Friday, October 28, 2011
What's Missing
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Ready For New Season
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| Lesli and Thomas - Deerfield Village |
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| Grandchildren - Thomas, Michael, Evelyn |
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| Michael, Kimberly, Evelyn - Deerfield Village |
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| Evelyn and Michael - Deerfield Village |
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| Grandpa and Claire - Harris Hill |
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| Grandpa and Claire - Market St., Corning |
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| Grandma and Claire |
| 1982 John Deere - A Landlubber's Life |
We plan to leave the river soon, first returning to the Bay islands of Honduras, and then we'll see.
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Camp Calabash
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| Camp Calabash Gang |
| Mark and Lori with Maggie hanging with Mark |
| Mark and Lori's home |
| Reef House clockwise from front - Beth, Marilyn, Leeanne (standing), Greg, David (standing), John, Bill, Pat |
| Reef House |
| seated - John, Tom, Yvonne |
| Yvonne, David, Lisa, Doug |
| Mark, Lori, Leeanne, Pat, John |
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
A Very Special Place - Jonesville
| End of Lobster and Shrimp Season - Storing Traps |
| Woods Marina - Larry Woods |
| Typical canal through the mangroves |
Jonesville in Bodgen Bight is a working seaport. Most of the lobster boats and a couple of the shrimp boats are moored here. Unlike the lobster boats in the US Northeast, these are constructed very similarly to, if not identical to, shrimp boats. The shoreline is a wonderful mix of undeveloped land (very rugged), moored shrimp boats, many homes, and a few businesses. Some of the homes have road access, but many do not, as the hillside behind the homes is too steep for road construction.
| Hole In The Wall |
The most successful business by far is Hole In The Wall, a purposely rough structure built on uneven piers over the water, owned and operated by Bob, a gringo. It attracts boatloads of tourists for lunch and, on Sundays, has an all-you-can-eat lobster and steak buffet. We now know it as Bob's Place, and late in the day, after the tourists have departed, it is a gathering place for expats and cruisers.
| Don teaching the puppy (Hole In The Wall) |
We are not limited to Jonesville. There is a series of bights, beginning with Carib to the west and ending with Calabash to the east, all connected by canals wide and deep enough for small-boat traffic. Here, travel by water is as common, if not more common, than by land. The nearest town is Oak Ridge, where we go by dinghy to do our major shopping and banking. For quick items like eggs or bread, Jenny has a little store just east of where we are anchored. We found propane and fuel in Hog Pen Bight, the next bight to the east. We were introduced to Gladys, a lady who will do laundry for cruisers. She does laundry in her home on water days, which are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. She hangs the clothes on the line to dry. We are very comfortable here. There are usually about three or four cruising boats anchored, which isn't many, but our world now includes some expatriates who live here.
We had no sooner arrived in Jonesville, when Dreamaway stopped by to invite us to a luncheon later that day to celebrate Don and Yvonne's thirty-ninth wedding anniversary. We had not yet met Don and Yvonne, but sure count us in. Later, we found Don and Yvonne's house and tied our dinghy to their dock, which is on one of the small canals that run through the mangroves. They have a crew cab pickup truck that they brought down from the United States, and so the women rode in the cab and the men in the back. Our little group included, besides Don and Yvonne, Jim and Kitty (Dreamaway) and their good friend Jim Bates, down to help crew the trip to Isla Mujeres; Dave (Barracha); and Larry Woods and his wife, Norma. Larry moved down here about fifteen years ago, and Norma is a native of Honduras. Larry runs a small marina, and Norma is a school teacher. Norma teaches kindergarten through sixth grade in a two-room schoolhouse with forty-six children. This lunch was a very special treat in many ways. The ride over gave us fabulous views of both the south and north sides of the island. The restaurant, Marble Hill Farms, was fantastic. It is actually a resort on the north side of the island. We spend all of our time on the more protected south side. They have wonderful gardens there, and canned jellies. They have a jelly tasting table, and the jellies are for sale. After lunch and a tour of the garden and buying a few jellies, Don took us back by way of a small village on the north shore, Punta Gorda. This is a village with Black Carib ancestry. The Black Caribs were shipped here by the British in 1797. We stopped in there for a couple of drinks at Pearls.
At that time, St. Vincent was a British colony, and the Caribs tried to establish independent control of the island. The French supported the Caribs, and there were many battles between the Caribs and the British. The greatest battle took place in 1795, and both sides suffered great losses. In 1796, the Caribs and the French surrendered to the British.
The British now had a problem. The Caribs were free men with black skin, and St. Vincent was populated by slave-owning Europeans. The idea of a group of free black men living among them on the island was unacceptable, so the British decided to deport the Caribs. The British hunted down and rounded up the Caribs, killing hundreds in the process and destroying their homes and culture. The remaining 4,300 Caribs were shipped to Balliceaux, where half of them died of yellow fever.
In 1797, the surviving Caribs were shipped to Roatan Island off the coast of Honduras. Along the way, the Spanish captured one of the British ships, which was taken to Trujillo, where the captured Caribs did well. Later, the Spanish captured Roatan Island from the British. The Spanish rounded up 1,700 Caribs on the island and brought them to Trujillo, where laborers were much needed. The Spanish were not good farmers, and Trujillo suffered accordingly. On the other hand, the Caribs were very skilled at farming, so they worked hard and did very well in Trujillo. Some of the Caribs were conscripted into the Spanish army, where they served with distinction.
| Yvonne (In Her Kitchen) |
| Jim, Jim Bates, Norm, and Dave (Don and Yvonne's Deck) |
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Enjoying Roatan
| Mango Creek Lodge |
We are now at Port Royal, actually Lime Cay Bight, anchored off Mango Creek Lodge. After almost a month in West End and then a week in French Cay Harbor, we were ready to get to some place much quieter and much less crowded. This place fits the bill perfectly. Port Royal is well toward the eastern end of Roatan and not heavily populated. Mango Creek Lodge is owned and operated by Terry and Patrice, Canadians, ex-cruisers who have completed a circumnavigation. They provide free moorings, run an honor bar inside the restaurant, and if there is enough interest, their staff prepares wonderful meals. Mango Creek Lodge offers saltwater fly-fishing packages and eco vacations.
One evening, we had five boats moored or anchored off Mango Creek, and we all arranged for dinner. With guests on board one of the boats, the twelve of us enjoyed good company and a fantastic meal.
It is a little difficult keeping up with the blog right now. We are spending four months here in Honduras, moving from place to place. Our main activities off the boat are snorkeling and socializing. Aboard, we are both doing a lot of reading. These activities do not make for good blog material.
| Cow and Calf (Port Royal) |
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Hanging Out In West End
We had a fun day at Slippery Sues, a sports bar that just opened. For the football playoff games, a couple of the boats negotiated a super deal on drink prices, and they let us bring in our dishes to pass. Since we were staying for two games, they let us have supper brought in as well. We had a good portion of the boats from the mooring field there. We expect to set up something similar for the Super Bowl.
One evening, we had a dinghy drift. We all just tied our dinghies together and floated around. We each brought a dish to pass and our own drinks. It was fun, but we spent a lot of time passing dishes.
The snorkeling is fantastic, and there are so many places to go that it can be new each time.
| Main Street through town |
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Oh What A Reef
| The Wrong Side of this One Would be costly. |
| Mooring Field - Ariel in the Center |
| Reef Not Apparent in Calm Seas |
| Reef Knocking Down the Waves in a Blow |
The most beautiful part of the reef is below the surface. The Marine Park has placed many moorings, sized for small boats and dinghies, along the reef, making it very convenient to explore. Sorry, we do not have pictures yet from below the surface.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Bay Islands
Leaving Guatemala just a few days ago, we set a course to the east along the northern coast of Honduras. Honduras juts into the Caribbean Sea. The area of water between Belize and Honduras, with Guatemala tucked in the corner, is known as the Gulf of Honduras.
Traveling along the Honduran coast in an easterly direction is usually challenging. Honduras is at a latitude that places it in the trade winds. The trade winds blow from the east, so easterly travel is usually directly into the wind.
We were delayed from our planned departure, which was scheduled for right after Christmas, while waiting for favorable wind and sea conditions. We finally found a window of light and variable winds, which was about the best we could hope for. Our trip then from the Rio Dulce was without sails (motorboat), and true to the forecast, we had light winds which over our 24 hours of travel were from just about every point on the compass. The seas were a foot or less, so we were happy with the conditions all around.
About 20 miles off the coast of Honduras is a string of islands, collectively known as the Bay Islands. If you are a diver, you are probably already aware of the Bay Islands, as they are a popular dive destination. Going from west to east, the islands are Utila, Roatan, and Guanaja. Roatan is the largest and most popular island for cruising boats. While the islands are part of Honduras, both English and Spanish are spoken, with English being more predominant. The islands were controlled by the British during the colonial period.
We stopped for a few days in Utila. We had the option to check into Honduras in Utila or Roatan. Since this is our first time in the Bay Islands, we did not want to pass up Utila. There were very few cruising boats there. Utila has a reputation as a party place, and we can attest that the music is loud and lasts late into the night. We did explore extensively and had a couple of good lunches at a restaurant called Bundo. It seemed to have the biggest crowd, so using that as the criterion, we were not disappointed.
With heavy winds forecast, we decided to move on to Roatan. We heard on the morning radio net that there were still three open moorings at West End, so we decided to go for it. West End is a premier destination for cruisers. There is no anchoring, so getting a mooring is a must. The mooring field is in the Roatan Marine Park. We have paid for 30 days, which is 100 USD. The daily rate is 10 USD, so you can quickly see our logic. It is absolutely beautiful here, and we are happy to be here.
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
On Our Way To Honduras
| Departing Monkey Bay Marina |
We are on our way to the island of Utila, Honduras. It will be an overnight trip, so we will need to sharpen our skills quickly. We will leave Livingston, Guatemala, on Thursday morning and plan to arrive in Utila, Honduras, the following day.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Christmas At Casa Guatemala
| Linda and Pat |
| Linda, Pat (s/v Mobetah), Jan (s/v Jocks Lodge), and Heather (Casa Guatemala) |
Backpackers is owned by Casa Guatemala and provides employment opportunities for the older children. Christmas Eve, Santa arrives at Casa Guatemala on a large launcha brightly decorated with lights and outfitted with reindeer and sleigh. We arrived in the Monkey Bay launch to a large group of excited children on the piers waiting for Santa.
It is the tradition at Casa Guatemala that Santa first visits the children living at the orphanage. He did this in one of the dormitories. Santa handed out the gifts to each child as their name was called.
| Santa delivering gifts |
| Waiting to see Santa |
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| Beverly |
| Children of Casa Guatemala are enjoying a turkey dinner. |
We plan to depart Monkey Bay Marina as soon as we can get some favorable winds. The winds are generally from the east, and we need to go east, so it may take a little while.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
A Monkey Bay Christmas
In the afternoon, we had reservations at Kangaroo Las Mexicanas Restaurante, and everyone at Monkey Bay went. They were overwhelmed at the restaurant with the number of guests. They had taken reservations, so they knew how much food to prepare, but with 60-some guests to feed at once, our scheduled 2:00 pm Christmas dinner of turkey, roast pork, and prawns was served at about 4:00 pm









