La Antigua Por Favor!

We took a launcha from Burnt Key to Fronteras and then a bus to Guatemala City where a collectivo bus took us to Antigua.  It was a long day of travel, but it was so good to get off the boat and travel inland!   

 

Antigua is one of most heavily traveled cities in Guatemala. One of the big draws is the cooler temperature.  There are a number of Spanish Schools; some that offer lodging and meals too.  Lots of cruisers take advantage of learning Spanish this way.

You can stay at a hostel or a lavish hotel.  Lots of history, lots of churches,restaurants and bars to frequent, and  a plus for us cruisers, lots of walking. It was very nice not being a "galley winch" for a change!  It is a partying place for the young crowd.

 

The Central Park is a great place to relax  and people watch. There is a very large outdoor market operating 7 days a week where you can buy ANYTHING you want from clothing to electronics to fresh produce etc.  It is amazing to see the amount of used clothing that is donated. There were at least 25 vendors renting space to sell second-hand clothing and such. This is in addition to the many artisan shops where you can buy jewelry, leather goods, art; it is a shopping mecca! 

 

Of course, we had to visit McDonald's, one of the loveliest you will ever see, complete with the kids play area and a lovely outdoor garden.  They had to make adjustments to their normal US look to stay within architectural guidelines.  It's got to be one of the nicest McDonald's we've even visited, with a lovely outdoor garden.

 

We wanted to make the day trip to Lake Atilan while we were in Antigua, but we went to Monterrico instead; big mistake!  Since we love beaches, we thought Monterrico, on the Pacific coast, would be good. Wrong, there was virtually no one to talk with and it was sweltering.  

 

The main attraction at Monterrico is Johnny's Place,
a beach side restaurant/bar.  Even though their bungalows were full, no one was out and about; it is off season.  Of course, they had their own private pools!  Monterrico has a black beach, which you really don't even want to be near!  You can't even walk on it until the sun goes down.  Being it is on the Pacific side, the draw for us, the waves were just pounding the beach!  So even had I wanted to brave burning the soles of my feet I would have drowned in the surf!  Still looking forward to going to Lake Atilan another time. 

A little history; Antigua Guatemala means "Ancient Guatemala" and was the third capital of Guatemala. The first capital of Guatemala was founded on the site of a Kakchikel-Maya city. The city has been moved several times, on September 29, 1717, an estimated 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Antigua Guatemala, and destroyed over 3,000 buildings. Much of the city's architecture was ruined.  Again in 1773, the Santa Marta earthquakes destroyed much of the town. The Spanish Crown ordered (1776) the removal of the capital to a safer location, the Valley of the Shrine, where Guatemala City, now stands. This new city did not retain its old name and was thereafter referred to as la Antigua Guatemala (the Old Guatemala).

Three large volcanoes dominate the horizon around Antigua. The most commanding, to the south of the city, is the Volcan de Agua or "Volcano of Water", 12,356 ft high. When the Spanish arrived, the inhabitants of the zone, Kakchikel Mayas, called it Hunapú. To the west of the city are a pair of peaks, Acatenango, last erupted in 1972, 13045 ft high, and the Volcan de Fuego or "Volcano of Fire", 12346 ft high. "Fuego" is famous for being almost constantly active at a low level. Steam and gas issue from its top daily, a larger eruption occurred in September 2012.

La Antigua is noted for its very elaborate religious celebrations during Lent, leading up to Semana Santa. Each Sunday in Lent, one of the local parishes sponsor a procession through the streets of Antigua. Elaborate and beautiful artistic carpets predominantly made of dyed sawdust, flowers, pine needles and even fruits and vegetables adorn the processions' path.

Due to its popularity amongst tourists and its very well developed
tourism infrastructure, Antigua Guatemala is often used as a central location in which many choose to set up base. Cruise ships that dock at Guatemalan ports offer trips to Antigua from both the Pacific and Atlantic.

Antigua also holds a sizeable retirement community from the US as well as Europe as its colonial charm and mild climate has appealed to many who have crossed paths with this enchanting and romantic town.  Some rent apartments, others have purchased villas. 

One US lady has set up her business in Antigua.  She arranges a package deal, combining transportation to/from US to Antigua/Guatemala, hospital stay and then recuperation all at an affordable price. Many US residents come here for everything from a gall bladder operation to hip surgery to a facelift; a whole lot less expensive that doing so in the states. Her business is growing by leaps and bounds.

Antigua is also known for its chocolate makers. At the Choco Museo Antigua (Chocolate Museum and Workshop), visitors can learn how the Mayas used cacao, and  you can even make your own recipe for chocolate inside the artisan factory.  They sell chocolate in many forms; a tea, and even chocolate condoms!!!

Hope to return to Antigua en route to Lake Atilan next time.  It is a lovely place.  The only downer for me was that after going out for a fancy dinner I ended up with food poisoning.  It was not fun and I lost two days out of our week. 

 

We are still working our way through the cosmetic stuff on the boat, but hope to make another inland trip and go to Lake Atilan next time.

 

Stay tuned!

Adios, Hasta La Vista, Au Revoir, Good Bye, Farewell Brooksy Point!

So its official, we are off the dock . . . free from the clutches of Brooksy Point! Yeh! We miss them already! It's like leaving family behind. We are sad that we will not be there when Sophia Grace, Lilo and Mike's baby, will arrive in May, but so looking forward to staying touch.

I personally will miss the children the most. Lilo and Mike tried to convince me to stay on and teach the children while David went sailing . . . I think he gave that more than a passing thought, but then he probably wondered who would take care of him! We will also miss Paul, Roy, Jerry and Annie and Jeannette and Reginald, our fellow cruisers and many others that have stopped along the way and of course Ramon and Rosa who work at Brooksy Point.

We followed our friends, Big Fun, Heurisko and Blue Monday to the South West Cays of Utila. It is beautiful there, a paradise. We went to the beach and snorkeled.

Yet another cold front interrupted our quiet anchorage. Our friends decided to move on and head back to Guatemala and the Rio. We stayed, but we anchored in the East harbor as we have done several times before. Sometimes it just doesn't make good sense to be the only boat in an anchorage. Our visas don't expire for a couple of weeks so why go??? Although, our planning could have been better. We totally forgot about it being Semana Santa (aka Easter), which is a week-long party here; we survived the crowds, the traffic music till dawn.

Over the next week or so we enjoyed lunches and happy hours with Ralph and Cheryl on Fortuitous and Lenny and Sue on Windancer. We had the pleasure of meeting Lenny and Sue last season at BPYC where we had learned that they also own a home in Orlando. They are Yankees like us, some of the very few we have met from the northeast. Most of the cruisers we've met are from Texas and Canada and Britain.

Our generator is giving us problems again! David is almost ready to throw it overboard and purchase a Honda generator. We paid a lot of $$ to have it re-built in Roatan and it worked fine while we were at the dock. Good money after bad.

In mid-April we left Utila with Windancer bound for Glovers Reef, Belize, one of those spots we missed on our way down. Unfortunately, no moonlight while underway. Probably, a blessing, because if I'd have been able to see the waves rolling in, I might not have been so calm. Luckily, they were large, long and smooth.

We arrived at SW Caye (Glover’s Reef) early the next afternoon.
There are two islands at Glover's Reef, one private. The un-private island has the Marisol Dive Shop, a bar and several residences available for rent. Obviously, the conch are plentiful as they lined the properties with conch shells. There is a restaurant on the island, but we were told that because of a “shift change”, it wouldn't be open for business. LOL!

 

While in SW Caye, I saw more sea life than I have ever seen snorkeling! I think we saw more than 30 types of reef fish and also a small eel. I saw my first barracuda! I nearly swam into a school of about 40 fish slowly moving along. It was pretty awesome! I wish I had had an underwater camera.
 

We arrived in Hatchet Caye and were very surprised to learn that there is a resort there. We picked up the mooring and went ashore.http://hatchetcaye.com It is now necessary to pay a Guide about $30 US to snorkel on some of the Belizean! Another freebie taken away!
It is an all-inclusive resort, though cruisers are welcome. They offer 4 moorings and for a small
charge you can leave your trash and get fresh water. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food is reasonable and very good. They have a pool, small gift shop, bungalows, dive center, small catamarans, paddle boats, guides for snorkeling. Check out their website:

We spent a very rolly afternoon and evening in Hatchet Caye as the wind clocked around to the East. Just before dusk Lenny and Sue offered to help us pickup another mooring as we were “hobby horsing” very badly. Not wanting to spend another day bobbing up and down, we decided to move on to South Long Cocoa Caye, a little further west, bringing us a little closer to our next destination, Placencia.

South Long Cocoa Caye has beautiful white sand and a very large guard dog! So no exploring on land for us! Lenny and Sue went fishing instead and were lucky enough to catch a couple of large conch and some clams. We left the next morning enroute to Placencia, only about 10 miles away. The sails were hoisted, but alas not enough wind to fill them. Motoring again!

We arrived in Placencia by noon . . . feels like home! Now we know why Brooksy Point is barren of cruisers this year, they're in Placencia and other cayes in Belize. There are a least 15 boats here now, but we heard there was close to 35 earlier.

Early the next morning, we took a bus with Lenny and Sue to Dandriga to check into Belize. On the way, I was surprised to see a new, very large development being built. The homes looked just like the homes in Orlando! I can’t imagine why someone would want to build a stucco home in this environment, the maintenance will kill you! The only upside I see is that it provides jobs for the natives. It must be hard knowing that they will never be able to afford to live there.

Building a home/business in Belize gives you clear title, not a land lease as in Guatemala. If you want a vacation home and you have cash, this is where to build it. The Canadian and Americans are building here like crazy. There is a lot of available coastline in Belize, but of course, no roads, only water travel. You won’t see a neighbor for miles if you settle outside Placencia, Dandriga, Maya Creek. Unfortunately, someday it will look like Miami, which I personally find very sad.

Next to Isla Mujeres, Placencia has the best beach in the Western Caribbean. When we were last here, there was a petition to thwart the cruise ships from setting up shop here. So far they have not arrived, but locals still seem concerned that this will still become a reality. The area called Big Creek has been purchased, and it appears that is where the cruise ships will dock and then their guests will be shuttled over to Placencia. Hopefully, the cruise ships will not destroy the livelihood of the natives selling their wares on the sidewalk and streets of Placencia.

Most cruisers listen on the SSB each morning to get weather reports. Chris Parker had predicted a very bad storm; he was right on the money! We spent one harrowing evening with our motor running just to make sure the 50+ wind gusts didn't pull up our anchor. Luckily no boats dragged anchor that evening. I don't think we have weathered a storm that powerful since we were in Pumpkin Cay, off the intercoastal waterway near Miami.

Our friends, Darwin and Jaime and Jaime's three young daughters (4,7,11), on Blue Monday, were actually were in town when the storm struck and had to ride in their dinghy in 45+ winds to get to their boat. Luckily they made it, but it was frightening watching them trying to get onto the boat and tie up the dinghy. Actually, they got a little close to uswhen they forgot that they had left the engine in forward gear, luckily they had their VHF radio on.

A number of boats left Placencia to seek shelter from the storm, including Windancer; who sustained damage to their wind generators and dragged anchor into their friends Will O’ the Wisp. Luckily, no one was hurt. We also heard that one of the Moorings charter catamarans was lifted into the air, the boom flew away and was then dropped onto the reef.

We found a great place to stay in Placencia. Our friend Harry has a few bungalows on the beach a stones throw
 away from Yoli's.  He and his brother bought the place 25 years ago.  Harry and his friend Fern continue to make improvements, but it is a lovely place to stay.  You can visit their website ww.cozycabanas.com

 

While visiting Placencia we met a couple who settled in Belize back in 1972. They wanted a simpler life, so they built a tree house! Sounds like Swiss Family Robinson! One of my favorite movies! I have always been so enchanted with that story. I once told my late mother-in-law that I’d love to live in a tree house like the Robinson’s. Of course she thought me crazy, but as it turns out we did do something different, living on a boat traveling the western Caribbean. Had I realized this cruising lifestyle existed way back, I would have loved to have raised our boys aboard. I still wish they could travel more with us now and hope they may find a simpler life one day.

 

Anyway, Christina and Kirby raised a family (a son and a daughter) in the tree house until a bad storm caused significant damage to their home. So they quickly changed direction and began a wood crafting business and in the process also built a boat, Morning Star. For a time they had their own wood shop, but it became easier and less costly to sell their crafts by consignment.

By 1982, their children moved on to pursue their own dreams. Christina and Kirby set about to build a larger boat. Their dream became an all wood boat they now live aboard. We weren’t treated to a tour aboard, but they have written a book of their tale. It’s called “Chance Along” (which is also the name of their boat) and they gave us an autographed copy! I haven’t finished it yet, but it’s quite an interesting story. Their first book is titled “Tree house Adventures”. Kirby was very intrigued with our Downeaster 38’ and we invited him aboard for a tour. I think he liked it!

With the boat provisioned for about 5 days, we checked of Belize and headed to New Haven on our way back to Guatemala.   We arrived back in Livingston on the 24^th of May. Unfortunately, our main engine was overheating so it was a long ride up the gorge on our way to Burnt Key Marina, aka Texan Bay. Motoring against a strong current, we were only able to motor at about 2.6 knots; it took us about 3 ½ hours!!!!

Though Texan Bay has become “Burnt Key Marina”, it hasn’t changed much, but it has been great seeing old friends. Maurits and Mavis are working hard to update the marina. The food is great with new specials every day.  Every dish is homemade by Sandy, including her pasta!

Of course, we visited with our old friends, Pat and Penny. They now own their own “bay” with land . . .they added some fill and made a garden area and septic system. They're happy and content and at home. It is just lovely and with the amount of cruisers on the Rio, a good investment property. There are definitely more boats than there were when we were here last. The marinas are very full. Cruisers are now reserving their slips in advance.

Also, we visited with Chris and Dani (El Hotelito Perdido). They have a new hostel/restaurant called the Round House. He and Dani are making a good go of it as it seems to be visited by more backpackers and guests every day.  Cool place, you can check the reviews on TripAdvisor.

We ran into our friends, Linda and Ricardo from Bailando at Burnt Key. They have just returned from the states where they had been recording a CD! www.itgoeswithoutsayingmusic.com They are quite talented! He plays guitar, she has a great voice. They are headed to Maine for a family party. Whoa! It is hurricane season guys!

It's time for us to take a break and get off the boat. So we are going to go to Antigua; a trip we have wanted to make since the last time we were in Guatemala. It is about an hour or so from Guatemala City. From there we may go to Lake Atitlan. Volcano, quaint Spanish town, high altitude, cool temperature and a big X pat community. Can’t wait for the photo opportunity!

Stay tuned!

 

 

 

Long, hot Summer in the Caribbean

It's been a long, hot summer in the Caribbean. Yeah, blue skies, turquoise water, spectacular sunrises and sunsets, great snorkeling, but also hot, humid, sticky, swarming with sand fleas, mosquitoes, and flies.  We need a break from paradise!!!!!!

 

Paul, one of our dock friends at Brooksy, returned in September to announce that he was going to sell his boat and buy a trawler.  His plan was to take his boat to Texas where he envisions a better market since it has been for sale for two years in Roatan.  We offered to help him take the boat to Texas and began preparing to do so. 

 

Lady H is a 53' French, luxury yacht.  All systems are electric, including the winches and sails!  We sailed her with Paul to Guanaja for a shake down to check systems.  On our return, we hit a squall and with only the genoa and mizzen were able to do 7.8 knots!! We kept waiting for our weather window, but it never came.  So unfortunately, by Thanksgiving we had to cancel our trip as we needed to get back to the US before the end of 2012.   At this writing, Paul is due back from the US soon.  Another sailor friend will help him to get Lady H to Texas as planned. 

Mike and Lilo, Stephania, Jon Piero and Maria, took a vacation for about 5 weeks. They had asked David to "mind" the docks, so we needed to stay at Brooksy Point. After all it was hurricane season. It was pretty quiet here. Adagio, Lady H and New Horizons; and Enchantress stopped by a couple of times.  Funny, but we continued with our "potlucks" every Saturday and of course "happy hour"~ no surprise there!!!


 

We were beginning to wonder if Mike and Lilo would ever return. They originally said they would be back in 15 days. Ayla, their female German Shepherd birthing 6 pups seemed to have been the "event" that spurred their return. Mom and pups are all doing well. Being as they already have 5 - 8 month old pups, and the parents, they are going to sell the new litter. We also learned that Mike and Lilo are expecting! Congrats to them! 

 

We awoke to a loud bang one evening, by the time David reached the dock, The Green Hornet, Mike and Lilo's boat was engulfed in flames!  David and Mike had to work very quickly to untie 2 boats very close by.  Surprisingly enough they do have a fire department in French Harbor.  They did arrive, but it took them 45 minutes to get here.  They were expecting a house fire, so it took even longer to get enough hose down to the water.  It was an electrical fire and luckily they are insured.  Mike is in the process of rebuilding her now.

 

It didn't take long for Mike and Lilo to get back in the swing of things. They hosted a Thanksgiving dinner.  It was very nice, but we were homesick.

As 2012 was coming to a close, we left Roatan and spent some time with our family in the states.  Unfortunately, we were not able to see all of our friends and even do all we needed to do.  David and I both got the flu.  It was good to get back to the “land of plenty”.  We were like kids in the candy store; everything you want or need to buy is available . . . a far cry from the Caribbean!   

Every time we go back to the States , it seems to have changed more. The hustle and bustle, the traffic, the construction . . . it can really get on your nerves.  I have to admit, we do love to watch TV and just zone out at the end of the day, but the drug commercials will drive you crazy!   Progress marches on I guess.  I guess our age is showing. . . everyone is on such a fast track and no one talks on their phones anymore.  It's all texting . . . good thing we have thumbs!!!!

 

Since the opening of Brooksy Point, Mike has made it his "duty" to mark the channel into Little French Cay.  He came up with the idea of using our old bowsprit as a marker.  It will probably float away, as others have, but it's a fun story for now!   

The competition between Brooksy Point, Fantasy Island and Frenchy's 44 is in full swing! Brooksy has now started a "Tuesday Trivia Night". As it turned out, our team, "Atlantico's", (David, me, Jim (Little Ben), Greg (Insatiable One) came in 2nd place for the very first game.  Another team won and since they were leaving Roatan, the duty to 1st place winners, to host the next game, fell to us!! So we didn't get "the $$", just all the work!!! It was fun, but it does take time to come up with 4 categories, 3 questions for each of 4 rounds. While I was working at Brooksy on a particularly slow Sunday I Googled for the question/answers. Our categories were: The Olympics, Nautical, Phobias, and Animals. European Connection won and will host the games next week. Do you know what type of phobia Sesquipedalophobia is?

 

While we were visiting family in the states for a couple of weeks, we got an email from our friends Patricia and Allen (Nauti Nauti) that an 80’ ship had come into Brooksy Point.  It’s been a long time since I’ve had any really good stories for the blog and this is a good one.

Victoria is an 80' all aluminum sailing vessel.  The vessel was purchased in 2006 and after being refurbished began on a new venture and voyage. The owner has a contract with the Danish government.  He takes several juveniles and provides them the schooling they need to graduate from high school and also to prepare for SAT's.  Sailing Victoria is an alternative to serving their time in a juvenile detention center.  Sounds like a great option to me!  It is a very lucrative and rewarding business/occupation.  Presently, they have only two young men, but when they arrived in Roatan they had five juveniles. Some stay for a few months others for up to a year. If they are not happy aboard Victoria they have the choice to return to Denmark to finish their sentences. 

 

We had the pleasure one evening to meet Christian (left) and Casper (right) at Brooksy Point.  Christian is the Victoria's first mate, Caspar is the Teacher aboard Victoria, although Christian also teaches.  They and the juveniles are from Denmark. Christian has been traveling the world aboard tall ships for nearly ten years serving several occupations.  Caspar has only been on Victoria for a year and even though he very much enjoyed crewing on Victoria, will soon be going back to Denmark to join his family and resume his job there. 

 

I thought it was quite an interesting story and was so glad Christian offered to let David and I to come aboard.  Victoria has been refurbished to become a more comfortable space for the studentsand crew.  As with many ships/boats originally it had a lot of teak which made the interior very dark; so they brightened it up with white laminate and light wood trim.  If I remember correctly, there were 5 staterooms with quite ample bunks, a large eat-in galley (capable of seating approximately 10 people), normal size stove, huge  refrigerator and stand alone freezer, separate shower and toilet, a washing machine, watermaker, and a huge, walk-in engine compartment in the stern with a very large diesel engine and two generators.  It hardly looks like a ship below! A very comfortable living space indeed!  They also have a large covered cockpit with a table/bench area to seat the crew and students.  They are all a very long way from home, but Victoria is very well equipped to sustain them.
 

 

The students have the choice of learning to sail and help with regular maintenance/repairs on the ship or not.  The atmosphere is very open and yielding to their desire.  It’s up to them to learn as much or as little as they choose.  It would be interesting to know what their success rate may be.  

Victoria has spent about a month at Brooksy Point and they soon will be on their way again.  I’m glad we had the opportunity to meet them and hear their story. We did not have the pleasure of meeting the Captain/owner; he left with one of the students the day we arrived. Though, Harry, a new Captain arrived just before their departure.  Christian is on holiday for six weeks, so Bill joined them to serve as First Mate.  They are headed to Belize and beyond.

All in all, 2012 wasn't the best year for us.  David had to replace the bowsprit, repair the generator, replace the transmission, repair the celinoid for our stove, rebuild the propane locker, replace our chartplotter and autopilot . . . and since returning to the boat, in January, we have had replace our toilet, and VHF radio and antenna!  It never ends!!!! 

So we are hoping 2013 will be less about replacing and repairing and a lot more about SAILING!  We are really READY for a new adventure!!!  We're not sure where we're going, but we're going somewhere!!!

 Stay tuned!