Ok, before I begin, I have to tell you that this blog post is not about an exotic island or a wonderful sail, it is about LAUNDRY, and specifically, laundry in Central America. This is something I have always taken for granted in the states. And, I promise, when I return I will appreciate it so much more.
In Guatemala, at Mario's marina we had a laundry on the premises. It had 2 washing machines and 2 dryers. There is NO hot water anywhere that I have found in Central America to do your wash. It is cold water only and then the dryers work off of propane and the only way you know that the propane is out, is to wait the 45 minutes or so it takes to dry your clothes and then you open the dryer and low and behold, they are still wet. But, of course, if someone before you let's the marina know the propane is out they will switch over to a new tank, but this doesn't always happen or I was always the first to get the empty "dryer". The convenience of having the laundry near your boat was a great thing, though, plus I could have Judy do it for me for an extra few "Q's".
Now, I am in Roatan, staying at "Fantasy Island" Resort and Marina. Sounds great, sounds like this is the place to be, but NOT for laundry. There is no laundry available to cruisers at this marina, which is strange since there is a huge laundry facility for the resort. So, instead, we have a "laundry service". This too, sounds great, except you send your clothes out at 10:00 am and get them back at 10:00 am the next day. Then don't make the mistake of sending them out on Saturday, because then you have to wait for Monday. This particular service...I think the guys name is Steve....always returns my clothes semi dry (after being washed in cold water). The 3rd time I sent my laundry out and it came back even wetter than before, I sent it back the next day with a note, requesting that they only be dried, as they were still wet. Steve had plans on charging me for this drying service, but I was not about to dish out more lempiras for something that should have been done right the first time.
So, today, Charlie and I gathered up all our laundry and took the dingy to Brooksy Point, another marina "just around the corner". Brooksy Point, run by Mike and his family, is a lovely small marina and it has 2 washing machines and 2 dryers right next to the bar...how convenient is that! So, you can do your wash and have a beer at the same time. Again...no hot water and then after 2 loads of laundry, and one beer, I find out that one dryer is not working. This necessitates another beer as I wait for the second load to be dried. Charlie had a great time chewing the fat with Mike at the bar as I slaved to do our laundry, but he did learn some good things about sailing in Panama that will come in handy for us in the future. So, after about 3 hours, we loaded our laundry in the dingy and turned on the light, because now it is dark thirty...and made our way back to Island Sol.
So in conclusion, I hope all my friends and family in the states appreciate the task of doing the laundry in the comfort of their own homes with HOT water. I know that I certainly will when I return. No more bitching about the laundry, because, doing the laundry in Central America is a real effort...and that is my motto on my boat...."Everything is an effort"!

PS...after sleeping on this "rant", I decided that I had better humble myself and be glad I have a laundry to go to, even with cold water.

Now, I am NOT a woman who loves to shop. The thought of having to buy an outfit for some occasion sends me into a panic. So why did I say I would go on a 3 day shopping trip? My cruising friend, Terry (and knitting guru) invited me to go to Chichicastanango for their market day. We were in search of "back-strap looms", fiber/yarn, and indigenous art work of the area.
Our trip began with a 6 hour bus ride from Rio Dulce to Guatemala City. We got a quick 15 minute stop at a large road side restaurant...Guatemalan fast food...halfway through the trip. Guatemala City is a huge city, that sprawls over 736 sq. miles. It is divided up into many zones, some of which you do not want to be in, while others are very upscale. And, yes, there is Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Taco Bell, you name it and it is most likely there. But, upon arriving at the bus station we were quickly put into our van for Antigua, the first stop on our shopping trip. The van holds 10 people plus a driver comfortably, but of course there were 14 of us and I got myself settled on half of the bench seat and half on the jump seat for the next 1 ½ hours. The drive from Guat. City to Antigua is a beautiful drive through a huge agricultural district then up into the mountains on switch back roads, where the vegetation changes but it is still GREEN everywhere you look.
We arrived in Antigua in time to do some walking around and then ended at Frida's...Mexican food restaurant. A great stop under the "arch" and in a great part of town for people watching. After a leisurely meal we found our hotel, Sin Ventana. It didn't dawn on us until a day later that the name means, "No Windows", and that is actually what we had. A nice clean room with a window that opened into the hotel hallway and that was it. And, to boot, a huge bar, Mono Loco (The Crazy Monkey), next door that rocked until 2:00 am, so for me, no sleep basically for 3 days. During, the little shopping we did in Antigua, we came upon a vender, sweet young girl, who told us she could get us a back-strap loom, so we gave her half down and she promised to have them for us the day after our trip to Chichicastango. Terry and tried to knit every chance we got and the next day we went to the local, get ready, McDonald's. Yes, I can't believe that I went to a McDonald's, but it was the most fantastic place I had ever seen. Why they don't have these in the states is a mystery to me. The left side was a typical McDonald's but then you walked to the right and there is the McCafe, with couches and low lighting where they make all the coffee drinks and desserts. Then you walk out to the huge patio, with a fountain in the middle and outdoor seating or seating under a veranda, take your pick. Then as you leisurely drink you latte, there is the volcano and mountains to look at. Unbelievable!
We left early the next morning (7:00) in a van for Chichicastango (referred to as Chichi). The van was still packed but Terry and I at least had our butts firmly planted on the seat. The drive went up into the mountains and the temperature dropped considerably. Arriving at Chichi, we had 4 hours to shop, so there was no time to waste. Terry was a bull about the market and I just hung on to her coattails. The first part was in the food market where there were a zillion vegetables, different colored corn and beans of all kinds. Then next to that was the flower market. The colors were unbelievable and the market is huge. We wound around and through stalls with meat, fish, plastic ware, clothes/shoes. It is the Guatemalan Wal-Mart. Finally, we found the part that was textiles of all kinds. But, along the way we found our thread for our back-strap looms. This one guy had so many colors it made our heads swim. We had all of our purchases lined up, but kept adding contrasting colors and more....it was overwhelming. We also found one woman who was selling back-strap looms and of course we had to have another one, just in case our girl in Antigua didn't come through. I also purchased a huipile, which is the shirt that all Mayan women wear, with their corta (skirt) and faja (belt). These outfits are particular to each region of the country, each having subtle changes in design and color. It was getting very close to the time that Terry and I had to head back to the van. So, off we go, trying to remember the visual map in our mind (or Terry's mind as I was so lost). On the way out, we passed our guy with all the thread, and yes we bought about 10 more colors. Making our way out of the market was a real ordeal; I cannot express how big this place is. And, of course, it started raining. So here Terry and I are with bags and bags of goodies and we are lost. Luckily, I had taken a picture of the intersection where our van was on my phone, so we hailed a Tuk-Tuk (the local taxi, which is a motorcycle with a large back bench seat) showed the guy the picture and said, "Aqui". He nodded OK and off we went, we were the last to the van but we made it on, barley being able to cram all our bags in.
It was an exhausting day, but we walked to the local square where a Peruvian band was playing, the people were all grooving to this band, looking around, I saw families enjoying the cool night sitting on park benches, children running to and fro, it was just a great night to be in Antigua. We found a local travel agent on our way back to the hotel and booked our tickets back to Guatemala City and then on to Rio Dulce. We arrived after dark and waited for a local launcha to take us back to our marina. It was a very dark night, but we were so glad to be getting "home". We arrived just in time for Monday night "potluck" and our husbands had contributed to the nights' fare, so we sat down to eat and tell all of our shopping stories as well as showing all our goodies. So glad I had the opportunity to see those two wonderful cities' culture and colors and people.

Oh my, it has been since August that I last submitted a post to my blog, can it be? I think I have writers block, because each day I wake up and say, "today I will do a blog post", and then the day is gone and I haven't done it. Trying to get, Charlie, the writer in the family to blog but for some reason he won't come anywhere near the computer for that, so it is up to me. Being that he is the cook, it is the least that I can do.

My, my, where do I begin since last August? We have been to Ruinas Copan, Honduras to see the ruins of Copan. An amazing place with some absolutely beautiful stellas. Copan is liken to Paris and Tikal to New York in the Mayan anthropology crowd. I took way too many pictures and some of them were actually good, hopefully frame-able. But, it was a mesmerizing place and it made us want to read more about the Mayan culture. While in the area, we did a 16 stage zip line from the top of a mountain down. No helmets!!! Kinda scary, but very exhilarating too. Went to "Macaw Mountain", which is a bird sanctuary and saw many birds that are indigenous to the area and also a butterfly farm. While still in the area, we visited a hot springs up in the mountains that was so relaxing. The drive to the springs was over and hour and a half, but the country side was beautiful. Many terraced farms and just the housing was so incredible, and so primitive. It was a great side trip that we took with two other couples from our marina.

We made our first trip back to the state to see family and friends. Somewhat of a culture shock as life in the states is so fast paced compared to our last four months. Way too much to do in only 4 weeks. Charlie had somewhat of a medical scare as a tumor was found on his pancreas. Needless to say we had to postpone our trip back to Island Sol so this could be looked into. And, as luck and Lord would have it, it turned out to NOT be a cancerous tumor but a benign pseudo-cyst. Many thanks to all our family and friends who put prayers and good vibes out there for Charlie. A prayer was even tucked into the Wailing Wall in Israel by a fellow cruiser who was visiting there.

So, after 7 fun, crazy and hectic weeks in the states, it was back to Guatemala. Where again, we had to decompress for a few days and slip back into the pace of life here. I am taking watercolor classes every Wednesday, which hopefully is extending my brain power somewhat. Charlie is walking most mornings and Pot luck dinner is every Monday evening. There is always some sort of card game or dominos being played at the cafe in the marina. Never a need to find something to do, here. This past weekend has been Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and we took a walk up to the town's cemetery to see all the festivities. It is a day (actually 2 days) for families to clean the grave sites, place flowers, paint tombs bright colors and in general have a picnic at the family grave site. All of the vegetable venders in town now are selling beautiful flowers, too. We really enjoy seeing what other cultures find important and most in Guatemala are woven around their families.

But, we have now realized that we need to get on the stick and get some things done as we will be leaving soon for the Bay Island of Honduras. We are ready for some salt water and white beaches, it has been too long. We will be hauling our boat out of the water next week to install a Dynaplate for the SSB radio, in hopes that this will fix our problems with it. The bottom just needs to be cleaned and then back in the water. So, I will blog again either before the trip or after reaching Utilia.

"Shells sink, dreams float, life is good on our boat!" ....Jimmy Buffett

It has been a while since my last blog and I have to say I am very frustrated with my inability to add photos to this blog. So bear with me and I will keep pushing this learning curve I am on.

As Linda's trip was coming to a close we were getting somewhat weary of making trips, so we decided to travel across the river to hear and hopefully see the howler monkeys. Unfortunately for those of us that are not "morning people" the howler monkeys are. So, up at 5:00am and off in the launcha by 5:30, since it wasn't a very far trip just across the river from the marina. We could actually already hear them in the distance. These are Black Howler Monkeys. They live in troops of 4-6 with usually one male and one or two breeding females and offsprings. These are the largest monkeys in the Americas. They have long black hair and a very visible white scrotum area.

We entered a small bay that quickly became a small creek but was navigable by our laucha. It twisted and turned through the jungle. Now, imagine being at your favorite nursery and any of the tropical plants there are then multiplied many times over here. The ferns, palms, and bromeliads are just beautiful and they are in every directions that you look. We passed a small hut built out of sticks with a thatched roof. One little girl was in the front "yard" with many chickens running around and one goat tied to a stick. She waved as we passed by these mayan people are beautiful. But our assignment was to find those monkeys, and we were feeling like we were part of a National Geographic expedition. Finally, we heard those monkeys. The sound is nothing like what you would expect a monkey to sound like. This is the sound of a pack of big rabid dogs. And, yes it makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. There was movement in the tops of the trees and after turning off the motor and sitting quietly we found a troop of howlers. They moved back and forth through the tops of the trees with such ease by the use of that prehensile tail. We were getting cricks in our necks from watching, must have been a good 30 minutes. While watching them with my binoculars I noticed the male, ahhh yes with the white scrotum, was beginning to urinate. We were laughing and then realized that there were things "plopping" in the water all around us. Before we realized it one of those "plops" hit the boat and Charlie's arm, and not only were they urinating but they were defecating as well. Gives a new meaning to "monkey see, monkey do". We had all of the howler monkeys we wanted at that point and made our way back out and to the boat. And after note: Early this week Charlie and I made a return trip to the same area in hopes of seeing those crazy monkeys again, but we found that the creek was now impassable due to down trees from a storm we had had several nights previously. It was very disappointing, but probably a good thing for the monkeys as their habitat is now closed to human traffic.

Living this life on the Rio is hard, before you know it the day is over. Susi, has left for the states, but our dear friend Linda is here until her departure in 2 days.

Last Saturday, the marinas in the area hosted a "Poker Run". We register at Vista Rio with an entrance fee of 40Q (approximately $5.20 US). Each participating marina offered a beverage and/or appetizer and you got one playing card there. After visiting all seven marinas you had your poker hand. This was a great way for us to see the marinas in the area. We returned to Vista Rio for all hands to be tallied and Linda came in 8th with 3 Kings, but alas no $$ prize for 8th place. Such a "hard" day on the river.

Charlie has had a new "launcha" built and in only 5 days. It is 14' and fiberglass. The dinghy just didn't cut it on the river, too much chop and we always ended up wet. So, now we are riding into town in style in our little "Solita". Another "hard" day on the Rio.

We had to move our boat to a new slip, so we took the opportunity to go sailing on the lake - El Golfete. We motored, with the help of the out going current, across the lake and to the beginning of the gorge. We wanted Linda to see that, plus the locals living in their palapa huts on the water. The men fish out of cayucos, which are dug out canoes that sit very low in the water. There is a very close mountain and today the top was obscured by low hanging rain clouds, the air was thick with humidity. After turning back toward the lake, Charlie was just itching to put out the spinnaker. We sailed back with it until the wind picked up and we had to take it in, but it was nice to see it fly. Of course, with the wind picking up, it brought the rain and we had a good soaking sail back to the marina. We got back just in time before the bottom dropped out. I have never seen rain like this or it's duration, but then again we are in the rain forest and it is the rainy season. Yeap...another "hard" day.

Another excursion, was to visit the Castillo San Felipe. This fort sits at the entrance to Lake Izabal from the river. It was built in 1594 and is part of a beautiful park. It was built by the Spaniards to ward off pirates entering the lake. You are able to tour the castle at your leisure as there are no guides or anyone standing around making sure you don't touch anything, like it would be in the state. But, it also had open stairways where you could have fallen to your death because of no railing. Our two instructions were to 1: watch your head and 2: it is slippery. The castle was like a maze with low archways from one room to another. It contained a church, capitan's kitchen and several dormitories. There were also many lookout towers that contained several cannons. Thus, the end of another "hard" day.

This past Thursday, Linda and I signed up for a yoga hike. Charlie dropped us off at Tijax (/tee-ha-sh/) - Marina, restaurant and hotel. This marina is total enclosed by the jungle. We met our guide, Lucy, and around 10:00 off we trekked. Leaving the marina we traveled over a long length of foot bridges suspended over a swamp. At times we were 50' in the air. We soon got on the trail, which was very well maintained, and went up and then down, repeat. Lucy was very informative, telling us that we were in a secondary forest, where there is plenty of sunlight and new growth. But, this is thick, too. We passed down through a valley where the owner had pasture land for his Brahman cattle, then back up and into the jungle again. We finally arrived at the "shaman tower". This was a 4 story stone structure built by the land owner, it was approximately 14' X 14', with 4 large door openings, one on each wall, and we might add, no railings here either. We enjoyed a 360 degree view before we went to the 3rd floor for a wonderful yoga session. Lucy then provided us with tea and cake. It was a fabulous moment. Well, as usual the rain started and Lucy had her computer in her backpack and didn't want to get it wet, so she showed us the path to the final destination of our hike - a natural pool. Well, Linda and I paid for the whole Monty, so off we went back into the jungle, up and down (in the rain) until we reached the pool. It was a little gem in the jungle, filled by a small waterfall. How glad we were that we didn't miss this. Our arrival back at Tijax (2:30) was in a full deluge and everything was soaked, except my camera, because I finally remembered to bring a plastic bag. We had no way of getting in touch with Charlie to let him know we were back, so what are two wet girls to do but belly up to the bar. To our surprise after one beer, in comes Charlie totally drenched from his ride to the marina....our hero! And, this was truly a "hard" day on the Rio.

Charlie and I were blessed with a visit from our friends from Texas, Linda and Susi. They arrived in Guatemala on July 8th. We took the bus to Guatemala City and then a van to Antigua to meet them. Antigua is west of Guat. City and in the mountains, with the weather being in the high 60's at night, a great relief from the heat of the Rio. Antigua was the colonial capital of Guatemala until an earthquake ruined the city in the 1770s. It sits at the base of an inactive volcano. The traditional dress of the Mayan women in Antigua is quite different from the women of the Rio Dulce area. In Antigua, the women wear wrap around skirts (corte) with traditional shirts (huipil) tied with a sash. Of course , all from woven fabric of amazing colors. In contrast, the women of the Rio wear gathered skirts and lacey shirts. Linda had made reservations for us all at Posada St. Vicente not far off the town central, where a beautiful park is located. The streets are cobblestone and it is difficult to discern one street from the next because all of the store, hotel and restaurant fronts, although very colorful, are very plain . Once you enter the doors, you walk into a new and most often beautiful atmosphere. The girls were not at the hotel when we arrived, but we soon found them, shopping, imagine that! We then went to Frida's for Mexican food and tequila. It was a wonderful evening.

The next day began with a wonderful breakfast at SabeRico y Jardin. It was a beautiful restaurant with tables tucked into garden niches. The food was excellent and we ate there two more times. Antigua is a city that attracts people from many different countries. There were a lot of young adults backpacking. And, of course, many shops for us girls to spend money in. We took a taxi to a working Coffee Plantation and Museum in town and had a great guide (who spoke English) and took us through the grounds and explained the process to us. We met Maria Cristina Orive, one of the members of the family who owned the plantation. She was a delightful and informative woman in her 80's who is a photographer and journalist. We bought her book, Actos de Fe en Guatemala, (Acts of Faith in Guatemala). She offered us a ride back to our hotel with her driver, but we had a taxi, and in retrospect we should have ditched him. Oh well, live and learn.

On Wednesday, we set out for Panajachel, on Lake Atitlan. Lake Atitlan is considered to be one of the 10 most beautiful lakes in the world. We took a laucha from Panajachel to San Marcos. There are many villages all around the lake, and we heard that San Marcos had an esoteric vibe. We stayed at the most fabulous hotel any of us had ever been in, Aaculaax. It was beyond description, but I will try. The German owner, being an artist, built it from recycled materials. It had a wonderful garden and the hotel rose up the side of the mountain with each room being unique unto itself. The bathrooms had exposed rock and there were small porches to sit and gaze at the lake and the birds. It was truly magical. Instead of shopping, Charlie got an hour massage, smart boy. Our next day was spent in San Pedro where the road rose steeply up to the city. Thank goodness for the Tuk-Tuks, another form of transportation, that got us up the hill. We purchased some woven material and a few small paintings typical of the region, but had to make our way back to the dock to catch the last launch back to our hotel.

Thursday, we left San Marcos, in a launcha for Panajachel around 4:00pm, then rode in a extremely cramped van to Antigua, getting there around 8:00pm. The next morning, was a tough traveling day as we left Antigua, again in a van to Guatemala City where we waited 3 hours in the bus station and then left for Rio Dulce around 1:00. We got to Rio Dulce after dark and had to find someone to take us down river to Mario's and our boat. We were all tired puppies when we got home, but luckily the cook made us dinner.

We have spent two days resting and laying around the pool, but today we took a short trip by van to Finca Paraiso. On the property of this large farm is a hot spring waterfall, which cascades into a very cold river. Another magical place and we were so glad Susi got the experience as she is leaving for the states tomorrow. Then off to the shores of Lake Izabal for lunch at Don YuYo's. We ended the day trip with a short canoe ride up a river into the Boqueron, 1500' high canyon walls with lush jungle plants. We saw a howler monkey in a tree and many kingfishers up and down the river. What a day! Again, we are so blessed to be in such a beautiful country with such beautiful friends.

More to come! Hasta luego!