Copán - Part 2 - Mayan Ruins

This is our third major Mayan ruins site.  This site is probably our favorite.  The stelae are the largest and best-preserved that we have seen, and as can be seen in these photos, the stone carvings are also well-preserved.  They have moved many of the carvings and some stelae into a large museum, which is on site and which will protect them from the environment.

Dancing Jaguar

Old Man

Bird with Fish in Mouth

 The currency in Honduras is the Lempira.  This scene is on the back side of the Un (1) Lempira.  Pictured is the ball field with change rooms on each side.

Macaw

Stela B
 The date that this stela was commissioned was August 22, 731 A.D.

             

Copán - Part 1 - Travel

Six of us from Monkey Bay took an inland excursion to Copán Ruinas, Honduras, to see the Mayan ruins at Copán. Traveling with us were Bill and Pat s/v Mobetah, and Terry and Sandy s/v Gambit II. We made it easy on ourselves and hired a van to take us, rather than deal with the several bus changes it would otherwise require. Crossing the border is very easy, as Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua have an agreement that allows their citizens to travel freely across the borders. This agreement, known as C4, also allows citizens from some countries, including the US and Canada, to cross the borders with very limited formalities. The town of Copán Ruinas, which is very close to the Mayan ruins, is becoming a tourist destination, but it is remote, so it has not (yet) been overrun by the visitors. We saw very few other tourists while we were there.

John, the marina manager at Monkey Bay, is taking us to Bruno's Hotel and Marina in town to meet up with our van ride.

front - Bill (Mobetah) Sandy (Gambit II)

standing - John

back - Norm

Our ride

Roadside stop for a snack or lunch

All the buses stop here, so we have been here a few times

Clearing with immigration at the Guatemala - Honduras border

Coffee Plantation Tour

Antigua is internationally renowned for its high-quality arabica coffees. This region is located between three volcanoes in a valley with a climate perfect for cultivating coffee, with elevations ranging between 4,600 and 5,600 feet. Antigua coffee is described as having a full and velvety body, a rich and lively aroma, and a fine acidity.

While we were in Antigua, we visited the Finca Filadelphia coffee plantation. It was an extremely interesting tour at a beautiful location. Their coffee is under the label R. Dalton and is shipped all over the world, with Japan as their largest consumer country.

Our tour began in the nursery. Each of these new arabica coffee plants has been hand-grafted onto the roots of another species, whose roots grow deeper and are stronger than arabica roots.

Only the red beans are ready to be picked. These need to be hand-picked, and because they ripen at different rates, the workers will make several passes over the area during the harvesting season. During harvesting season, which will begin soon, they hire hundreds of workers. They are paid by the weight of the beans picked.

The coffee plants are under a canopy of shade trees.

The beans are processed through machines to remove the outer layers, and then the beans are spread out in the sun to dry. They are periodically raked to turn them over. The beans pictured are lower quality, as evidenced by some lighter-colored beans in the mix.

Transporting beans from the warehouse to the coffee roasting and packaging building. Each bag weighs 150 pounds.

Packaging operations

Thanksgiving Week

There are plenty of opportunities for traditional Thanksgiving dinners on the Rio, but we decided to have our own here at Monkey Bay. We all chipped in for the turkey, and then we agreed on the other dishes to prepare, and then we used a sign-up sheet to keep it organized.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful. Fourteen of us attended, and all of the food was wonderful. Jim roasted the turkeys, using the grill like an oven. We had most of the traditional dishes: mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, fruit salads, rolls, green bean salad, yams, pumpkin pie, whipped cream, and spice cake.

We had also invited Kevin from town, whom we all know, and Petra, a Mayan that our marina manager, John, has been sponsoring to study tourism, and Christina, an 11-year-old Mayan from San Antonio on Lago Atitlan. She is here, living with Petra (also from the same village), working and selling goods from her village until school resumes in January.

Christina

Jim (Dream Away) is carving a turkey.

Our dinner table (note flowers which were provided by Kevin)

Antigua, Guatemala

We visited Antigua last spring as we were leaving Guatemala for the summer, and we were eager to get back. We just finished another inland trip, spending almost a week in Antigua and a few days in Guatemala City.

Antigua is among the world's best conserved colonial cities. It makes you feel time might have stopped some 300 years ago.  Antigua was founded in 1543, and for more than 200 years it served as the seat of the military governor of the Spanish colony of Guatemala, which at that time included almost all of present-day Central America and the southernmost part of Mexico. 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. The earthquake's damage to the city led authorities to consider moving the capital to another city. Then in 1773, the Santa Maria earthquakes destroyed much of the town, prompting a decision to abandon the city and move the capital to a safer location, which is where Guatemala City, the modern capital of Guatemala, now stands. The badly damaged city of Santiago de los Caballeros, the original city, was ordered abandoned. However, not everyone left, and it was thereafter referred to as la Antigua Guatemala (the Old Guatemala).
Antigua is in the mountains, so the climate is generally very comfortable. The surrounding volcanoes have kept Antigua to just about its original size, which is actually quite small. Antigua is very popular for Spanish-language immersion and has around 75 language schools, generally offering one-on-one instruction. Antigua is also a popular tourist destination with a large selection of hotels, ranging from hostels to luxury, and the same holds for restaurants, from fast food (incorporated into the existing architecture) to fine dining.  We like it as a great place to relax, with plenty of places to explore. We will keep returning to Antigua.

Bottom Painting Again

We left in the spring, planning to get the bottom painted as soon as we returned. We had visited our chosen boatyard in the spring and made some rough plans. We heard nothing but good recommendations for this yard. It is known as Abel's, named after both the father and son who run it. It is actually Astillero Magdalena. We made the short trip further up the river and under the bridge to the boat yard the first thing Monday morning. We pulled right into the travel lift basin and were hauled immediately. They went to work right away, pressure washing and then sanding the bottom. By the end of the day, it was practically ready for paint. This is the first time we have not done the work ourselves. We could not have accomplished in a week what took them a day. Firstly, we would not be able to work in the heat as they do, and even without the heat, we would not have the stamina. We stayed aboard on the hard, but maybe that was not the best idea. Each day, the temperature inside the cabin topped out at 106 degrees. We managed to get it down to 92 degrees by bedtime, and it would be mid-eighties in the morning. We stayed off the boat pretty much except for eating and sleeping. On the second day, they finished sanding and then applied two coats of paint, leaving about 4 hours between coats. On the third and final day, they moved the stands and applied the two coats there and then, finally lifted it on the travel lift, applied paint to the blocks that were under the keel, and let it hang for a while to dry. At about 11:00 am, we were back in the water. We could not have been happier with the whole experience. The work was excellent, and everyone was friendly and hardworking. We received excellent value for our investment.

We are so glad that is behind us, and we should be good for another couple of years. Our timing worked out well, as it has rained a lot since getting back to the marina.

Back On Ariel

We are back on Ariel. Before we started this adventure, we expected to be off Ariel to visit friends and family for about a month, at the most two months each year. We never expected to be away for four months. With hurricanes and the rainy season in Guatemala, it didn't make sense to stay on the Rio Dulce. Our travels home and returning could not have been smoother. We were concerned returning to Guatemala as we maxed out on luggage with four checked bags, each weighing just under 50 pounds, and we each had our carry-ons. The luggage included boat parts, which we kept our fingers crossed would clear customs in Guatemala. We sailed right through. The taxis here are very small, so it was a real pinch getting our bags and us into such a tiny vehicle.

A day before our planned departure last June, we got word that my brother Bill had died. Our plans had been set to spend a week in Antigua, Guatemala, before our flight out. Given the plans for the memorial service and the cost of changing the air tickets, we decided to stick with our original schedule. Despite the circumstances, we enjoyed Antigua and highly recommend it as a tourist destination. While there, we both visited the dentist for checkups and cleanings, and Linda saw a dermatologist. The cost savings are substantial, and the quality is excellent. We are anxious to get back to Antigua and plan on doing so later this year.

When not traveling, we stayed with Norm’s mother. We have done this before, but for shorter periods, and we knew it would work out. We can help with work on the house, yard, and garden, which we appreciate, as it gives us something meaningful to do. We thank her so much for putting up with us and for agreeing to have us back next summer.

The highlight of the summer was spending time with our grandchildren. We managed to spend extended time with all of them without their parents. We had Thomas with us while his parents went on vacation to the Adirondacks and Vermont. He attended Vacation Bible School at Norm's mother's church and had a great time.

Thomas - Vacation Bible School 

We went camping with Michael and Evelyn on Kelleys Island in Lake Erie. We hadn't been camping for several years, but we all did pretty well. We then took both of them back to upstate New York with us for a NASCAR race at Watkins Glen.

Michael and Evelyn - camping at Kelley’s Island

Michael and Evelyn - waiting for start

Watkins Glen

And then, in early September, Scott and Pamela were at a wedding, so they decided to add a few days to make it a vacation. We moved into their home and had Camryn and Claire to ourselves for a few days. It was at times exhausting (Camryn is almost 3 and Claire just turned 1),  but wonderful.

We made the first step toward life beyond cruising, but do not be mistaken, we do not have plans to give this up anytime soon. We bought some land just outside of Corning, NY. We bought the land to eventually build on, but it currently has a small house on it, which we are renting out.

Right now, we are getting Ariel back in shape and getting back in touch with old cruising friends and meeting new cruising friends. Our calendar is already becoming booked with social activities. We found the interior of Ariel exactly as we left it, with no mold, mildew, or insects. Sealing it up and setting up the dehumidifier worked perfectly. The exterior is another matter. It was pretty black, especially the teak. A film of mildew covered everything, and the spiders had made quite a mess. The good news is that the mildew cleaned off easily, but not so for the spider messes, which take some serious scrubbing.

We are making plans to haul out and have the bottom painted. This will be the first time we have not painted it ourselves. Hooray.

In Memory Of Bill

William R. Merrick, age 59, of Covington, PA, died Sunday, June 6, 2010, in Lindley, NY. William was born January 8, 1951, in Wellsboro, PA, a son of Varley and Gladys (Karns) Merrick. William was an accountant for Ron Baltzley Hardwoods in Covington, PA. He was a U.S. Army veteran who had served during the Vietnam War.

William is survived by his mother, Gladys of Lindley, NY; a son, Chad Merrick of Wellsboro, PA; a daughter, Alicia Merrick of Wellsboro, PA; three brothers and sisters-in-law, Mark (Brenda) Passmore of Marion, NY, Richard (Maggie) Passmore of St. Paul, MN, and Norman (Linda) Karns of Broadview Heights, OH.

Last Days In Guatemala

We spent the past couple of weeks getting the boat ready to leave for four months, but we were not so busy that we did not have time to enjoy the area and spend time with other cruisers. We were down to two couples, us and Bill and Pat aboard Mobetah. Still, two additional boats came into Monkey Bay: TiTaRo, a big catamaran from Munich, Germany, with Theo and Rosemarie aboard, and Calusa with John and Robyn aboard.

We visited a fort just a short distance past the bridge and only about a 15-minute dinghy ride. Castillo San Felipe dates to 1641.

This is a Boa Constrictor that stayed in the same spot next to our kitchen area, digesting its last meal, which we think may have been a bird. The large bulge has since disappeared.

Some of the devastation caused by the flooding from tropical storm Agatha is very near the Rio Dulce, just about 30 minutes away, but on the other side of the mountain. As is typical, the cruisers came together to provide food and clothing, which were gathered in town and trucked into the affected areas each morning.

Life On The Rio

Rio (river) Dulce (sweet) could not be more aptly named. We have settled into our life here, and it is everything and more than we expected. There are several marinas stretched over a few miles around the town of Fronteras (Frontier).  The average marina size is 15 - 20 boats, and so there are probably in excess of 300 boats waiting out hurricane season here. Many marinas, such as ours, are accessible only by water, as are many of the businesses. Needless to say, our dinghy gets a good workout. We take our laundry to the Backpackers Hotel just under the bridge. Each load is 35 Q, washed, dried, and folded, which is about $4.50 USD. We visit businesses along the river and in town, and while it takes some searching, we can usually find what we need. The fruits and vegetables in town are fantastic, so we often go.

Super Fruits and Veggies

Always Hectic

A launch operated by the orphanage, Casa Guatemala, comes to the marina twice a week with frozen and refrigerated goods, so we buy our meats, cheese, butter, and yogurt from them. Friday nights we go to Tortugal Marina for pizza and a movie. Actually, they sent their launch to pick us up. There is usually a good crowd from Mario's Marina, Catamarans Marina, and our marina, Monkey Bay. Of course, there are many restaurants, and the prices are very reasonable, so they are fun to try out.

And the monkeys have been around.