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.

Tikal

We took our first extended inland trip to the ancient Mayan ruins of Tikal and to the city of Flores on Lago Peten Itza. We traveled with Ray and Vonnie, sailing on Wishbone from Toronto, Ontario. It is a three-hour bus trip to Flores, and Tikal is another 63 km. The trip could not have been better. We got to our hotel, La Casa De Don David, which was 2/3 the distance between Flores and Tikal, in time for a late dinner, which was included in the room price. We arranged a guided tour which would start with our ride from the hotel at 5:30 am. We had an excellent tour guide, Caesar Moran. By 1:00 pm, we were all exhausted from the heat, hiking, and climbing, and called it quits to return to our hotel. Beyond the ruins, the park has such an incredible variety of flora, fauna, birds, and wildlife. We would have liked to spend several days, but our time (and budget) were limited. The following day, we went back to the city of Flores to get a hotel on the little island connected by a causeway. We liked the minivan driver who took us to and from the park, so we had made arrangements with him to take us to Flores. It was also a treat to walk around this very quaint city. After a short three days, we were back on the Rio Dulce, but with great memories.

Ray and Vonnie

Linda and Linda (LEEN-dah)

Agua Caliente

A group of us from Monkey Bay, fourteen in all, planned a little excursion to an agua caliente (hot springs). This one is about halfway along the northern shore of Lago Isabel, or about 12 or 13 miles from Fronteras. We each brought our own drinks, and most of us bought fried chicken in town to take for our lunch. We caught a collectivo, a minivan, which dropped us off near the entrance to the agua caliente. While a collectivo is crowded, it is very inexpensive. The agua caliente was great for swimming. It consisted of a stream flowing by with cool, but definitely not cold water, with a waterfall cascading into the hot spring. The spring water was extremely hot, so the water in the pool below the falls was quite warm. Just upstream, the water was much cooler. It was a fun outing. Luckily, when we hiked back out, the collectivo (same guys) had guessed when we would be done and had parked under a shade tree to wait for us.

Lunch Time

Monkey Bay Marina

We arrived at our marina on May 1, so we have been here just a week. We could not be happier with our selection of Monkey Bay. There are several marinas, and each is unique. We struggled trying to decide, of course, site unseen. Monkey Bay is noted to be a little quieter than some,  mostly because it does not have a restaurant. It is only accessible by water. We were welcomed by everyone and immediately included in all the activities. It seems there is always something going on. Right now, there are a lot of us here, but it will begin thinning out soon as people head north for the summer.  If nothing else, we all get together every day for happy hour, but there is also dominoes, eating out at restaurants, going shopping, and taking little excursions, and it has only been a week. It is so comfortable here. You can leave your things out, like food in the marina refrigerator, or shower stuff in the cabinets at the showers, or maybe the book you are reading in the palapa, and no one will bother them. We have our sail bags in the palapa, out of the way until we leave, for example. The marina is managed by John, a super guy with a very good reputation for caring for the boats while the owners are away. We have heard the monkeys, but have not seen them yet. They should be back soon. They apparently make a circuit, allowing time for the leaves to grow back before returning. We do have a couple of porcupines living in our palapa.

Arriving Guatemala

With the forecast for high winds later in the week outside the entrance to the Rio Dulce, we decided, along with most other boats in Placencia, to advance our arrival in Livingston, Guatemala, a few days. Monday morning, Norm, along with people from three other boats, caught the 7:45 am Hokey Pokey water taxi from Placencia to the small village of Mango Creek. Once in Mango Creek, we negotiated with John, a taxi driver (in a minivan), a rate to take us to all the stops, wait for us at each stop, and return us to the water taxi. We piled in, and the first stop was immigration in the police station right in Mango Creek. Next, we went to Big Creek, about three miles away, to clear customs. Big Creek is a shipping port, primarily for exporting bananas. A ship was arriving, so the customs officer was not at the office. Nothing to do but wait. While waiting, the Port Captain rode up on his bicycle and processed our papers and collected a departure fee. Meanwhile, Kathy from Tundra would knock on the customs door every now and then, and probably out of frustration, a guy finally opened the door. He had worked a long, hard weekend and was not on duty, and asked us to please stop banging on the door. About 15 minutes later, he again opened the door and said he would process us. He just wanted to get rid of the noisy crowd.

On the way back to the water taxi, John stopped in town at a fruit and vegetable tienda, obviously belonging to a friend or relative, but we were pleased with the selection and the prices. Norm returned to the boat with a pineapple, a papaya, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

We decided to break our trip from Placencia to Livingston into two short days. We definitely wanted to arrive in Livingston in the morning and get upriver. Livingston is not a safe place to stay. High tide was at 7:00 am, and we crossed a couple of hours later. We were the last boat for the day, joining about a 1/2 dozen boats already at anchor as we cleared into Guatemala. We arrived in time to catch Raul, the agent who helps with clearing in or out, and the entourage of officials while they were still on board the boats, which is the beginning of the process. We had the anchor down for only about 15 minutes before Raul, the Port Captain, immigration, customs, and the medical officer (in scrubs) came aboard. They all gathered in the cockpit, where we presented our papers and answered their questions. They all spoke English and were very friendly and professional. After about 10 minutes, they were on their way, and we were left with a map and an 11:30 am appointment at Raul's office to pick up our completed paperwork and pay our fees.

We had our first-ever experience with boat boys when we arrived at the government dock in our dinghy. Not really, boys, or at least not young boys, they will look after your boat while you're away in town. It is recommended to pay this small expense in Livingston. Well, our first experience was not pleasant. They were all clamoring for our business, and we chose a young man who appeared to be trustworthy. A guy we didn't choose felt cheated, and a pretty good shouting match broke out. We could not shake the rejected guy, and he followed us to the bank, constantly still arguing his case. He even went into the bank with Norm, but he sent him back outside. Coming out, he gave him Q20 to go away, and that worked. 1 USD = 7.88 quetzales. We walked around town while killing time before our appointment, but the heat was just too much, so we found a restaurant, ordered drinks, and watched the activity from our shady spot.

We had Raul also process our boat extension. The initial boat permit is for three months, but it can be extended for an additional year. We will fly back to the United States in June, so we paid Raul the extension fees and signed the application, and he will forward the extended permit to Monkey Bay Marina when it arrives.

We found our dinghy in good shape, paid our boat boy, and were back on Ariel before lunch.

Our reservation at Monkey Bay Marina is not until May 1, so we will take our time going up the river. We could certainly go in right away, but we wanted to spend some time at Texan Bay Marina, which is about halfway, just after entering El Golfete, a wide part of the river.

Going from Livingston at the mouth of the river to El Golfete is an amazing 10 miles or so. The river winds through a canyon with sheer rock walls that soar 300 feet. Most of the steep sides are covered with trees and vines hanging down to the water. It is just one of those places where pictures do not do it justice.

Texans Mike and Sherry Paine started Texan Bay Marina about five years ago. We took a slip ($10/day) and are using the opportunity to meet cruisers. Most boats stop here on the way and either take a slip or anchor in the peaceful bay in front of the marina. It is a fun place. Last night, the excuse for the party was a Full Moon.

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. There 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.

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.

Norm got a new face mask, although not a very good one, and he decided to finish cleaning the bottom of the hull. He immediately found that two barracuda had taken up residence under the boat, up against the hull. They didn't seem happy with his arrival and approached him in an intimidating fashion. He was hesitant, but one was about 20 inches, and the other was smaller, so he 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 he made a move toward them, they would dart away but come right back and repeat.  He decided to ignore them as best he could. He was down there for about 1 1/2 hours, and they were still there when he finished, still playing the same old game.

Belize

Belize is a small country, about the size of Massachusetts, and with a population of only about 300,000. With such a small population, Belize's environment and wildlife can thrive. Belize is protected from the sea by a barrier reef, the largest in the Western Hemisphere. At 185 miles in length, it is second only to the Great Barrier Reef in size. Belize gained its independence from Britain in 1981. Belize is culturally diverse with Creoles, Latinos, Maya, Garifuna, East Asians, and whites. Belize also has a sizable Mennonite community, which has been helpful in Belize's becoming self-sufficient in chicken, dairy products, and corn.

We really feel like we have transitioned into another world and can certainly understand how cruisers stay year after year. We feel like rookies again when we meet cruisers who have been in the Northwest Caribbean for years. Certainly, Belize is the best cruising ground we have encountered to date. The locals are friendly, and we enjoy interacting with them. Our surroundings are just beautiful beyond description. The water temperature is in the mid-80s. The temperature on the boat, as long as we have the trade winds, hovers between a low of about 80 just before sunrise and about 90 at the peak. It is bearable with fans going and decent winds. I think we are adapting because if it gets into the 70s, we feel a chill.

San Pedro

San Pedro

San Pedro

San Pedro

WiFi Spot on Caye Caulker

Caye Caulker

Caye Caulker

Caye Caulker

Traveling To San Pedro

It was quite the adventure traveling from Isla Mujeres, Mexico, to San Pedro, Belize. We cleared out of Mexico easily enough, first stopping at the Immigration office and then completing the final paperwork with the Port Captain. He issued us our all-important Zarpe (clearance document). We had estimated two long travel days, the first about 18 hours and the second about 24 hours. After lunch, we got underway,  and with the steady trade winds, the sailing was good. There is a two and sometimes three-knot current flowing south to north. The only way to minimize the impact is to stay close to shore, which is often near a reef. It turns out this is easier said than done.

We always carry paper charts, but navigate with electronic charts. The electronic charts are made from the same data used for paper charts, so they are no more accurate. We found very little depth-sounding data along the Mexican coast, and some of what we observed was wildly inaccurate.

During daylight, we attempted to maintain a depth of 60 feet, which put us in close but not so close that we would get into trouble. At night, we moved out to a depth of 100 feet. The continental shelf is very close to shore, so often we were in very deep water (too deep to get a sounding) and, of course, running against the current. We arrived at our planned stop behind Culebra Cay in Bahia de la Ascension at 8:45 am. It was a very quiet, isolated location and a good place to rest.

The following day, we left right after listening to the cruiser's net on the SSB radio. We continued to use our same strategy, using the depth sounder to keep a comfortable distance from the shore. During the night, the winds began to build, and with that, the seas became a little rougher. We both got unexpected soakings whenever a wave would hit the boat at an awkward angle.

The entrance to San Pedro through the barrier reef is very narrow. It requires executing a right-hand turn immediately after clearing the barrier reef to avoid running up on the drying reef. We began to expect it would not be possible to enter with the heavy waves, but pulled in close to have a look. The yellow buoy, which marks the entrance, was out of sight behind the rollers more often than being visible, so it was not a hard decision to pass on that.

The bad news was that the next safe entrance was an additional six hours away.  We have learned to take these things in stride, so we just picked a new waypoint and pushed on.  We entered the main channel, which is very wide and deep.  This is the way the cruise ships enter Belize.  We anchored behind Water Cay, the first available place to stop.  We were anchored at 3:30 pm.  We had to clean the boat, especially the cockpit, which was sticky with saltwater.  We actually waited for our first Belize sunset before retiring to bed.  The next day, we left at 6:30 am so we could get to San Pedro in plenty of time to check in.  We didn't realize it at the time, but it was 5:30 am Belize time.  They do not have daylight saving time in Belize.  Keeping track of time has been more challenging than expected.  Mexico just switched to DST on April 4.

Our charts are much better in Belize waters, which makes sense since Belize was a British colony and the charts are British Admiralty. Traveling back to San Pedro inside the reef was an entirely new experience. Even though the charts were better, it would not be prudent to attempt travel in some of these areas without Freya Rauscher's Cruising Guide. The water can get very skinny. We traveled for miles with depths of around six feet. Your whole perspective changes, so when it goes to seven feet, you feel you can now relax, now that the water is deep again. Norm thought he was slightly off track at one point, steering by headings and object sightings (no GPS waypoint), and, in correcting, we found ourselves rubbing the keel on the bottom for a while. No harm, as it is all sand, and we don't think there is any paint left on the bottom of the keel anyway. Luckily, we were able to push our way back to deeper water - ah,  now six feet sounds good.

Finally, at 11:15 am (10:15 am Belize), we were anchored in San Pedro. We finally became aware of the actual time when we got to Immigration and had to wait for them to return from lunch. Several people were waiting. Belize only grants 30 days at a time, so everyone else was there to renew for another 30 days. You can easily get additional days, but it requires a visit to Immigration every 30 days. The first 30 days are free, but after that, it is $50 for the next 30 days and every 30 days thereafter.

Checking into Belize was very straightforward. We first went to Immigration and then next door to Customs. Each charged us a $20 US boarding fee. (In Belize, either currency can be used, and they can be intermingled in the same transaction. The ratio is $1 US = $2 B. After completing the paperwork at customs, we took a customs officer out to Ariel in our dinghy for his cursory inspection.

Now to enjoy Paradise

Enjoying Isla Mujeres

Anchorage at Isla Mujeres (Picture taken from ferry)

One of the many ferries that run between Puerto Juarez (Cancun) and Isla Mujeres

It could be really easy to get too comfortable here in Isla Mujeres and forget to move on. We plan to leave Monday after Easter, bound for Belize. We typically get our day started first by listening to the Northwest Caribbean net on the SSB radio and then the Isla Mujeres net on the VHF radio. The majority of the cruisers we have met are heading in the opposite direction. Cruiser gatherings, such as potlucks or breakfast at local restaurants, are announced on the radio, making it easy to meet other cruisers.

Cancun now has three Walmarts. We didn't go to Walmart, but we did go to the Sam's Club and bought a few groceries. It was interesting. The layout and operating procedures appeared to be the same, but the goods carried were tailored to the local community's preferences.

On Good Friday, we noticed a large crowd moving south along Rueda Medina, the major north-south road. We assumed it was related to Good Friday and then spotted a cross being carried as confirmation. We hurried in and joined the solemn procession of hundreds just before entering town. The reenactment of Christ's crucifixion was very well done and a moving experience.

Chichén Itzá

Some people have asked us about or expressed a concern about our safety in Mexico, especially with the recent news of the violence in the border regions. For us, the opposite is true. While we have not even been here two weeks, we have covered a lot of ground, and we could not feel more secure. In Mérida, a fairly large city, we wandered all over and never felt even a hint of insecurity or impoliteness. We did not even hear a single police siren during our stay. The police were present in the parks, at intersections to keep traffic flowing, and at government sites to provide security. For the most part, we sought out restaurants and cafes away from the hotels, trying to avoid any that might cater to tourists. We were never disappointed and managed to communicate one way or another. On our last night in Mérida, we went to a nearby park that hosts free concerts every Thursday night at 9:00 pm.  We really enjoyed the atmosphere. The gathering was huge, the performances excellent, but the speeches honoring the event were lost on us.

We booked a tour to Chichén Itzá, a Mayan ruin, about 1/3 of the way back to Cancun. We found an option where we could start our day with a group traveling round trip from Mérida and then switch to a group traveling round trip from Cancun. After checking out of the hotel in plenty of time for our 9:00 am tour, we waited, and waited. At 9:30 am, I asked the hotel desk to dial the tour company for me. The tour company asked us to wait a few more minutes. Finally, at 9:45 am, a couple of guys in a van picked us up and explained they would take us to our 19-seat tour van, which was at a gas station. Finally joining our tour group, we were on our way. Later in the day, our tour guide explained that it is not polite in Mexico to be on time and that they know many Americans have trouble adjusting to Mexican time. We were happy to have a tour guide at Chichén Itzá to explain what we were seeing.

After leaving Chichén Itzá, we went to a cenote (sinkhole). There are no rivers or lakes above ground in the Yucatan, but there are underground rivers and many cenotes. This particular cenote was spectacular.

After lunch, we waited for our new tour group, which was much larger and traveling by bus. While waiting, we met an interesting couple from Hong Kong. They were at the very end of a three-month vacation. They had been to Argentina, took a two-week cruise to Antarctica, visited Chile, the Galapagos, Guatemala, Mexico, and others. After about an hour wait, we were on our way to Cancun. They had told us the wait for the bus would be 20 minutes, but we knew that was not true as soon as the words left their mouths. We are adjusting to Mexican time. They normally return people to their hotels, but since we didn't have one, they agreed to leave us at the ADO bus terminal, where we knew it would be easy to get a taxi to our ferry in Puerto Juarez.  Our trip became very interesting once we got to Cancun, as we got a bus tour of the complete hotel district.  We had been interested in seeing it, but not necessarily willing to go out of our way to do so.  From our point of view, you would not know you were in Mexico in that part of Cancun.  We were the last to be dropped off.  A quick taxi ride, a run to catch the ferry, and a few minutes later, we were back at Isla Mujeres.  We were back on Ariel at 9:30 pm, exhausted from a week of substantial immersion into the Spanish language and Mexican culture.  It was wonderful.

Hacienda Soyuta De Peón

We took a one-day organized tour to Hacienda Soyuta De Peón, which is south of Mérida. Between the mid-19th century and mid-20th century, there was a boom for the fibers from the henequén plant. This grows well in the rugged, dry, and rocky Yucatan soil. The fibers are used primarily to make rope. Synthetic materials brought an end to the era.

Mérida

We decided to visit Mérida, which is in the Northwest part of the Yucatan Peninsula. To get there, we took the car ferry to the mainland (only 18 pesos, compared to 70 pesos for the high-speed ferry last week).  We then took a van to the bus terminal. Buses leave about every hour for Mérida, so we knew we could get one soon. We got the 12:30 pm ADO-GL,  and then we had about a four-hour ride from Cancun to Mérida. ADO or ADO-GL is the recommended level of service. It was very comfortable. Arriving in Mérida, we then took a taxi to our hotel, which we had booked in advance. We are staying at the Gran Real Yucatan near the city center. After getting settled in and washed up, we went out searching for a place to eat. We found a place with live music. Now that we are away from the high-tourist area of Cancun, the menu is more of a challenge. We're both ordering by names that sound good. So far, it has been working, and we are getting to try new dishes. To get off to a good start, we booked a two-hour narrated bus tour of the city for the next morning. At breakfast, we found almost all the other guests in the hotel were with a German tour group. We shared our table with a young German couple, so we had someone we could speak with in English. Before our tour, we checked out a couple of nearby churches. After our tour, we had lunch and then went to see a Dali art exhibit at the Olympio. Of course, we had to check out the shopping. Our best tip came from a local who pointed us to a Mayan Cooperative. We feel very comfortable in this city. The people are very friendly. The streets, parks, plazas, and shops are just bustling with activity. The little bit of Spanish we have absorbed is really paying off.