In my previous blog I stated that as soon as I had my last doctor’s visit, we would start our trip via Mexico to Guatemala. But it seemed that we were not allowed to settle yet in Guatemala to start our new land life.

In October we had to return halfway through Mexico due to the protest demonstrations and road closures in Guatemala. However, our second trip that started on November 23, 2023, was very nice and we arrived without any problems in the Rio Dulce and moved into our cabin in Capt. John’s marina.

The lancha we purchased was completed and the new Suziki outboard installed. We started to personalize the cabin and we began to really feel at home. However, after 4 days in our cabin on a 2-minute trip to Hotel Backpackers for lunch a large roller lifted our lancha out of the water and Dorothy was thrown off her seat and landed on the bottom of the boat. She was in incredible pain and could not move. It turned out that she had a compression fracture in her L1 vertebra. Only after she got heavy pain medication from the doctor and a muscle relaxant could she move with my help. After we consulted with spine surgeons it was decided that we needed to return to the US for further investigation and treatment. It appeared that our new land life in the Rio came to an early end.

We left early in the morning on December 17, 2023, by taxi to the airport in Guatemala City. It was a Sunday, and the expectation was that there should not be too much traffic on the road. That was true until we passed the city limits of Guatemala City. It was a moving parking lot, and it took us one and a half hour to reach the airport. It was a long time ago that we flew to and from Guatemala and the rules had changed. Instead of a paper exit form an on-line exit application form needed to be filled out and approved before traveling. The wheelchair assistant helped us to fill out the form and took us to a special immigration desk for people in a wheelchair.

I did not want to change planes in Houston and arrive late in the evening in San Antonio, so I reserved a room at an airport hotel. Houston Airport was again being remodeled, and it was a zoo. It was nearly impossible to get to the taxi stand but Dorothy’s wheelchair assistant did a great job forcing people to move so we could pass. The following day I picked up early a rental car early in the morning before the airport traffic became crazy again. We had a nice comfortable car, and we had a nice trip home to New Braunfels.

I took Dorothy home and drove to the rental car agency where our friends Kurt and Kitty picked me up. They brought lunch and a lot of different food for the next few days, so I did not have to cook. They also brought a walker for Dorothy so she could move safely through the house.

Our son Robert performed a miracle to get us an appointment with a Spine Surgeon on Wednesday December 20, 2023. He confirmed that Dorothy had a severe compression fracture in her L1 vertebra. He ordered an MRI, that she had the same day at 9:00 PM. During our follow up visit on Friday December 22, 2023 his diagnosis was confirmed, and the doctor gave us the option to have a procedure done to reduce the healing period. But since it was Christmas the earliest date available was January 22, 2023. He advised Dorothy to use a back brace which our insurance did not cover, and we had to pay $1,800.00 out of pocket to get one. Together with the painkillers Dorothy did it without a lot of pain through the holidays and the waiting time until the procedure could be performed.

The doctor wanted to see Dorothy a week before the procedure early in the morning on January 15, 2024. It was very cold that morning and, on our way, we got icy rain which completely covered the windshield. I had to stop to de-ice the window before I could continue our trip. When it became daylight the entire surrounding of the Texas Hill Country was white from frost. When we arrived at the large medical building where our doctor’s clinic is, the entire parking lot was covered with water and ice due to a water main break. The entire building was without water and many offices had to close and cancel their appointments.

Dorothy also had a bone density test. The bone density test, also called dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, DEXA or DXA, uses a very small dose of ionizing radiation to produce images of the inside of the body, usually the lower spine (lumbar) and hips, to measure bone loss. It is usually used to diagnose osteoporosis, to assess an individual's risk of developing fractures due to osteoporosis.

The results of the bone density study are reported in a T-score. Dorothy’s score was less than -2.5 which indicated that she has osteoporosis which was the cause of the severity of her fraction. She was advised to start taking medication or get treatment to stabilize or improve her bone density. The medication to improve the bone density is administered with a daily injection and is very expensive. In our case after the insurance part, it was $2,700.00 for a 90-day supply. Every evening before bedtime I give Dorothy the injection in her abdomen which on some days is very painful and it makes her nauseated.

Her back surgery was successful although the doctor was not able to put a balloon inside the fracture site before he injected the cement to reduce the compression of the vertebrae. The first couple of days after the surgery her pain could be controlled with painkillers, and she could gradually reduce the amount. After her post-op visit the doctor allowed her to travel and to return to Guatemala. We waited a couple of days and booked the flight on January 31, 2024.

We selected this time American Airlines instead of United so we could leave a little later in the day (9:15 AM) and arrive early in the afternoon. Our dear neighbor Eric drove us to the airport, and we had a very good flight. The wheelchair service in San Antonio, Dallas and Guatemala was excellent. We stayed in the hotel we always use when we are in Guatemala City. Karen, our dear Guatemala daughter, came to our hotel, we had a great dinner together and did a lot of catching up.

After the usual great breakfast Otto Taxi Service came to pick us up for the long drive the Rio Dulce. We had about an hour delay due to a bridge repair on a bridge damaged during the heavy flooding. Our lancha was waiting at RAM marina where we purchased meals for the evening and the following day. I dropped Dorothy off at our cabin and went to the grocery store to purchase food and drinks.

For the first couple of days in did not allow Dorothy to get into the lancha but then on a quiet day we did the first trial and it worked great. By doing so we realized that we needed a few updates on the lancha with the installation of a console with a wheel, engine controls and a better seat position for Dorothy.

January/February is the time that many cruisers prepare their boats and leave for their cruising destination, fortunately we still had the opportunity to meet a few of them to wish them a great sailing season. Jacques and Annet, our Dutch sailing friends with whom we sailed up for many years came to visit us before they were leaving. We still have a lot of stuff from our boat that we try to sell or to donate to a charity called “Pass It On.” Twice a month there is a “Swap Meet” in Rio Dulce. The “Swap Meet” has two functions: Sell or purchase boat stuff and meet fellow sailors. On the two “Swap Meets” we attended we sold for a very low-price stuff and what we were not able to sell at the end of the meeting we donated to “Pass It On.” For us it was great to have the last possibility to say “Hi and Bye” to our sailing friends. Our storeroom is still not empty, but we will keep on going to sell or donate.

Many cruising boats are first sailing to Belize after leaving Guatemala before going to the Honduras Bay Islands. The reason is the consequence of the Central American Free Mobility Agreement (CA-4) between the countries of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. This agreement establishes free movement across borders between the four signatory states of their citizens without any restrictions or checks. Foreign nationals who enter one of the signatory countries can also travel to other signatory states by land (but not by air) without having to obtain additional permits or to undergo checks at border checkpoints, but their 90 days visa is not renewed by crossing the border. So as an example, if you have used 45 days of your 90 days visa in Guatemala you can only stay for 45 days in Honduras. By first going to Belize and then the Honduras Bay Islands you can start a new cycle of your 90 days visa.

At the end of February and the beginning of March we are driving for 10 days to Placencia in Belize where we rented a nice cabana. Many cruisers are still there, and we hope to meet many of our friends during the traditional Sunday BBQ at a waterfront restaurant/bar called “Yoli.” We will make a one day stop in the border town in Belize called “San Ignacio.”

The area around San Ignacio is one of the most popular parts of the country for tourism. Nearby attractions include the ancient Maya ruins of Caracol, Xunantunich, Cahal Pech, and El Pilar. Notable caves to explore include the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave, which includes skeletons, ceramics, and stoneware, and Barton Creek Cave, which is popular among adventure tourists interested in cave canoeing. Also popular among adventure travelers are nature reserves such as the Chaa Creek Nature Reserve, and the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. A day trip to Mountain Pine Ridge allows visitors to go on several hikes and visit waterfalls, caves, and Maya ruins. We will make a day tour to the Mountain Pine Ridge without participating in any hikes. We visited here before and have the most precious memories.

It is so great to have our car here in the Rio. The marina where our cabin is has no road access, so we use our lancha to go to RAM Mariana where our car is parked and drive to wherever we need to go. This past Sunday it was for the first time very hot, and we took the opportunity to drive in our airconditioned car to a village on the lake called “El Estor.” The road is magnificent, driving in between the lake and the mountains. When we came back in the cabin, I took a swim in our swimming pool.

I hope to continue my next blog with some great adventures we will have in Guatemala, Belize, and the Honduras Bay Islands.

When we came back to Texas at the end of May it was already unseasonably warm. Sometimes the temperature hit the mid-90s. In the first week of June the temperature rose to the low 100F and that was the normal temperature for the remainder of the summer. It did not bother us; Dorothy and I both love warm weather. We had a lot of fun things to do, and I had a small woodworking project to restore some patio furniture. We were looking forward to our Alaska cruise, preparations to move into the cabin we rented in the Rio Dulce, the purchase of a lancha and an outboard engine. In Guatemala it is difficult to nearly impossible to purchase a good outboard engine, so we decided to purchase a new engine in the USA and had it shipped it to Guatemala. RAM, the marina where we had our boat stalled for over 6 years allowed us to use their shipping agent. This agent took care of the shipping, import into Guatemala, and delivery of the engine to the marina and Capt. John had the engine installed in our lancha.

When we are in Texas, we always have a nice exercise program. I go swimming at 5:00 AM and when I come back Dorothy and I walk for one hour. Twice a week we participate in a chair yoga class and an exercise program called “Active Aging.” Dorothy participates in an hour class called “Zumba Gold.” However, this all came to a stop when my heart and blood pressure issues increased, together with kidney problems. My heart specialist tried to control these problems with changes in my medication, unfortunately without results. These problems and cataract surgery forced me to stop swimming for some time and we reduced the amount of time we took our morning walks.

Unfortunately, Dorothy also developed some heart issues and had a long list of appointments to investigate what was going on. We stopped the two more physically involved exercise programs “Active Aging” and “Zumba Gold.” For the following 3 months our life and calendar were completely set on doctors’ visits. I had a Cardiac Ablation which seems to have good results after some initial problems. If these good results remain, I might be able to reduce the intake of heart medication and maybe end up getting completely off this medication. For emergencies I always need to have some medication available when something goes wrong. The hope is that my kidney issues will improve now that my heart problems are getting under control. Fortunately, Dorothy did not need any surgical intervention and after a few adjustments of her medication she feels a lot better.

Although we live less than 25 minutes driving from the “Natural Bridge Caverns” we never visited this beautiful place. In 1960 four students from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio found a cave with two miles of chamber after chamber, each filled with magnificent formations including gigantic, towering columns, emerald pools, delicate crystalline soda straws. Texas Governor John Connally dedicated the Caverns as “A Jewel in the Crown of Texas Attractions.” The US Department of the Interior designated Natural Bridge Caverns as a National Natural Landmark and later in 2004 the Caverns was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The designation followed the archeological excavation that was conducted in 2003.

We had our picture taken in front of the Natural Bridge and went 200 feet deep in different chambers all with 70F temperature but 99% humidity. It felt a lot better than the 110F outside the cave.

Part of the “Natural Bridge Caverns“ is a “Wildlife Ranch.” We waited a couple of weeks until the weather cooled down a little. Wildlife Ranch is a wonderful 500-acre 6 miles drive-thru safari park. I did not bring my good camera and it was very difficult to take pictures with my cell phone since most of the animals were not close to the road, but in the shade of the trees. Next time I will be better prepared.

For the first time in a long time, I had a gap in my doctor visits, and we decided to take the planned trip up and down to Guatemala to empty out our storeroom and get the new cabin ready. When we left home in Texas to drive via Mexico to Guatemala, we knew that there were protest demonstrations with roadblocks throughout the entire country. We expected that these roadblocks would end before our arrival in Guatemala. However; when we arrived in Tampico in Mexico, we understood from detailed information from our friends in Guatemala that the roadblocks were still in force and the situation in Guatemala became worse especially with a shortage of fuel and food. Based on all this information, we decided to return to the USA and wait out the situation.

We were extremely disappointed but the trip to Tampico in Mexico was worthwhile. We purchased my medicine which increased in price in the USA from $113.00 a month to $545.00. We purchased a six (6) month supply for only $243.00. We did some sightseeing in Tampico, visited Laguna del Carpintero, the beach, the jetty, enjoyed some great Mexican food and had a great time. The return trip was uneventful despite the long wait time on the border with the USA.

We picked up our normal routine when we are home in Texas. It was not so hot anymore and we had some nice fall weather. Then the Canadians started giving us the first cold front. After some badly needed heavy rain, the temperature dropped within hours from mid 80F to 42F. In the morning it became even 36F with a strong wind. The cold weather lasted a little over one week. The weather became Texas style nice and warm before the next cold front came in. We are now in very cold weather again, and we wish we did not have to wait for my last doctor’s visit to find out how much more I can drop the amount of heart medicine. The day after the doctor’s visit we will start our trip via Mexico to Guatemala.

On October 11 for the first time in a long time our family was expanded with the arrival of baby girl Ella Noel, the daughter of our oldest grandson and his wife. We are now members of the great-grandparents club! We waited a little while before visiting the happy new parents to meet this little miracle. She is absolutely beautiful as you will see on the pictures in the album associated with this blog.

After we cleaned out “Island Girl” and stepped in the car to drive to our home in Texas via Mexico we had the naïve thought that this was the end of our 14 years of sailing with our beloved boat. But no, there was still a lot to be done. A few things were very easy like canceling service, membership for weather information, insurance, satellite phone service and selling the satellite phone. Some of the stuff we brought home we put up for sale such as my diving tanks. Although I decided to stop scuba diving, for some unexplained reason I kept the rest of my diving equipment. Maybe when my heart issue is resolved I will go scuba diving again.

Then an unexpected issue showed up; the coast guard had a mortgage record on my boat certification and due to this the new owner could not get a coast guard certification. The weird thing was I never had a mortgage on the boat. Then I realized what probably had happened. When we sold the last part of our Medina Lake property, we still had our Fifth wheel RV on the property and the new owner could not complete a mortgage application as long as the RV was on the property. I had to fly to Texas from Miami Beach to borrow a truck from one of our friends to pull the RV from the property and bring it to the dealer for consignment sale of the RV. This all took some time, and we could not delay the purchase of “Island Girl.” We got a short term loan to complete the purchase which we paid off a month later. The bank, however, recorded that this loan was a mortgage, but never informed the Coast Guard that the loan was paid off. The bank BBT does not exist anymore, and we had to track down the current owner of the records without having an account number or any other information. After hanging on the phone for hours and writing notarized documents this issue seems to be resolved.
We had some issues with the Spectra Watermaker and after the intervention of the factory the dealer promised to fix the problems free of charge. We sent the part to the new owner and promised to help him with the installation of the part if necessary.
The other remaining issue is that we could not bring home or sell/donate all the remaining items we had in our storeroom. For this we plan to drive to the Rio Dulce in October to bring the stuff back home or sell/donate it. This plan became a little complicated after we decided to rent a bungalow in the Rio Dulce.
Originally, we rented an apartment for three months in Roatan, one of the Honduras Bay Islands. Then we saw a post from Capt. John’s Marina who had a very nice bungalow for rent. We canceled the rent of an apartment in Honduras and made a long term rental agreement starting in October 2023 for the rent of the bungalow at Capt. John’s Marina.

The only complication of the location is that it has no land access and can only be reached by boat. Capt. John sold us a nice 16 ft lancha but could not find an outboard engine in the Rio Dulce. We purchased a Suzuki 25 HP electric starting outboard and shipped it to Guatemala. Our visit in October will now consist of moving stuff from the storage room in RAM Marina, selling or donating what we do not need and driving back to Texas. Hopefully, we can go back to the Rio Dulce in November/December when our health issues are resolved.

When we are in Texas, we always have a nice exercise program. I go swimming at 5:00 AM and when I come back Dorothy and I walk for one hour. Twice a week we participate in a chair yoga class and an exercise program called “Active Aging.” Dorothy participates in an hour class called “Zumba Gold.” However, this all came to a temporary stop when my heart and blood pressure issues started. My heart specialist tried to control these problems with some changes in my medication, unfortunately without results. I was put on a heart monitor for three days, but that did not give more information than what I knew and feel daily. The situation became even more complicated when a special cataract surgery required to change the medicine I am using. My heart specialist did not agree to this, and we had to downgrade the intraocular lens I was going to receive. In the meantime, the surgery is successfully completed, and I can now concentrate on my heart and blood pressure issues.

Unfortunately, Dorothy developed the same heart issues and has a long list of appointments to investigate what is going on.
The moment “Island Girl” was sold we made reservations for a Cruise to Alaska. This was the number one item on our bucket list. It was exciting to plan the trip to Seattle, the excursions we wanted to take along the way and after our return to Seattle. We were looking forward to the day we would depart.
Early in the morning an Uber picked us up to catch our flight from San Antonio to Seattle. We were flying in the clouds for the biggest part of the flight but close to Mt Rainier in Washington State it became crystal clear, and we had a beautiful view of the mountain and the surrounding park. It was a great start to our cruise. Arriving in Seattle it was cloudy and for us coming from Texas with 106F it was very cold with a temperature of 61F. A bus ride organized by Royal Caribbean Cruise line brought us to the harbor and in no time, we were allowed to board the ship and get settled in our cabin. This is amazing in view of the fact that the ship had 4905 passengers and about 1500 crew members. The ship we boarded was the “Ovation of the Seas” that made her maiden voyage in April 2016. The ship is 1138 feet long and 136 feet wide. We were overwhelmed by the size of the ship and the distances you have to walk to go from one place to another.

To our big surprise many people were using the open air and the two covered pools. The solarium area also had many spa’s with many people in them. We walked around on the running/walking trail with our jackets and sweaters on. We left exactly on time at 4:00 PM and we spent a long time outside looking at the beautiful scenery. After a very good meal we went to bed early. We woke up Texas time and took our morning walk around the ship before getting breakfast. We directly had contact with some of the waiting staff from Indonesia, Philippines, Honduras, Guyana, India, Trinidad, and Jamaica. Interacting with the wonderful staff became our daily routine and sometimes a supervisor had to interrupt our long conversations. Dorothy was delighted that she was able to practice her Bahasa Indonesia again.

The second day of the cruise was a sea day and that sounds boring, but it is not. There are so many activities on board you can participate in, find a quiet place to read a book or listen to some good music. Our favorite group was from Jamaica playing some great Caribbean music. For night life we were listening to Latin music with the “Zona Clave Trio” while enjoying a delicious mojito.
The next day, day three, we arrived and spent the day in Sitka. We attended an introduction speech about the rich history of Sitka with the occupation of the Russians of this part of Alaska and the sales of Alaska to the USA. In Sitka we visited the Totem National Historic Park, the raptor and bear sanctuaries. The sanctuary seems like a zoo, but it is not. Animals that are able to recover are reintroduced to the wild. In the evening we attended a show called “Liverpool Legends” which was a complete reproduction of a concert by the “Beatles” and the majority of the audience were people like us, teens in the 1960’s.

On day four we arrived in Skagway, a place which looks like it did during the Klondike Gold Rush between 1896 and 1899. It was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of Yukon, in north-western Canada. Local miners discovered gold there, and it triggered a stampede of prospectors. Some became wealthy, but the majority went in vain.
To reach the gold fields, most prospectors took the route through the ports of Dyea and Skagway. Here, the "Klondikers’" could follow either the Chilkoot or the White Pass trails to the Yukon River, and sail down to the Klondike. The Canadian authorities required each of them to bring a year's supply of food, in order to prevent starvation. In all, the Klondikers' equipment weighed close to a ton, which most carried themselves.

In 1898 to 1900 the White Pass and Yukon Railroad was built as a means of reaching the goldfields. The railroad continued operation until 1982, and in 1988 was partially revived as a heritage railway. In July 2018, the railway was purchased by Carnival Corporation & plc. It is now only used by people arriving in Skagway. We took this train with its narrow roadbed blasted in solid rock. The views from the train were incredible, but it was sometimes scary to drive next to the steep cliffs.

On day five we would reach the highlight of the cruise: watch a glacier from the ship. To be able to do this the ship had to enter a fjord. Unfortunately, we had heavy fog and the captain decided to wait for an hour to see if the fog would clear up, but this did not happen until the end of the day when we were in Juneau, so we did not get to see the glacier. We did see some big chunks of ice floating in the water which according to the captain were very even bigger under water and since our ship is not an icebreaker, he decided not to enter the fjord.

The ship continued to sail to Juneau, the capital of Alaska. Juneau is unique among the 49 U.S. capitals on mainland North America in that there are no roads connecting the city to the rest of the state or North America. The absence of a road network is due to the extremely rugged terrain surrounding the city.
We took a gondola tour up to the mountains, but everything was in dense fog. After this disappointment we took an area bus tour but due to the fog there were no more exciting things to do. The interesting thing was the road along the Mendenhall; on every light pole along the road there was a Bald Eagle watching the river. A week later a dam in Mendenhall Lake broke and flooded the riverbanks and 2 houses completely disappeared.

After 1½ seadays we arrived in Victoria in Canada. We moved fast to a small boat to go whale watching. After sailing out to the area with the most chance to see whales, the wind and waves picked up very fast and the captain instructed us to come down from the top deck to stay inside. Despite the rough seas we saw in total 8 times a whale which of course could have been the same one every time.
The next day we arrived back in Seattle and before we went to our hotel, we visited the Space Needle and the Chihuly Garden of Glass. The Space Needle was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River, standing at 605 ft and is built to withstand winds of up to 200 mph (320 km/h) and earthquakes of up to 9.0 magnitude, as strong as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. The Space Needle features an observation deck providing views of the downtown Seattle skyline, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay, and various islands in Puget Sound.

Chihuly Garden and Glass is an exhibit directly next to the Space Needle, displaying the studio glass of Dale Chihuly. The 100-foot-long installation inside of the Glasshouse is one of Chihuly's largest suspended sculptures. Designed with the help of architect Owen Richards, the facility was awarded LEED silver certification from the USGBC.
The next day, the last full day of our trip, we took a day tour to Mount Rainier and the surrounding National Park. We left Seattle at 7:00 AM and returned at 6:30 PM. Despite the fog it was an amazing tour with stunning views, waterfalls, and glaciers. We took a few medium difficult hikes to see the Nisqually Glacier. To be honest we were broken, but we made it.

Mount Rainier also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about 59 miles south-southeast of Seattle. With a summit elevation of 14,417 ft, it is the highest mountain in Washington State and the Cascade Range, the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States, and the tallest in the Cascade Volcanic Arc.

Due to its high probability of an eruption in the near future, Mount Rainier is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, and it is on the Decade Volcano list. The large amount of glacial ice means that Mount Rainier could produce massive lahars that could threaten the entire Puyallup River valley. According to the United States Geological Survey, "about 80,000 people and their homes are at risk in Mount Rainier's lahar-hazard zones.

In our previous blog I described why we sailed to Calabash Bight, the very strong wind from the North and Northeast. Calabash Bight is a very good place to be sheltered from the wind and high waves. Although Calabash Bight has no road connections but by using small channels through the mangroves behind the reef we could go to other bights and take a bus or taxi to other places on the beautiful island. The first one is called "Oakridge" where there is a hardware annex grocery store, a bus station, water taxis and land taxis. One of the next bights is "Jonesville" which is a very protected bay with road access and good restaurant and bar.

But after one month in Calabash Bight, it was time to move on. The weather prediction for the coming week showed continued strong wind and rough seas. We chose to sail to "French Harbor" where we docked in Fantasy Island Dive Resort Marina. The resort had very few guests in this beautiful facility. We enjoyed the beach, swimming pool, diving, and snorkeling. With a weekly bus from the marina to a large grocery store, our morning walks and spending time on the beach we were very content to be here, and it became more and more clear we loved to be on our boat "Island Girl" but did not look forward anymore to sail especially in heavy weather. A little dive accident took me to the emergency room and a night in a very luxurious hospital. This made me aware that it was time to accept that reaction to sudden events was not anymore like it used to be and we needed to look for another lifestyle.

Based on this we decided not to sail to Belize but stay in Roatan in the marina. Due to this we overstayed our 3 months visa. Honduras has an Immigration System which allows you to overstay your visa. The first step is an overstay of 1 day to 6 months. The cost for this overstay of your visa is US$ 260.00. We overstayed for 19 days, and when we checked out, we had to pay US$ 520.00 plus documentation fees.

We left Roatan after a great stay on this beautiful island and sailed to Utila to wait for the weather advised day to sail to Guatemala. This was going to be an overnight sail; we left Utila at 6:40 AM and after a fast crossing we arrived at 3:45 AM the next morning in Livingston, Guatemala. We had to wait unit 7:30 AM for the high tide to cross the sand/mud bar in front of Livingston. We anchored outside in the expectation of getting some sleep, but since we were in open water the seas were quite rough, the boat was rocking, and we even had to reset our anchor since it slipped.

After a beautiful motor sail through the gorge and the Golfete of the Rio Dulce we got a warm welcome back in RAM Marina. This was our last planned sail trip with our beloved s/v Island Girl, and we put her up for sale.
It was our expectation that I would take some time to find a buyer. But Karen our adopted Guatemalan daughter brought us in contact with a potential buyer after arriving in the marina. We agreed on a sales price and conditions, and I made the last sail on "Island Girl" during the "Sea Trial".

After a successful Sea Trial s/v Island Girl was hauled for the last time for us after giving us 14 years the best time of our life. The slow lift-out of the water represented our goodbye to our beloved boat. The lift operator Byron brought her again to her own place in the yard of RAM Marina. It will be hard to drive away from her on our road trip through Mexico back to Texas. We hope the new owner enjoys her as much as we did.
After the boat was hauled out of the water and the result of the last inspection was accepted by the buyer the sales contract signed. We took all of our personal belongings out of the boat and put them into our storeroom. It soon became clear that there were not sufficient boats in the Rio Dulce to find buyers for many items we wanted to sell. We loaded the Jeep Compass with the items we wanted to take to the USA.

After we cleaned Island Girl for the last time, we started our road trip via Mexico to Texas. Dorothy celebrated Guatemalan Mother's Day which is always on May 10 in La Libertad. We saw the large car ships coming into the harbor of our most favorite place in Mexico, Veracruz. Dorothy had her Menudo in Tampico. Menudo is a traditional Mexican soup, made with cow's stomach (tripe) in broth with a red chili pepper base. Hominy, lime, onions, and oregano are used to season the broth. The broth was great, but I could not swallow the meat.
Since a Trump Administration regulation was canceled, a run of migrants to the Mexican/USA border was predicted. We arrived Sunday morning just before 12:00 PM at the border crossing in Pharr, but the border was closed to car traffic. We drove to the next closest border crossing, and it took us 1-1/2 hour waiting time before we could cross the border. We stayed overnight in Pharr and drove the next day home to New Braunfels Texas.

Thanks to the great care of our neighbors the house and yard looked beautiful and after unloading the car, activating all the utilities, internet, car insurance etc. we concluded our Caribbean Sail Adventures.
Many of our friends told us that I was so great to have such a great memory of our 14 years sailing. Our cruising friends wished us a lot of fun with our new adventures.

Although we have not completely decided what our new life will be and where we will spend the winters, we started directly to make some travel plans.
• In July/August we will fulfill one of our bucket-list wishes to take a cruise to Alaska.
• In October we drive to RAM Marina in Guatemala for a final cleanup our storeroom and help the new owner of Island Girl with the installation of some repaired watermaker parts we will bring from the USA. On our way back we will visit Chapala which is on the largest lakes in Mexico to look for some place to during the winter months.
• In December we will go to Roatan where we have rented an apartment close to West End for 3 months. Maybe we will meet some previous cruising friends.

We hope to be able to describe our new adventures in our next blog.

In our previous blog we described that just before Christmas and my birthday “Island Girl” was launched back in the water and into our favorite slip. It is so great to be back in the water, no ladder to climb and having our own bathroom and the marine a/c.

On my birthday we went to one of our most favorite seafood restaurants called “Rosita’s” to eat a very special Guatemala dish called “Tapado”. Tapado is a delicious traditional Guatemalan seafood soup, prepared with coconut cream, green plantain, garlic, and cassava. Together with our dear Guatemala daughter Karen and her husband Cesar we had a great time and enjoyed the great dish.

On Christmas day we had a great dinner at another favorite restaurant in the jungle called “Dream Catcher”. The restaurant is part of Dreamcatcher Eco Lodge, where you will hear the sound of howler monkeys and see them everywhere in the surrounding trees. You can only reach this very nice place by boat and with a reservation you will be picked up with their lancha. The dinner was excellent and the ambience with a lot of fellow cruisers was great.

There are a lot of people who do not understand why we like our slip opposite of the RAM fuel dock so much. There is daily from 6 in the morning until 8 in the evening a lot of traffic, of boats needing fuel, boats getting launched or hauled out. We like to watch all this activity especially when we interact with the passengers of the lanchas. Lanchas are long narrow boats. Originally and still most of them are built of wood, but quite a few are now made of fiberglass. In the Rio Dulce you see them in all kinds of different sizes for personal use, passenger transport like water taxis or freight.

There is, however, also a disadvantage of lying opposite the fuel dock and that is due to ignorant boat drivers who try to turn their lancha after fueling and come too close to or hit our boat. One night we were already in bed when a lancha hit our boat and took off. Together with the security guard we looked with a flashlight for damage, and it looked like a big scratch. The marina gelcoat expert came the next day to inspect the scratch, but fortunately it was not deep, so he could fix it by buffing the area, at no cost to us. Thank you, RAM Marina!

The other incident was again late at night when someone came on our boat when we were already in bed as well. He was running on the deck and inside it sounded like we were badly hit. It turned out that a small boat came in with engine problems and this man came on board to throw a line to pull the boat to the fuel dock. Not a big deal if he had asked for permission to come on board.

During the testing of the main engine, we found out that we lost all our cooling fluid due to a leaking hose. It was difficult to find a replacement hose since it was not a straight hose but one with bends and twists. The service from the two places in Fronteras where I tried to find a replacement hose was great. They found hoses which came close to what I needed and when it did not fit, I could just return it. We could fix the problem, but it took a long time before the cooling fluid was at the correct level.

While testing the other systems we did not find any problems and we chose a day with good high tide to cross the mud bar in Livingston. We left RAM Marina on Monday January 16th, 2023, spent a night in “Cayo Quemado” for further testing. The next day just before our departure the chartplotter in the cockpit did not work correctly and I had to switch it with the chartplotter of the main cabin. What a disappointment! We motor-sailed over the river part of the Rio Dulce to Livingston, checked out with our custom and immigration agent, crossed the bar, and sailed to our night anchorage in “Tres Puntas”. We were back in open water.

Our destination for this trip is the “Honduras Bay Islands” with the first stop “Utila.” The distance from “Tres Puntas” to Utila is about 110 miles with a time estimate of 19 to 20 hours. We left early in the afternoon to have some distance done before night fall. It was a very bad trip, strong wind on the nose and high and short swells with on top nasty wind waves. Island Girl had frequently problems to get through the wave and we had a lot of water over the nose and our speed dropped sometimes to lower than 3 knots. Both Dorothy and I became seasick which is unbelievable after 14-years of cruising.

We arrived the following day just after lunch in Utila and anchored in a spot where we anchored before a couple of years back. When I dove to the anchor to check, it turned out that all the sand that was there before was gone so we relocated to an area with a lot of grass. To my big surprise most of the other boats were also anchored in the grassy area. I made a beginners mistake by laying out too short of anchor rode. The punishment came at 9:00 PM when Island Girl ran off the anchor in wind gusts of 30 knots in the middle of a crowded anchorage. We hit one boat and missed another one. A call on the radio was answered by JoAnne Harris and her husband Bill from Ultra. Three other people who I donot know by name helped us to a safe anchor spot and with a 200 feet anchor rode out we had a good night. How great it is to be surrounded by cruisers who are coming out late in the evening to help us in an emergency. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. Without your help it could have been a disaster for Island Girl and her crew.

We had a couple of nights very strong wind, one night we stayed awake on anchor watch until midnight. Fortunately, we no longer had any problems with the anchor. The weatherman said that it would be a nice day with low wind and calm seas. After 5 boats left Utila for Roatan we decided to leave too. The first hour after we left there was no wind, and the seas were very calm. Then a squall drifted in, and everything changed. We got strong wind on the nose and very high confusing seas. It took us 6 hours to reach West End in Roatan. Sabrina and her husband Tom helped us tie onto a mooring ball and we started enjoying lying behind the reefs protected from easterly wind in crystal-clear water.

West End is not only a good spot to be with your boat, but also a very good diving area with many dive sites. In town you find many dive operators and/or schools offering dives at a very reasonable price, US$ 40.00 to 45.00 for a single dive. The West End area is part of the Roatan Marine Park which is a community-based, non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of Honduras’ marine and coastal ecosystems. One of their programs is a Marine Infrastructure program to reduce mechanical damage to the reef by offering boat owners alternatives to reef anchoring and demarcating channels to reduce collisions with the reef. West End has a mooring field with about 20 mooring balls and a marked entrance through the reef. The required donation is US$ 50.00 a week, but after 3 weeks you get one week for free. The moorings are in very good shape and regularly maintained. The area is very well protected from NE to SE wind but open to South to West and Northerly wind. We visited one of the recommended dive shops and purchased some extra cold-water protection to prepare to start diving. The water is still cold according to me (79F) and I did some tests if I could handle the water temperature by swimming around “Island Girl” and I felt I was ready.

When one of the cold fronts moves in it is often accompanied by a very strong Northerly wind. When one of the systems was forecasted, we decided to leave West End to one of the bights on the south side of Roatan. A bight is defined as a long, shallow bend or indentation in the coastline. We also wanted to go to a bight with a marina or dock space. We were not the only one and it was difficult to find one. Our cruiser friend Sabrina from “s/v Honey Ryder” found one and she gave us the information. It is a small marina with only 5 dock spaces called “Turtle Grass Marina” in Calabash Bight. In was one of the bights of which I did not have waypoints, but Cruiser Friend “Nina” from “s/v Moon Dance” gave us information and I found a website with the needed waypoints. When we entered the bight the owner of “Turtle Grass Marina” was waiting for us and guided us with his small lancha to the marina. It was a little tricky to get in between his large and wide catamaran and another sailboat, but thanks to my bow thruster we got it done.

Calabash Bight has no connection to any road, and you can only reach the bight by boat. However, the nice thing is that a lot if these bights are connected by small channels through the mangrove behind the reef. We left “West End” a little unprepared and were short on food. The marina manager allowed us to go with 2 of his assistants to go through these channels to “Oakridge” to the hardware annex grocery store.

Before we left for “Oakridge” we got a shock with a loud boom, and it felt like we hit bottom, or another boat hit us. All four boats in the marina had the same experience. It turned out to be an Earthquake with the center just 26 miles away from us. The east wind at night is very strong perpendicular to the boat and we need all our fenders to protect Island Girl, but we feel very comfortable.

Although we found a lot of groceries at a store in “Oakridge” we needed more provisions to stay in Calabash Bight until the weather improves. We went with our dinghy to “Oakridge” to take a taxi to “French Harbor” where there is a great grocery store called “Eldon”. At the water taxi, taxi and bus station in “Oakridge” a bus was ready to leave for “Coxen Hole” the capital of Roatan. Since this bus goes through “French Harbor” we decided to take the bus. Most of the local people in Roatan live on the North Coast of Roatan so the bus uses the road along the north coast. Due to this the road goes 2 times over the water shed with very high hills in the center of the island. The views of both the north and the south coasts are incredible. At some locations you have a view to both sides of the island. On our way back with 3 big bags of provisioning, we took a taxi that brought us back to “B.J.‘s Back Yard” where we left our dinghy. The traditional Friday afternoon live music was ready to start, we had a nice lunch and met a few expatriates who live in very nice houses in this area.

We are waiting out this weather system and hope to return soon to “West End” or another location where I can start diving and I hope to report this in my next blog.

We liked it a lot to drive through Mexico to and from Guatemala and we decided to do it again another time. We had some upgrades to our 2008 Jeep Compass and asked our mechanic to check all the important functions on the car. The only problem they could not diagnose and/or repair were the intermittent starting problems. When we use the car for short distances the problem never occurs, it only happens after driving long distances. So far, we have always been able to get it started after a few attempts, but it is very annoying and somewhat nerve wrecking. We optimistically started our trip believing that this time it would be better. Unfortunately, it happened again, but since I never turned the engine off it was only a morning problem.

The car has no built-in GPS Mapping System and last year I used my iPhone for routing. Since the screen of the phone is small it was rather difficult, so I purchased a Garmin GPS system. I had not used this system on long trips, so I also had my iPhone mapping system on. I use my favorite routes which I can select on the iPhone, but the Garmin system shows only the route based on their preferences. It was so funny that the Garmin even in Texas but even more in Mexico kept instructing me to return to their route. On the last part of our route to Tampico for over an hour and 70 miles it kept on instructing me to make a U-Turn.

Despite all the warnings about safety problems in Mexico, especially in the State of Tamaulipas we again took the route through this state. We cross the border at Pharr/Reynosa and drive through the beautiful scenery in this state to Tampico. Tampico is one of the largest cities in Mexico with the greatest economic development in the state and has a population of 297,373 inhabitants. We can recommend this city for anyone who wants to visit the Mexican Gulf Coast.

A large bridge over the Pánuco River connects the state of Tamaulipas to the state of Veracruz. It is a cable-stayed bridge with a length of 5,065 ft. and a width of 60 ft., with four lanes and a central ridge. The road is 180 ft. high above the water level and with its largest span of 1181 ft. it allows the passage of large ships to the port of Tampico. Its two towers reach a height of 360 ft. and have pedestrian crossings on each side. We always take time to walk the pier where the Pánuco River enters the Gulf of Mexico and the boardwalk along “La Playa Miramar.” The beach is wide with clean white sand. It can be windy in the winter when a cold front enters the Gulf of Mexico.

The choice of good restaurants is overwhelming with great Mexican food. After our arrival we went to a restaurant just when the Mexican Soccer Team started a game in the World Cup Soccer. There was a great expectation and enthusiasm, but it tempered fast as the Mexican Team was not playing very well.

Our next destination was the City of Veracruz, the oldest city in the Americas, founded in 1519 by Spanish colonizers. On one island San Juan de Ulúa, a colonial fortress and former prison complex is located that looks from above onto the port and currently functions as a historical museum. Veracruz is not as popular a tourist destination as many other Mexican resort areas, but the city has been promoting an identity as a tourist destination. We love the city, and it is on our list as one of the potential future winter residence. The board walk and the historic center of the city are beautiful. The reefs are great diving locations and with its subtropical climate a paradise for us. We visited at the advice of a good friend, the Veracruz Aquarium which was just opposite our hotel. It was one of the most impressive aquariums I have seen, with an incredible diversity of sea life. We walked along the boulevard to the harbor piers. On the pier are many statues depicting the workers who worked on the construction of the pier.

Our last stop in Mexico is the City of Villahermosa which is the capital and most populous city of the Mexican state of Tabasco and has about 340,060 while the metropolitan area of Villahermosa has a total 833,907 inhabitants. Despite the great highway it takes time to cross this city due to the very heavy traffic. During our trip in June back to The States we stayed in a hotel in the city. We did not want to do that again due to the heavy traffic in the morning to get out of the city. So, we stayed instead in “The Holiday Inn Airport Hotel” just south of the city, which gave a good start the next morning to go to the border with Guatemala. The hotel was under remodeling, and we were one of the few guests. They used the Convention Center hallway as their temporary front desk, and this was a very long way to our room. The A/C in the room could only be used with temperatures between 59F and 68F. We were either freezing or sweating in bed.

The city was founded in 1564 by the Spanish Don Diego de Quijada. The original colonial name was Villa Hermosa de San Juan Bautista, and after the Mexican Revolution it became "Villahermosa" or "Ciudad de Villahermosa", concentrating the largest urban population of the state. The city is a business and management center of the oil industry of southeastern Mexico, has an abundance of natural resources and enjoys being the connection between Mexico City and the most important cities of the southeast and it is linked to Guatemala.

To get to the border with Guatemala in “El Ceibo” we have to get off the highway to smaller roads that are not always in good condition. Our progress slowed down quite a bit in this last stretch to the border. However, it is a good preparation for the road conditions in Guatemala. At the border we surrendered our Mexican TIP (Temporary Import Permit) to get our US$416.00 back and get an exit stamp in our passport. It was a long process, but it gave us time to switch our license plates and to be ready to enter Guatemala. Checking in into Guatemala was a snap because of our Guatemalan license plates.

We continued our trip to a little town called “La Libertad” were we stayed for the second time in a local hotel for only US$19.50. A small room, no warm water, the bed not too great, but the loud A/C works. We had no problem waking up early the next morning and arrived at 10:00 AM in RAM Marina in the “Rio Dulce.”

The boat was in top condition and RAM employee Ricardo who always takes care of our boat during our absence just completed the outside cleaning. We put part of our stuff into the boat, the heavy luggage in our storeroom, organized the boat to have dinner and a good night of sleep.

In the following 3 weeks we finished all the planned and unplanned projects to get the boat ready to be put back in the water. This was also the first year that we did not have access to a house, so we lived on the boat and had to climb up and down the ladder for everything. This turned out to be a real chore for Dorothy, so we were very happy that on the 22nd of December Island Girl went back in the water. The next phase will be to check all the remaining important functions such as the engine, generator and watermaker before we can make plans to depart and start our new sailing season. We hope to report on this in our next blog.