05/17/2009, Turneffe Islands Belize
So how are we enjoying Belize so far, one may ask. Just fine, thank you very much, now that the first couple of nights of great discomfort and insanity are past us.
Discomfort and insanity, in Belize??? Inconceivable!!!!
Our trip out of the Rio Dulce was uneventful with no bottom-bumping involved, thank God. 2 hours of motoring in no wind to get to Punta Gorda, Belize, and we were cleared in by 10:30 in the morning. The customs and immigration folks were very entertaining. No stuffed-shirt attitudes in Belize! We were reminded of Mexico's fiasco with swine flu by the nice young lady in the hospital mask who had an extra health questionnaire for us to fill out. Could make our trip up the coast of Mexico interesting...
The Moho Cays awaited us, so after a quick walk through town we were off. Early afternoon we were anchored in 30' and well hemmed in by reefs. The water being cloudy from river run-off (think turquoise-blue glacial run-off), we were unable to do the customary visual inspection of the anchor.
Side note: Do any of you boaters out there in non-tropical waters have any idea of what your anchor should look like when set? Didn't think so. We sure as heck didn't when we started this crazy trip. Our first anchor set in the Bahamas was the first time I saw it. After backing down on it, and feeling very 'cruiser', I promptly donned mask and snorkel to 'dive the anchor'. Sure enough, big ol' hunk of metal somewhat buried in the sand. Mystery solved! We now knew what it should look like. Which means of course, when back in our home waters I'll be quick to dive every anchor set to ensure the security of my family. NOT! Which brings up a bit of a conundrum. If an anchor is set, and no one is around to see it, is it really set??? Just a deep thought for the day.
So, back at Moho Cay, the sun begins its decline and the wind pipes up to 20-25 knots. Perfect, just like we like our anchorages. Uninspected anchor is holding just fine, not another boat in sight, anywhere, we have a fine meal and are off to sleep. Lightning starts around midnight. Those of us from the Pacific Northwest don't get to experience the drama of huge thunderstorms with lightning everywhere. We get earthquakes instead. Being on land with lightning all around is one thing. On a boat with a big aluminum pole sticking 60' into the sky is quite another. For 3 ½ hours Rennie and I watched and smelled the lightning all around. Oh yes, I said smelled. When you can smell the electricity crackling through the air you know it is WAY TOO CLOSE. So we watched, prayed, smelled, prayed some more, the night away. By about 4 am it had moved away enough to sleep. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, beats answered prayer. Liam and Michaela got up a few times. Ethan, he slept through it all, the little sneak!
Needless to say we boogied north in the morning, to Ranguana Cay, in search of a nice spot to spend Mothers Day. Lovely place with water clear enough for anchor inspection, even caught a small tuna and a nice sized Cero on the way. We spent a short bit of time ashore at a little 'resort', where some locals were just reeling in a nice barracuda. As the photos will show, it was darn near as big as Ethan!
All in all, a pretty good Mothers Day, then the rolling started. Some sort of swell was coming from somewhere. No rhythm at all to it, just a big herky-jerky shimmy motion. We've been in some rolly anchorages (Porlamar VZ, aka rollamar), but this is the only one that had the boys out of the v-berth and in the salon to 'sleep'. Oh yeah, more lightning. No smell to it this time, but enough to keep us awake!
Yep, lovin' it here in Belize so far! The days have been pretty good. The nights, not so much. At least we won't have to worry about any R.O.U.S.'s.
... It has gotten better. Much, much better! We spent two nights at North Long Cocoa Cay with no roll, no rain, and no lightning. I even had some success with the spear, getting two very nice Nassau Groupers. That was followed by a great sail up here to South Water Cay, located right out at the barrier reef. Another beautiful island with yet again not another boat in site anywhere, free moorings, awesome snorkeling, no lightning... Turns out Belize ain't so bad after all!
Moho Cay: 16 09.30 N, 88 40.50 W
Ranguana Cay: 16 19.80 N, 88 09.30 W
North Long Cocoa Cay: 16 33.80 N, 88 06.20 W
South Water Cay: 16 48.90 N, 88 05.00 W
Turneffe Islands: 17 10.10 N, 87 54.80 W
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05/08/2009, Rio Dulce
It's had to say goodbye to good friends. We know this from first hand experience departing Seattle. Leaving family and friends behind was tough, but we knew we would see them all within a year or so.
Cruising friends are a bit different. You may only have known them for a few months or more, but it is an intensive few months or more. You can see your neighbors at home, your church and school friends, a few times a week or so, and most of that time it is just waves of hello or good-bye or idle chatter. It may take a year or so before you really get to know your neighbors and develop a close relationship. Cruising can bring you into close contact immediately and you can see your new friends every day for hours at a time. If you hit it off, you can know the ins and outs of your 'neighbors' within a day or two. Warts and all!
We have been travelling with Migo for almost 4 months now, and that is not including the month or so last year in the Eastern Caribbean. It is now time to say goodbye to some very dear friends. We will miss Patrick, Sofia, Joana, and Jonatan as we move on and they stay here in the Rio Ducle for the next 4-5 months. It may be a year, or possibly many years, before we are able to hang out and enjoy each others company again. However long it is we look forward to the day.
Similar goodbyes were said to High 5, Independence, Wandering Dolphin, Solange, Fruko, Alegria, Saniti, Meander, Uliad, Sonrisa ... The list goes on and on. We have been truly blessed to meet and come close with some truly amazing people on our travels. Each one has contributed to our family in more ways than we can describe. Whether it is learning about a new country, culture or language with them, or sharing the trials and tribulations of living, growing, repairing, and learning in a confined space, the friends we have made have helped to make this adventure truly great.
location: 15 39.75N 89 00.14W
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04/30/2009, Rio Dulce
Well the skies have turned gloomy, with high cloud layers moving one way and the lower strata moving another and building into a series of black-grey walls of squalls. The forecast is finally showing a trend away from the dry, sunny weeks of 20-25+ knots that seem to have ushered us out of Panama and all the way here to Guatemala, where we await a 6:30 am high tide to get across the Rio Dulce bar. I say 'finally' because it does start to wear on the nerves with day after day after day of anchoring in 25 knots behind a shallow reef. Having the water be crystal clear and the coral incredible sure does help, but it is a refreshing change of pace to have a calm anchorage rather than a constant 1-2' wind chop. Yep, I know, cry me a river.
Speaking of rivers, we have left the bay islands of Honduras behind and await a VERY early (4:30 am departure), 9 mile trip to the Rio Dulce of Guatemala. It is supposed to be a magical jungle river with loads of primitive Mayan villages. We have read that the original Tarzan series was filmed here so we'll be keeping an ear out for the classic Tarzan yell. It will be Salt & Light's first trip into fresh water, assuming of course we don't get stuck on the river bar. Salt & Light draws 6' 4" when loaded and the mean low tide provides about 5' 3" of depth across the bar. By waiting for the enormous high tide of +1.5' we figure to have a couple of inches to spare. Unless of course the river bar has changed...
We made it into the river. Barely. After following Migo in for our first try they began reporting depths that would leave us high and dry so we burned a u-ee and headed out to deeper water to try again. Choosing a different path, and with Rennie calling out the ever-shallowing depths with great enthusiasm, we kept the keel off the bottom, until we didn't. The boat started bumping along the bar and the tension level rose, but with a bit more horsepower applied we hopped, skipped, and bumped our way into the river. The relief was palpable and the wish for a celebratory beer was strong, but as it was only 7:30am, we opted to wait.
A boat load of officials from Customs, Immigration, Dept of Agriculture, an MD, and an agent to handle all the paperwork and interpretation, came out to welcome us into Guatemala. With all that handled we and Migo went into the town of Livingston to stretch the legs and explore. Several hours and the cold beer later we headed up river and through the Rio Dulce Gorge.
Being surrounded by high cliffs thoroughly draped in dense green jungle was a big change from the tropical islands and beaches of the last 18 months. It's a dramatic and beautiful canyon that leads into several large fresh water lakes. The intersection of the two lakes, Golfete and Izabel, is home to a bunch of small marinas that cater to cruisers and provide safe harbour for hurricane season. Migo will be staying here for the summer and we'll use it as a base to go explore the Mayan ruins of Tikal. It is quite different to be in a lake. No wind until around noon, and evening rain, makes for a very hot and muggy environment. However, it is lovely and the jungle starts right out the 'back door'.
I should report on the rest of our time in Honduras prior to Guatemala. Of course my finger healed just fine and we enjoyed Roatan and Utila. Utila is one of the very few places in the world where you can see whale sharks (look 'em up!). These massive sharks, the largest fish in the ocean, are very slow and docile and if spotted, you can swim with them. Utila is home to a whale shark research institute and they organize trips to try and find them. The crews of Salt & Light, Migo, and The Last Resort chose to go out on their Sunday Funday that combines the adventure of 'whale shark hunting' with scuba diving as well as a catered lunch on a private beach. It was also a great way to celebrate Liam's 12th B-day, which explains the above photo! Alas, no giants of the deep were seen but the diving and lunch were a blast! Ethan made fast friends with Steve, a 24? Year old from Albany NY (I think he reminded Ethan of Sean). He has been enjoying his gap year volunteering at different environmental and biological research facilities, as well as orphanages, around Central America. He came out to the boat with us to enjoy a fine dinner of toasted cheese sandwiches and a movie. He's a great guy and we wish him well on the rest of his studies!
The trip from Utila to Guatemala was broken out into 3 day trips rather than an overnighter. The sailing was non-existent as was the wind. The fishing was expensive, but successful. Otis, you'll be pleased to know the tuna-killer was productive right up to its very end. Its end was a plump Blackfin Tuna of about 36". We're confident of the size because the gaff was inches from his gills when the line failed right where it wraps around the eye of the hook. Gone was the fish as well as the $25 lure!!!!! Our losses were not yet complete as we lost our new Stubby-Bubbler to a huge something that struck the handline. The 60lb test line broke and it was gone. While that lure was disappearing the pole had another big strike as well. Whatever it was was big and heavy as I worked him in. He was able to break the hook and was gone. So far two lures and a hook gone and no fish. The Good Lord provides in His own way and by the end of the trip we had three small Little Tunny's (small Tuna's around 15-18"), in the freezer. Not what we were after but what do we know anyway?! Now we have to find somewhere to replace a couple of good lures!
Tomorrow morning we are heading inland for a few days to see the Mayan ruins of Tikal, hopefully we won't lose any more lures.
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