07/02/2009, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
I know that I have covered this subject previously while we were in Zihatanejo, MX being amply supplied by Hilda and her entourage, but water has now taken on a whole new aspect for us with the onset of the rainy season in Central America.
Here I am in the cockpit half heartedly doing some laundry with the results of just a couple of hours of torrential rain. Our 'whole boat' awning has a huge runoff which we direct into pipes and then into our tanks or buckets. Every bucket you see is brimming, our water tanks are topped off and we have not had to buy water for over a month.
It feels very good getting all the water we need from the sky, drying our clothes and growing sprouts in the sun, and eating our own freshly caught fish regularly. Surely this is how life was meant to be. What a perfect arrangement we fell into on this amazing blue planet of ours.
Though technology brings us supposed improvements, I repeatedly question at what cost? On the other hand though, I doubt at this point we would be willing to part with our solar panels, radar, computer and VHF radio. And how in the world did we all manage before Google and Skype?
| Nicaragua |
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06/28/2009, Leon, Nicaragua
A little more than two weeks here in the estuary above Corinto has enabled us to do some boat jobs, most notably three coats of varnish on the mast, and visit a couple of Nicaraguan cities.
Three days in Leon, a graceful colonial city full of cloistered adobes whose heavy doors open to reveal cool interior gardens, allowed us to view paintings at the Ortiz-Gurdian House in a setting unlike any other gallery we have visited. Our hotel, a restored colonial adobe, was owned by a cousin of the Ortiz-Gurdian family, and had the same cool and relaxed feel.
The museums and murals of Leon highlight how painful and recent the revolution and contra war aftermath were. Here is a photo review with the story as we understand it.
More pictures of Leon in the Gallery of side trips
| Nicaragua |
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06/28/2009 | gayle (gayle att gaylevanleer dott com)
Well done video!
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06/29/2009 | Cathy Robinson (ccrride att aol dott com)
Once again a thought provoking posting. Good job and glad to be able to armchair travel with the both of you
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07/01/2009 | Daisy (somethingpretty2 att yahoo dott com)
Beautiful photos in the gallery. Seems like my kind of place. Dada looks just like Archie. Happy to report we all got along swimmingly during Archie's time here. Not one fight. We even managed to get in an hour's sailing at the center for wooden boats on Lake Union. It was very very windy and Rupert had to take a sailing test first, but once we got out it was lovely. Teamwork at its best is how I would describe the whole 4 days. Wish you could have seen us.
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06/28/2009, Leon
One of the many shaded gardens in the courtyards of Leon
| Nicaragua |
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06/27/2009, Isla Meanguera, Gulf of Fonseca
Eric, thanks for the try but no.
Not much other response so here´s a clue.
The General was Francisco Morazon
In the year the great General returned to power I lost my cool and was brought down a peg or three. In the dark days and weeks ahead the strife left me a shadow of my former self. Instead of standing proudly among my brothers and sisters I lay exhausted, my heart broken.
What is my name and where is my resting place?
| Geo-Quiz |
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06/08/2009 | Eric Spross (eric att esprosso dott com)
Hi from Mazatlan--
I'm guessing your narrator was Oscar Romero, archbishop of San Salvador, who was murdered by death squads in 1980 and awaits canonization. He is buried in the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador. But "the great General" is a mystery...Jimmy Carter ha ha? |
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06/29/2009 | Kate Prickett (kate dott prickett att btopenworld dott com)
Oooh! June geo-quiz still on!
Thanks for the clue Virginia, thinking cap is on! |
06/12/2009, Gulf of Fonseca
Sailing around the Gulf it blows my mind that Sir Francis Drake hung out here in the early 1500's, giving the Spaniards a lot of shit and stealing most of their silver. But hay it was all good he did it for the Queen.
We were reminded of this one morning when whilst lying in our bunks at dawn on our first morning at El Tigre. We heard a couple of lads outside in a dugout commenting on Mandy, and saying it looked like a "barco de los piratas" (Pirate ship). Perhaps they thought we were Drake's men back to look for the bullion he reputedly left here.
He must have been made of iron for he came here in this and no radar to boot.
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06/16/2009 | Ma Cross (crossUDREY att GMAIL dott COM)
Hi Darlings, still following. What an adventure
By the way Rich it's hEy not hAy that's straw!! Lots o' love |
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06/17/2009 | Rick J (tricyricky att yahoo dott com)
Hi you two, ARRRGh as Ryan would say. The pirate of D Dock. Your adventure is still with us. I love the pictures and the stories. We are getting ready for the father's day race this Sunday. We'll miss your competitive spirit on the course. Maybe I'll win this year.
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06/21/2009 | Kate de Korte (crosskate att gmail dott com)
Apologies for using your blog as a public notice board but Ma Cross is dying to find out a postal address for Archie Cross who has a birthday next week. Anyone help by emailing her? R@V - do you need a black eye patch to go with the boat? Kate xxxx
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06/22/2009 | Robert Parker (svfreedom att gmail dott com)
We're still in Guatemala, but will be looking for you guys when we continue South again. Cheers!
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06/25/2009 | Daisy (somethingpretty2 att yahoo dott com)
Hay is for Horses Dada. Haha.
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06/12/2009, Gulf of Fonseca
We came in this:
This is Mandy escaping over the bar in Bahia del Sol, led by trusty pilot Rogelio
| El Salvador |
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