SSB and Familiar Voices

Having a Single Side Band Radio on the boat keeps us in touch with other cruisers and provides us with weather and news.

Today was a good day as we heard from Debi and Roy on Lyric in the Rio Dulce. Even though we had news about the uprising being over via email it sure was good to hear the voices from our friends that it in truth was over and really a non event for the gringos on the river.

So we are in touch and now the biggest threat is: will our order from defender make it to Belize.

Fish Face Time

Today there was NO wind in Placencia! So we jumped in the dinghy with our snorkel gear and spent some face time with the fishes!
It was great to be back in the water after so long.

We were able to enjoy it because we know that our friends are safe in Guatemala after a little up rising. Let's hope that things calm down there. For full details see www.gerryantics.blogspot.com

We Have No Schedule

"We have no schedule". These words come out of the mouths of cruisers on a daily basis. Well, they and we are liars.

1. We have company coming and must be in (fill in the blank) by.
2. The weather is crappy and who wants waves over the bow.
3. I need a high tide so we have to cross the bar by ( fill in the date).
4. We need more veggies so we have to get back to (fll in the blank)
5. The (fill in the blank) is not working

The list could go on but hey, "I have no schedule and a good book is calling by name."

So here we are back in Belize ready for some face time with the fish and sailing! More later.

"Should I Stay or Should I Go Now"

The time has come to leave the dock. We have check off our projects and she is starting to look ready. So IF all goes well in the morning we should make our way down river to the Golfete for the night and then check out in the morning and cross the bar.

Most of our friends are headed to The Bay Islands of Honduras first. We because of our passports must leave and go to a non-CA-4 country. So once again we are headed to Placencia, Belize.

We had hoped that Androsian would be joining us but they have had a bit of trouble and will be out later. Suenos will leaving with us in the morning.

It may be awhile before I blog again. But don't dispare...more will be revealed.

Celebration Time Come On

On Wednesday the marina van goes to Morales a town about 45 minutes away. That is were the mail box is located. Right outside the Post Office is a young man listening to his Mp3 player selling the most beautiful fresh cut flowers. Roses by the dozen in every color for Q25 or $3 US!

This last Wednesday I happened to be on the van trip. So when our long awaited mail packet came I was so happy that I bought 4 dozen roses. I was having a great day and wanted to celebrate. It was great fun to pass out roses to my friends and share my celebratory mood.

I miss fresh cut flowers. It was one of my biggest joys to stop on the way home from work and purchase cut flowers. Now I find out that I live in a country that supplies most of the florist roses for the USA! So when you are gifting your Valentine on the the 14th think about us here in the land of ROSES.

And yes, Gerry, I will be enjoying my iPod music and video whilst stopping to smell the roses. I promise to keep a good watch when underway.

Leaving or Not Leaving

Leaving the dock and throwing off the ties that bind is something that most of us dream about. It sounds easy enough and in theory it is...then reality rears its ugly head.

Last time we left the dock we allowed the bow to swing free of the dock and held the aft a little until the bow cleared the boat in front of us. Oh dear, we should have released that aft line a little sooner as the dinghy secured on the davits hits the electic box on the dock. No harm no foul.

Many boats this season find that on their return to get the boat ready, the boat is anything but ready. The transmission is leaking, there is oil in the bilge, the engine is frozen, the instruments don't turn on and the list is endless. A rule of thumb is the at any given moment there are five things wrong with your boat, unfortunately you only know about two of them.

So it was not a big surprize when Up Jinks started to leave that their anchor was a firmly being held in place in a tangle of lines and other anchors. It took 45 minutes and four guys diving the anchor and dinghies being used as tugs to get them out. But they are out now and it is just a memory.

Lyric was tugged away from the dock without a hitch and then the radio signaled a message. All instrumentation has failed. Back on the dock they discover that water got in the antenna and shorted out the system. They are hoping that it will be dry in the morning and they can leave. If not someone is flying back to the States and will bring back the needed replacement in about a week.

We got our mail packet and are finishing up some pesky projects and hope to leave sometime next week. We don't like to give a specific date or time as it appears never to work. So in preparation of our, dare I say it, "departure" we tried our lights out tonight. All navigation lights on and working. Then the anchor light, which refused to light our entire cruising season last year shone like the proverbial star atop the Christmas tree. We are convinced that it really is a "marina" light and not an "anchor" light at all.

Hope springs eternal in the heart of a cruiser and so we push on with our plans. Please don't tell anyone.

Laundry, Laundry, Laundry

I hate doing laundry. I didn't even like doing laundry when I had a house with my own washer and dryer.

So imagine what it must be like to have to take it down to the river and beat it on rocks! Of course when done in the river laundry is a social event. You wash the clothes and the kids. Kind of a Two For One Deal.

In the cities you still find the laundry court near the plaza. Here women gathered and did the laundry together. Again it was a social event.

At the marina we have washers and dryers and for only $2 US. It can be a a social event of sorts. Or if you want you can have the girls do it for $4 US. Of course when my mom visits she does my laundry, for which I will be forever greatful.

When out on the hook the laundry is put in a bag, then in the dinghy, and then we carry it to some local village women who for around $10 US will do the laundry. Which you now put in a dry bag in the dinghy and take it back to the boat.

Laundry...can't live with it, can't live without it. Laundry is a fact of life. So perhaps the answer is to Sail Naked!