It was finally time to leave. We enjoyed a couple of days at El Tortugal Marina and around town – in the sunshine – really!

Saturday is market day in town and the selection of produce is especially good then, so we filled up the cayuco-fruitbowl and the hanging baskets and the fridge – and all was well on Madcap. And then … we discovered water under our berth and in the bilge. It turned out to be a disconnected fitting on the deckwash line. Unfortunately the men onboard discovered that it was a fitting on one end only after they pulled the whole line out, thinking it was a repeat of the problem we had last year. So the fix became much more involved, but it got done over the course of the weekend – and it was a good little reminder to check for the simplest cause first when something goes wrong.

We were excited to see Barb and Bob (Tiff Blue) pull in during the afternoon. We met these folks last year in Placencia and were sorry it was a brief meeting then. This time we had a riotous couple of days with them - it’s been a while since we had such a lot of laughs and it felt good! We visited on Madcap, and on Tiff Blue – where Bob invited the smiling Patty (a land traveller) down from the Rustica Palapa. Her bed overlooked the dock and she had been having a good time eying the comings and goings – and she was great company as we all dined together that night.

Sunday was massage day for the Madcap crew as we trooped up the hill to the Casita Elegante and took our turns on Blanca’s massage table. She still gives the best massages I have ever had, and she managed to completely fix Jim’s neck that had been bothering him for the last week. Liam did a 4 mile run with Rhum and Jonas on Saturday, and was happy to have his aching muscles eased too.

Raul was in town delivering passports for the folks who were leaving so Jim took our paperwork and passports over to him at Mar Marine to start the process for our exit visa – or “zarpe” as it is called here. That would save us a trip down to Livingston by lancha – or a lengthier stop as we leave on Tuesday.

After a little more shopping – including a new, heavier fishing rod for Jim and a collection of lures and hooks to replace the rusty ones Liam found in the tackle box – we waved our goodbyes and set off for one last night in Buena Vista Cay. Casey came by for a drink, and Jennifer joined us for chicken/pineapple/broccoli stirfry (and brought along her special apple crisp … mmm). It was a lovely starry night – a perfect one for our final stay before heading down river and out to sea.

A few fill ins: that spotted fish Liam caught was a guapote and it was OK eating. Jennifer makes and sells flags – we got a new Belize one to add to the Guatemala and Honduras ones she made for us earlier. Q80 each. The solar panel kept our batteries charged while we were up in El Peten. The pic above was taken on the way down the gorge – in my happy place on Madcap’s bow!