Aeeshah

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The words to describe November are “wet, rain, rain rain, rising waters, muddy, smelly, tedious”. On the bright side we did have some sunny days and many happy moments. 

Eta

It all started on November 3rd, with hurricane Eta a cat 4 hurricane.

She brought us incredibly rains for over 3 days. The country was put into a state of emergency, people were missing, massive landslides took out rows of homes, all the bridges were washed away, the roads were not passable, and the rivers rose for over a week, flooding everything near them.

Our little casa which was right on the side of the river was just inches from being flooded when finally the water stopped rising. The waters were rushing, full of debris and quite smelly.

There ended up being nowhere to walk outside as all of the walkways were underwater plus as they are wooden they were very slippery. We could still get the dinghy under the bridge built in the dock and so brought it right up to our door. 

Evening cruise to Lake Isobel

The next week, we went on an evening cruise to Lake Isobel on Taylor’s catamaran Cat Tails. Gordon and Gillian gave us a ride over to Catamaran Marina in their launcha.

Before going to Cat Tails we cruised up to Casa Tabano to see how it was fairing in all the high water. It still had several inches before it would have flooded.

The cruise was a fun evening, and a welcome break. We had all taken along drinks and snacks  which were enjoyed while we sat and chatted enjoying the hazy sunset. 

Walks were limited

We managed a few walks one of which was on my birthday. Pam and Don came along with us, as everywhere was wet and mucky, we chose a route that circled through Fronteras, under the bridge, up over the top of the bridge and back down through Fronteras.

This was followed by lunch at Sun Dog an eatery on the shore of the rio. After a great lunch we went back to Monkey Bay Marina for a stroll around and popped over to Catamaran to visit with friends 

Another Sunday, which was another of our few dry days, John and I walked from Ram Marina, across the bridge and all the way to the Castillo, where we hired a launcha to deliver us back to Ram.

It was a lovely walk, not very hot but sunny. I always manage to see lovely sights, the farmland, the birds, flowers along the way.

Our launcha ride was fun. Our driver was very sweet, he treated us like real tourists, slowing and stopping for photos, pointing out different sites, explaining in Spanish all about our route. John didn’t want anyone to see us, he felt embarrassed acting like a tourist in our own backyard so to speak. 

Aeeshah boatwork

Our life continued as per normal, the river started to recede: During this time I would go with John in the mornings to Aeeshah, do boat-work and then pass the afternoons sewing or such in the casa. John was still in the process of putting the mast and boom back together again.

He worked with Saul to finish the rudder fiber glassing. Which was finally completed and is an amazing piece of craftsmanship. John also oversaw the bottom of the boat being painted. First the water line was raised by 4 inches then painted, but before the last coat could be applied we had our second category 4 hurricane Iota. 

However at the very end of the month the bottom was finally completed. The carpenter Walter came and made us a wonderful back to our bed. The new shaft came all the way up through the very top of our bed. He made a false headboard – It looks wonderful!

Iota

2 weeks after Eta we had Iota, which was actually a category 5 hurricane when she first slammed into Central America. Its winds reaching 250km/h. By the time she reach the Guatemala and the Rio Dulce area she was of tropical storm strength, bringing massive rains.

Rain like nobody can imagine, for days it rained non stop. Now, the river had only just gone down about 12 – 14 inches from its record breaking flood waters due to Eta. So, in no time the river was rising, rising rising. We became really concerned, on the second evening, we had just inches left before the water would be coming in the door.   news link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/04/world/americas/guatemala-hurricanes-mudslide-migration.html 

The fellows at Punta Bonito came and raised the fridge and stove onto concrete blocks. I took everything off the floor and put it all on the stools or tables just leaving things like Chico dirt crate which needn’t be moved – so I thought. 

Our power went off, we were relying on headlamps, and it was deep, deep, dark, black. Off to bed we went, at 2:00am I stepped out of bed and into water which was a good 2 inches deep. OMG I was not impressed! I splashed off to the bathroom, climbed back into bed with a towel for my wet feet and told John I really wasn’t happy, I suggested we should head out for the boat at Ram. He said, to relax, he was sure everything was fine, that he was tired and needed the sleep. 

Well, I was awake for the rest of the night. By 4:00am the water was about 4 inches deep inside our Casa, Chico was between us, looking quite concerned. 

At 6:00am I couldn’t handle it any more, I woke John and said we need to get out of here. The water was about 6 inches deep inside even Chico’s litter crate was floating around inside, yes, there was even a current inside!! 

The escape from flood waters

Now it is not easy to pack up essentials in the dark, with a headlamp while wading in water and trying to keep everything dry. John went and bailed the dinghy cause it had been raining non stop so it was full of water. I got all the electronics into a backpack inside trash bags, got Chico’s carrier ready, and put as many valuables in a bag. We intended to take them first then return for the rest. Meanwhile the fellow – Lobes – who is part owner and in charge of Punta Bonito came. He was so very sad, didn’t know what to say or do, he was loosing his place but also felt for us too. 

Just getting to the dinghy was very difficult, because you could not see where the walkway and docking began or ended, you had to just try to stay between where the posts stuck up a bit out of the water. We left with Chico and the main valuables in the pouring rain just as it was getting daylight. Over to Ram we rode dodging the debris in the swirling river flood waters. At Ram the water had also make its way over the gas station docks. We tied off the dock and hurried to Aeeshah. We were all soaked Chico included. Poor guy didn’t have his litter crate, but I set him up with water and food. We had a quick cup of tea and returned to the casa. 

The water was even higher and anything that had been on the bottom shelves was now floating, tinned cat food included. There was a distinct odour of sewage. The water held all kind of debris. I worked as rapidly as was possible to fill bags with our clothes etc. John then put the bags in trash bags and loaded them into the dinghy.

He went off with the next load and left me to continue. It was still quite dark inside the casa as the heavy clouds and tree cover let little light inside, but by the light of a headlamp I managed to stuff everything into bags and then trash bags. Gillian arrived from their casa across from us. She and Gordon were also trying to save all of their possessions. They had stored many boat items, cushions, awnings, etc in their casa in preparation for their boat to be hauled. Luckily the men helped them get everything into one of the big catamaran’s docked in front. 

John arrived back from taking the second load, folks had helped him carry/trolley our possessions to the boat. We said goodbye to Gillian and headed to Ram with the last load. 

Our cockpit was filled with everything all inside many trash bags. The only casualty was Chico’s litter crate which suffered a cracked side. We were very fortunate! The locals were not, many lost their homes and all of their possessions. It was a very sad time along the rio. By the end of the day we both realised we had not cleaned our teeth that morning as we had been so frantic to move, and so busy getting everything stowed.

Gillian told me a few days later she had a bad foot infection. It was from walking in the dirty water, fortunately she had antibiotics which controlled the infection. The water was and is absolutely disgusting, but nobody had any choice but to walk in and through the flood waters. 

The river continued to rise, it came to a record breaking height. Never before had it risen to such a level. Everybody tried to help the local population in anyway possible. The area was a disaster zone. Just going for a walk over the bridge some days later the visual was very disturbing. Looking down from the bridge, homes and businesses flooded out by many feet of water. Refugees and flood victims bathing in the dirty river water, there was nowhere else.

A small family truck passes with mama and papa in front and crammed in the back are their girls, a mattress, toys, possessions saved from the flood waters. Below the bridge I hear a cat crying and crying, looking I see a kitty atop a wall with nowhere to go. Until one sees a disaster zone there are no words strong enough to describe ….. But never, never, through all of this did we see or hear the locals give up, complain, moan, shout, show their dispare they just soldiered on making the best of their bad situation. 

Many charities were instrumental in helping. There was a kitchen set up to feed thousands daily, Eric from Los Amantes was the chef. Casa Guatemala went full out getting supplies out to the locals.

They worked tirelessly even after being flooded out of their headquarters. Donations arrived daily, everything from food, blankets, cloths mattresses, as much was needed.

Gillian and Gordon visited and told of how they had secured a very nice casa at Tortugal Marina, on a hill! And they were willing to take Chico. Chico seemed to like his new home and promised to be good.

It was a real strain keeping him in the boat, plus we decided to head home. There was nothing we could do in the Rio, I booked our flights, an Airbnb in Guatemala, and made travel plans. Within a week we had a driver take us to Guatemala City. Along the way we saw just some of the terrible damage from the rushing river waters.

There we had a very nice Airbnb inside the Veranda Suites Hotel.

We visited Blue Medical and had our PCR tests, “negative for covid 19”, sent them off and received our travel documents.

We were homeward bound.

“All we have is all we need. All we need is the awareness of how blessed we really are.”

— Sarah Ban Breathnach

“Making the absolute best of ourselves is not an easy task. It is a pleasurable pursuit…but it requires patience, persistence, and perseverance.”

— Sarah Ban Breathnach

Aeeshah refit continued

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Aeeshah was moved to the outside world and then put on display to all those who were interested in getting their boats recoated, painted and beautified. She was shown to quite a few potential Ram clients. Our friends on N’Aimless are now getting N’Aimless tarted up too.

Meanwhile we have been hard at boat work. 

I had the interior to get back together, cleaned, organised and readied to be lived in again. I must say it was a massive effort. Every nook and cranny, cupboard, shelf, floor, etc had to be washed, cleaned of fibreglass dust, polished and redone. Yes, the boat was sealed off, but that dust literally seeps in through any crack. I found fibreglass dust even inside cupboards! I even cleaned all the brass on board. Phew! I was mightily relieved when that job was finished. Well, I am almost finished, as the aft cabin still needs a final fix up and clean. 

My next challenge was trying to get what was still being stored inside, for example dock lines, rigging, mast parts, stowed so it wasn’t piled in the way of our being able to get around. Finally I was onto the extra chores, little fixes, cockpit cleaning. 

We had Nery come and reattach the vinyl to the ceilings. It had been unattached so the workers could unbolt all the deck fitting – for example rails, stansions, cleats and such. He did a wonderful job, it’s all back perfectly. Nery is also working on a new dinghy cover – chaps for our dinghy.

John had a slight mishap with the dinghy. He was returning with a pizza for dinner, miscalculated the turn into our dinghy corral and tore the side open on a exposed piece of metal. Therefore the dinghy had to go for a repair job which took a week. We had a loaner “dinghy” which was like a tiny tub.

Anyway to avoid further punctures we will dress the dinghy in new chaps. John was mightily relieved to get our fixed dinghy back. The cover should arrive soo.

Refit stage 2

The second biggest job after the gelcoat and painting of the hull was to have the rudder shaft remodified. We already had our welder Caesar making the shaft in his welding workshop. He too is an amazingly knowable fellow.

Why?:

It never was a long, shaft therefore it was not really strong enough for heavy weather sailing at sea.

Our main worker became Saul, who is a fibreglass expert. He was tasked with recreating the rudder shaft – the hole, in Aeeshah for the new rudder shaft.

He started by chiseling and grinding out the old shaft and delrin bushing. While doing this he discovered to his and John’s horror that at the top under the removed fibreglass there was rotten wood. So the job grew…all of the rotten wood extended through the stringers. These are the “arms” which hold the rudder in place. He along with his worker Noel chiseled out all this rot, then using a special technique they epoxied hard wood fitting it expertly into the stringers, completely fixing the entire rudder area. 

Our welder Caesar delivered the newly modified rudder, its stock lengthened by 3 feet of stainless steel round bar, which he had crafted. All of this took over three weeks, but the work is excellent and done to perfection.

The shaft hole was remodelled to be the perfect fit for the new rudder shaft. Everything had to be completely perfect to a thousandth of a inch.

This took much work on Saul’s part. He worked until it was perfected. Admittedly I was getting fed up waiting for the rudder job to be completed. Finally it was judged absolutely perfect!

The cutlas bearing arrived and was put on by the project manager Chris. John cleaned and polished up the propeller plus all the surrounding bits were checked.

The mast foot was made by our welder, it arrived and John was very impressed. John then put it into place ready for our newly redone mast.

John dressed the mast, that is he put everything back on the mast. I helped at one stage, the threading of the electrical wires down the conduit inside the mast.

He normally could only work on it in the afternoons as it was then shaded in that area where it was suspended. Yes, it is still darn hot here, most days temperatures in the 90s.

Our buddies Pam and Don did some varnish work for us. They did a wonderful job on our entrance steps and the cockpit table and cup holder, all of which had been very worn and now look better than new. 

Other activities:

With the still, windless, hot, humid weather we did not walk as much as previously. We did fewer walks over the bridge.

Tijax walk

We took a Sunday off and along with Pam and Don we went to Tijax for a hike. Tijax Hacienda Hotel and Ecolodge has over a 400 acres of trails some of which for a fee we could walk. None of us had hiked in the wilds for many months as we had been not allowed to. 

It was a wonderful day, sunny but not scorching. The trail took us along walkways through the mangroves to the car park where we unlocked the gate to the trails. Across a hanging platform, over marshy grasslands to a slow uphill path which led to the little Museo.

There we read about different plants, animals and fossils.

From there we kept to a trail which took us through the jungle. As always the jungle was lush, green and silent except for the occasional bird and the buzz of mosquitoes.

We had a few challenges from downed trees which we climbed over, as we had missed the detour signs.

Emerging from the jungle we were faced with the rubber plantation and the pathway continuing uphill to the tower – our goal.

At the tower you climb several flights of steps and emerge on the roof to look out over the Rio Dulce to your south, west and east and Belize in the distant north.

We all enjoyed the views for a while and then set off down and along the return path.

This one led us to the suspended canopy bridges that hang around 30 feet above the jungle.

They are quite long and allow you to really see the canopy in its glory.

Back down we hiked to the downhill pathway, over the marshlands, over the mangroves and into the main hotel area. It was an excellent, several hours out enjoying the countryside.

After Tijax we went to Catamaran for a delicious lunch, a wander around and a chat with friends. An excellent day off, the first we had had in nearly a month.

Our other activities have been, grocery shopping, visits to Catamaran, and exploring our new area.

Our new home:

Our Casa sits on the river edge so we can motor right up in our dinghy. It’s a small place, a studio but quite adequate for our needs.

The entire place and all the furniture were made by the fellows who work here. Their craftsmanship is brilliant! I would love to have some of the furniture at home.

Behind where we stay at Punta Bonito there is a tributary. We went along it in the dinghy and found it to be very pretty, amazingly so, as it is just behind Fronteras. 

Chico finds our new place to be a big cage, so he tells me. He literally climbs the walls. Spending his time staring out longingly watching the birds. He watches the humming bird that visits every morning with a passion in his eyes!

He can’t wait to get back to Aeeshah and Catamaran Marina. Hopefully in just a few weeks we will be ready to splash and off to our marina home. 

“It’s in our chasing that dream that we become the people we only dream of.”— Sanya Richards-Ross

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

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Life has continued much the same as last month, a pleasant routine with lovely surroundings.

We are still enjoying living in this Casa, our life is very quiet. Our regular activity is going for a walk across the bridge or such every other day, when it’s not too hot.

Then doing our  Duolingo daily, yes, learning Spanish, shopping once a week, checking on the Aeeshah boat work, I do my sewing. 

My main sewing project is making a cover for the bow area of Aeeshah. It’s challenging at 16feet by 15feet, and tapered to fit, just sewing the seams require both of us, John, to hold the material while I work the machine. The Casa has been wonderful for this work as we have had the necessary space.

Aeeshah’s facelift

The boat work is progressing well.

The crew have now completed the topside, the sides and the stripes. This entailed having to take the decks down to its bare fiberglass,

then applying gel-coat, again sanding,

applying further coats, and sanding over again many times.

Next taping up and applying the non-skid.

After which was the stripping of the sides and stern,

sanding and taking it down to just the bare fiberglass.

When ready they applied the coats of Algrip paint.

The finish was amazing and they haven’t even polished yet!

Next the stripes were taped, prepared and sprayed.

And voila!

Their work is amazing, they sing and laugh all while doing the most incredible job.

There continues to be very little work available, so the guys are not raced to finish and are able to a spectacular job. However when folks finally are able to return, I’m guessing the place will be crazy busy as it normally is.

 The differing/contrasting lives around us 

Everywhere we walk we see the average, friendly local, hard at work, making a living. Then we see the many large, power boats, of all types and sizes, stored at Ram. They are used by their wealthy owners who live and work in or near the city, but usually, only for a weekend every once and while when they travel down to the rio. Some of these boats have a crew who are just employed to continually polish and clean.

Oh and the owners  fly in on private jets, planes and helicopters or drive in, in fleets of usually black SUVs with blackened windows, they are packed with everything from bunches of roses to crates of vino, their employees see to everything menial. Same with the houses here, like the one we are staying in, they are just weekend play places for the very wealthy.

Of course ours is comparatively small and moderate, as it’s one the owner’s extra houses, most of the places like the main house are quite awesome places. 

Our walks

Our walks were once again, down the Ram driveway, along the main road, over the bridge and back again.

We also did the Castillo walk, leaving Fronteras, along the El Estor road as far as the turning to the Castillo, around that loop and back. This walk is much longer, but has quite a bit of shade due to the lovely trees along the roadside.

We pass a coca/chocolate farm where we see the different stages of the cocca growth. Passing also other agricultural land and through the small neighbour hood by the fort.

One Sunday we went again on the pipe-line walk.

We were told that it was again open to us gringos, as the locals living in that area had shut it to all us folks due to the virus. It was again a lovely walk, but both John and I picked up a strange vibe from the few locals we passed, so we haven’t been again.

Social activités are limited, but….

Don and Pam visited again, at the beginning of September and then at the end. We enjoyed fun, relaxing weekends.

We went for lunch with a group of Catamaran friends at a restaurant across the river near to our Cassa. It was a very pleasant break from our routine. 

Ended up being a full afternoon out catching up with nearly the whole gang. Soon after one couple came down with covid 19, I think we all were worried that we had picked it up there. However, that was not the case. They only had a mild case and are now out of quarantine and gradually getting back to normal.

We have had several friends visit us and have continued to enjoy the evening sunsets.

There have been some crazy light shows at night. The lightening above the distant mountains has been spectacular and some of the thunderstorms are absolutely akin to atomic blasts from the sky. 

We were notified via our agent that the landlady – jefa – wanted our Cassa vacated, ASAP was what she first said, no reason had been given. Our agent negotiated for us to stay until October 15th, but after discussion we decided to find another place for October 1st.

I will miss the giant otter,

the wonderful birds

that lived around us, the exquisite sunsets and the space of the cassa.

Punta Bonito was our choice. It is a small marina which also rents out a few apartments. It seemed very peaceful and quiet, if you ignore the traffic on the bridge. A very pretty place tucked away in the jungle. It was time for a change….us folks do not stay in one place too long we are wanderers.

Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars and see yourself running with them. – Marcus Aurelius

The flower is aware of the fact that it contains everything within it, the whole cosmos, and it does not try to become something else. – Thich Nhat Hanh

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Aeeshah’s makeover

Aeeshah has been on the hard since July 27th and already she has had her decks stripped of nearly everything. The decks have been sanded smooth and any blemishes filled with fiberglass.

Where we had old equipment that was no longer needed those items have been removed and their places filled and sanded flush with the deck.

Aeeshah looks quite sad, but is ready to get her new coat of gel coat. This will give her a brand new finish and she will be leak proofed again. 

She went into the paint shed where the crew will sand her further and prepare her sides for painting. The waterline is being raised 4 inches and then the sides and new blue stripe will be painted with Algrip. 

Meanwhile Ceasar our welder has sourced the new rudder stock steel, the material for the mast step, (base), and various other materials needed for all the replacements and repairs. 

Tom our rigger has most of the new rigging at his “shop” and just awaits our arrival. He says “life’s too short to work at Ram” so we will take the boat to Texas Bay for him to rig.

Overall the work on Aeeshah is going wonderfully.

Our new home

Meanwhile we reside at a lovely cassa on the river. The place has more or less everything we need, is very peaceful, and comfortable. The evening sun setting in front of our dock across the bay, behind the distant mountains is a treat each time. It really makes for a beautiful, relaxing, evening.

My only real complaints would be how the sun blares right in during the later afternoons causing the front sitting area to be uncomfortably hot. However there is normally a good breeze that compensates this in the afternoons.

And the other complaint is the tabanos. These are just nasty biting insects/flys that cause the most vicious bite that can swell up and itch for hours. They are a form of horsefly, silent so you never hear them, sneaky, bugs. Their bite differs from a mosquito in that they have a serrated mouth that cuts a serrated plug out of you where it feasts on your blood, meanwhile you do not notice till the damage is done. Our friend Gillian told me to treat the bite straight away with fresh lime and this decreases the reaction – it really works so I have limes cut and ready.

We have a housekeeper, Katerine; her husband – security, and their little daughter, Katerine living across our bridge from us in their cottage.

Every place has a housekeeper here, it’s just part of life. It was an adjustment at first as I am totally used to doing my own everything. And Katerine is used to having to everything for anyone staying here. We have reached a comfortable arrangement, Katerine washes towels and sheets as they go with the house.

She also cleans during the week, different areas different days and I do the rest. Katerine has gifted us with home made Guatemalan soups and tortillas, in return we have bought her and her daughter Katerine sweets and ice creams. 

For our second weekend at the casa we had Don and Pam came to stay. Everyone enjoyed catching up and then playing Mexican Train dominos on the Sunday afternoon. 

The next weekend a group of friends, 3 couples came and we had an excellent game again do Mexican Train dominoes. And we saw a giant otter! It swam right by.

Exercise now consists of walking from Ram to and over the bridge and back. At present under the restrictions this is the best we can do.

The bridge is large and long and does have an incline plus it’s hot so there is some challenge. Sometimes there is very little traffic other times there are loads of trucks. We look down on the launches racing up or down the Rio, often a nice breeze is blowing. At the Fronteras end we peek into the town sometimes walking under the bridge where we see senoratas doing their wash is the river. I really can not imagine my girls doing this…….

The guardas, milita, and police are all present at the ends of the bridge, checking the drivers IDs and temperatures, plus limiting the number of massive trucks crossing at once. They pay little attention to us and are always friendly.

Another Sunday we walked the road from Fronteras to the Castille (a park where the fort is situated) and of course back again.

This is about 10 kilometers and is quite scenic and shaded for being a main road. We walked with Carol who is trying to train for a trek in Spain she hopes to take in September – the Camino Way.

There was also a party for Muriel’s 60th at Catamaran which was very lively and great for catching up with friends.

Folks did their social distancing and mask wearing when not drinking and eating.

Exploring a river tributary: Rio Cienega

Check out our route on the link below:

Along with Derick, Carol and Tyler we went on a morning river exploration. There is a tributary of the Rio Dulce that runs past the back of the property where we are located and joins the rio just down from us. We organized a dinghy trip together to see where we could go and what we could see.

It was a gorgeous morning when we set off at 8:30am, still a nice temperate with a gentle breeze. Along the tributary we went, enjoying the jungle, sounds of birds and insects, passing a few farms and just a few folks.

Not one other boat passed us, of course we were hoping to see gators or manatee, but none were around that day. There were a few shallow spots where local fellows were diving under water, filling buckets with aggregate and pouring the bucket full into their large work boat, what a hard way to get building materials!

Overall we traveled 5 and a 1/2 miles along this tributary before heading back. By this time the sun was out full force and the morning was heating up rapidly. 

What a wonderful morning river cruise we had…….

Still the restrictions continue here in Guatemala, the convid 19 plague is close, it lives in Fronteras. For us live goes on and we are happy. We enjoy everyday and give thanks for being so fortunate.

“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

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Quarantine for 14 days

Once we arrived at Catamaran Marina we were in quarantine for 14 days. No, all the time previously spent on the boat on our own sailing from Belize, in Livingston and traveling up river did not count as quarantine. The health team that arrived to check us were in full hazmat suits, masks and shields. They checked our documents and took our temperatures – no Convid 19 test, they sprayed everything we had touched with disinfectant. These folks visited twice while we were quarantined on Aeeshah, but not at the end, which didn’t really make sense to me….but we got our clearance in our passport and that’s what counted.

What did we do? How did we pass the time?

We took ages having breakfast, looking at the news, facebook posts and such. We did what chores we could aboard with what we had aboard. John changed oil on the outboard, water maker and the main engine. We cleaned, scrubbed decks, cockpit and covers.

We chatted with friends who visited the dock, and caught up on the Catamaran news. Our friend Gillian took Chico out in the morning and evening so he was not stuck below 24/14. Basically we did what we could to pass the time comfortably. 

Foods galore

Since the whole convid 19 measures has reduced the chances for eating out to basically none, many restaurants, charitable organizations and enterprising individuals have started whole new lines of foods that can be ordered online and delivered to your boat. Even during quarantine we were able to access a few of these.

There is now a young Guatamalan lady who bakes sour dough breads of different varieties. These loaves are amazing and arrive warm fresh from the oven.

Then there is the weekly pie-a-ramdia, this is run by the local charity Casa Guatemala – https://casa-guatemala.org They offer, on Fridays, 3 types of amazing 9 inch meat pies, quiches and a large variety of fresh fruit pies. These pies are the best ever! 

Then there are the weekly baked goods from Diego and Cici – lemon cake, carrot cake, empanadas, foccia bread to name a few, and they are at Catamaran. 

And of course Catamaran’s kitchen was and is open, they even delivered a full meals on a tray to us when we were in quarantine. Oh just so many wonderful foods on offer, everyone is bound to gain weight.

Out and about again

Finally our day of freedom arrived, it was a bit of a dull day, over cast, but we were up at 6:00 and walking around the island. It was quite strange to be on land after just under a month aboard Aeeshah, but wonderful to stretch our legs at last. 

Walks/exercise/enjoying nature

I have taken to walking around the island of Catamaran and across the little bridge up to the tennis court around down past Kevin’s cassa and back around. 6 circuits takes about 45 minutes, at a fast pace. Trying to get my exercise in to get some fitness back after the months in Belize where we couldn’t walk far and now here where it’s limited due to restrictions.

The walks are simply lovely, almost like walking through a botanical garden. The grounds of Catamaran are quite amazing.

There are orchids blooming, hanging from the trees which shade the pathways, a large variety of trees, climbing vines, flowering shrubs, to name just a few delights.

The birds are singing and flying all around you, even humming birds taking nectar from the flowers. Jesus lizards scatter as you walk the outside trails, I love the way they run on their long, skinny, hind legs and a close up view shows how handsome they are, blue eyed with red nostrils.

Yes, the walks have been very enjoyable even if somewhat hot.

Where we venture ashore

Any movement off the boat requires wearing your mask and taking your hand sanitizer. We venture into Fronteras to the big new supermarket La Torre just once a week as we try to limit our contact with folks. The way there takes us down a canal passed what is best described as the commercial district where all sorts of wares are loaded onto local boats.

There could be tree trunks, sacks of cement, animals absolutely anything being loaded. We manouver past sometimes with difficulty and then tie up in the official La Torre dinghy parking lot.

Venturing into La Torre one must use the hand sanitize, have your temperature taken and only take the specially cleaned trollies for shopping. Of note is the fact that children are not allowed inside AND even spouses have to stay distanced. Normally one can buy anything you need there and so we no longer buy from the market or on the street. Hopefully one day we can again.

Aeeshah’s plans

Our overall plan is to have Aeeshah’s needed updates and structural changes done at Ram Marina during these months of continued lock down. Guatemala is not opening in the foreseeable future.

So the 1st step was to fine a place to live, as the major work will render the boat uninhabitable. Fortunately due to Convid 19 a number of places were available to rent as folks cannot travel to and visit the Rio. We looked at two and decided on the first one.

Our new home

The place we chose and moved into a week ago is simply lovely. Just 8 minutes away from Catamaran and 10 from Ram where the boat is now located – it’s convenient. Chico is secure as it is over the river and just attached to the shore and the housekeeper’s place by a bridge.

So Chico is unable to access the land. It is open and breezy, simple and modern, with all the conveniences we need to be comfortable.

As mentioned a housekeeper is part of the deal, but this is the norm here. I personally am finding this difficult to navigate, being used to doing everything myself. Katerine, the housekeeper, her little girl Katerine, and hubby Adel are quite lovely, and I’m sure in a few weeks I will become reliant on her help.

We had worked at Catamaran, for several weeks getting Aeeshah ready to be hauled. Everything and I mean everything, inside and out on deck had to be stripped and stored away. 

Off to Ram to haul Aeeshah

Finally we were off to Ram where Aeeshah was stripped of her mast and hauled. The whole removing the mast operation came first.

Wow, what an operation,

first a fellow went up the mast and attached the strap for the lift, next using the big crane after all the stays were undone the mast was carefully lifted,

laid on the dock and taken to the mast yard. 

We even had friends, Sabrina and Tom come along to watch the process

Hauling Aeeshah was a simple haul, no mast and she’s now so much lighter.

Aeeshah had her own awaiting a crew of men who will be recovering her worn decks and worn cockpit with new gelcoat. The rigger Tom is presently making the new rig. The Ram crew will paint the mast and boom, (once John removes all the working parts). The welder and fabricated are modifying the rudder as the present one’s stock is too short for safety. Those are the major works that are already underway or will soon be proceeding. We estimated maybe 3 months….

At our new place

Our new place is wonderful. The evening sunsets just lovely to watch. The sounds of the river, jungle and Katerine’s chickens are the sounds one hears. There are the fishermen to watch as they net with their children helping.

The afternoons do get a bit warm, but you have the option of a dip in the river. Having a full fridge, freezer, a washer dryer and such is a treat. John will be at Ram most days, I will be here getting on with sewing projects and my other interests. All is good!

“Life … is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity.” —  Gilda Radner

Photo album–>>     https://photos.app.goo.gl/E9mPjGMV1zzZU59e8

Summer weather patterns begin

  The weather was definitely shifting into the summer pattern of squalls, thunder, lightening and stronger winds from any and every direction. We left our Blue Ground Range anchorage and crossed to Sapodilla Lagoon which is very sheltered in all weather. Unfortunately while crossing we lost our boat buddy Rodney the remora.

Rodney had been with us for close to a month, eating all that we threw over-board and watching us when we swam.

Sapodilla Lagoon

was where went to shelter from the weather that was approaching. This is a very sheltered lagoon that has an inner lagoon where the marina is found.

While there we visited with friends and had several very nice walks in the Reserve. The cloud formations and reflections caused by the weather were just amazing, but the horse flies that plagued us drove us away after 3 days. 

Back to Placencia

we went as we were due to re-up/extend our visas yet again. Placencia is a wonderful anchorage, but not at this time of the year. We were once again visited in the middle of the night by an unexpected massive squall. The wind blew like crazy, rain fell, and the thunder and lightening were ever present, worse of all were the large seas rolling in. 

Placencia Lagoon

That was it for me… enough, so we moved into the Placencia Lagoon. We had never been in this lagoon, so we slowly, carefully made our way in once the seas from the previous night had laid down. What we found was a wonderful sheltered anchorage in the outer lagoon area. Now the weather could carry on all around us and we would still get a good night’s sleep. 

This lagoon is quite a plain area of water, but when you have certain weather clouds and sunlight the scenery is magical. 

Re-up again or re-entry to the Rio Dulce?

So back at the end of May we had been very hopeful of entering the Rio Dulce on the first high tide of June. Everything seemed to be going well, all the authorities were coming together with a plan. We had submitted our info weeks before and really thought we would be one of the first boats to enter.

After all, we were coming from Belize, a disease free country, we were considered “older” folks, our boat draft of 5’ 10” required a higher tide and we had signed up in good time. However, Aeeshah was not chosen to enter the Rio Dulce on that high tide of the month. We were very disappointed, as most of the other boats in Belize were going.

Then, just like that, there was a complete change on the entry arrangements. The entry dates were open to “first come first served” bidding, but by this time we were too late for the good tides at the beginning of the June, so we selected and were granted permission for June 21st. 

We had already been, yet again, to Big Creek to do our very expensive “re-up” – extension to stay another month. Even the authorities there did not understand why we could not go with the other boats, why we too had not been selected. The Belizians have been wonderful to us, so welcoming and helpful, they made us feel welcome to stay for as long as necessary. 

Passing time in Placencia

By this time it was getting a wee bit monotonous, the heat was crazy and we didn’t see any point in going anywhere so we stayed put in the lagoon. Our friends on Rainbows End had also lost/missed their entry date and came into the lagoon anchoring near us.

Each day we would go into Placencia, get a few supplies, have a walk around, saying hello to all our local friends, enjoy an ice cream at Tutty Fruity, get take out dinner from Ma Ks or a Belizian Pizza from Cha Chee’s.

Some days we had lunch with friends Pam and Don and Rene and Michael at local restaurants. And we managed to fit in a grilled lobster lunch at Dawn’s Place as lobster season had opened! It was wonderful!

We were asked by friends in the Rio if we would deliver their batteries that they had bought earlier in the year in Belize City. They had been amongst the first group that wayyy back in the beginning of March had run for the Rio before the border shut, leaving their new batteries behind.

Arrangements were made for the batteries to be delivered to Placencia fuel dock, John with Don’s help retrieved them and loaded them onto Aeeshah. Their combined weight was 300lbs. 

Rene and Michael had been taking care of a local guest property – Sailfish. Rene had also been running the local net on the VHF to give news up dates to all the cruising boats, “stuck” in Belize. 

After a while there was just 6 of us cruising boats left, and by the time we were finally to leave we left 2 others there. Rene and Michael had a very nice leaving afternoon and dinner for us.

We said our farewells, checked out finally, made sure we had food to last till early July and headed out. 

Heading south

As we had no choice about our entry date (which again had been bumped now to June 19th), we had little choice about the weather we travelled in. The day before we set off more very bad weather moved into the Belize area. Again, squalls with heavy rain, thunder and lightening plus high winds. When in the anchorage it really didn’t matter, but while moving south it meant a quite uncomfortable, tense journey. (Belize had been in a 2 year drought, this weather broke the drought, caused floods, main roads to wash out and crops to be ruined.)

New Haven

Our over night stop was at New Haven, this too is a very large lagoon like bay. On our way there we were ahead of Pam and Don by several hours as they had left later trying to avoid the bad weather rolling in. We were an hour out of New Haven when they contacted us to say that they had lost steerage.

Their boat was simply going in circles, the wheel was not responsive, please help. We started back, this was of course into the wind and weather we had just left behind. After about an hour of ploughing back we heard from them – they had managed to get the emergency tiller set up and so were able to proceed, but would we stand by just incase help was needed. So we did an about face and headed towards New Haven.

We had another night of constant squalls, but this bay was so sheltered we were able to get a good nights rest. (Our rain gauge measures 5” and was full, so at least 5 inches of rain fell that night). In the morning John helped Don by providing a screw for the tiller and then we had a look around the bay.

Around New Haven

I do believe that in good weather, the bay must be stunning. The land is thickly forested, with 1 abandoned house/shack and a couple of strange storage containers. Hard Luck Harry once had cash crops growing here, pineapple, citrus, mango and such. The land is now just wild thick forest, with an over abundance of no-see-ums.

Near the shore we could hear what sounded like hundreds of birds nesting in the huge trees. At one beach I waded ashore to get a photo of some wild orchids, that’s when the no-see-ums started to bother us. 

Off to Livingstone

As it was another overcast, rainy day we set off for Livingstone with hopes of out running the weather. The skies were deep blue black with thunderheads rumbling behind us, ahead was clearer skies. Pam and Don on Rainbows End went ahead of us, just in case they had any problems, but all went well, they made it with no issues. We arrived at the Livingstone sea buoy where we dropped the anchor. The fishermen were just heading out for their night of fishing/shrimping, we were surprised by the huge number of boats. 

Anchoring off of the sea buoy was not an option we would have chosen as there is no shelter from the seas or weather, but this is where we were told we had to stay for the night. It was not a night to be repeated. It was rough and uncomfortable!

We were up and having tea by 5:30am just as the fishermen/shrimpers were returning from their night out. Watching their very rustic boats racing in with dozens of frigate birds, pelicans, boobies and laughing terns swooping, calling and competing for spoils from their catch was very entertaining.

Over the bar, into Livingstone

Meanwhile we lined up our approach to and over the dreaded bar.

So what is this bar: it is a long wide section across the mouth of the river which is shallow. Only during the high tides at the full and new moons does the bar have the depth for many sailboats with deeper keels to successfully cross into the Rio Dulce – Sweet River. Off we went just after 6:00am, down down down the depth sounder went, 00.05, 00.04, 00.03, 00.02, 00.01 and then 00.00 – No, we were stuck,

but just for a few seconds as a wave came and up we went, then on bottom again and so it went until finally we had hopped with the aid of the sea over the bar. Opposite the town dock we anchored near Rainbow’s End our buddy boat, awaiting the authorities. 

The arrangement had been that we make the anchorage between 6:00 and 7:00am and the authorities would be available to check us in. However that proved not to be the case for us few that arrived that day.

The authorities arrived at 2:30ish. The whole check in health check was very simple. I filled out a few documents, John answered a few questions, we had our temperatures taken and our agent Raul’s nephew told us he would be back in an hour with our paperwork. Which meant we received our documents around 4:00ish, too late to proceed to Catamaran Marina. 

We were not thrilled about spending the night in Livingstone off the town as firstly it has a reputation for having some very talented sneak thieves, secondly you have to deal with the wind, river flow and such. John slept in the cockpit most of the night keeping watch, but all was fine. 

Up the Rio Dulce 

Next morning 2 more boats crossed the bar just after 6:00am and we set off up the Rio Dulce for our home dock at Catamaran Island. Words could never truly describe the passage up River and through the gorge.

The scenery is amazing! A large variety of birds are everywhere, flying, roosting, swooping, you can hear their chatter and calls from the thick foliage lining the shores. And, wow! The insect shrills, screeches and whistles competing with the croaking frogs and toads tell of the abundance of wildlife.

It really is a most wonderful journey to take and on this day we had the most perfect weather. The skies were clear with a few clouds and a lovely breeze blew. Even Chico sat on the deck absorbing the view and chattering to the birds.

We passed the locals out with their nets and floats furiously casting and pulling, hoping for a good day’s catch.

The homes along the shoreline nestled in the forested shoreline, the occasional launcha speeding down river, the small villages where folks glanced out and waved to us, the Rio Dulce has a special flavor all of its own.

Across El Golfette

After the gorge we crossed the lake – el Golfette, this too was lovely as the clouds and mountains reflected on the lake formed wonderful reflections.

Of course my camera and I were very busy. We were then headed along the river again towards our marina passing the homes on either side.

Arriving at Catamaran

we were greeted by friends and staff who tied us up safely. We of course had to wear masks and were/are not allowed to have contact with the dock, but we were back and might relieved to have arrived safely.

The staff presented us with a wonderful goodie bag! Of which we have enjoyed every morsel of the cookies and banana bread, in fact it’s time for more – need to order from the kitchen……

“Everything we experience—no matter how unpleasant—comes into our lives to teach us something.”

—  Iyanla Vanzan

“A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

PHOTO ALBUM –>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/hKEHCo4eywgFXVab9

Placencia

May arrived and we were lingering in Placencia, basically waiting to hear of any changes to the state of emergency in Belize and Guatemala. Belize announced a further month of quarantine with a few up coming relaxation of certain measures, which included the opening of the Immigration, customs and Port Authority offices. This told us it was time, yet again to go and get our extensions. We were fine with immigration as they had previously given us 60 days.

Re-up aka rechecking in, again.

We still had to travel to Big Creek on the Hokey Pokey water taxi for the other 2 offices: customs and Port Authority. Our friends Pam and Don travelled with us, catching the 7:30am water taxi. Anywhere on land one must wear a mask, I understand the importance, but have no idea how the health workers survive all day for hours wearing them, they are so hot and stuffy. 

At Big Creek we separated from our friends and went to customs. Nobody had mentioned a change of hours and so we arrived for 8:00am opening and they arrived to open at nearly 9:30, apparently their hours were shortened. Ho-hum, it was a long time hanging around waiting, but we got our extensions and were on the 10:00am Hokey Pokey back to Placencia. 

Lovely Placencia – our home away from home

One of the benefits of having stayed in Placencia off and on for many weeks is that we are now known by the locals. The fishermen, the fruit and veg vendors, the few take out places we have frequented, the Chinese grocers and their families, the Digicel worker, the various security persons, Mr T at the main dock, other cruisers and surprisingly quite a few others.

We can walk around and meet and greet friendly, familiar faces each time we are ashore. It makes us feel quite at home. We enjoy a daily walk and surprisingly I can see something different during each walk. 

The story of Peanut

Now, we had a very “unusual occurrence” in the anchorage the other morning. A boat called Messy Monique had called for help on the VHF. We heard his appeal He was stuck on the reef/bottom, a boat called Chi-carne  went and towed him off and in — dropped anchor behind us. 

Meanwhile we heard from the VHF how he needed help! He had a dead engine, needed an alternator, fuel lines, and only 1 working sail. On top of which he had left the Rio the day before without checking out and had “crew” onboard. So, he gets on the VHF radio to everyone in the anchorage, appeals for help, (basically announces his stupidity), well understandably nobody responds, as he’s totally illegal, and a liability to us all. So, he and his “crew” drop the dinghy and go ashore.

Since we were the closest boat, later that morning John sees him floundering about drifting off in his dinghy, he felt he should “save” him. John goes and tows him back to his boat. The guy said he had panicked at being  all alone in the dinghy, with the engine now not working and having no oars. He calls himself Peanut, and he said his crew have now deserted him….. John says the boat is in some state, furniture on deck, just a mess, all this rust coming from chain plates. Apparently Peanut’s plan was to motor to the USA! Oh and he can’t sail as he doesn’t know how. Goodness knows what is gonna happen to him. 

Well, then 2 evenings later the authorities arrive, boarded and we saw they took Peanut away. The next day we went in to where the fishermen sell fish and the fishermen told us: The authorities told them that when they went to the boat Peanut was abusive and they ended up having a “fight” with him. They told him that they needed to take him to be tested and then he had to be quarantined for 21 days. Well, he pitched a fit as he had other plans. They took him, they tested him, took him back to his boat, took his dinghy away and there it sits on the beach by the fishermen — minus the engine which they took. So he is also facing  a charge of illegal entry and will go to court after his 21 days of quarantine. 

Blue Ground Range

(Yesterday, a person who has been doing the Placencia net contacted me and told me he had been approached by 3 French boats, they have been illegally in Belize since mid April – arrived from Cuba – and wanted advice as to what to do. He advised them to go to the authorities ASAP.) We returned to Blue Ground Range, a nice sheltered anchorage as I expected there will be quite a drama over the illegal French boats, we are glad we are out of Placencia for now.

It is very very quiet out in the cays, we see maybe 2 fishing boats a day, no sailboats, just nobody around. We were greeted by dolphins when we arrived, the animals and birds are free to roam. Blue Ground Range was once again good to us. We had windy nights, but were reasonably sheltered there. 

What do we do?….

The few days spent there were “working” days. John did various oil changes and upkeep work around the boat.

I spent more time working on my Christmas stocking project for the Grandkids.

I also started the task of editing our Go-Pro footage from the last year or more. I found that unfortunately a certain amount of the footage had been downloaded into the wrong format, so now I need to figure out how to use iMovie to edit the clips. (however this gives me more to keep myself occupied)

Chico – grass hunting

We visited an island we were anchored off – Little Water Cay. Chico’s grass had more or less died and he needs grass to chew. Off we went grass hunting…..we pulled up to what appeared to be a landing point and waded ashore through and across mud. The cay Little Water Cay proved to be quite different from how it appeared from off shore on the boat.

Much of it was cleared, there were a few casuarina trees and a few coconut palms — unfortunately the coconuts had been harvested. I managed to pull up some very course grass/sedge grass for Chico and then walked about. Surprisingly there was a small brackish pond where I assume the mosquitoes were breeding.

Along the seaward side the trash that had been washed ashore was horrible, plastics galore! And yes, we were being attacked by no-see-ums and mosquitos so we did not linger on Little Water Cay for very long. Chico was very appreciative of the grass, he was all over it chomping away.

Tobacco Range

Our next stop was Tobacco Range where our friends Don and Pam were hiding out — aka quarantine. 

John had arranged to help Don paint his boat. Don and Pam over the course of the previous month had sanded and painted their whole hull. There were just the gold stripes to go. For the 3 days we were there John helped Don and I continued with my go-pro and sewing projects. 

One, very pleasant afternoon we got together on Aeeshah for a game of Mexican Train Dominoes. It was fun and a welcomed break. 

Tobacco Cay

The next anchorage for us was Tobacco Cay. This island is on the outer reef, where we anchor is sheltered behind the reef as long as the wind is from the east.

Next to Tobacco Cay is a cut through from the ocean outside. The scenery and snorkeling here is absolutely amazing! 

For our first evening we were treated by the visit of a school of dolphins during sunset. They were a really lively school, jumping, swimming round and round Aeeshah, splashing and blowing water. We assumed they were after dinner which they were chasing around us. I tried and tried to get photos of them jumping in the sunset, but only managed to get surface shots.

The snorkeling through and around the cut is always stunning. There are dozens and dozens of huge tarpon that frequent this cut.

They glide through and around and around the deep waters. Some of them blowing bubbles, what for we have no idea. It is an amazing sight to watch these enormous fish, some of which glide by quite close to you. Again getting photos is really difficult, their size is not appreciated by the lens.

There were also numerous rays of different types that slowly swam by; there’s beautiful reef and reef fish.

I managed to get quite close and friendly with a porcupine fish plus I was visited by a shark. It too seemed very tame, or totally unconcerned by my presence. 

On our last day we took the dinghy across the cut/channel to the far side. There is no cay there just reef and what amazing reef it is…….

sheltered from the pounding outside seas but flushed by the clean waters the corals have thrived. We both found the area was spectacular for snorkeling.

Again there were leopard rays gliding by, wonderful reef fish of all types, shapes and size, plus the coral development was the best I had seen in ages. The stag horn coral was amazing!

Placencia 

We could see that the weather was forecast to change, it was time to head into Placencia to restock and seek shelter for the possible squalls that might be ahead. The journey back was arduous, no wind, stinking hot! Chico became stressed from the heat, panting and crying. I had to put cold water all over him to try to reduce his heat stress, which it did, poor kitty.

The days had been incredibly hot, just sweltering and the sky had become increasingly overcast so we did know that the weather was building up and a break would come, but nothing was forecast for the night that all hell broke loose.

I was awaken at just before 1:00am to the wind and rain pelting us. It was action stations, get off the front shade cover while being blasted, engine on with John idling into the wind to release pressure off the anchor, keep watch for dragging boats, secure everything that was being thrown about from the seas which were throwing us about…. What had occurred was a system to our south, (Bay of Honduras), developed and passed northward over the area. This meant that the anchorage which is sheltered from the north, east and west by land was now being “attacked/assaulted” from the south. There is no southerly protection so the seas quickly built up causing quite large waves to roll and crash in. The boats that were at the front of the anchorage were now at the back and backing onto the land, not at all a safe predicament for anyone, but even more so for them. We peered through the dark and pouring rain and were able to make out one of the boats that had dragged back onto a dock. We could see their struggle to get the anchor in and then head out to re-anchor. Meanwhile others were very worried about the land just to the stern of their sailboats.  The thunder and lightening were never right over head, but all around us, the wind reached a reported 48knots. It blew like hell till 3:30am and then eased enough for us to lay down, me below and John on watch in the cockpit. In the morning the boat was all a mess from the seas rolling us about and they were still rolling into the anchorage. 

We hastily set about getting the boat back in order, getting our laundry ashore and buying supplies. I just wanted to restock and clear out for better shelter. John insisted we were fine.

That night again the weather came down on us. This time though from the north-east so we had protection, but still another interrupted night’s sleep. 

Friends Michael and Rene had invited us, along with Pam and Don to lunch at the place they are care-taking. It was a very pleasant few hours catching up. We finished getting supplies, picked up our laundry and left for Blue Ground Range again. 

Blue Ground Range

Blue Ground Range lovely as always, peaceful with just 1 other boat. By our second day there several more boats arrived along with our friends Don and Pam.

We had a very nice dinghy ride around the mangrove cays and fishing camps, also another fun game of Mexican Train Dominoes aboard Aeeshah.

South Water Cut

With clear weather ahead we were off to South Water Cut for some snorkeling. Our first outing was to Carrie-bow Cay where we explored some of the shallower reefs.

My great find was a stone fish, at least that’s what it appeared to be, plus an enormous puffer fish that was camera shy. 

Rodney

Rodney was the name we gave a remora that attached himself to us for several weeks. He was very tame and loved the scraps that were thrown overboard. He was a super large remora, over 3 foot.

We have learned that the Guatemalan Vice President has agreed to the planning and organizing for sailboats to return to the Rio. Apparently the hotels, marinas and business owners from Fronteras formed a group to plead for the return of the boats, without which the area would economically “die”. We have no idea when this will happen or how.

The two countries Belize and Guatemala are still under lock down, so these arrangements would be “special”. Belize has not had any cases in over a month. Guatemala still has the virus, mainly in the barrios around the city. They too are aggressively testing and tracking the virus. We received documents to fill out concerning returning. The navy are involved along with the guarda.

All of these arrangements are out of our control, we await word from our agent Raul. Meanwhile we will just continue to enjoy our quiet peaceful days in Belize. 

“Arriving at one goal is the starting point of another” – John Dewey

PHOTO LINK–>>https://photos.app.goo.gl/wqjG2VnYTN6nWQaJ6

 April brings quarantine….

Our days were numbered, we had to re-up on the 5th, but on reaching Placencia the Dock Master advised us to do our extension as soon as possible. The reason being, Belize now had 3 cases of convid-19 and the Prime Minister was putting the entire country into a month long lock down. Apparently, the public in Belize City was not observing social distancing as requested, so everyone was to stay at home for a month. – We had 2 days to re-up and stock up and head out to quarantine in the cays.

It was a hectic time for us, however we managed to get fuel for the dinghy and Aeeshah, stock up on our dry goods, meats, produce, get a soda stream refill, get our months data, plus a wonderful fish take out from Ma G’s. 

Doing a re-check

Going to Big Creek for our re-up was a half day event. We got the Hokey Pokey Ferry which was full, not a soul was observing anything like social distancing so we just had to all hope nobody was infected.

As usual we had to get a taxi to 1st immigration, we shared ours with a German couple. At immigration we washed hands and waited outside for the lady to take our passports and paperwork, all went well and we were given 60 more days.

From there we taxied to Customs where we found the door locked, then had a 45 minute wait, outside – after washing our hands. The fellow returned and promptly gave us -30days extension, they couldn’t do more.

Next door we visited the Port Captains where again we were given 30 days, had paperwork filled out and paid to stay. By then it was nearly 12:00 when our water taxi was leaving so speedily our taxi driver got us back to the Hokey Pokey. Later I found out we were more or less the last folks they re-checked as they too are going to be on minimum staffing for the month long lock down.

And then we were off….so we thought

Back in Placencia we managed to pick up the last few items we needed and so fully prepared we decided to head out before being “stuck” in Placencia Harbour. Off we headed deciding on Laughing Bird Cay where we read they had moorings. We figured we could use one for the night then move on in the morning.

We knew Laughing Bird is a sanctuary with no anchoring, but information did say they have moorings. Well, after an hour and a half of motoring we spied Laughing Bird, as we approached I noticed the moorings were but 1 and very close to the beach. Then we saw what we assumed was the caretaker come out of a hut and aggressively wave his arms telling us to get lost, go!! 

Soooo, plan B was to try South Cocoa Long Cay, but the light to see the reefs was disappearing due to a large cloud and there were reefs along the way. We did make a valiant attempt at finding a path through the shallows, but after too much stressing we gave up and headed back to Placencia where we knew where to anchor safely for the night. We arrived back just before 7:00pm, and resolved to be up at dawn to “escape” to the cays again.

South Long Cocoa Cay

Up at 5:15 and out of the bay by 5:30 it was a lovely morning, off we set for South Long Cocoa Cay. We took the long route getting there which took us through the parks territory, which was probably not such a good idea. Arriving at the cay it took us a while to anchor up as the bottom was far from ideal. Finally anchored we spent an enjoyable afternoon snorkeling the nearby reef. The cay looked wonderful for exploring which we looked forward to doing the next day.

However the next morning during breakfast a parks boat arrived with 2 rangers aboard. They informed us that all cruising boats had to head back to Placencia and if we didn’t like it we could go, just leave……. They took photos of us and Aeeshah, not asking permission, just snapping them as if they were cops. Yes, they were quite belligerent, we tried to explain that we had been given permission to “shelter in place” that is go to a close anchorage and stay. However they were insistent we return to Placencia within the hour! 

Return to Placencia

So, once again we returned to Placencia. There we found that another official looking boat was doing the rounds checking boats/cruisers documents. This boat had a customs, an immigration, and Port authority officer aboard to recheck papers. So, once again we were checked, and, yes, more photos taken. When asking about going back out, or getting any information we were told to listen to VHF16 for updates. This sounded suspect to us as we knew they normally did not have any VHFs. Off they went, they did find two boats in the harbour that had not checked in so they were yellow flagged. 

Now this was the 3rd, April a Friday. Nobody was at the Port Authority booth on the dock all weekend, so really life in the anchorage continued as normal. Not really knowing if we were coming or going we decided to hang out in Placencia for a while.

Placencia is not a harbour that you would imagine as such. There’s just one small dock with a few colourful huts, – Port Authority being one, a lovely long beach and a few small, seaside resorts and restaurants. The “Harbour” is not for ships as it is shallow and so just us and other sailboats are anchored.

The fishermen have part of the beach where they clean their catch. At that time the seabirds – Pelicans, Frigate Birds and Laughing Gulls swoop and dive competing for the scraps the fishermen throw. In fact there is such a relationship between these wild birds and the fishermen that the men can throw the scraps and the birds catch them in mid swoop. 

Ashore there is the village with small shops, veg and fruit stands, tiendas such as hardware stores. Of course now all but the grocery stores and fruit/veg stands are closed. 

We were allowed to go ashore for necessities, groceries and laundry. When we do go we find the streets deserted, literally no cars, just no traffic, few people not even dogs walking about.

At the grocery stores we have to wash our hands outside before we enter. We have started to wear surgical gloves and masks, plus we have sanitizing gel. Only a few folks are allowed in the shop at a time, plus we have to avoid being anywhere closer than 6 feet near from each other. – much the same as everywhere else nowadays.

So in Placencia we stayed.We cleaned the boat, did odd jobs,  John got on with a few engine room fixes. I tried to do yoga, but found it difficult on a moving boat, plus it was very hot. Time passed and still no word from the authorities. We visited with friends Rene and Michael who are caring for a friends empty resort, life just ticked along.

John befriended the fellow in the Port Authority booth, when he finally turned up, and managed to get permission for us to go out to Ranguana Cay for a few days. But, we are not to tell the other cruisers on the boats around us….hummm not sure how that works, as most folks spend a good part of each day watching each other. Anyway a few days break would be nice, even if not fair to all the others.

So Easter passed, nobody was about, the village was empty, all was deserted. We did get news on the VHF and Internet of other cruisers in the outlying cays. They were laying low, surviving out there. It sort of struck me that we had more liberty than they did, as we could get supplies, have laundry done and walk on land.

After 10 days we decided to head out to Ranguana for a few days of snorkeling. 

The Port Authority officer had not been on duty for 4 days and Mr T at the public dock didn’t think he was going to be fussed to return. So with that information, plus our handy permission to leave text we hauled the anchor and headed to Ranguana.

We were delighted to again be accompanied by dolphins along the way. They were playfully racing Aeeshah and dancing in the bow spray.

We also caught fish! First time this season, 2 Spanish Mackerel and a large Cobia. The Cobia we let go and the others we kept for Chico. Once there we picked up one of the mooring balls.

We could see 3 men in kayaks a few women sitting in the shallows and a few kids. This seemed strange as every resort and tourist place plus beaches were supposed to be shut…. One of the men approached, his name was Sylvester, he wanted the fee for the mooring ball plus asked if we had any thing to smoke, which was a negative. We checked that we could go ashore – fee covers mooring ball and landing on island plus wifi usage, he said yes.

The rest of the day we spent snorkeling the outside reef. It was lovely after so long not being near any reef to snorkel. The seas were quite rough and there was quite a strong current running, but we covered the entire outside reef. I saw some very nice stag horn corals, a large tarpon, and many other reef fish. 

After our rinse off we headed for shore, where we were greeted by Sylvester, who informed us that one of the men did not want us to leave the area of where our dinghy was resting. I just went and sat on a swing by the water and did my wifi catch up. We figured afterwards that they had women and kids illegally there, as I had seen them creeping along under the palm trees, sort of sheepishly trying to disappear from view. Anyway, we were annoyed as we had paid and quite frankly they were rude. Back at the boat we decided to not go ashore again.

The next day we had a couple of wonderful snorkels at the inside reef. The seas were calm and ever so clear. The corals were beautiful, just so many fish too and the rays were almost tame. I also saw Flamingo Tongues, a Guinea Chick lobster, a Porcupine fish just to mention a few of the special sights.

This was about when we noticed a haze developing from the land and sure enough by the morning there was quite a thick haze. Yes, it was the beginning of the burning season. The time of year when the indigenous folks burn the grounds for planting, such a destructive farming method. And here we are now at the end of the month and the fires still burn. The haze makes each sunset and sunrise a hazy red glow. 

Blue ground Range

We headed off to a second anchorage, catching 2 large Spanish Macheral. However, one had teeth marks in it and the other was missing it’s lower tail area. Otherwise perfect eating fish for the 3 of us. 

Our new anchorage was Blue Ground Range, a sheltered anchorage amount some mangrove cays. Here we could get a very nice breeze, but be sheltered from the seas and also be able to explore the surrounding cays. 

We stayed in Blue Ground Range for 6 nights. During the day we would do boat work, chores or pursue hobbies/crafts. For John this was polishing the stainless, maintenance, and such. Myself, after cleaning, baking cooking and the regular mundane I started a Christmas Stocking making project.

My daughter in law had asked me if I would make stockings for Lily and Evie as I had made for my son Gavin, many moons ago. I had quickly picked up some bits and pieces when traveling back to Guatemala months earlier, now was the time to proceed. Basically I started by designing, then creating stencils, cutting materials and sewing of the new Christmas stockings. Sounds odd, but the task is strangely therapeutic during these terrible, smoky, pandemic days.

We rode the dinghy each day around the mangrove cays exploring the surrounding territory.

The water crystal clear turquoise we saw fishing camps where the reclusive fishermen live, an osprey and its nest and then some unusual abandoned structures. It was a very quiet time, hardly a soul about, just the birds.

 The osprey and its nest was the highlight of the bird watching, but we also saw all types of sea birds, herons and egrets too.

Back to Placencia we sailed to restock on some essentials. The smoke from the fires continued, the haze was thick, the dirty residue left on everything unimaginable. However this too will end soon.

“Life … is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity.” —  Gilda Radner

“Finding a problem’s solution is what gives life its gusto.” – Martha Beck