After a very pleasant night in the loft of the palapa at El Tortugal, we gathered with the other cruisers for coffee on the deck and loved being able to introduce Liam to so many folks – Ellen and Dave (Cordelia), Andree and Tic (Antic), Honoree and Walt (Will-o-the-Wisp), Theo (Dutch - can’t remember the boat name), Allan (Kristiana), Honey Lynn and Ted (Patron). I went for a walk with the dog walkers while Jim waited for Casey’s lancha and Liam checked out the boat that Rhum and Jonas (the two young guys working at Tortugal) are fixing up.

And then we were off to town to make the rounds of the shops and stands – basic groceries at the Dispensia, produce at a couple of stalls along the main street, meat from the guy near Bruno’s, and more meat, cheese, yogurt from Backpackers across the river – and of course nuts from the nut man (who smiles when he sees me coming!) These nuts are not inexpensive – but they are fresh and make wonderful snacks and he has a good variety – and we prefer these to packaged ones from the grocery store – and it makes Senor Nutman smile.

Unfortunately, by the time all our errands were done, the wind had come up so we had a slow and bouncy passage downriver to Cayo Quemado. We felt lucky that Casey had taken all our bags with him earlier in the other lancha so we weren’t even heavier and slower. Madcap looks and feels great with her new sun awning that stretches from near the bow back past the butterfly hatch aft of the mast. It really does keep the interior cooler – and we’ve had ample opportunity to check that out with daytime temperatures consistently in the 90’s. Tom (Cayo Quemado Sails) did an excellent job and we are pleased to recommend him – and he also donates 3% of his cost to the school in the community – another thing we like.

We’ve been over to Texan Bay a couple of times for food and entertainment. The pig roast on Sunday was yummy and movie night with chicken wings and burgers was even better. Jennifer brought The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – a movie we love – and it was somehow special to watch this movie about older folks learning to live in India, as part of a bunch of older folks living along the river and on boats in Guatemala.

We’ve been shopping too – we bought a 135 watt solar panel from Gary and Chris down at the Round House (they brought in a few and have been selling the ones they don’t need), and 12 gauge marine wire (it can be hard to find) from a little shop behind the Shell station, and a regulator from Sistemis Solaris at the Cement mall, and Chris – who lives on his boat in Texan Bay - will install it! Isn’t it wonderful how things come together? We have the panel on board now, and since it is currently lying on Liam’s berth we’re really hoping the installation happens swiftly so he doesn’t have to share his bed for too long. (We just chatted with Bea and Wolfgang who ordered a lancha in October, were told it would take 2 weeks and they got it in January – so, given our good luck so far, I may be hoping for a little too much!!)

When we were in town the other day, we stopped to see Margaret and Phil (Sunshine) at Mario’s, and what a treat it was to see these folks whom we met in Savannah our first year out when they had just bought their boat and were planning to go adventuring.

It rained hard on Wednesday, and the pic shows a couple of Madcap hombres playing on the dock. Along with the fun, we filled the water tanks (over 80 gallons of nice clean rainwater), had showers, and scrubbed and rinsed the cockpit sunshades. Rain can be a good thing!

We’re getting off this dock on Thursday and around the corner to Buenavista Bay. More to come from there!