Thursday 5/31/2007
Providencia is a gorgeous mountainous island about the size of Key West (2 by 4 miles) but with only about 5000 inhabitants. As the mountain peaks get nearer on the horizon the air becomes sweet with the parfume of flowers. A huge solitary bolder with the profile of a man's face sits at the entrance to the anchorage. The head of the pirate Captain Morgan- A protector of the island for all time in the eyes of the locals. Across the anchorage a mountain peak stands out from the rest due to it's odd shape - like a piece was taken from the center to make two small peaks on one. The locals smile and say "That's Captain Morgan's butt!". In no time at all the welcome boat arrives at Max with the clear-in crew aboard. This time we use an agent (as reccomended), so once they leave we are completely legal. No additional trips to customs and immigration necessary (for a fee, of course). Upon arrival this morning we noticed a large yacht that Travis recognized from Key West. We gave them a call on the radio and they swung by the boat. Susan, the captain and her 14 year old son Mateo recognized me within the first few minutes of talking. "Banana Cafe, right?". What a small, small world it is! In town Jeremy and I walk around a bit and find some dinner- a fried fish as big as my head, some rice and fried plantains.
Friday 6/01/2007
This morning we accept an invitation to Susan's yacht, Phantom Explorer, for some coffee. Phantom is a 96 foot steel work boat that they have converted into a cruiser/research yacht. It is awesome! A giant octopus is painted on the bow, making it very easy to recognize. The interior is incredibly nice with such conveniences as two kitchens (one with a built-in push-button espresso machine, of course), a 40 gallon an hour water maker, a huge flat screen television (which she said I can watch movies on any time when we meet up in Panama!),and a jacuzzi- but at the same time maintaining a very comfortable, homey feel. While chatting over coffee we learn that Susan and Mateo have been on the boat for two years and are studying and making videos of sting rays! Mateo is home schooling, so this is like one big field trip! He is extremely smart and fun to talk to. Susan is really great too. She has her captain's licence and runs the boat with two other crew, Ricardo and Frank. We enjoy their company so much and are reluctant to leave. I feel like I could talk to them and listen to their stories for hours. This town is small and the locals are pretty nice. Things are pricey, though, and we definately feel the tourist gouge every time we pull out the wallet (we paid U.S. $30 to have two loads of laundry washed and dried- more than even Key West!), but the nice thing is that a completely satisfying afternoon can be spent simply walking around and taking in the beauty. What more could you want. For happy hour we are invited back to the Phantom Explorer for margaritas and more great conversation.
Saturday 6/02/2007
Phantom Explorer left early this morning. We plan to meet up in Panama where they also expect to spend hurricane season. Jeremy and I walk to the lovely little South Beach where all kinds of crabs scurry in the mud and turquoise lizards as well as lots of tiny baby iguanas hang out on the rocks. Later Travis and Joanne come over for happy hour and we toast to their big news... they just got engaged on Thursday night under the full moon! Que romantica!
Sunday 6/03/2007
This morning Travis and Joanne make a decision to skip a visit to the neighboring island of San Andreas and head directly to Panama. They are having transmission difficulties and are eager to be in Panama where they will have more access to parts and technicians. Jeremy and I have refueling to do in San Andreas, so we will meet up with them in a week or so. We spent our last day in Providencia driving around the island on a scooter. We met an artist named Carmeni who gave us delicious poma-rosa fruit from a tree in her yard and told us lots of stories. The islands we visit really do just keep on getting better. This evening we pulled anchor before sunset to begin the easy 10 hour sail to San Andreas.
Monday 6/04/2007
At sunrise we began the entrance to the San Andreas with the GPS as our guide. The light was still very low, but we followed the electronic map and made the turn towards the first marker where it showed 20 feet of depth. A couple of minutes on this course and Jeremy notices something pequilar in our path. Squinting to get a better view with such little daylight, it dawns on him what it is- small waves breaking on a completely unmarked reef directly in front of us!!! Immediately we change course and make it around the shallows, very shaken by such a close call, but safe. The process of actually anchoring turns out to be a chore as well with nothing but guess work and a trial and error method of figuring out wether or not an area is too shallow. This would be a lot faster and easier if we could only find a guide book for this area. Hopefully in Panama. Immediately upon anchoring we are greeted by fellow cruisers. Hugh on "The Bear Necesities" pulls up first and introduces himself. After a minute of chatting we learn that he was not as lucky with same reef that gave us a scare. The only lucky part about his experience was that they managed to pull her off before she sank. We cringe at the thought of what would have happened if we had abandoned our rule about entering unknown waters before daybreak. This will Always be our policy. This island is much different from Providencia. Every street reminds us of Duval street in Key West. Everywhere are condos and t-shirt shops. It was a necessary stop, but we will be more than ready to leave.
Tuesday 6/05/2007
It looks like we will be stuck here for a few days longer than planned due to weather, but hopefully this will give us time to find access to a guidebook. This afternoon our poor neighbor Hugh had another pitfall in paradise. His dinghy was run over by a local panga (15 ft. speed boat)- while he was in it! The propeller went right through the middle of his dinghy and he had to dive overboard to safety! We feel really bad for his luck (he is an extremely nice guy) and offer to help if we can. He spent five years making his yacht just right (complete with a very nice dinghy), and this is his very first port away from Texas. This place is kinda crazy, and we have certainly taken note. Wednesday 6/06/2007 Breakfast. Refueling. Internet... Once again, thanks for keeping up with our journey and wish us a safe crossing to Panama! Miss you!! Also, for those who don't have it, my e-mail is crystalvillegas@hotmail.com I'm able to check this much more often than I can upload info to the web site, so drop us a line any time! Again, miss ya & hope all is well in the real world! We'll be in touch again
Honduras - The Bay Islands
Tuesday 5/15/2007
I was a little sad to say goodbye to Guatemala and the Rio Dulce, but hurricane season looms in the distance and we must be on our way. Soon we were sailing alongside the rugged mountains of Honduras. We made it to Utila (the northern most Bay Island) around 2am and carefully navigated our way in pitch black (no help from the new moon!) around numerous coral heads and safely into the anchorage. Though it made for minimal visibility on the water, the lack of moonlight made the sky absoluteyl glitter with stars. This beauty paired with almost perfectly calm seas made it an incredible crossing - thanks for the fair weather wishes! Wednesday 5/16/2007 A painless clear-in at the Port Captain's office. We changed some money to Honduran Lempiras, which are 19 lp to $1 U.S.. Everything is very affordable here, even though the Islands are more expensive than the mainland. A large breakfast is about $3 U.S. and a nice steak or tuna dinner is about $5 U.S.! This is also a paradise for divers because the reefs are teeming with fish, coral, sponges, rays, sea turtles and the deeper water just off of the coast is even one of the best places in the world to see whale sharks! In addition to all of this, the Bay Islands are also among the cheapest places in the world to go diving, with Utila and Roatan constantly competing for business. That last part won't do us much good though since we have our own gear. We even have an air compressor so that we can fill our own tanks! All we have to do is find a good dive site guide book for these waters. we spent the evening at the Utila Dive Center where they had a barbeque and all you can drink rum and beer (for $7.00 U.S.!!)- Did I mention that our favorite rum is Flor De Canya which is Nicaraguan, so it is dirt cheap here and always the well rum! Woohoo-bonus!-. The barbeque turned out to be mostly locals, which is a young, crazy, ex-pat crowd. Lots of fun. Most of them are from Europe and Australia, with a few Canadians and only a couple Americans. The whole island has a very hip feel to it. Thursday 5/17/2007 We managed to find a pretty good dive guide at the Utila Dive Center (U.D.C.) and this afternoon we did a 100ft deep wreck dive on a 98ft steel ship called the Haliburton. The guide didn't give an exact location, so we just took the dinghy out to one of the many bouys in the area and got lucky. Sure enough about fifteen feet into the descent we saw the huge ship. The water was crystal clear with about 70ft. of visibility. We saw tiger grouper, lots of reef fish and arrow crabs, trumpet fish, and lots of coral and sponges. It was the deepest dive I have done so far and the first time I actually went inside of a wreck (that is often prohibited in the U.S. for safety reasons). Lots of fun! Of course the locals said that they haven't seen any whale sharks in weeks, so I'm not getting my hopes up for that just yet.
Friday 5/18/2007
Today we walked around for hours on the island's dirt roads. The main road has lots of shops and restaurants. If you branch off to the side streets, they lead you over hills covered in lush trees and tropical plants- most of this is sadly on sale for building of course, but I believe they will keep some of it protected. After our walk Jeremy and I spend the rest of our day out on the boat in between snorkeling trips to the reef.
Saturday 5/19/2007
More snorkeling! We saw a large 3ft. Porcupine Fish and I still cannot get enough of the funny looking Trumpet Fish that are everywhere. The huge reef here on the north west side begins at the surface of the water and slowly deepens to a wall that drops to a 50 ft. sand bottom. All different kinds and colors of reef fish circle around our heads. Large schools of Sergeant Majors and Blue Tangs actually swim close with us for minutes at a time. If I wasn't already addicted to the water, I definately am now!
Sunday 5/20/2007
When we finished another swim on the reef, the word in town was that they saw two whale sharks this afternoon. Tonight Jeremy and I went to a little whale shark presentation at the Whale Shark Research Center to find out exactly where they were found so that we can scout it out tomorrow. Afterwards we met up with Travis and Joanne at a great little tiki hut bar on the beach at the West end of the anchorage.
Monday 5/21/2007
Late this morning Jeremy and I set out on Max to the north eastern end of the island to find what proved to be a needle in a haystack. Three hours and no sign of a wale shark. Instead we swam with a big pod of large bottlenose dolphin in about 1000 ft. of open water! I suppose my whale shark can wait- we are having the time of our lives! Tonight we were invited along with Travis and Joanne to a local couple's house for a delicious salmon dinner. The couple, Brent and Doris, are having a new house built on the island. Also at dinner were Patrick and Nelly, the owners of a fun local restaurant called La Pirata. Nelly was formerly Miss Hawiian Tropic and is "La Pirata". Lots of people get an autograph of her standing beside the wall- sized photo inside the restaurant. It was a night full of great food and company!
Tuesday 5/22/2007
Today we stocked up on water and Flor De Canya in between swimming. After a yummy dinner at La Pirata with Patrick we went home to check out our course to Roatan tomorrow.
Wednesday 5/23/2007
I kept an eye out for whale sharks today as we made our way to Roatan, but again sited none. It was a bit of a sloppy slog with the wind on our nose from the west, but only for a few hours. Coming into Roatan was more of a hassle than it should have been. The wonderful guide book we've been using so far ended in the Rio Dulce. There are not sufficient charts of this area and we were not able to find a guide book. The thing that makes these islands so great is that there is coral reef everywhere- great for diving, not so good for blind navigation. After Calico Jack's failed attempt to enter a bay that ended up becoming very shallow very quickly, Jeremy decided to jump in our dinghy and scout out the area while I drove Max around in slow circles just off the reef. With our 20 horsepower Honda outboard Jeremy could zip all around and find info in no time at all. He ended up finding another sailboat and following them into a different cove where there were a couple of mooring balls to tie up to. I think we finally found a name for our dinghy- Scout. It may have to grow on Jeremy a bit, but I like it. Max and Scout! Anyway, Jeremy got directions and we stayed to the far left of a narrow entrance channel which was full of coral heads and shallow water. I stood on the bow to direct around obstructions and was glad when we were out of that channel and in the calm waters of the bay. We dinghyed in to the small town of West End for some lunch. Roatan is several times bigger than the other two islands at about 27 miles long, and it is more built up, but still very lush and beautiful in many areas. After lunch we dove just outside of the channel we came in through. It was a mystical sight as we slowly descended to an expansive reef complete with many large colonies of towering pillar coral (quite rare) in the distance. We made our way along the fish, coral, and numerous huge barrel sponges to the wall and bounced down to about 120 ft. and then slowly floated upwards, admiring the numerous kinds of plants and animals on the wall. After about 30 minutes we all met up at the dinghy and agreed that that was one of the best dives we've ever done- even better than the amazing reef at South Water Cay!
Thursday 5/24/2007
We leave bright and early to make our way to Coxon Hole at the other end of Roatan. It does not take long for us to realize that Coxon Hole is, well,a hole. The reason we had to come here is to provision at the best grocery in the Bay Islands. It's like Christmas for Jeremy and I as we peruse the fresh meat & produce isles. By the time we leave Coxon Hole our fridge and freezer is filled to the brim with goodies! On our way out we watch a free for us dolphin show from the prestigeous Anthony's Key Resort where they have several dolphins jumping way up in the air as we moter right beside the water-level fence. The entry to the anchorage at our next port,French Harbour, is much easier than West End. We are lucky with two sailboats entering just in front of us- so we just follow them right in. The anchorage is lovely and calm with about 15 other boats inside- more than we have seen since Rio Dulce. Jeremy and I make this a nice relaxing evening with hamburgers by candle light in the cockpit and the stereo playing Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue". With this company and the gorgeous view of Roatan's green hills, it doesn't get much better!
Friday 5/25/2007
This morning we all make the decision to go ahead and sail straight to the third island of Guanaja today rather than spend a couple more days here. Roatan is nice, but Guanaja is supposed to be even better, and hurricane season is now looming right over our heads. During the six hour sail we spot several small pods of pilot whales in the distance! I love marking animals off of the to see wish list! We anchor up in the shadow of the mountains of Guanaja and dinghy into town. Guanaja Town is actually a tiny little island just off of the main island and has something built on every inch of high ground. This gave the tiny town a very different feel than any of the others so far and it was really refreshing to see something new. Lots of the houses are built right up to the water with boat access. Some call Guanaja town the Venice of Honduras. Very cool. Immediately we meet some friendly ex-pats. Jan and his wife extend an invitation to us to have drinks at their home on the other side of the larger island some time over the next few days and lets us in on the best bar to hang out at- The Manati (spanish for Manatee) on the larger island. This is a big wooden open air two-story bar and restaurant run by Hansito from Germany. We head over there and spend the evening watching geckos scurry across the celing and taking shots of a strong dark liquor from a bottle full of leaves (a Garifuna speciality usually only found in certain places on the mainland) called Gifitti. "First one's on the house, but be careful." Says lovely Lucia with a smile from behind the bar.
Saturday 5/26/2007
This morning we knew exactly what Lucia meant by "Be careful." We enjoy walking around town and later return to Hansito's despite our heavy heads- but this time we stick to safer beverages like rum y cola. The ex-pat community here is extremely friendly and in no time we have made lots of friends. Jim and Cathy from the states are retired from their under water demolition business. Gar made his last home in Alaska and has lived here on his sailboat for 7 years. Hansito, the owner of the Manati... is a character and a half! Mostly thanks to his company there was no lack of entertainment at The Manati.
Sunday 5/27/2007
We're back at the Manati at 8:00 this morning. Don't worry- it isn't for a rum y cola! It's because Gar, one of the very few people on the island who knows the trails through the mountains, has offered to take us on a 3 hour hike to the other side of the island. An offer we cannot refuse. The mountains are dense and in many places you cannot even see the trail but rather you have to feel it with your feet through the thick blanket of foliage (of course these spots are primarily on the steep downhill runs!). To the left and right of the trail largish animals slither from the low trees and scramble through the bushes. "Probably just iguanas" Gar insists. About an hour into the hike Joanne's hiking boot loses it's rubber lace inforcement from the top. Five minutes later the other boot gives. Having not been worn (who wears hiking boots in Key West?) the rubber was slowly discintegrating on the boat over the last four years. Very reluctantly she and Travis are forced to turn back. Jeremy, myself, and Gar make our way straight up and then straight down, panting in the opressive tropical heat- not to mention the difference in altitude from to sea level to 1700 feet! But the glorious views from the top of the highest peak makes it all worth while! Different shades of blue and green of the sea stretch from as far away as you can see all the way to the foot hills below. I trace the way we came on Max from Roatan in on the horizon. Then I look into the distant blue to the southeast, where further adventures await us. At the top of the mountain Jeremy has the same problem as Joanne with his boots, but it is too late to turn back. As we all but slide straight down the mountain I am picking up the pieces as Jeremy's old faithful hiking boots deteriorate around his feet. By the time we reach the bottom there is nothing but a thin layer of cloth between his feet and the rocks. But this is sufficient since we immediately rip our shoes off and hit the beach, cold beer in hand. After lunch and a quick recovery we stroll barefoot into the woods to a lovely little secluded waterfall for cool dip in the natural pool below it. As a nice wrap up to our day, the latest president of Honduras introduces himself at The Island House bar where we are drinking to further recovery from our hike. Jim and Cathy give us a lift back to the boat, where we have some dinner and promptly pass out for the night, exhausted.
Monday 5/28/2007 - Wednesday 5/30/2007
Today we say our goodbyes and apologize to those friendly locals who's invitations into their homes we were not able to accept due to lack of precious time- for we have a weather window for the three day crossing to the Columbian island of Providencia and it is time to disappear from here. We pull anchor and sail away. Soon we realize that the weather information we recieved was false and we have the wind directly on our nose, something that is always a chance. It is rough going, but our spirits are lifted by a sunset visit from a pod of about twenty small (5 ft. max) and beautiful Atlantic White-sided dolphins. I routinely run up to the bow and see ten of them playing and pushing eachother to ride our bow wake. They are so playful and several jump bodily into the air right next to my head while others pop their noses up and dart immediately back into the sea, deliberately splashing us with a huge slap of the tail on the way down! I stayed at the bow for about twenty minutes, until the very last one dove down and faded into the deep blue of the darkening ocean. The wind is directly on our nose for the entire 200 mile eastward slog to the Honduras/ Nicaragua border. Where Honduras ends and the coast of Nicaragua cuts south there is a cape called Gracias a Dios- Thank God. This is because when Columbas sailed this route from the Bay Islands it took them nearly thirty days to reach this point due to the winds and current. When he finally made it he named it apropriately. Unlike Columbus we were able to motor into the wind, but we sure were glad to reach the cape and make a more Southerly turn for a better angle on the wind for some possible sailing- or so we thought. Believe it or not, when we changed our course the wind also changed it's direction. We were headed directly into it, Again!! Oh well, we had other things on our minds at this point which far outweighed the discomfort of the sea conditions. The coast of Nicaragua is notorious for it's ruthless piracy. Here at the cape and for the next 12 hours or so we are the closest that we will come to the coast, which is still about 50 miles. From here we cut a little more South-easterly to line up on Providencia, putting more and more distance between us and the coast. We are being very careful, but stories from the Honduran locals keep playing over in our heads as we near the potential danger zone. We choose not to run any lights tonight. All night long we take turns keeping a strict watch. Constantly scanning the horizon and checking our radar for activity. The morning comes without a single other boat coming in sight of even the radar all night (radar can scan about 24 miles!). The worst is over, and it wasn't half bad.
I was a little sad to say goodbye to Guatemala and the Rio Dulce, but hurricane season looms in the distance and we must be on our way. Soon we were sailing alongside the rugged mountains of Honduras. We made it to Utila (the northern most Bay Island) around 2am and carefully navigated our way in pitch black (no help from the new moon!) around numerous coral heads and safely into the anchorage. Though it made for minimal visibility on the water, the lack of moonlight made the sky absoluteyl glitter with stars. This beauty paired with almost perfectly calm seas made it an incredible crossing - thanks for the fair weather wishes! Wednesday 5/16/2007 A painless clear-in at the Port Captain's office. We changed some money to Honduran Lempiras, which are 19 lp to $1 U.S.. Everything is very affordable here, even though the Islands are more expensive than the mainland. A large breakfast is about $3 U.S. and a nice steak or tuna dinner is about $5 U.S.! This is also a paradise for divers because the reefs are teeming with fish, coral, sponges, rays, sea turtles and the deeper water just off of the coast is even one of the best places in the world to see whale sharks! In addition to all of this, the Bay Islands are also among the cheapest places in the world to go diving, with Utila and Roatan constantly competing for business. That last part won't do us much good though since we have our own gear. We even have an air compressor so that we can fill our own tanks! All we have to do is find a good dive site guide book for these waters. we spent the evening at the Utila Dive Center where they had a barbeque and all you can drink rum and beer (for $7.00 U.S.!!)- Did I mention that our favorite rum is Flor De Canya which is Nicaraguan, so it is dirt cheap here and always the well rum! Woohoo-bonus!-. The barbeque turned out to be mostly locals, which is a young, crazy, ex-pat crowd. Lots of fun. Most of them are from Europe and Australia, with a few Canadians and only a couple Americans. The whole island has a very hip feel to it. Thursday 5/17/2007 We managed to find a pretty good dive guide at the Utila Dive Center (U.D.C.) and this afternoon we did a 100ft deep wreck dive on a 98ft steel ship called the Haliburton. The guide didn't give an exact location, so we just took the dinghy out to one of the many bouys in the area and got lucky. Sure enough about fifteen feet into the descent we saw the huge ship. The water was crystal clear with about 70ft. of visibility. We saw tiger grouper, lots of reef fish and arrow crabs, trumpet fish, and lots of coral and sponges. It was the deepest dive I have done so far and the first time I actually went inside of a wreck (that is often prohibited in the U.S. for safety reasons). Lots of fun! Of course the locals said that they haven't seen any whale sharks in weeks, so I'm not getting my hopes up for that just yet.
Friday 5/18/2007
Today we walked around for hours on the island's dirt roads. The main road has lots of shops and restaurants. If you branch off to the side streets, they lead you over hills covered in lush trees and tropical plants- most of this is sadly on sale for building of course, but I believe they will keep some of it protected. After our walk Jeremy and I spend the rest of our day out on the boat in between snorkeling trips to the reef.
Saturday 5/19/2007
More snorkeling! We saw a large 3ft. Porcupine Fish and I still cannot get enough of the funny looking Trumpet Fish that are everywhere. The huge reef here on the north west side begins at the surface of the water and slowly deepens to a wall that drops to a 50 ft. sand bottom. All different kinds and colors of reef fish circle around our heads. Large schools of Sergeant Majors and Blue Tangs actually swim close with us for minutes at a time. If I wasn't already addicted to the water, I definately am now!
Sunday 5/20/2007
When we finished another swim on the reef, the word in town was that they saw two whale sharks this afternoon. Tonight Jeremy and I went to a little whale shark presentation at the Whale Shark Research Center to find out exactly where they were found so that we can scout it out tomorrow. Afterwards we met up with Travis and Joanne at a great little tiki hut bar on the beach at the West end of the anchorage.
Monday 5/21/2007
Late this morning Jeremy and I set out on Max to the north eastern end of the island to find what proved to be a needle in a haystack. Three hours and no sign of a wale shark. Instead we swam with a big pod of large bottlenose dolphin in about 1000 ft. of open water! I suppose my whale shark can wait- we are having the time of our lives! Tonight we were invited along with Travis and Joanne to a local couple's house for a delicious salmon dinner. The couple, Brent and Doris, are having a new house built on the island. Also at dinner were Patrick and Nelly, the owners of a fun local restaurant called La Pirata. Nelly was formerly Miss Hawiian Tropic and is "La Pirata". Lots of people get an autograph of her standing beside the wall- sized photo inside the restaurant. It was a night full of great food and company!
Tuesday 5/22/2007
Today we stocked up on water and Flor De Canya in between swimming. After a yummy dinner at La Pirata with Patrick we went home to check out our course to Roatan tomorrow.
Wednesday 5/23/2007
I kept an eye out for whale sharks today as we made our way to Roatan, but again sited none. It was a bit of a sloppy slog with the wind on our nose from the west, but only for a few hours. Coming into Roatan was more of a hassle than it should have been. The wonderful guide book we've been using so far ended in the Rio Dulce. There are not sufficient charts of this area and we were not able to find a guide book. The thing that makes these islands so great is that there is coral reef everywhere- great for diving, not so good for blind navigation. After Calico Jack's failed attempt to enter a bay that ended up becoming very shallow very quickly, Jeremy decided to jump in our dinghy and scout out the area while I drove Max around in slow circles just off the reef. With our 20 horsepower Honda outboard Jeremy could zip all around and find info in no time at all. He ended up finding another sailboat and following them into a different cove where there were a couple of mooring balls to tie up to. I think we finally found a name for our dinghy- Scout. It may have to grow on Jeremy a bit, but I like it. Max and Scout! Anyway, Jeremy got directions and we stayed to the far left of a narrow entrance channel which was full of coral heads and shallow water. I stood on the bow to direct around obstructions and was glad when we were out of that channel and in the calm waters of the bay. We dinghyed in to the small town of West End for some lunch. Roatan is several times bigger than the other two islands at about 27 miles long, and it is more built up, but still very lush and beautiful in many areas. After lunch we dove just outside of the channel we came in through. It was a mystical sight as we slowly descended to an expansive reef complete with many large colonies of towering pillar coral (quite rare) in the distance. We made our way along the fish, coral, and numerous huge barrel sponges to the wall and bounced down to about 120 ft. and then slowly floated upwards, admiring the numerous kinds of plants and animals on the wall. After about 30 minutes we all met up at the dinghy and agreed that that was one of the best dives we've ever done- even better than the amazing reef at South Water Cay!
Thursday 5/24/2007
We leave bright and early to make our way to Coxon Hole at the other end of Roatan. It does not take long for us to realize that Coxon Hole is, well,a hole. The reason we had to come here is to provision at the best grocery in the Bay Islands. It's like Christmas for Jeremy and I as we peruse the fresh meat & produce isles. By the time we leave Coxon Hole our fridge and freezer is filled to the brim with goodies! On our way out we watch a free for us dolphin show from the prestigeous Anthony's Key Resort where they have several dolphins jumping way up in the air as we moter right beside the water-level fence. The entry to the anchorage at our next port,French Harbour, is much easier than West End. We are lucky with two sailboats entering just in front of us- so we just follow them right in. The anchorage is lovely and calm with about 15 other boats inside- more than we have seen since Rio Dulce. Jeremy and I make this a nice relaxing evening with hamburgers by candle light in the cockpit and the stereo playing Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue". With this company and the gorgeous view of Roatan's green hills, it doesn't get much better!
Friday 5/25/2007
This morning we all make the decision to go ahead and sail straight to the third island of Guanaja today rather than spend a couple more days here. Roatan is nice, but Guanaja is supposed to be even better, and hurricane season is now looming right over our heads. During the six hour sail we spot several small pods of pilot whales in the distance! I love marking animals off of the to see wish list! We anchor up in the shadow of the mountains of Guanaja and dinghy into town. Guanaja Town is actually a tiny little island just off of the main island and has something built on every inch of high ground. This gave the tiny town a very different feel than any of the others so far and it was really refreshing to see something new. Lots of the houses are built right up to the water with boat access. Some call Guanaja town the Venice of Honduras. Very cool. Immediately we meet some friendly ex-pats. Jan and his wife extend an invitation to us to have drinks at their home on the other side of the larger island some time over the next few days and lets us in on the best bar to hang out at- The Manati (spanish for Manatee) on the larger island. This is a big wooden open air two-story bar and restaurant run by Hansito from Germany. We head over there and spend the evening watching geckos scurry across the celing and taking shots of a strong dark liquor from a bottle full of leaves (a Garifuna speciality usually only found in certain places on the mainland) called Gifitti. "First one's on the house, but be careful." Says lovely Lucia with a smile from behind the bar.
Saturday 5/26/2007
This morning we knew exactly what Lucia meant by "Be careful." We enjoy walking around town and later return to Hansito's despite our heavy heads- but this time we stick to safer beverages like rum y cola. The ex-pat community here is extremely friendly and in no time we have made lots of friends. Jim and Cathy from the states are retired from their under water demolition business. Gar made his last home in Alaska and has lived here on his sailboat for 7 years. Hansito, the owner of the Manati... is a character and a half! Mostly thanks to his company there was no lack of entertainment at The Manati.
Sunday 5/27/2007
We're back at the Manati at 8:00 this morning. Don't worry- it isn't for a rum y cola! It's because Gar, one of the very few people on the island who knows the trails through the mountains, has offered to take us on a 3 hour hike to the other side of the island. An offer we cannot refuse. The mountains are dense and in many places you cannot even see the trail but rather you have to feel it with your feet through the thick blanket of foliage (of course these spots are primarily on the steep downhill runs!). To the left and right of the trail largish animals slither from the low trees and scramble through the bushes. "Probably just iguanas" Gar insists. About an hour into the hike Joanne's hiking boot loses it's rubber lace inforcement from the top. Five minutes later the other boot gives. Having not been worn (who wears hiking boots in Key West?) the rubber was slowly discintegrating on the boat over the last four years. Very reluctantly she and Travis are forced to turn back. Jeremy, myself, and Gar make our way straight up and then straight down, panting in the opressive tropical heat- not to mention the difference in altitude from to sea level to 1700 feet! But the glorious views from the top of the highest peak makes it all worth while! Different shades of blue and green of the sea stretch from as far away as you can see all the way to the foot hills below. I trace the way we came on Max from Roatan in on the horizon. Then I look into the distant blue to the southeast, where further adventures await us. At the top of the mountain Jeremy has the same problem as Joanne with his boots, but it is too late to turn back. As we all but slide straight down the mountain I am picking up the pieces as Jeremy's old faithful hiking boots deteriorate around his feet. By the time we reach the bottom there is nothing but a thin layer of cloth between his feet and the rocks. But this is sufficient since we immediately rip our shoes off and hit the beach, cold beer in hand. After lunch and a quick recovery we stroll barefoot into the woods to a lovely little secluded waterfall for cool dip in the natural pool below it. As a nice wrap up to our day, the latest president of Honduras introduces himself at The Island House bar where we are drinking to further recovery from our hike. Jim and Cathy give us a lift back to the boat, where we have some dinner and promptly pass out for the night, exhausted.
Monday 5/28/2007 - Wednesday 5/30/2007
Today we say our goodbyes and apologize to those friendly locals who's invitations into their homes we were not able to accept due to lack of precious time- for we have a weather window for the three day crossing to the Columbian island of Providencia and it is time to disappear from here. We pull anchor and sail away. Soon we realize that the weather information we recieved was false and we have the wind directly on our nose, something that is always a chance. It is rough going, but our spirits are lifted by a sunset visit from a pod of about twenty small (5 ft. max) and beautiful Atlantic White-sided dolphins. I routinely run up to the bow and see ten of them playing and pushing eachother to ride our bow wake. They are so playful and several jump bodily into the air right next to my head while others pop their noses up and dart immediately back into the sea, deliberately splashing us with a huge slap of the tail on the way down! I stayed at the bow for about twenty minutes, until the very last one dove down and faded into the deep blue of the darkening ocean. The wind is directly on our nose for the entire 200 mile eastward slog to the Honduras/ Nicaragua border. Where Honduras ends and the coast of Nicaragua cuts south there is a cape called Gracias a Dios- Thank God. This is because when Columbas sailed this route from the Bay Islands it took them nearly thirty days to reach this point due to the winds and current. When he finally made it he named it apropriately. Unlike Columbus we were able to motor into the wind, but we sure were glad to reach the cape and make a more Southerly turn for a better angle on the wind for some possible sailing- or so we thought. Believe it or not, when we changed our course the wind also changed it's direction. We were headed directly into it, Again!! Oh well, we had other things on our minds at this point which far outweighed the discomfort of the sea conditions. The coast of Nicaragua is notorious for it's ruthless piracy. Here at the cape and for the next 12 hours or so we are the closest that we will come to the coast, which is still about 50 miles. From here we cut a little more South-easterly to line up on Providencia, putting more and more distance between us and the coast. We are being very careful, but stories from the Honduran locals keep playing over in our heads as we near the potential danger zone. We choose not to run any lights tonight. All night long we take turns keeping a strict watch. Constantly scanning the horizon and checking our radar for activity. The morning comes without a single other boat coming in sight of even the radar all night (radar can scan about 24 miles!). The worst is over, and it wasn't half bad.
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