Aeeshah

 

PHOTO ALBUM –>>>   https://photos.app.goo.gl/w5xQsdkhQB2QTKQq9

Tuesday

The day’s main task was to sell cattle. The buyer and extra crew arrived by 9:00.

The men had been out and rounded up the waiting cattle that had been in the field next to the house, herding them into the field by the corral.

They drove them into the pen by the corral. The mud was nearly as deep as some of the cattle stomachs, one went down and was dragged out by a lasso around the neck, poor guy, looked busted, but he did get up again.

The cattle were then herded into the next corral which led to the chute. Through the chute, they were pushed/encouraged/prodded along to the gate.

We were right there, Jack using the electronic wand to read the numbers. John writing the numbers, (each bull has a tag attached to it’s ear with all it’s information there); my job was to read out all the numbers: the bull’s number, identification and weight. 

The bulls needed to be over 900lbs or close to it to sell. We went through just over 100 bulls during the morning and from them there were just under 2 truck loads, they needed 16 bulls per truck.

The largest from the group were found by their tag numbers, lassoed, added to the group until they had 32 bulls the average weight of 906lbs.

Those rancheros were amazing! Their riding skills the best ever, they were like one with their hoses. The horses nimble and so fluid. One ranchero had his dog with him. The dog was nearly as good as the ranchero. he really knew his stuff!

Those poor bulls were off to market.

The next step for the cattle buyer and the men was to herd the sold 32 head of cattle through the jungle path up the mountain to the awaiting trucks from there they headed to market – Guatemala City.

We did hear one of the trucks got stuck in mud…… (I learnt that most of the cattle are trucked from Central American countries, eg Guatemala, El Salvador and trucked through Mexico. Fattened up on corn grain imported into the US. Shot full of growth hormones then slaughtered as American beef).

While Jack finished off the sale we went out on the ATV, to find his special walking stick he had left behind the previous day. We used the 3 wheeler again, went through the gate, across the very soggy field that was getting quite churned up by the bulls,

through another gate, an even muddier field all the way to the creek. There we retrieved the stick, and headed back.

After our lunch Jack and John went off on the same cross country ATV machine to follow the border out to where the excavator guy, Jose was digging ditches for drainage.

This is actually a full time job. So far 35 kilometres of ditch has been dug to drain the fields. They had quite a time, getting stuck and unstuck in the mud, both of them were covered in mud after.

 Me, I tidied up, read, wrote and got ready to make dinner. When John and Jack returned they took the big excavators out for exercise,

John drove a huge excavator into one of the fields, around and back, his 1st ever experience driving a huge excavator. (It had been used previously to make/excavate Jack’s airstrip.)

Wednesday

Today we were injecting bulls with dewormer, (that one that some folks are taking for covid lol) and other necessary meds, weighing them, recording their tags and registration numbers. We needed to complete a minimum of 200 head of cattle.

Now, we arise everyday with the sun, yep, Jack’s making coffee before 6:00am. The men go out before 7:00am to round-up  the day’s 200 odd bulls.

The first 100 odd were brought to the outer corral. They then are herded, pushed, prodded through into the second corral where the chute is located. This can take several rounds of trying to get them into the corral, bulls are not the most cooperative of animals.

Into the chute the first 10 or so go.

This can be a very unpredictable situation, the bulls jump on each other, crush each other, push, shove, rear, go backwards, somehow manage to turn half around, get their legs stuck in the bars, just so many possible scenarios.

Fortunately, there were only a couple of ugly situations where they got into impossible situations and by lunch just one poor little white bull with a broken leg, who had to be put down. 

The rancheros directed the bulls into the shoot then climbed the sides, injecting them with 3 different medications. The bulls really did not like getting injected.

My job was checking and reading the electronic recorder numbers to John. 1st the bulls number, 2nd his weight, and 3rd the last 4 digits of his registration. John’s task to find the number on the list, check it, write the weight and check the registration.

Meanwhile Jack used the wand to get the number from the red ear tag and when I pressed record he opened the chute gate, staying out of the bulls way. 

We did two shifts, one hundred plus in the morning, had lunch, then back out into the hot sun and did a second shift of over another one hundred – total of 226. Many of these were the younger, newer bulls which were more difficult we were told.

Then it was back to the house, for John and I a nice cup of tea. Following which John and Jack went off to start up tractors and I had a wonderful shower getting rid of all the bull dust and dirt aka BS.

Thursday

The main objective was to finish the herd, injections, tag, registration count and weight taking – of about 230 more bulls to do. As per yesterday the rancheros drove the rest of the herd in to the corrals.

 

This morning there seemed to be less fuss. I was told it was because most of these were older, and so had been through the process a few times.

All went well until we had one crazy physio bull. He got right up to the end of the chute, just before he was to enter the weigh bay he forced his head around, flipped up and got half way over the bars at the top. He was standing on the others and the sides of the bay.

He crashed down on a couple of others, was facing the wrong way, tried to charge out past all the others, of about 8 of them, causing a right pile up of bulls, with him on top, being unpredictable and dangerous. Believe it or not the rancheros got the ones beneath him out and down the chute to us, we read their info and weight and released them. Next the men forced the mad bull backwards down the chute into the weigh bay where he was finally read, weighed and released….… Everyone rancheros included got well out of the way when he was released.

The readings and weighing did go faster meaning that we were finished the 130 odd by 11:30 doing as much in the morning as took us all day the day before — easier cattle.

Our total was 438, making 12 unaccounted for. Jack had 800, but had sold off half over the year.

The afternoon was a quiet one, Jack paying off the men, checking his airstrip. John doing odd jobs, me getting packed up, watching for birds

and gazing out across the ranch watching the weather move in. The clouds approached from the northwest, gradually covering the sky,

the wind rose, the temperature dropped by about 15 degrees, the rain never fell.

Friday

The next morning started at about 4:30, I think……we had been told there would be an early start. I heard voices outside, the workers, Jack ground his beans in the kitchen area in the bathroom, (off the sleeping area is a bathroom with an added counter and small gas cooker for Jack’s morning coffee). We took that as a sign to get up. Then we were told to put our stuff outside ready to go....I nearly didn’t even get to use the bathroom or get dressed. John went down to make breakfast, so he never got to use the bathroom as it was locked up. We gobbled breakfast, washed up, everything was put away and out we went to the skiff.

Meanwhile a hog had walked past with a few men and was being put into a kayuko.

It was a very hasty goodbye to the ranch, the stuff was loaded, stacked in the skiff with a tiny bit of room for us. By 7:00 we were headed out. 

The passengers this day were ourselves, Jack, Juan again, Lucy his wife and 4 of her prized turkeys. 

Back down the canals, past the kayuko with the pig,

through the next 2 canals and out onto the river. The journey was just as beautiful on the return. Birds galore, in fact John and I saw a Questrel in the air above us, it’s long distinctive forked tail below it.

Once back at the ramp it was a reverse of when we arrived. Unpack the launcha, fuel up the gas containers, load up the jeep and off we go.

Back down the humpy, bumpy road towards Fronteras and Aeeshah.

It was one of the best trips ever. I just adored my time at Jack’s ranch….why? I love living simply, in wide open spaces surrounded by nature, able to observe all of the wonders around me.

Sitting on the top porch, watching the birds, the workers, the sheep, bulls, dogs, clouds, trees and the changing weather was wondrous for me.

John too loved the space, the totality of the space, but surrounded by jungle, mountains and the river with the sound of howler monkeys to fall asleep and wake up to.

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. 

Chief Seattle

 

PHOTO ALBUM –>>> Off to Jack’s Ranch Pt1 — https://photos.app.goo.gl/w6Wszr3v93vUkSvy5

I found out we were going to Jack’s ranch 3 days before we headed out, and then knew virtually nothing of what to expect. All I heard was that, John had been chatting with Jack at the pool bar and expressed interest in his ranch, so an invitation was extended. The only other info I was given: it’s like camping and it’s work. Plus I needed wellington boots. Luckily for me Muriel and Tuddy had some for me to try out. 

Sunday

Off to La Torre we went to meet Jack, me with mixed expectations.

The journey to Jack’s ranch for me, was magical. We met Jack at La Torre for 10:00am. He told us what we might need in the way of foods, snacks, drinks and extras…not much really, as the jeep was already fully loaded with supplies. After which we hit the trail, heading down the main road out of Fronteras towards Belize.

This road wanders through settlements, past small farms and homes. It’s a very beaten way with deep potholes from the mining trucks, which Jack tried to avoid, often having to dodge across the road, around large trucks and slower traffic. 

Arriving at a muddy, potholed track, which we followed to the end where we saw the river. Jack’s man Juan had brought the river boat, a flat-bottomed skiff to pick us up, plus all the gear Jack had brought. I did sort of wonder how we all and it all was going to fit.…

Before we set off the propeller had to be changed on the skiff, as Juan had had a few mishaps and so the one on the skiff was all bent up.

Next we unloaded the jeep, Juan retrieved numerous empty gas containers from the skiff, which were then put in the jeep and off we drove to fill them with fuel.  Meanwhile Juan had to load everything into the skiff. Once we returned to the skiff we finished loading up with the fuel, climbed in and we were off down river. 

To the right was Guatemala, to the left Belize. There was absolutely nothing but thick dense jungle on the Belize side, while at first there were pastures and fields with a few trees on the Guatemalan side.

We saw virtually nobody else, just 2 kayuckos with solitary fishermen.

Further on there were no buildings, or homes of any type on the either side, just jungle.

It was very much the middle of nowhere. We sped along for 24 miles down river to get to Jack’ place taking about 1 1/2 hours.

However well before we got to the turn off, Jack said the property line began. He has 3,300 acres, but farms/ranches only 1/3 of it and the rest is jungle.

So, we suddenly swooped to the right, and into this small canal we shot, still at full speed. This canal was narrow with trees and mangroves along the side with their branches above creating a green tunnel.

After a few minutes we swooped into another bend and down another canal, this one as beautiful but with less foliage to dodge. Jack told us the  United Fruit Company, (now Chiquita Brands International), originally dug the ditch back in the 1960s.

Still further along while still going full speed we turned again, this ditch was cleared of the trees on either side and had been excavated by Jack and his men……it was the canal leading to the farm. There in the distance we could see the farm buildings.

The country side is just breathtakingly beautiful. Birds of numerous types swooping all around, the green of the fields, the elegant tall trees, the wooden farm buildings with the mountains behind, blue sky just behind all paint a surreal picture out in there in the middle of nowhere. 

We settled in, I made sandwiches for lunch, we made beds, packed foods away and got acquainted with where we would be bunking for the next 5 days.

Yes, it was very rustic, frugal but also functional. 

I just found the surroundings astoundingly beautiful and a feast for my eyes. Just sitting on the porch watching the birds swoop by, the turkeys wandering past, the sheep and cattle grazing was pure entertainment.

But we were to be off, out on the ATV buggy, Jack on front, John driving and me sitting behind, zooming through the fields, through the long water soaked grass.

Yep, the fields look wonderful, but they are water logged, thus the canals that run along the edges. Now at first riding along was nerve wracking, as I knew John had never driven this type of contraption before and here I was just perched on the back. We had to stop at barb wire gates to enter fields then we went up the sides of the fields onto the ramps above the drainage canals. 

Why were we doing this? Apparently, not for entertainment, we were out going along these boundary lines looking to see if there were any problems. Jack was observing work that had been completed and work that needed to be completed.

For example dredging to drain the fields of as much water as possible or clearing the weeds from the grass for the cattle. At one huge hole in the mud we became stuck, we finally got going again, but John lost his nerve and Jack took over driving.

Riding along the top of these ridges was mighty scary at first, as you have deep mud to the right and deep muddy water at the bottom on right, neither way do you want to fall.

We did one whole borderline and then went back and headed to the creek.

Well, just before the creek we got really stuck deep in the mud. Jack dug in deep with the throttle, the wheels spun and finally we were out of the mud hole, but me being on the back was covered in black mud, just covered! Even some on my camera, but I knew to leave the mud, let it dry and hopefully shake it off. It was to be my initiation to the mud of Jack’s ranch.

Back at the ranch, I managed to shed the boots, drop the clothes and climb into the shower to rid myself of all the mud. 

Dinner is early so that we avoid the mosquitoes and have some light. We ate on the front porch and then retired upstairs for the rest of the evening. Reading, gazing out across the fields, chatting and relaxing were the evening pastimes.

Monday

What a morning!! …… Up at daylight with the birds, lovely sunrise, howler monkeys crying in the distance from the mountains, sheep bleating and turkey gobbling all around.

Scrambled eggs and toast to eat and tea for me, coffee for them before we hit the trail. The men – rancheros arrived and went off to drive a herd of cattle back to the nearby fields to ready for weighing for market. 

As soon as the men and 100 head of cattle returned we were off. The objective was to go by the skiff to the other farthest corner of the property, then to walk the boundary lines back. Sounded fairly normal, straight forward however I was wearing Wellington boots for the first time ever. 

The skiff took us slowly along the canal of the southern boundary. Jack and Juan discussing work to be done, changes to make etc. All the time there were numerous birds flying and swooping past. Across the fields you could see all types of birds, some I’d never seen before, like a huge Wood Stork.

Along the sides of the canal, water lilies grew and thousands of crabs crawled along with huge insects into the grasses to hide.

And then we were at the corner where we climbed onto the muddy bank.

Now those fields look like lovely green pastures that one could gallop a horse across, but they are not. They are full of water, which makes deep mud in the hollows. They have stumps, rotten logs, deep holes, boulders and snakes.

You have to pick your feet up high, pulling the boots out of mud while stumbling over the long grass, logs and boulders all of which are wet. Damn hard work! All the while following the group, trying to keep up plus take a few pictures, in the sweltering hot sun, not a stroll in the park, more a slog in the mud. 

We followed the boundary line of barbed wire, “field” to the one side and jungle to the other. Again this was a reconnaissance mission for Jack, checking the state of the fields, checking the work that had been accomplished through the month, looking for what needs to be completed. Here his main concern was the state of the grass.

This grass was cane grass which had grown head height and had gone to seed. Also the weed that was growing between was not good. Well, it didn’t take me long to feel tired. It was still early, 8:30, but getting just so hot. I kept up pretty well, but could tell I wouldn’t be able to continue all morning. (Found out later the temperature was in the low 90sF) We saw a few of Jack’s water buffalo in the distance. And I learned they can be dangerous too.

There was a whistle and a call, the group of workers that were out spraying had found a fallen bull. Oh, the poor animal, it’s leg had slipped into a hole and broken. It couldn’t get up and was in so much pain, his eyes were glazed in pain. The decision was made that the butcher was to be called, Mr Bull was to be put down and his meat sold. (Apparently he went for about $210 he was about 600lbs in weight.) 

Off again we trudged, the terrain became muddier from the streams running off the mountains, they called them creeks and under ground rivers.

Crossing streams, creeks whatever, my boots would get so stuck nearly to the knee that I thought I’d never get free. The mud just sucks you down, then you loose your balance and if your not careful down you go. I never fell, but many times I needed assistance to get out of the mud. 

Jack’s objective was to walk the border, climb to the ridge, look out, climb down, walk the rest of the boundary back. However, he had also arranged for one of the fellows to bring a skiff down one of the canals, to walk across and meet us incase we needed to go back with him.

By this time I’d had enough and over heating, all my water gone. It was getting close to 10:30 and I’d had enough……so I jumped at the chance to return.

John too was exhausted, told me he was shattered, he chose to return, but Jack went on, he needed to see the boundary. 

The walk to the skiff was still challenging. Believe it or not we had to retrace some of out tracks and then walk the edge of another muddy canal crossing several very muddy ditches. But Jose, who was with us would help me across all the obstacles.

The sight of the skiff was very comforting indeed, I could not have continued much further.

John too was very tired, we just sank onto the hot ,muddy, seats and enjoyed the breeze as we drove home along canals to the ranch.

Enjoying the magnificent scenery all around us. Just amazingly beautiful, wild, free…

Once there we both downed a cold coke and rested our tired bones. 

John had to take the 4 wheel drive back out to meet Jack along the boundary at the creek.

I literally just dropped my boots, shed my clothes and stood under the cold shower, that cold water felt so good. 

The afternoon was much quieter. John and Jack worked on the mule, fitting a system for spraying the fields. I relaxed, read, wrote, tidied up and watched them working on the mule. 

Evening again was quiet, early dinner of soup and delicious tortillas that Maria had made followed by a game of Rummikub.

We’re the creators of our own experience – remembering this, and living our lives from this perspective, empowers us. 

Mike Robbins

The purpose of life, after all, is to love it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience

 Eleanor Roosevelt

 

PHOTO Album—>>>. https://photos.app.goo.gl/vhU6xpMHaqDaHVn9A

Tales from the month

Upon our arrival in Guatemala our driver William was there waiting and ready to go, 6 hours later and we were back in Fronteras and over, via Steve’s launcha, to Catamaran Marina and our Aeeshah. Chico was up at the bar, typical social cat that he is….

Life was pretty much back to normal within the first day. Getting Aeeshah sorted and cleaned, grocery shopping, walking around the island and such.

House sitting

We had agreed to care for Vickle and Jim’s dog Flaca and their lovely home while they went to the US for a few weeks. Their place is down river from Catamaran at the end of a tributary.

They have built it from scratch. Everything was transported there by water as there are no roads. There is a tiny airstrip behind the park that is behind their property and a few neighbours.

John’s day

John would leave daily to get to Catamaran early to feed the cats, Ginger and Tuk Tuk and of course our Chico. He would have his morning coffee with the regulars and then get to task on Aeeshah.

His time was spent preparing the cabin’s wood work for revarnishing. 1st, Stripping, sanding and filling the woodwork, which made a big dusty mess. Following was a clean up and then the varnishing of everything.

He finished within 10 days or so, the woodwork looks lovely! He moved on to a few other boat jobs.

Jen’s typical day

Meanwhile my routine………..

consisted of taking Flaca for a walk along the walkway that runs through the area where Vickie and Jim live. We would bird watch, sometimes squirrel hunt,

other times look for butterflies, exotic birds and of course plane spot if one was landing or taking off. 

Next we would have breakfast, I would tidy up and Flaca would sleep. I managed to get all of the sewing repairs completed, plus a new gas tank cover made and alterations to other boat awnings completed. 

Meanwhile I started a new project, scanning old photos. The scanner is a very good photo scanner and as most gadgets nowadays it is complicated, with so many variations and settings that it took me about three days just to figure out the basic software. However I started scanning and have learnt to use the auto settings for now as they bear good results and are easy. My objective is to scan all the old family photos….

John would often return for lunch and then head back to Catamaran for the afternoon returning again in the early evening. I would resume with my projects and head out for a late afternoon,  or early evening stroll with Flaca.

We observed many different birds, Green Parrots, hummingbirds, migrating Orioles, Kiscadees and  so many others, wonderful reflections, odd impressions…… 

On the few days that Chico the ground’s man and Maria the housekeeper came to the house John and I would head out to do our shopping or to visit Catamaran. 

On my second day at Vickie and Jim’s I was asked, along with Chico the ground’s man, to attend to a funeral. A friend of Vickie called Kathie had lost her best friend and he needed to be buried. The launch arrived with Kathie, a little girl and her Dad from the marina where they live, plus the casket with Cotta inside. After some debate an appropriate spot was found, the hole dug and Cotta buried.

One night just after falling asleep we were awakened by a large bang, and then the power died. John went and put on the small generator so the fans would work. The next morning there was a dead possum under one of the utility poles. Poor possum was electrocuted, thus the power outage. By the afternoon a vulture had arrived.

On one of our last days at Flaca’s place we saw a very funny sight. One of the monkeys from the neighbour’s property was walking around as if he owned the place. meanwhile the folks from there were all swimming in the river…..

Steve had a birthday celebration and Zaida was given a baby shower,

Catamaran had a Friends of Rio Dulce River sale of second hand items to raise cash for the many good causes the charity pursues. John helped to set up and sell the goods. Plus we had our first Mexican Train Dominoes game since July.

Those were the few social happenings as many folks are still away.

And before we knew it we were back at Catamaran……

“I don’t have to be perfect. All I have to do is show up and enjoy the messy, imperfect, and beautiful journey of my life. It’s a trip more wonderful than I could have imagined.” 

Kerry Washington

 

 

 

PHOTO ALBUM –>>.   https://photos.app.goo.gl/K3U5Kuce1iz9X47u6

Fern Island camp 

Camping at Fern Island has been a family tradition since approximately 1985. Back then we would pack up the children, our animals, supplies, tents and food heading off to Fern Island for a few weeks of camp. It was a very rustic camp originally, now there is a toilet, be it a hand pumped toilet. Plus inside has new mattresses on the bed frames, there is a great barbecue and a gas burner stove for cooking. We used to cart out our own barbecue, small camp stove and propane tank.

Gavin, our son, runs/organises the camp these days. John went out on the Thursday to help Gavin mow the grass, set up and prep for us all to arrive.

John and I went out on the Friday, taking our granddaughter May and Grandson Quest with us to stay till Saturday night.

The children were literally bursting with excitement, Gavin Katie, Lily and Eve picked us up at Darrell’s wharf, Chrissie waving goodbye from the dock. She and Quest had just been cleared from nearly a month of quarantine, she was looking forward to a break and he was needing his cousins to play with. 

• Across to Fern we sped.

Already at Fern were, Audrey, Sean and their 3 girls, Melody and her 2 girls plus 2 friends. To arrive later were Daniel, Stuart and his daughter. Yes, it was a camp of mainly children.

Ours, May, Quest, Eve and Lily were hungry as it was lunch time. After quickly dropping our bags inside we had a pizza lunch.

At Fern, time is spent swimming,

watching the children and chatting/reminiscing…. The time passes quickly, soon it was dinner – platters of sushi.

Evening playtime followed and then bed in a tent.

John and I had 1 tent and facing us we had May and Quest in the other tent. The children were perfectly happy in the tent and fell off to sleep.

Later, I found sleeping on a sleeping bag on the ground to be gruelling! Just dreadful, plus several of the others, including John were still up, chatting and enjoying their drinks, their voices kept me awake too. It was a night that I decided was not to be repeated…and I was itching throughout the night, found out in the morning I had ants crawling on me too, thus the itching. The kids were up at 1st light, John had a heavy head and I was exhausted. 

We enjoyed breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon in a burrito.

The kids were happily fishing, playing games, colouring, and reading stories 

and then it was time to head off down to the dock for more swimming.

Chrissie arrived with Ruben, Kate arrived with Fabio and a friend.

Soon it was time for lunch after which most folks went off on Gavin’s boat to go and do some cliff jumping while we stayed with Chrissie and Kate and their friends.

Once again swimming between the dock and pontoon.

Plus they played with a few jet skis that had been left behind. After hours in the water everyone enjoyed relaxing around the camp, the kids watching iPads and the adults chatting…..

Everyone had a wonderful afternoon! 

Dunes and beaches

John and I enjoy walking along the dunes that are behind the beaches near our home. It’s a beautiful walk. The summer heat does make the walk challenging, but the sea breeze helps to make it more comfortable.

We walk along the dune as far as Horseshoe Bay and then back along the trails above the coves to Warwick Long Bay.

Hurricane Larry 

Came towards the island bringing high seas and raging surf.

We went to Gavin’s home at different times to sea gaze. The property sits on a peninsular by Devonshire Bay and so you get a really good feel for the surf that rolls in. It was vicious, unrelenting surf, crashing into the shore, rolling over the walls, constantly thundering seas.

One gets mesmerised standing and watching so that when a wave crashes close by it surprises you back to the present. Larry kicked up the seas, passed and became a memory.

September is a birthday month 

There was Gavin’s 44th, (unbelievable my little boy is that age); Quest’s 4th, where has time gone? And John’s 69th, damn we are clocking up the years…..

There was a small birthday celebration for Quest’s birthday at Gavin and Katie’s house. The pool is where the grandchildren wanted to be.

The girls, Lily, May and Evie are all excellent swimmers, Quest is learning. Katie had bought a slip and slide.

It was set up on the hillside near the pool. Well, it was a tremendous hit! The girls just went full out slipping and sliding. They would take a full run at the slide, dive down on it and shoot to the bottom.

I could not imagine what would have happened to me if I had tried that….but, Kate, Katie and Gavin had turns too….It really looked uncomfortable for an adult skidding to a stop on the grass at the end.

Everyone had a fun filled afternoon. 

Time to get back to our Aeeshah and Chico

Covid had started to rampage through Bermuda again. The numbers were rapidly rising, getting a leaving test was challenging, but we managed to get our negative PCR and were on our way home to Aeeshah.

“In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony.” –Friedrich Nietzsche

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.” –Anthony Brandt

 

PHOTO ALBUM >>.   https://photos.app.goo.gl/s6yzFsJwrAozKjJ68

Out and about visiting various places

We still had a few days to stay at Gavin’s place, the girls were off with Edna, Gavin and Katie were working and as Chrissie and Quest were in quarantine we had the use of her car and free time, which is rare for us.

Hog Bay Park

Our first outing was to Hog Bay Park. At Hog Bay Park there are 32 acres of quiet, unspoiled rural land. A network of trails lead around the park where were able to follow the trails past agricultural fields,

woodlands, a lime kiln, and down the steep hillside to a lovely shoreline.

Along the shoreline the seas were a beautiful, turquoise, we then climbed upward again, back towards the fennel lined over grown trails.

Why the name “Hog Bay”? As the story goes, mariners in the 17th century dropped hogs off in this area in the hope that they’d provide a perpetual source of bacon and ham for sailors shipwrecked on Bermuda’s treacherous coral reefs. The hogs are long gone and Hog Bay, (where hogs were particularly plentiful), is now called Pilchard Bay.

We found the trails to be very over grown, but this had benefits as there were butterflies, bees and insects everywhere. I wondered if the farmer was letting the pathways by the fields go wild, to encourage pollination for the crops grown near them so they are then “organic”.

West end Dockyard and Whale Bay

We took our Granddaughter May out with us on the following day of wandering about. Our first destination was Dockyard.

Royal Naval Dockyard

“Built by Royal decree to defend British superiority on the seas, the Royal Naval Dockyard is today a resplendent place of discovery. Within the walls of this nineteenth century fortress, where troops once marched, there are now lawns, flower lined lanes, fine dining and a quaint Clocktower Mall. Where once all was war readiness, now exists an invitation to adventure. Cruise ships dock, visitors swim with dolphins, snorkel at theSnorkel Park, explore the historic National Museum of Bermuda.”

We just walked about looking at the sailboats, the Spirit of Bermuda, which the Bermuda Sloop Foundation created as a purpose-built sail training vessel that now evokes the seagoing traditions of Bermuda while providing a safe, effective, and comfortable platform for Bermudian youth.

We ended up at a very nice eatery, the Bonefish Bar and Grill having a delicious lunch of fish sandwiches. Well we thought so, but May was just interested in coloring, I think she was past being hungry, plus we had earlier given her a doughnut.

Next stop was Whale Bay Fort

Bermuda is home to many old British forts, Whale Bay Fort & Battery overlooking West Whale Bay Beach was Originally built in the mid-1700s.

The fortress once had powerful, 12-ton cannons to protect the island from invaders. The cannons are long gone, but you can still explore the fort and battery, including sturdy stone walls, troop barracks and underground storage rooms. 

We parked up and ascended the hill to the fort. Here we explored the walls, grounds and tunnels. The view was lovely. May was impatient to swim, so we soon went down to change and walk to the beach. 

Whale Beach normally offers a calm, scenic escape with craggy cliffs surrounding a stretch of Bermuda’s classic pink sand. However on that day there was a tropical storm Henri lurking off shore this meant there was a surf running. We all had a lovely swim, May especially enjoying the big surf with Papa. 

Whale Bay beach got its name as it was near the island’s whaling grounds in the 18th century. Whaling is long gone from Bermuda and the whales themselves are returning each spring, to Bermuda. I swam too, the water was as wonderful as ever.

Back at Gavin’s place the surf was powering ashore, salt spray filled the air, and the wind was blowing steadily as Henri circled around Bermuda.

Across the bay we could spy some young fellows “surfing” attempting to ride the surf. Rather dangerous as those seas can take the strongest down.

By the morning the weather was flattening out and John and I set out for yet another day of adventure.

Our first stop was Flatts.  

Flatts was a sleepy fishing village located in Hamilton Parish halfway between Hamilton City and the town of St. George, basically it is a through way now. There are beautiful pastel colored houses, regal palm trees, and lovely turquoise waters.

Under Flatts bridge the waters of Harrington Sound rush to the sea. Harrington Sound itself is almost entirely surrounded by the Bermuda mainland, and is only open to the sea at this inlet. The water is fast moving, carrying water in and out from the Harrington Sound as the tide ebbs and flows.

John and I went for a look under the bridge, often rays can be see in these waters.

We could see the bright red of the sponge growing along the rocks, but no rays that day. (You can find more than 100 types of sponge in the waters of Harrington Sound).

St David’s

Next stop was the very eastern end of Bermuda. We hadn’t visited St David’s for many years and I had a real hankering for a visit. This is the eastern most edge of Bermuda, known as St David’s Head which comprises of Great Head and Little Head Parks. 

The entire area spans across some 24 aces. David’s Battery is also found here. It was built in 1910 and went through several transformations from a small gun platform to a formidable fort that was built to defend the Narrows Channel that leads to St. George’s Harbor. 

There are still two 9.2 inch and two 6 inch caliber Breech Loader guns mounted in the battery. The guns were constructed in UK and the largest ever mounted in Bermuda. They had a range of 7 miles and could easily stop enemy ships coming close to Bermuda back in the day. However, they never had to be fired against any enemy attacks. In fact, the sound from such gunfire was so loud that the neighboring residents complained and the guns were seldom fired even for practice drills.

We really enjoyed walking through the park, looking at the guns, and over the cliff at the Head.

We followed the overgrown pathway down the cliff face to the small lookout platform below, there the seas were just so wild and beautiful. 

Back at the top we looked at the Figurehead Memorial, a lifeboat monument that stands to commemorate all the Bermudians lost at sea.

As we were in the area we drove to the St David’s lighthouse. This Lighthouse stands on the highest point on the Eastern tip of the island standing 208 feet above the sea level.

It sends its beam out 20 miles to sea. It was built in 1879 mainly to provide signals to the ships so that they didn’t come too close to the hidden reefs in the Bermuda waters. And to this day it serves as a beacon for mariners.

Clearwater and Cooper’s Island

An incredibly beautiful area of Bermuda is Clearwater and Cooper’s Island. This was our next stop. The area is famous for its quiet beaches and walking trails.

Clearwater is the first of these beaches. It has good public facilities, a restaurant and playground. 

Next to Clearwater beach is Turtle Bay Beach. This is where we parked the car. This beach has a wonderful smaller stretch of sands with interesting rock formations fringing. As you look out from the shore, you will see dark patches of turtle grass on the sea bed which provide feeding grounds for turtles and fish.

This is not a natural beach though. It is an artificial manmade beach which was created at the time of land reclamation in the mid 1900s. The land reclamation was done to build the nearby U.S Naval Air Station which was operational until 1995.The entire Cooper’s Island was then a restricted area. After the U.S closed its base, it was opened up to the public.

We walked down along Cooper’s Island Road where the beautiful Long Bay is found, we had a 250 meters beach all to ourselves. The scenery is just stunning and on this day it was spectacular.

The next beaches located close by are Annie’s Bay, Well Bay, Fort Hill Bay and Soldier Bay.

They all are picturesque beaches, which we visited after an easy stroll along the old roadway and adjoining pathways.

At the very end of the pathway you can gaze out to sea, the view never grows old, it is always awesome!

Most of these beaches are excellent for snorkeling, but that would have to be saved for another time.

As we were leaving we passed the NASA Tracking Station, it is really all that is left of the Americans in Bermuda and is said to be:

“The NASA Tracking Station at Cooper’s Island, Bermuda is a critical component of NASA’s monitoring of current and future missions, including the use of launch vehicles, which are designed to deliver satellites and rockets into orbit and supplies to the International Space Station.” Of course this area is restricted.

By this time it was early afternoon and we both were  very hungry, so it was off to St Georges.

By this time it was early afternoon and we both were  very hungry, so it was off to St Georges.

Once there we bought food from the deli, sat on a shaded bench in the town square and enjoyed our picnic lunch.

Devonshire with May

May came to Gavin’s for a morning, so we took a walk to Devonshire Bay. Of course we took Amy too. Devonshire Bay has a sheltered beach area, a slipway for the fishermen, a park and an old fort. This fort was built by the British in the 1750s. The park has been renamed Mary Prince Park after Mary Prince, the enslaved Bermudian who gained her freedom, wrote a book and became a hero of the abolitionist movement in Britain.

Our walk was peaceful and quiet under the shade trees. The views through the trees was lovely. Then May wanted to walk Amy…..and Amy decided to walk May.

It was decided that May would jog back instead.

We had a wonderful few days out and about in Bermuda.

“People often say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder.”

— Salma Hayek

 

PHOTO ALBUM –>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ykb5yhJw3HzzXmdv8

Our last week in Rio Dulce and Guatemala was quite hectic. I did the usual pre trip preparations making sure all was readied on Aeeshah and for Chico. Plus getting all the online applications for travel arrangements sorted, confirming what used to be simple easy trip plans and such. 

John went with Steve, Muriel, Tutty and the rest of the team on a Friend’s of Rio Dulce mission. They were to tear down and build a home for grandparents and the three young children in their care. He returned tired, filthy but very happy to have been able to help.

I also enjoyed my continued walks around Catamaran Marina, discovering that cormorants have blue eyes.

In the city

Our drive into the city was as usual with Otti tours, William being our driver and it was a quick, easy drive. Straight after arriving at our hotel we went to Blue Medical where we had our PCR tests for travel. Thank goodness the results arrived about 4 hours later. I then submitted them to the Bermuda Travel Authority for our travel permits.

To travel home we had to have applied with a clear PCR test no more than 3 days before and no less than 24 hours before. This makes the timing of traveling quite challenging. John received his within 6 hours, but mine didn’t arrive until nearly 24 hour later. Basically we were at Guatemala Airport on our way to Atlanta before I finally received my Travel permit! 

Atlanta airport was an unbelievable mess of humanity. They had shut one terminal so we had to walk to another, along with hundreds of others, queuing up in corridors, then packed into a large arrivals hall with hundreds of folks. The USA really doesn’t get the whole idea of how contagious covid is….. We are vaccinated, but I bet many others there weren’t and there were many not wearing their masks over their noses…..

Our over night in Atlanta passed quickly and then we were on our way home to Bermuda. Flying into Bermuda one passes over the beautiful reefs and turquoise waters before glimpsing the island’s spread out before you.

It is always wonderful to fly in. The airport was amazingly organised, you show your covid documents, pass down immigration lines, collect bags, pass through customs no declaration line and out to the testing line. There you leave your bags aside, go into the testing area, have a PCR and then out of the terminal. Overall it didn’t even take 1/2 an hour, and everyone has a mask on, everything is clean and there is no crowding. 

To Gavin and Katie’s home

Gavin picked us up and took us back to the apartment which is attached to his and Katie’s home. There we awaited our all clear from the landing test, which came via an email the next morning stating negative. We did have to have tests on days 4 and 10, but again this took 10 minutes, was painless and negative. 

Caring for Lily and Evie

At Gavin and Katie’s home we stayed until August 21st when our last guests left our Airbnb. Our early arrival was planned so that we could care for our granddaughters Lily and Evie while Gavin and Katie travelled to a friend’s celebration weekend in Charleston.

So, we had one full day with them learning the ropes and then they left. We were very fortunate to have the help of Edna the Nanny for the first 2 days.

For the most part all went well, we all went for the day 4 covid test, into Hamilton, (the girls had been in California before we arrived).

We did a walk to Devonshire Bay and the fort, sucking Honey Suckle along the way,

they played, swam in the pool, our daughter Kate visited with our granddaughter May,

everyone played and the days passed. John even took the girls to a birthday party

while I cleaned our Airbnb.

Before we knew it Katie and Gavin returned, did their isolation for results, received negative results and took over again. 

Now everyone must be wondering what about Chrissie and Quest, where were they?

Unfortunately, Quest’s pre school was shut due to a covid outbreak. This was just before we arrived, so poor Quest and Chrissie along with our grandson Ethan who lives with them were quarantined for 2 weeks. Now this might seem extreme, but 12 days into the quarantine Chrissie who is vaccinated lost her sense of smell and taste, felt very ill and tested positive. They were then quarantined for a further 12 days! All of this came about due to a family who arrived back in Bermuda and the parents sending their child to school instead of quarantining. We all felt so sad forChrissie, Quest and Ethan as they were missing out on all the cousin fun.

 

 

 

Photo Album: Back on the Rio Dulce ——>>. https://photos.app.goo.gl/6pDPYSTtPGLTfHn96

Once we had been back in Catamaran Marina for about a day it was as if we had never left….life was back to normal. Chico went out around 5:30am to prowl, John went to the breakfast bar for coffee, we listened to the net, we ordered bread from Irene, and we continued with boat chores each day……

We had all of the boat prep to work through, decks cleared – jugs, dive tanks, lines, etc and everything stored in the bodega. Water maker and generator serviced, our second dinghy engine sent in to be serviced, main engine oil change and cleaned, bilges cleaned, on and on….

The hardest by far was the dropping of the main and the jib, flaking them and getting them into the bodega. In fact the jib was a right pain as we had it down on the deck, flaked and folded, tied in a nice bundle, but when moving it to the dock the jib decided to go for a swim. We then had to get it out of the river, into the dinghy, over to a dock, into a wheel barrow and up to the tennis court to spread it and dry it out. By then it was near enough midday, super hot and unpleasant to work.

An evening at Casa Perico

There were new folks in the marina and there were folks leaving so an evening at Casa Perico was organised. This is a very nice German restaurant situated near Catamaran Marina down a tributary. It is very pretty and tucked right out of the way.

There were 17 of us, so the staff were hard pressed to keep track of the orders being out of practice due to covid. I was disappointed as my order was forgotten and then when it came it was pretty 2nd rate. Anyway we enjoyed the company after just returning

Incredible rains, mega thunder and lightening!

The weather has been mostly rainy. In fact over 5 of the days we had 17 inches of rain fall. When it rains it pours down, plus add the thunder and the lightening sometimes with wind and sometimes without. Most folks like the rainy season although it is humid, it’s not quite as hot as the sunny blue sky days. 

Walks….

Walking our pipeline trail has not really been an option with all the rainfall, but I have been making daily rounds, and arounds, of Catamaran Island and the grounds across the bridge.

The grounds are full of flowers, orchids, air-plants, bromeliads, tall trees of numerous types and of course birds, lizards, insects and so much more.

Every outing I spy another photo, something always catches my eye. We just love it here at Catamaran Marina.

Chico

Chico roams the grounds daily. He wakes me at dawn to let him out, yes everyday, then he is in and out all day. So far he has only returned with 2 birds, both unhurt, just brought back for our inspection. 

Wonderful fruits, and foods abound

When in the Rio we are especially lucky to be able to get the freshest fruits and vegetables in Fronteras. This year the produce is amazing and so abundant. We both enjoy trying different fruits, exotic ones that never make it to any supermarket.

Another treat is a young lady’s sourdough breads, buns, bagels and delicious fruity Kefir drink which she makes fresh weekly, we order and she delivers to Aeeshah. She started this enterprise during the dark days of covid last year and now she has quite a business going. 

 We also love to order fresh cheeses from another young woman who has started an exotic cheese trade. On a Friday we can purchase a mixed cheese platter which is fantastically savoury and varied.

Meeting friends 

Keeping up with our friends from Belize means we go to Los Amandes restaurant for lunch on Fridays

We have a catch up session and exchange news, info and enjoy each other company for a few hours. Then on Sunday’s a group of us play Mexican Train dominos here at Catamaran in the breakfast bar by the waterside. 

A visit to Casa Agua Azul and El Estor

Our Dockmaster  Steve, plus marina neighbours Muriel and Tuddy never left the Rio this season. They stayed and continued their work for their charity “Friends of Rio Dulce” which is also sponsored by Seven Seas Cruising. They have accomplished many amazing feats, helping rebuild a bridge to a village, refurbishing many schools that were flooded, supplying wheel chairs for local children, helping to fund much needed operations for needy locals and just so much more. They invited John and I to go to an orphanage for children that have been abused and so removed from those homes. 

It was a Saturday and we set off in Steves car heading out on the road to El Estor. I do not think saying the roads are rough with potholes is the apt description of the 1st portion of the road. This road had rainwater-craters, with thick mud, and debris. It is a portion of road that has been neglected and with the heavy mining trucks using it ….. We finally were on the better paved roadway and soon arrived at the orphanage. It is run by Blue Water Surrender and is called Casa Agua Azul found on the shores of Lake Izabal.

The house is a lovely bright yellow and set in very attractive grounds surrounded by a fence.

The children greeted us with hugs and then we were shown around by one of the caregivers. We spent a short while chatting with the children and enjoying their company before we headed out. 

Steve drove us to El Estor where we enjoyed a very nice lunch in one of the lakeside restaurants.  Just after lunch a young lady with a toddler on her shoulders came in and asked if we wanted to buy a rose that she had made. I thought they were very creative, made from a palmetto leaf and woven together.

El Estor is much larger and better laid out than Fronteras. It is also much quieter, mind you we only saw a small section.

The drive back was again an adventure. The scenery as always is wonderful, the fields, trees and road sides are so green from all the rains. And the rivers just overflowing!

“New couches”

Our couches were in need of a cleaning and as I have been fed up with the fabric they were upholstered in we decided to get them reupholstered.

We had Newy do the job for us and he really did a fabulous job! The whole job only took a few days too.

It’s been a busy, but a quiet month mainly spent at Catamaran as the pandemic is still raging. Now we are homeward bound.

“When we are in touch with the refreshing, peaceful and healing elements within ourselves and around us, we learn how to cherish and protect these things and make them grow. These elements of peace are available to us anytime.” —  Thich Nhat Hanh

 

PHOTO ALBUM —>>https://photos.app.goo.gl/YTR9zphSqQTN4NDc8

Upon returning to Placencia the very 1st place we visited was the Health Clinic to see if we could get covid shot number 2. It was just one day short of the 8 weeks and the nurse administered the shots giving us our covid freedom. Belize has been wonderful to us!

Our last few weeks

Our time in Belize was slowly coming to an end. We had enjoyed many wonderful days exploring the cays, snorkeling the reefs and walking the shores. 

The last two weeks were spent in Placencia. There was no wind most days, it was incredibly hot and nightly squalls were becoming a regular occurrence. In other words, there just wasn’t the wind to sail and neither of us felt bothered to motor anywhere.

A few more boats arrived bringing the total number of us to 6 in the anchorage. Compare this to the norm from before of 50 odd…..

We all visited the newly established Placencia Yacht Club for sun downers. It was very enjoyable catching up with friends and hearing news of others in the Bay Ialands. 

We enjoyed our last few:

Fry Jacks from Carmen’s

Sunday Barbecue at Yolli’s

Italian ice cream at Tutti Fruiti

Walks along the longest sidewalk

Off to check out

We were all off to check out on the morning of our last full day, June 21st. There were 4 boats leaving, Latitude with Derek and Carol, Rainbows End with Don and Pam, and Sea Mist with Rene and Michael, and us. We all caught the 7:30 Hocky Pocky to Big Creek and Pappy’s taxi to the Port Captain’s office.

There they had us fill out forms with info they already had, then sent us to the Immigration office which is down the road to get a paper stamped. Well what a fiasco at Immigration as they were awkward yet again. This time around demanding copies of boat papers. They stamped our paper that needed stamping, but wouldn’t stamp the passports and sent us to get a copy of the boat papers.

Back at Customs a very nice officer printed our boat papers and stamped the form sending us back to Immigration who finally stamped our passports, sending us back to customs to pay $50 and Port Authority to hand in our stamped paper to collect our exit document. This all took over 2 hours. Belize had said they were streamlining their system……

New Haven

The following morning we were off to New Haven. Sailing to New Haven was uneventful, but dreadfully hot. Even Chico complains about the heat when it’s blazing.

However the evening and the morning were distasteful as we were plagued by tabanos.

These dreadful insects literally attack you. Their bite is very nasty leaving a cavity which hurts and itches like no other.

Luckily I had the remedy at hand, fresh limes to rub on the bites to lessen the effects. Meanwhile John came up in hives, not from tabano bites but something he ate. It started around the waist and spread by morning he was covered in hives, his hands and face swollen. We could not think of what he had eaten to cause the out break. Away from New Haven we fled as soon as we were ready.

Tres Puntas

Next stop was Tres Puntas. Here we had planned to spend two nights, but that was not to be.…  During the first night the weather came in with a furry. The wind blew, the thunder crashed and the lightning flashed, waves were coming over the bow. This started just after midnight and continued for several hours. So plans changed, we were up anchoring at 5:00am and off we sped to Livingstone enjoying a beautiful sunrise. 

Now normally the sand/mud bar at Livingstone is very challenging for us. In fact one time we had to be tilted over and dragged across. Well with the wonderful Strawberry full moon the tide was way up and at 7:00am at the highest tide we crossed without even smudging the bottom.

The regular fishing, shrimping boats were chugging back in with the usual following of birds, Livingstone looked the same, a somewhat grubby little town. Around 10:00am the authorities came and visited. As usual they were polite, friendly and cheerful.

Our details and documents were taken and we were to go to Raul’s office after 45 minutes to pick them up. Oh, and no covid test as we are vaccinated!

Up the Rio Dulce

Off we went up the Rio Dulce towards Cayo Quemado our destination for the next few days. The river journey is always spectacular! The birds, pelicans, egrets, laughing gulls, and other water birds are ever present, flying, swooping, roosting, floating on the water all around.

The sounds from the forested slopes of the shrilling ciacada, the chirping birds and crickets are amazingly loud.

The folks living along the river banks paddling around conducting their business on the river, the launchas whizzing past with the waving tourists out for the day all combine to make the journey magical. Nobody would ever tire of the ride along the Rio Dulce.

Cayo Quemado

At Cayo Quemado we opted to anchor on the outside for several reasons, better breeze, fewer bugs and better wifi. The day was still and the reflections were wonderful.

Pam and Don anchored on the inside. We were just exhausted from 2 nights of very little sleep so a quiet, early, night was had by one and all.

 

Latitude and Sea Mist arrived in the afternoon the following day. They had enjoyed great sailing weather and calm night anchorages. What a difference 24 hours makes…. 

John and I enjoyed revisiting the byways of Cayo Quemado. We went in the dinghy along narrow mangrove canals, enjoying the beautiful scenery.

The water lilies, the reflections, hovering dragonflies, and the mystic of what’s around the next bend make this a delightful experience once again.

That evening we all met at Texas Mike’s for dinner.

This is always an experience that is a bit like the Mad Hatters tea party, but in the evening with booze. It was a fun night as usual with interesting company.

Back at Catamaran 

Off we went to Catamaran the next morning. Arriving around noon we were soon all tied up, set up and off walking around the wonderful grounds.

Chico was soon prowling the grounds, enjoying love from his fans, and munching grass. Within a few days we were once again well established. We began all the regular end of season chores, met the new comers, enjoyed social time and daily strolls around the property. 

“The whole idea is not to figure out what you should do that will matter, but to make each thing you do reflect the values you want, because we don’t know what’s going to matter in the future.”

— Gloria Steinem

 

PHOTOS LINKS–>>

Cay Caulker to Glover’s reef and back to Placencia.  https://photos.app.goo.gl/fcWX6dQzCngKDtBM8

Under water at Glover’s reef:

 https://photos.app.goo.gl/LPbi6DaYqmrCMDF66

Cay Caulker

Over the next few days we enjoyed walking the pathways of Cay Caulker, exploring the various little grocery stores trying to find supplies for the following weeks.

We managed to get our laundry done at the same place we had  always used, Marie’s laundry. We saw many of our old haunts and had another wonderful Chinese dinner.

Everyone wears their masks and socially distances, well that is nearly everyone. There is a happy, fun atmosphere. The various eateries are open, everybody is ready for business.

We really enjoyed our time in Cay Caulker, but we needed to move on. 

Ambergris Cay and San Pedro

It was time to re-up again. Belize is unusual in that every month you have to visit the authorities and renew your immigration, customs and port authority for both us and Aeeshah.

We had all decided to make a trip over to Ambergris Cay to accomplish this and also pick up a few bits and pieces we couldn’t get in Cay Caulker. Off on the ferry we sped for a fast half hour ride to San Pedro the small town on the cay.

Now Ambergris has a totally different atmosphere to Cay Caulker and Placencia, the place is usually a bee hive of activity. While it was busy it was nothing like it used to be.

We walked to immigration and customs by the airport and managed to finished with them rather quickly for Belize, just taking about 90 minutes. Then off we went via taxi to port authority at the very for end of nowhere at the end of Ambergris.

Back in town we had a really nice fish and chip lunch by the beach and then hit the streets.

Luck was on our side we managed to get everything we all wanted and returned to Cay Calker on the 3:00pm ferry.

Turneffe and Glover’s Reef

Our next destination was to be Lighthouse Reef followed by Glover’s reef, both are atolls off the Belize shores. We left Cay Caulker and headed first to Turneffe by way of Long Cay pass over the reef. Turneffe is also an atoll, but mainly made up of mangrove cays. We anchored off of Blue Creek for the night.

Next day the aim was to head towards Lighthouse, but the wind and seas were not in our favour, it was going to be a very rough passage heading right into the conflicting seas and wind. We all made the decision to head southwards to Glover’s Reef. 

This was a much easier angle, plus a quick passage. John and Chico were very happy when we had a strike, it turned out to be a large bull Mai Mai. These fish are so wonderfully colourful, just magnificent, I really felt awful having to kill the fish. However not one piece would be wasted.

Approaching Glovers the cays and the shallows looked like a paradise set in the turquoise waters, just stunningly beautiful. We anchored off of the Southwest cays the one where the Manta Resort is found. 

We had visited Belize 11 years previously along with our Grandson Ethan and Glovers was where we had spent a week diving and snorkelling so we were really looking forward to reuniting with the area.

The first place we visited was the cay where the Marisol Resort was and still is located. It is found on the cay just past where we were anchored. From our approach the place looked exactly as we remembered, just lovely.

There was one of the workers at the dive dock, he told us we were welcome to wander s it is an all inclusive resort. I asked if my dive master Mora was still working there and sure enough he was.

The fellow went off to call him and a short time later Mora came to say hello. As it turned out he had been stung/speared near his knee by a sting ray and was resting, but suffering from the poisoning. It was still great to see him after all this time. He really was a wonderful instructor.

We wandered the pathways to the other side of the cay, everything was as it had been, just beautiful and so peaceful. A wonderful place to stay.

After a good hour of reminiscing we set off to the nearby reef to snorkel.

Snorkelling Glover’s reefs

The snorkelling was/is excellent. We saw all types of corals and reef fish, plus large tarpon in the deeper waters and squid over the reef.

Many live conch and the molluscs crawling over the sands, Flamingo Tongues attached to the sea fans,…….and so much more.

The water was/is lovely and clear, plus the perfect temperature for snorkelling. Some of the best snorkelling I’ve done for quite a while.

Over the next several days we had many snorkelling trips to many of the closer reef. Each time it was just wonderful! We saw dozens of differing fish and corals, conchs and other shells. This area is a dream to snorkel!

Middle Cay

Another excursion was to Middle Cay where there is a research station run by Wildlife Conservation International. It was quite a long dinghy trip of 2 and 1/2 miles but the water was more or less flat calm as we were inside the reef.

On arrival we met Buck who welcomed us to visit. He was in charge of all maintenance for the place. Buck explained that they were a World Heritage site funded by the New York Zoo.

That visiting scientists conduct field studies, do research, closely monitor the reef environment and species living within the area. It is a park so the parks people have folks there, fisheries also. They do a 2 to 3 week shift while the scientists stay as long as necessary.

While he was explaining I was noticing loads of no-see-ums, I was going to get our bug repellent, but Buck offered his. John didn’t think he needed it….

We then met a visiting Brazilian scientist. She explained that she was there studying the tiny little reef fish the Goby. These are tiny reef fish with more than 2,200 species. They are a scaleless fish, typically elongated bodies with weak spines.

She said she was studying, not so much the ones you see acting as cleaners to the larger fish, but the ones that live in and around the tube sponges, on the corals. Her study was nearly complete and then she would be off somewhere else. The gobys they had kept in saltwater fed containers in the laboratory area. 

By this time John was itching and in need of the bug repellent. 

We then set off to walk around the whole cay. John hung onto the bug repellent…

The walk around was just lovely, very peaceful with peaceful view points over the sea and reef. However as we entered the more mangrove areas there were many more bugs. The no-see-ums were joined by the mosquitoes. These I found very annoying as they buzz around your face and ears. And they did make me hasten my stroll into a quick walk back to the breeze of the dock.

Overall it was a lovely visit to Middle Cay. I was hardly bitten, maybe 2 or 3 bites, but John was covered in bites which itched him for days and nights after. 

Another boat had joined us for the last few days, Latitude, with Derick and Carol.

We had a very nice late afternoon drink at the bar over the ocean at the Marisol Resort. Enjoying catching up on all that we all had to share. 

After nearly a week at Glover’s reef it was time to return to reality. Out there we had no wifi or data, no news, no emails, just our own reality. 

Leaving Glover’s we had rather rough seas as the wind was up, but soon we were in the protection of the land and reef. We headed into Blue Ground Range for the night and then the next morning heading off to Placencia. 

“The extraordinary is waiting quietly beneath the skin of all that is ordinary.”-  Mark Nepo

“This world is but canvas to our imaginations.” ― Henry David Thoreau

 

PHOTO LINKS –>> Placencia to Cay Caulker

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GiFUn1EomUN1yKfb9

Tobacco Cay reef  https://photos.app.goo.gl/GiFUn1EomUN1yKfb9

 

Placencia

Once again our time in Placencia was punctuated with, fish and chips at Pickled Parrot on Friday, getting together at Rene and Michael’s housesit at Sailfish for a pot-luck and Sunday barbecues at Yolli’s.

It was very enjoyable to spend time with friends, have a delicious lunch and not have to cook that day, but we needed to move on……but first…

The weather had again become exceedingly hot and calm, a sure predictor of squalls and thunderstorms. Sure enough it came with its usual magnificent entry, it stormed for a night and day and then we were left with cooler, calm, breezes.

A friend of ours had some medical issues so we stayed in Placencia to help him. Then the morning he was leaving at 5:30 he ran aground, being a brown bar he was well and truly grounded.

Two local boats, plus Don and John in their dinghies went to the rescue.                                              After many hours he was finally freed.

Meanwhile we’d had our first boat issues for this season:

1st the head aka toilet stopped working. The problem was the usual, the pipes were clogged with hardened residue. Poor John took everything apart 3 times, used a snake several times, poured an acid down the tubes, and finally draino…..still the pipe was stopped up. We believe it is where the u-turn to the final stretch of pipe is located. Not wanting to have a possible major problem he closed off that head/toilet and I moved Chico out of his head which we have now taken over. 

2nd issue was the dinghy engines, both having problems at once. John managed to fix one and the other will be serviced back in the Rio.

3rd was our new mast light is not working. We need a calm day to get up the mast and check, till then we use the spreader lights at night.

Over all nothing too serious, but was 2 days of hard frustrating work for John. We counteracted all this by taking off, heading north, our first stop:

Blue Ground Range

During this passage John caught an Amber Jack, a nice dinner for Chico and us. It was also a lovely sail, smooth and fast all the way.

Our first morning was one of those dead calm, hazy, still, hot ones. We had spent much of our covid isolation time in Blue Ground last year and I wanted to ride the dinghy around all the familiar mangrove cays to see what had changed. 

Off we went taking the old route through the mangrove lanes. The reflections and blends of colour are always stunning as the water was calm and the skies were blue all over. We saw the old osprey nest, the osprey and the same fishing camps, the only change being virtually nobody about. 

When we came to the cay where a Dutch fellow had camped out last year we stopped to have a look around. Nobody was about, the place looked to have been deserted for many months.

We wandered about looking around the few huts that were built and along the pathways between them. The Dutchman had said there was a wild pig roaming about, but the pig must have left with the Dutchman. No doubt this place will deteriorate just like so many we see….fallen dreams.

Tobacco Range

The following day both us and Rainbow’s End with Pam and Don headed to Tobacco Range as we knew the weather was closing in again.

The few days had been still and the heat had climbed, the forecast predicted squalls and rain. In Tobacco Range you get near perfect shelter from every direction. Sure enough the weather closed in and we had a squally, rainy night.

Unexpectantly, the winds came from the south and banked around, it would have been very uncomfortable in most places, but other than being a bit too close to the mangroves we were fine. Of course there was the calm weather after squalls passed. We took the time to getting caught up on chores that needed doing, the never ending boat maintenance, the mast light was finally fixed. 

Man O War Cay

Plus we went in the dinghy to where the cormorants, frigate birds – aka man of war birds, and Boobies nest and roost, a small mangrove cay called Man O War Cay. It was quite shocking and very sad to see how little was left after the hurricane from the previous season.

Most of the mangroves were lying dead in the water, the ones that stood also looked more dead than alive, but many birds were still trying to call this cay home. Even being late in the season there were frigate chicks and the males were still puffing out their red throats to attract the females.

There were birds all over chattering, squeaking, soaring, nudging others for space, trying to make a home. We watched them for quite a while and both wondered why they didn’t move to the other cays that are covered in complete mangroves tree??

Tobacco Reef

We all, both boats, decided to stop at Tobacco Reef for a snorkel before heading out. So we up anchored and headed out to re-anchor on the inside of Tobacco Reef opposite Tobacco Cay. This is one of my favourite places to snorkel, it is always a stunning snorkel.

We left the big boats and took our dinghy and anchored in the sand off the reef line. Again it was an excellent snorkel. The reef here is so alive with all the differing corals and fish. I saw, rays, a nurse shark asleep by a reef, hogfish, red hind, huge schools of snappers and many more fish. The corals were magnificent! All the differing types of corals and with the crystal clear water it was a simply beautiful snorkel.

Garbutt Cay

We headed off to Garbutt Cay to anchor for the night. We had never anchored in this anchorage before and found it to be very rocky and deep. We went for a look around in the afternoon and could see that what was, or used to be, a tern rookery was now habited by a fishing shack.

There was another fishing shack on the adjacent cay, this one having people there. They were literally some of the first folks we had see since leaving days before. It must be a very rough life living out in the fishing shacks, no electricity, little water, no plumbing, little land mainly mangroves which are full of no-see-ums, horse flies and mosquitos. But saying that, the people looked and sounded happy with their lives.

Colson Cays

Was our next stop. The weather was still a bit unsettled, Pam on Rainbows End was unwell and we were not in a hurry to get anywhere. 

Again John and I set out in the dinghy to have a look around. We ventured into the lagoon of the cay we were anchored off, checked out the mangrove byways through it to the other side. 

Next, we set off to the neighbouring cay. We had previously visited there before and enjoyed snorkelling the blue holes and along the mangrove shoreline. To our surprise none of the shoreline we had previously see existed any more. The cay had been flattened, the mangroves destroyed, sand dredged, a retaining wall built, and a building was sitting towards one end.

Now the developers had destroyed a pristine cay but what they had built was shoddy, the wall was already subsiding in places so it looked like a wavy line and the building was crooked. What a mess!

There in the middle stood a lone tree with a large osprey nest atop it, and there not far away was one of the ospreys. Just a big, sad, destructive mess!

On our way back we saw the only fishing camp in the area, it was habited by a lone fisherman, but he had about six dogs who tried to swim out to us and then followed us along the shoreline.

Drowned Cays

Off we sailed the next day, opting for the inside channel as the winds were still up and showers around. At the Drowned Cays John and I once again went off in the dinghy to explore. The mangrove waterways were very, long and had quite strong currents running through them. Each waterway looks more or less identical, getting lost would be very easy. 

Cay Caulker

Was our next destination and marked the furthest north we would go. We needed to travel through the notorious Porto Stuck, so named for its shallows. Our timing was calculated so that we had the morning high at 7:00am to cross. The water was thin, but we made it with no worries.

We hadn’t visited Cay Cauker in three years and we’re looking forward to revisiting our favourite places. After lunch we all went ashore.

Cay Caulker is a colourful place. The streets are all sandy paths, there are no cars or motor bikes only a few golf carts and the old push bike to get around on.

We walked around enjoying the ambience, looking at all the sights, enjoying the exercise. We settled at the Lazy Lizard for a cool drink again just people watching.

Most of the folks were young enjoying the day in the sun. 

On our walk back we stopped at my favourite Chinese restaurant of all times, “Yummy’s” to get a take out.

At first the lady who had been there did not recognise me, but then I caught her doing a double take, staring, and exclaiming, “You’re back! Welcome back Mummy!” That evening I enjoyed the best sweet and sour chicken ever and as before it was enough food for 2 nights!