Antigua, Guatemala

ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA

JUNE 2012

FOR YOU HISTORY BUFFS.................................in 1543 the Spanish conquistadors found the third Guatemalan capital, La Antigua, after several rebellions and mudslides from volcano Agua.  For more than 200 years it served as the capital city and seat of the Spanish colonial government in Guatemala.  It eventually grew to be the most important and booming city in Central America.  In 1717 a devastating earthquake hit the area and more than 3,000 buildings were destroyed.  In 1773, after another large earthquake, the capital was moved to Guatemala City.  Slowly restoration works began.  In 1944, the government declared Antigua a National Monument.  In 1979 it was designated an UNESCO World Heritage site.  Now Antigua has a poplulation of @ 34,000, plus wonderful restaurants, historical buildings, coble stone streets and museums .  Additional interesting factors are that there are 3 volcanos that surround the city and it is famous for the numerous Spanish language schools.

Above is ancient church used only for special events.

We stayed in a charming bed and breakfast called Hotel Casa Antigua.  The courtyard was full of blooming flowers and lush vegetation.   AND the temperature was @ 75 during the day and in the evenings it was 50-60's.  Needless to say, this ole gal was enjoying the cool air. (vs. @ 95 plus heavy humidity in the Rio.)

 

The Corpus Christi Celebration took place while we were there.  It is the celebration of the blood and body of Christ.  The mothers had dressed their daughters as angels with their wings.

The priest and his entourage walk the streets as below with anyone that wants to join the procession.  The smoke is from all the firecrackers that were set off to scare away the evil spirits.  I thought I was in a war-zone!

Prior to the procession, the locals decorate the coble stone streets with pine needles and flowers.  The men below used boards to make sure the borders were straight and the correct dimensions. 

El perfecto.

After the procession, here come the sweepers and a front loader to clean up the beautifully decorated streets that people spent hours to prepare.   Obviously, you had to be there to see it! - literally!

The indigenous people are Mayan and speak Spanish.  But don't be fooled......................they all have cell phones!  The currency is the quatzale which is 7.80 per $1 USD.  I finally bought a calculator to carry with me for conversion purposes.  The women are master weavers.  Textiles in every color and design are sold by them as they wander through the town and parks wearing their traditional clothing with the design in the weave representing their village.   This mother and daughter offered to pose for me.

An important fact I want to pass along is their medical services.  Very good quality and amazing costs.  We had our teeth cleaned (by the DENTIST!) and I had a filling for less than $135 USD for the two of us.  Then I went to the dermatologist - full body scan, 2 mystery growths removed (they are fine), and lab = $97, yes, I said $97.  If you want to visit, www.guatemalamedicaltravel.com.    The owner Lori will schedule your appointments and help in getting you room and board. 

Paddy and I are back in the states.  Le Chat Beaute' is docked in Rio Dulce, Guatemala, a famous hurrican hole.  The Captain flew out yesterday to the Northwest to visit with family and friends, then I'll fly out in August for a Red Hottie (the Harley) ride up to and through the Vanouver Islands -CAN'T WAIT!!!  Returning to the boat in October.  I'm looking forward to seeing my friends and have already been busy visiting Mom in the assisted living facility.  See ya soon!

Goodbye Honduras - Hello Guatemala

Also entitled "Welcome to the Jungle"

I will back up alittle.  On Monday, May 14th, our new hard top was installed and ready to go - so off we went to Utila, an awesome little isle to the west of Roatan and on the way to the Rio Dulce which is our destination (for now!). 

We enjoyed a nice 6 hr. sail, with constant winds allowing us to sail @ 6-8 kts.  Utila is a great stop over to the Rio Dulce and their dive shops are known for having the cheapest PADI certification courses, so had to check that out.  We will be coming this way on our return trip in the fall.

Jade Seahorse, Utila -  all in mosaics made from a variety of materials.  (Someone was on drugs!!!)

We left Utila @ noon to schedule our arrival at the opening of the river for the next morning when it's light and you can SEE!  Yes, we sailed all night.  I had the 9 p.m. - midnight shift, which thankfully was uneventful - other than watching a freighter come up close behind us.  Paddy had the midnight - 3 a.m., and lucky him, there was a thunder storm that came thru @ 2 a.m.  Larry was still with us, so we were all up to help change the sail configurations.  Back to the bunk to rest up for the arrival and strategic entry to the river.  There is a "bar" (sand bar) at the mouth with a maximum depth of 5 -6 feet at high tide.  If your boat draws more than that, you DO NOT come into this river!  Traveling with us was Silver Sea, Salida, and Manana (latter 2 are catamarans).  Silver Sea, a mono-hull, draws 5.5 feet so they followed us in (LCB draws only 4 feet) as I radioed to them the depths every few yards.  The bar is about 1/2 mile long, so we had some nervous people on that boat.  Teal Sea draws 7 feet, so they have to research the moon, tides, etc. which only allows their opportunity of entrance as once a month! .....full moon!  After successfully crossing the bar, we arrived at Livingston, Guatemala where we radioed the Port Captain announcing our arrival.  He and his entourage came out to the boat, checked our paperwork for the vessel, as well as our passports.  After getting approved, paying the Q1350 (Guatemalan currency is a quatzale = @ 7.84Q per $1 USD), we toured the little town and got soaked, "drenched to the bone" as they say since we got caught in a real frog choker! 

The town laundromat......................and YOU were debating on a top or front loading washer! 

 Count your blessings!

Finally, we are ready to cruise up the Rio Dulce via The Gorge with lush jungle scenary (Johnny Weismueller filmed his Tarzan movies here!) and waterfalls.  The trip is 20 - 25 miles from the mouth of the river to Fronteras, Guatemala where our marina is located.

Mouth of the river.

The Gorge.

Self explanatory!

Downtown Fronteras

River scenary.

The El Tortugal is a marina and is also considered an eco-resort.  (www.tortugal.com )  Hence, we are indeed in the jungle.  The surroundings are lush, green, and wet.  Yes, it is the rainy season here, so most days are overcast and later in the day we have the squalls rolling through.  A lot of the cruisers spend the summers here because it is known as a great "hurricane hole".  There are probably 12 marinas here, big and small, numerous restaurants and many locals that do a variety of boat work from hauling, cleaning, and painting the bottoms to making dinghy covers which we need!

View from the stern.

The boat is tied up "med moor" meaning the stern faces the dock.  There is an intimidating plank (yes, I said plank!) that we use to access the dock.   

Grounds of the resort.

We leave on June 11th to return to the states for a few months to "take care of business and family".   The next few weeks will be spent preparing the boat for the summer; i.e. removing and storing all the sails as well as all the cockpit cushions, lines and anything else outside.  There will be a food fest since alot of the food needs to be consumed or thrown out. 

Looking forward to being on a diet when I get back to CR! - never thought I'd say the "d" word lovingly. 

SCUBA DIVING IN ROATAN!!!

I have taken my Discover Scuba course with Wayne, a new friend here from Vancouver - a Master Diver.  I have been on a total of 3 dives - the deepest was 40 ft. for 48 mins.  Can't believe I've done it.  Needless to say, it's a very intimidating experience - you are in an environment that we human beings were not made for (hence - since you have no gills - trust your equipment!)  My other issue was the pressure on my ears.  On my first mini-dive I went too deep too fast and the pressure in my ears was painful, so "to the top we go".  Now take a deep breath and let's try this again.  I was definitely talking myself through this - "don't be afraid, keep breathing - you wuss!  You can do this!!"  Sinking slowly, holding my nose and blowing to equalize, blowing again until I became comfortable.  Falling slowly is the key so it may take a few minutes to get down, as it takes a few minutes to come up while decompressing naturally.  The three things you need to remember to do are:

1. Equalize, 2. Never come up faster than your own air bubbles, 3.  Breathe! -well, I CAN do that!

We dove a ship wreck that was intentionally sunk for purposes of diving entertainment.  Only 40 feet deep!   The ship is covered with corals, fans, and lush vegetation.  There is also a REAL wrecked DC-3 plane about 50 feet away.  We saw a huge grouper hiding out under the wing.  So on that dive - we got two wrecks for the price of one!  

Me, Paddy and Elly (yoga instructor/Wayne's wife) at the wreck.

Coral garden growing on the bow of the wreck.

Tiger grouper hiding under the wing of the DC-3!

MOI!

I will be getting certified so I don't miss out on any of the amazing things in the sea!  There is a world down there full of surprises and beauty.

Namaste' 

BACK IN FRENCH CAY HARBOR, ROATAN

To get away from here for a few days, we sailed to West End last week so I could fulfill that need "to shop"!  All better now!  While we were there, the winds changed direction from easterly to westerly, and was blowing @ 15 knots.  The West End is not where you want to be for westerlies as the seas can get pretty rough.  So we set sail to return to French Cay Harbor which is @ a 3 hour ("tour") sail.  The winds were @ 12 - 15 kts with the waves 3 - 4 feet.  As soon as we rounded the corner to the southern coast, the seas were flat and no wind...... so we motored!  (Sure hate using up the gas.)

One reason to return here is that we are having a new hard top made that will not only better protect us in the cockpit but enable us to collect water, like a sistern, plus it will replace the canvas top on there now.  The tropical sun does much damage to Sunbrella, as we folks from Florida know oh so well.  Monday is the scheduled start day and should only take a week.  Let's just see how it goes since they are on island time down here.

Weather report - HOT and MUGGY!

Next week I am taking a Scuba Discovery lesson.  It is a four hour session for the newbie to determine whether scuba diving is for them (me) or not.  A fellow cruiser is a Master Diver (his wife is my yoga instructor) and he will be introducing me to the sport.  Never, I repeat never, in my life did I ever think I would scuba dive, other then when I was kid and played Sea Hunt in the bathtub -(somebody please tell me you did that too!!!)  There is a LOT of equipment necessary - like skiing but heavier.  Paddy just replaced his gear and wants to dive more, so with the gorgeous destinations we have planned, I need to give it the all American college try to enjoy the fun underwater!  It is fun though to snorkel above him and enjoy the tickle of the air bubbles - like taking a Perrier bath....................oops!  I'm in the tub again.
Will keep you posted.

Tonight we are going to the marina for a pot luck and dance------------ I'll be wearing my party flip flops. 

Have a great weekend - here are some photos!

Namaste'

Interesting "yard art" by the outside lavatories.

The Queen in her garden!

Outside showers at Frenchy's.

Evening cocktails on the bow.

Life of Sailors!

Just wanted to let you know that it's not all "fun and games" living on a sailing vessel.  Typical day:  starts out with yoga or a walk and/or run, load up the dinghy with garbage for the drop off, grab recycle grocery bags for our trip to Eldon's (local market - not quite Publix, but close!), drop off food scraps at the Iguana Farm, tie up at the shrimp boat docks, walk to market, shop, bring everything back to boat, then find a place to put everything (my biggest challenge of the day!)!!! :)  Let's do some waxing, and we need to transfer the fuel.  Forgot the laundry ......we can do that tomorrow. Now we're hot, so jump off the stern for a dip in the Caribbean to cool off.  Now it must be time to read a book or play on the computer.  (did I tell you I'm addicted to Mahjong??)  Oh boy, now it's cocktail hour - oh, it's only 2:30?  Oh well.  Thinking about you!  Wish you were here!

Gasolina dispensed via garden hose and funnel from 1 gallon whiskey jugs.

Waterfront living in Oak Ridge Harbor, the Venice of the Caribbean.  Water taxis everywhere!

Sunset at Los Cayos Cochinos, great snorkeling in the fans garden next to the cliff on the right. 

Salva Vidas at Frenchy's island...................

We recently had a decadent day...... a local gal, Flaca, came to the boat and gave us both pedicures and I had my hair trimmed.  Cost - men's pedicure 400 lempiras, women's 350 lempiras, trim 100 lempiras.  Total 850 lempiras, or USD $41.50 plus tip.  Then we celebrated our re-newed feet with champagne!!!! 

 

 Jill and Ray Thomas at Frenchy's 44, French Cay Harbor, Roatan

Frenchy's 44, looks like paradise, right?  It is and they have the best Monkey La-Las!

 Turtle Grass Shack, Calabash Bight, Roatan

 Venice of the Caribbean - canals from Calabash to Oak Ridge.

Le Chat Beaute - in all it's glory!

We have been very busy the past 5 weeks.  Paddy's friend, Larry, visited for 3 weeks from Seattle.  Went zip lining and toured an Iguana farm.  Also had a bad storm come through The West End - we were rocking and a rolling for @ 30 hours!  It was NOT fun.  Jill and Ray Thomas, from Crystal River, were here for 2 weeks.  Lots of food and alcohol consumed, sailed around the southern coast of Roatan, plus to Los Cayos Cochinos, islands @ 18 miles south of here.

Updates - Mom is still in Cypress Cove and when you asked her how she's doing - you'd think she was training for the Boston Marathon.  Obviously not, but she is improving.  Thank goodness.  Kerry has been very attentive - and thank goodness for that too.

It's starting to get hot here!  Paddy's having some boat work done here so could take up to 3-4 weeks.  Then off to the Rio Dulce to "park" the boat for hurricane season.

Since things change often.....................my new motto is:  "Plan" is a four letter word written in the sand at low tide.

Finally in Roatan

My last posting was on my Mom’s 90^th birthday. Unfortunately, a week or so later she fell and broke

her hip. Surgery was performed and pins were inserted instead of a hip replacement. After a few days in Seven Rivers Hospital, she was transferred to Cypress Cove Assisted Living. Kerry has been there for her and keeping him busy. Gator Dave visits with chocolate, so I know she’s eating! She’s very anxious to get home to her cat, NLB. Get well soon Mom!

Our Valentine’s Day present to each other was finally leaving the marina in Belize City and heading

south. Spent a few days “cay hopping” and arrived in Placencia, Belize on Feb. 16^th. Now this place is very quaint, nice anchorage harbor, met several other yatistias at the happy hour tiki called Yolie’s. Everyone has a dinghy or they would never get off their boat! At 4:50 everyone is jumping into there dinghy and racing for a parking spot at the dock! The next evening we were invited to a pot luck where we met cruisers from Sarasota, Canada, Michigan, England, just to name a few places. There are stories flowing all the time, and certainly very interesting ones about all their travels around the world. Of course there are lots of conversations about boat parts and engine problems – however, you find out how to fix just about anything that could go wrong.

Knowing we had to move on, we left Monday the 20^th for Ranguana then Tom Owens Cay. Go to www.reefworldbelize.com for the full scoop. This area of the world is very popular for scuba diving and snorkeling because of the barrier reef. Many of the resorts are set up for these activities including lessons. Reef World is for those who don’t mind roughing it. But what a LOCATION!!

Roatan was our destination which is @ 75 miles from where we located at Lime Cay. Because it was @ 12 hour sail, we left at 3 p.m. so we could arrive in Utila (west of Roatan) the next morning. The sky was clear, but the winds kicked up to @ 15 – 20 knots (that’s a lot!) and waves that were 4 – 5 ft. so it was a very interesting trip as I had the 10 p.m. – 2 a.m. watch while the captain napped. (Yes, I took a Dramamine!) Thank GOD for auto pilot! Just makes it easier but NOT easy. Proceeded onto to West End, Roatan. Radioed for a mooring, and coordinates to get through the opening of the reef. Had a guy in a dinghy (of course) guide us thru the opening and to our mooring. The island is in front of us, the mountains of Honduras are to the southwest of us. Roatan is 28 miles long west to east and @ 1 – 2 miles wide. It’s hilly and lush – reminding me very much of Maui with the beautiful vegetation and flowers. Spanish is the primary language and there are many English speaking people here. Currency is Lempiras, value 19 lemps to $1 US. So a Salva Vida – Honduran beer - could cost you 60 lempiras. (3 bucks) No coins only paper.

Paddy and I went for a run/walk this morning along the beach. The path took us through a park and several resorts. Check out Las Rocas Resort. Beautiful places…………………it’s another kind of paradise.

Hope all is well with you. Thanks for checking in. Oh, who is the follower Sunshine?

The Captain repairing the headsail - getting ready to go up the mast.

Here's the Captain AGAIN..... caught a dorado - a/k/a Mahi Mahi - and it was great cooked on the grill.

View of West End, Roatan, Honduras.

Repairing the headsail.