After pulling up the anchor, we left Blue Ground Range anchorage and headed south to Placencia, Belize.
Unfortunately, the winds were lighter, but we were able to use the mainsail to give us a little help on our trip to Placencia.
As we were approaching the harbor at Placencia, RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR went the fishing line again, this time we caught a fishing boat! The line got caught around his prop, we were in 3ft of water and kind of aground. He cut the line and away he went, no problem, mon, whew! That could have been costly, but instead we just lost a lure. I swear that is the last time we try to fish while underway! From now on we fish at anchor, from a dock or buy it!!!!!
Placencia has a very lovely beach! You enter the harbor between two islands and it is shallow, but soft bottom. The anchorage is also quite large and 20' deep and pretty well protected for NE and NW, not so much for SE winds.
Once we got the anchor set, we decided we had to go into town, it's five o'clock somewhere, right? We saw a sign for the Tranquillo Bar and soon learned that they taxi you to it, since it is surrounded by water. The funny thing was the Cook/Bartender/Mgr was on the taxi with us and one other couple. They open at noon for lunch, but she slept in. . .it was about 4:30 central time!!! So we had to wait while she opened the coolers and such. Ya gotta love the laidbackness here! It rules! Got some great sunset pics! They had a live band, but we left after sunset, the no seeums were eating us alive! Although, we were entertained with their live band well into the evening, we should have anchored farther away! They like to party and since they are closed on Monday, they did partee!
Placencia is spotless compared to Belize City. . .and so colorful, keeping the island flavor! I haven't seen one window covered with bars or a fence, so pleasant!
There are a lot of bars here, internet cafes, not so much. You can get a room for $60 Belize with cable tv, a/c and all. We also saw rooms advertised for less. Of course, diving and cruising is the big draw here as well. It similar to Cay Caulker, but different. The people on the streets are mostly tourists, not natives. The natives are working. There are quite a few Americans, Canadians, etc. that own homes here; some live here year round, others rent their homes and vacation here.
On our travels, we found at least four asian grocery stores. Haven't come across any Mennonites yet, but understand they do live here! I was surprised to find about three thrift shops. They have a good mix of everything here, hardware, dive shops, a canvas shop, restaurants, bars, clothing, art and gifts, spa's; only one pharmacy though. I could spend a little time here, no problem!
The locals spent about a year constucting a sidewalk that runs parellel to the beach, approximataely a mile long. This makes it very easy for wheeling suitcases! There is a dirt road as well. You can get a bus, taxi ("Hokey Pokey" Taxi Service) or bicycle to traverse the island.
Today, Monday is the "calm" before the storm as yet another front is expected to arrive by Tuesday afternoon. There's a nice SE wind in the anchorage, but it is quite hot in town. I had to just take a break and sit for a while in the comfort of the Purple Space Monkey to catch up on email and the blog, we passed it twice, cause guess what it's not painted purple?!
If you ever come to Placencia you should definitely check out Yolley's, a great bar right in the harbor, Tipsy Tuna – great beach, wifi and sports bar, two of our favorite spots! The Purple Space Monkey is a great place to relax, catch up on the
wifi, have lunch/dinner. Tranquilo's is definitely a great place for sunsets! Paradise Resort/Bar is also quite nice, though we didn't go there. There are many other restaurants, too numerous to mention.
Later in the early evening, David hailed SunDog on the VHF radio. Joe responded, but it was quite garbled, then nothing. . . a couple minutes later he came flying over in his dinghy. He was anchored just in Placencia harbor, though we hadn't known.
We had a nice visit with Joe and his crewmate, Morris, a friend from elementary school. How cool is that?! Unfortunately, Kathy will be flying back to Placencia today as she had flown back to Tennessee to see her ailing mother. We are looking forward to catching up with them some more tomorrow evening.
For those that follow Raucher's Guide to Belize, take note that you can no longer fill your water tanks, or pull up to the dock at the Shell Station for fuel, as it was torn up by an earthquake and storms.
We did find that Yoli's is equitable with letting cruisers fill up with water with the purchase of a couple of beers. The hose is conveniently located at the T-dock for dinghies. There is another dock just north of Yoli's where you can dock and replenish water or hook up to a mooring ball for like $12 Belize. Now that's a bargain! The shower facilites are included.
Kathy & Joe, SunDog, invited us over for happy hour; great conversation, way points, and snacks. Joe makes a great ceviche! They left Friday morning for the Rio.
Hey Judy Klawe, so you let Richard go out for gelato????? LOL! His twin is here in Placencia, playing a ukulele! Wish you really were here with us!
We have learned from the Caribbean Net (SSB radio) that Belize, as of Friday, February 25th, has invoked an additional $40 Belize to check out. It's getting more expensive here every day.
David checked us out of Belize this morning, which cost $90 Belize for both of us, the $20 taxi ride, and the ferry; still quite reasonable.
One more front tomorrow, then a clear weather window through the weekend! We plan to leave Wednesday morning, but we're not sure if we will go to New Haven, or just continue on to Bahia de la Grasio (an anchorage) and then leave Friday for Livingston, Guatemala to check in. In any case, we're only about 55 nm from our destination. . .the Rio Dulce, Guatemala. Stay tuned!
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