Placencia

We are now in Placencia, only the third community we have been to in Belize, and the first on the mainland. San Pedro, where we cleared in, is actually on Ambergris Caye. After leaving Caye Caulker, we traveled short distances and stayed behind some of the numerous cays that lie behind the barrier reef. Most of the cays are uninhabited, some are private, and a few have only fishing camps. For the most part, we had the place to ourselves with no one within sight as far as we could see.

We have really lost contact with news from the United States since losing our satellite radio signal. We tried the BBC on the HF radio, but the short time they were on did not carry any real news of importance to us. We were talking with a cruising family from Vancouver, and they asked if we knew whether the healthcare bill in the US had passed. Well, that was old news, so we were able to answer that one. Logically, you would think that with the internet, we could keep up. Our internet access is sporadic, so when we get it, we have much higher priorities than checking on news stories.

The boats that are headed for the Rio Dulce are in pretty good numbers now. The is a full moon coming up, so there will be dozens taking advantage of the higher tides to get across the bar outside the entrance to the Rio Dulce. Our draft is such that we do not have to worry so much about timing. We plan to stay here in Placencia for another four or five days and then clear out of Belize and head for Guatemala, which will be our home, or at least Ariel's home, for the hurricane season.

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Here in Placencia, the Paradise Resort Hotel is cruiser-friendly, with free WiFi, trash disposal, laundry, and happy hour - who could ask for more? This is our new temporary hangout.

I got a new face mask, although not a very good one, and decided to finish cleaning the bottom of the hull. I immediately found that two barracuda had taken up residence under the boat, up against the hull. They didn't seem happy with my arrival and approached me in an intimidating fashion. I was hesitant, but one was about 20 inches, and the other was smaller, so I decided they could not do too much harm. They behaved just like little nippy dogs. They would approach menacingly to within about six inches, and then if I made a move toward them, they would dart away but come right back and repeat. I decided to ignore them the best I could. I was down there for about 1 1/2 hours, and they were still there when I finished, still playing the same old game.