luggage would just have to tag along.  Here’s to you, Robin!  

On Monday, the 21st, we raised anchor, and sailed south away from West End, Roatan toward Cayos Cochinos.  It was an easy four-hour trip.  How nice to be exploring again, away from a tourist economy!  Cayos Cochinos are a group of 13 islands 20 miles north of the Honduran mainland.  We picked up a mooring ball off Cochino Grande, the largest island, and spent all day on the 22nd exploring by dinghy.  We snorkeled, walked on the beach, hiked to the top of the island, and climbed up the old lighthouse (no longer working since the solar panels blew away.)  And we saw, for the first time in a while, a gorgeous sunset.  

The sun sets over Cochino Poqueno

Atop Cochino Grande Light



We are now back in Roatan, anchored in the protected waters of French Harbor.  We’ll have a Thanksgiving dinner with other American sailors this evening.  We’re looking forward to Captain Howard’s arrival tomorrow.  We’ll head for Belize in a few days.  Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

It’s Thanksgiving and I am jubilant!   The good Lord has blessed me with incredible family and friends.  And I am enjoying the opportunity to go sailing for a year in the Caribbean and Central America.  One of our goals for this year was to be way chilled.  If we got more chilled than we are now we would most likely not be among the living.  What a luxury to have the time to make a journey on it’s timeframe, not mine.

So many of you read our blogs and think it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to travel on a sailboat.  Joe ends every blog asking you to join us.  He is sincere in his invitation.  But the truth is this boat is really small and the weather hardly cooperates and it usually takes days to get where we want to go.

Has our trip not lived up to our expectations?  It most certainly has and more than we hoped for!  So what is my point?  If you feel passionate about something you want to do, then do it.  Take a leap of faith and go for it.  And be thankful for the opportunity.  


So that brings me full circle.  I am truly thankful.  Thankful for my adventurous husband who encourages me to step out of my comfort zone.  Thankful for my children and family who encouraged me to make the trip. And thankful for my friends who cheered me on and said don’t worry, it will all be ok, we’ve got your back while you are gone.  It’s a grand life!!

Lamb Cay, Cayos Cochinos

Friday, November 11, 2016

November 11; Roatan, Islas de Bahia, Honduras

Best wishes to all our veterans.  We are grateful.

La Peregrina is back in the islands!   When I last wrote, we were excited about spending a few days sailing Guatemala's Lago Izabal.  I was particularly looking forward to dinghying around in the upper tributaries which were reported to be full of monkeys, toucans, and crocodiles.   In the company of s/v Seraphim and her English crew, Tim and Philipa Green, we headed up the lake on Tuesday, November 1st.  We had a beautiful anchorage off Denny’s Beach that night, and enjoyed our peaceful escape from the bustle of Rio Dulce Town and its noisy bridge.  

La Peregrina anchored in Laguna Salvador




























But our good luck didn’t last long.  I broke a molar that first night out.  There was no pain, but I had a big hole in my mouth, and ignoring it seemed like inviting trouble.  So on Wednesday, we motored back to Rio Dulce Town.  I made a dental appointment for the next day.  In the wee hours of Thursday morning, Maribeth ferried me across the river in the dinghy where I caught the 3:00 a.m. bus to Guatemala City.  After a six hour bus ride and a 15 minute cab ride, I got to spend three hours in a Guatemalan dentist’s office.  It was a very good experience.  It was as modern and efficient a dental office as any I’ve seen in the U.S.   The service was better.  The price was drastically lower.  Sporting my new dental onlay, I caught the 5:00 pm bus back to Rio Dulce, and shortly after midnight I was back aboard La Peregrina.  

Two young Mayan fishermen in their ancient, broken cayuco on Laguna Salvador



















We were disappointed our exploration of Lago Izabal hadn’t worked out.  But our aborted excursion had given us confidence that La Peregrina was ready for travel.  So at mid-day on Friday, November 4, we finished saying our goodbyes, raised our anchor, and left Rio Dulce Town.  We had made a fast trip up the Rio back in June, so we lingered on the way back down.  We spent one night in gorgeous Laguna Salvador, just off El Golfete.  There, we were visited by a couple of young women paddling a very leaky cayuco.   The boat had been hollowed out from a single tree, apparently quite a long time ago. 
Maribeth with Catery y Amelia, our new Mayan friends
When they arrived alongside La Peregrina, the boat had two inches of water in the bottom, and I noticed that the older sister was using her foot to keep a rag stuffed in a 10-inch split in the hull.  We invited them aboard, and the cayuco quickly filled with water.  The girls were unconcerned.  They visited awhile, then climbed back in their swamped little boat.  I expected it to sink immediately.  But one sister started bailing, and the other sister started paddling with one foot over the hole.  Our new young Mayan friends and their trusted cayuco glided easily away.   

On Saturday, we visited a manatee refuge, where we had a fascinating dinghy ride up a narrow creek, saw amazing armies of ants, and got drenched in the rain, but saw no manatees.  We had a quiet night anchored in Texan Bay that night.  As we do most Sunday mornings, we enjoyed a big breakfast with coffee and Baileys.  I piddled with a few boat chores, and then we finally made the short trip through the impressive Rio Dulce gorge back to Livingston.  On Monday morning, we checked out of Guatemala with mixed emotions.  What a fascinating country!  


Gilligan and Mary Ann

It was a surprisingly quick trip east to the Bay Islands of Honduras.  We had expected to be beating against easterly trade winds.  Instead, we were blessed with light westerlies.  So, after anchoring off Cabo Tres Puntas the first night, we motor-sailed virtually the entire way to Roatan, and anchored at West End at dawn on Wednesday, about 42 hours after leaving Livingston.  We are tied up now at Fantasy Island Marina, stuck here until we finish the clear-in process.  The Honduran authorities seem to be in no hurry.  Bob and Terrie Carlton will join us tomorrow.  We are looking forward to their visit!

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It's nice to be back in the islands!  Roatan, Islas de Bahia, Honduras