Adiós Guatemala
15 November 2015 | Placencia, Belize
Jane wet and windy
Leaving Guatemala we had mixed feelings. We were truly ready to leave, but at the same time we came to love the beautiful people we met and their stunning country. The whole time we felt safe, cared for, and welcome. We saw a lot of poverty, but everyone appeared incrediably happy. We enjoyed much laughter and banter, friendship and help, from these mainly shy people. Another thing I noticed was that I was not short, in fact most people, even men, were around my height. As my mum always told me, some of the best things come in small packages and for the Guatemalans that seemed to be the case.
We were not expecting the weather to be great, but it was probably one of the most uncomfortable places we have been to. Apparently last year it rained for the two months of September and October, so I suppose we should have been grateful as that would have seriously delayed work. However it was very difficult to get much work done, it was exhausting, even though we perservered. Once we were in NanaJuana we often found ourselves in the pool, even though the water was …. very warm. Sadly the water now in the Rio is very contaminated and dead fish are a common site. People however still swim in the water.
We had to take Ta-b out of the water (called going onto the hard) to have our engine seals redone. As Russ said …. “A quick job”. Once out of the water we have to sand down our coppercoat to reactivate it. Well that started up a hornet’s nest. Bubbles were found all down the middle of the port hull – yikes, need to recopper coat area, but …. It has to be dry. Guess what, yup it decided to start raining. Not only that, but the sanding had ruined our beautiful polish/wax job.
To make it short we ended up being on the hard for two weeks. I hate being out of the water. Not much fun if one wants to go pee in the middle of the night and the facilities are a dark walk away, just one of the challenges. We did however manage to take a couple of days off. Would have liked to have taken off longer, but at least we got to Tikal which was MAGIC. Tikal is in the heart of the Mayan world, located in Northern Guatemala in the middle of the jungle. It is a huge being 576 sq km with temples, pyramids and palaces and was declared a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1979. The archaeological area covers 26 sq km where more than 3,000 structures have been mapped . There is a ton of wildlife there too. We hired a driver and guide for the day and were lucky to have the place more or less to ourselves ….. and it did not rain. We felt blessed. Our photos tell it all, words do not do it justice.
We were lucky to have a fantastic group of cruisers at NanaJuana. During the world rugby games the banter between the Ozzies and Kiwis during the matches made for great entertainment. The final match between the “brothers” was a ripper – I was on the edge of my seat and certainly proud to be a token Kiwi when we won. Celebrations went on all day and into the evening as it was Halloween and we had also been put into the water before the match. One of the cruisers put on an incrediable party for us, including a gravesite that we were lead through – very scary and a great laugh. Always fun to dress up and party.
In fact we partied (or should we say socialised) every night for the last ten days we were at NanaJuana. We felt we had become locals and had our favourite bars/restaurants, there were movie nights, jam nights, bbq nights and just …. Happy hour nights. We made some great friends and as always it was hard to say goodbye to those we know we will probably never see again. The cruising community is very special.
We at last left dock ten days later than planned and are now in Placencia, Belize. It was a bumpy old ride up and we were glad to be on Ta-b and not suffer from mal de mar. The weather has changed dramatically. 27 degrees and 79% humidity feels …. Cool; especially as it has been windy and wet. Another adventure checking in. Got grabbed as soon as we hit land and visited … four departments, total cost $295 Belize for two weeks. Took water taxis and taxis, but had an interesting (wet) day. Then 35 knot winds that night with crazy rain, gotta love the sailing life.
Our thoughts are to move on to Cuba at the end of the month. The hurricane season does not officially end until the 30 November. We have been told that getting money is very difficult in Cuba and to arrive with cash. No problem, we will just get some US$ here before we go. Not so easy we find out today, we are allowed only $250 each, per year in cash, in Belize. Anyone want to come and visit with $$$s?
Keep happy and healthy, thanks for all your emails, so lovely to hear when we are so far away. Hugs