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What have we been doing this June?
Aeeshah and crew have been keeping busy in while dockside at Catamaran Hotel and Marina in the Rio Dulce. We continued with boat chores such as tidying our storage spaces, with washing and polishing, in other words just continual Aeeshah maintenance.
Plus I was busy with some canvas work. We had ordered new front panels to be made from strata glass as ours had aged and were no longer crystal clear. The fabric folks from El Cern Verde came and measured, went off made them came back and fitted them then adjusted them. What a huge difference! The crew are really very skilled. We then we had shade covers made to fit over the strata glass for when we are at anchor. Again they did an excellent job.
Walking for exercise/pleasure?
We have continued with our walks, not quite as regularity as it was just too hot some mornings, even at 6:45 we could tell it was just sweltering.
However when we did go we again enjoyed seeing the villagers, school children and families out and about. They were clearing beneath the rubber trees and harvesting the rubber in the plantation area where we take our walks.
The corn that we had seen planted was at least a foot tall and the various villagers we saw regularly would greet us. So while the walk is the same the scenery does alter slightly.
We have also taken several walks around the town of Fronteras and outlying area exploring all the many byways, nooks and crannies.
Games afternoons
Playing Mexican Train Dominoes has become a passion of mine. There is a games afternoon – well it starts at 2:00pm at Mar Marina and John and I have had some really fun games and met lovely folks while playing.
Grutas El Encanto
Our only outing was to Grutas El Encanto. This is a small cave system about an hour away from the Rio Dulce. We went again with a group of other cruisers, traveling there on a bus. The whole trip was arranged by Ana who arranges biweekly trips to various places for the cruisers. Grutas El Encanto is privately owned and a family run attraction of caves, pools set in a garden setting.
Upon arriving we changed into our cave clothes – bathing suit, or such that can get wet plus water shoes – in our case our trusty Keens. We waded into the cave and proceeded to walk along the passageway using our torches to see the way.
Every so often we would stop to look at a formation or a water pool. Bats were swooping around, it was fairly humid and at times the roof low so we have to crouch down to pass. The end was not the end of the cave but as far as we could safely go.
After returning to the outside we swam in the pool outside the cave’s entrance. The water was very refreshing. It was then lunchtime and we were served excellent lunches.
The rest of the visit was spent either in the pool, in a hammock, chatting or exploring the grounds. Overall it was a very relaxing and pleasant day off from our chores.
Catamaran grounds/gardens
I spent time as usual wandering around the Catamaran grounds enjoying them and the beautiful flowers especially the orchids which seemed to be profusely blooming. Catamaran Hotel and Marina really is such a beauty!
Chico would follow me around enjoying the shady pathways.
He has become quite a big boy! he was a mighty 20lbs at his vet visit and hopefully the wandering around is slimming him down. He is a big cat, large frame, huge feet but now with a tummy that rolls as he walks.
One lunchtime we went with some others to Jessica’s new restaurant, Antojitos “La Gondola”, which means – the trucks – as many of the drivers of the large trucks that pass through Fronteras stop there for lunch.
Jessica is the fabric representative from El Cern Verde, plus we’ve known her from when she worked at RAM another marina. We all enjoyed a delicious lunch and a chat.
On the way back we stopped at a local bar with a balcony overlooking the main Fronteras street.
There the others enjoyed a beer, I enjoyed watching the local folks as they passed along below. Fronteras is such a colourful town, there is never a dull moment.
