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!

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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