Deja Vu Chronicles

Saturday Market in Fronteras, Rio Dulce, Guatemala

2012-02-12T16:23:00.002-05:00

On market days in the busy jungle town of Fronteras, also known as Rio Dulce (for the river that runs through it), stores of every sort crowd the narrow main street. Barely two lanes wide, it somehow manages to accommodate cattle trucks oozing manure, buses, propane haulers and the ubiquitous little three-wheel tuk-tuks that serve as local taxis. The route through this cowboy and cruiser outpost from southern Guatemala to the Mayan temples of Tikal, three hours to the north, is a jumble of vendors' stalls offering beautifully fresh produce, bulk grains and spices, newly butchered meat, plastic jugs, textiles, toys, tortilla stones and cell phones.

When I first came to town for the Saturday market, I feared for my life. Dodging traffic, dogs, and other shoppers was a daunting challenge. Six years later I feel fairly invincible. I've never seen anyone get run over, not even a dog.

Papayas and Melons Abound in February

Onion Capital of Central America

Avocados- Three for a Dollar

Portable Fried Chicken ~ Guatemalan Style

Beautiful Golden Mangoes

Pacaya - When I Find Out What It Is I'll Let You Know

Dried Chiles and Braids of Garlic

A Typical Storefront in Rio Dulce Town

Back on the Rio Dulce

2012-01-15T15:20:00.000-05:00

The View from Deja Vu

Palapa Land...Mario's Marina , Rio Dulce, Guatemala


Deja Vu at Anchor off Cayo Quemada (aka Texan Bay), Rio Dulce, 2010

Changes in Attitudes ~ Deja Vu, Our Stevens 47...To Be Sold

2011-12-29T08:44:00.001-05:00

Big, big news...We've decided to give another fortunate sailor the opportunity to own our wonderful yacht, Deja Vu. At present, she is at Mario's Marina on the Rio Dulce, Guatemala. We haven't officially put her on the market yet but will be there in January, 2012, to prepare her to receive potential buyers eager to have the amazing Caribbean adventures we've had on board this wonderful sailing ship for the last 10 years.

For inquiries, please contact us via "Comment" on this blog.

It's the Journey ~ not the Destination

2011-01-07T11:53:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year to our fellow cruisers, friends and family. 2011 promises to be a milestone year but one that will not be spent on the good ship Deja Vu. We are currently in Maine, squeezing lots of lemons to make gallons of lemonade to get us through the year. Someone said that growing older is not for sissies and now we're beginning to understand what that means. George will be "tethered" to medical services in Maine this season, with what we strongly believe will be a most successful outcome. So we are certainly willing to sacrifice a cruising season for his long term good health.

Here, for our cruising buddies, we jump into the way back machine and feature some great friends we've made along the way...Enjoy and fair winds! Thanks for the amazing memories. We'll miss you this year.

Has it really been four months?

2010-11-20T21:34:00.001-05:00

I'm so behind the curve and promise to blog something soon. Plans to return to Deja Vu in early 2011 are up for grabs at the moment. Will keep you posted when we have a clue. Thanks for checking in.

Summer on the Shore

2010-07-18T21:47:00.000-04:00

A most extraordinary summer. A real summer with warm, even hot, days...not much fog... and rain enough to keep my garden bright and vibrant. There's something about the light up here...magical and ethereal.

Water, Water Everywhere...

2010-04-26T12:07:00.001-04:00

f you really want to get away from it all, the remote Belize cays may be the perfect stress-reducer. No people (except the ones you want to be with), no cars, no phones, no internet. How long do you think you can survive without your iPhone? You might be surprised to discover that disconnecting from your other life is a piece of cake. Just turn off everything because you can't use it anyway. We've observed that every year when we return to the U.S., everyone is on a phone, all the time. What's so important that it can't wait for a week or two? Someone will always know where you are and that person can be your emergency contact. Even if they have to send the Belizean Coast Guard to find you (is there a Belizean Coast Guard?), you will be found.

Some views from your own private cay...

Postcards from Livingston

2010-04-15T09:13:00.001-04:00

A retrospective look at Livingston, Guatemala… a few "postcards" of this not-so-sleepy town at the mouth of the Rio Dulce where it meets the Caribbean. This is where we clear customs before and after crossing the infamous sandbar we’ve come to respect. A unique blend of cultures and races co-exist in colorful harmony…Garifuna, Q’eqchi Maya, and Mestizo. It’s the closest thing you’ll find in Guatemala that actually feels Caribbean with reggae and punta rock blaring from local shops. Vibrant and eclectic, it’s a great place to spend a couple of hours while waiting for yacht agent, Raul Veliz, to process our documentation paperwork before heading north to Belize.

Isolated by jungle wilderness but only ten miles to the Belizean border, as the crow flies, access to Livingston is by water only. Fishing, shrimping, local goods and services and seasonal tourism are the major sources of income. On our most recent visit during Semana Santa (Easter week), the local tiendas were overflowing with hamacas, woven bags and conch shells, Bob Marley backpacks and beach towels with images of scarlet macaws. Produce vendors sold bagged wedges of fresh watermelon and pineapple. Baskets of limes, bananas and ripe melons sat under the shade of plastic tarps.

This year our crossing has a happy ending. After two unsuccessful tries that had nothing to do with the bar itself, rather mechanical problems on board, we eased across early one morning on April Fool’s Day…but no jokes on us…for a change.

The best guide books for this area are Lonely Planet and Moon Handbooks’ Guatemala

Dance of the Deer --- Lagunita Salvador, Guatemala

2010-03-29T16:29:00.009-04:00

We were privileged to attend the annual Dance of the Deer which depicts the relationship of the Spanish conquistadores to the indigenous Maya culture. There is no love lost there. The photos speak volumes. Villagers dress as forest animals...deer, monkeys, jaguars....and conquerors. The costumes were fabulous concoctions of beads, sequins, applique, feathers and fringe. A very technicolor day.

Water World...A Simple Life at Cayo Quemado, Guatemala

2010-03-20T15:22:00.011-04:00

Living in slow motion – the low hum of a simple place...

Soft breeze ripples the freshwater lagoon. Sound of nets being cast, wooden paddles slap the surface. From my floating perch the world feels fresh and uncomplicated. From the first rooster crowing before sunrise to the last cayuco headed to its mangrove shore at sunset, this is a busy yet peaceful, watery world. Everything that happens here, happens because of the water. No roads, no cars. A few simple palm-frond palapas grace the edges of the lagoon. Countless variations on the color green.

Bird heaven. The melodic, solitary call of the manakin bird beneath the forest canopy pierces the silence. Flock upon flock of young white egrets fly in waves looking for their next home. Low flying, sodden cormorants are en route to new nests with long strands of pond grass trailing from their beaks. Long legged jacandas step nimbly from leaf to leaf on mammoth waterlily pads. Mangrove swallows perch on Déjà Vu’s solar panel in hopes of a nest at the end of our boom. Unless they want to go to Belize, they’d best look elsewhere.

The young fisherman casts a net from his cayuco, hoping for dinner.

The occasional turista launcha cruises through from El Golfete while white-skinned travelers marvel at the humble beauty of this exotic time warp on the Rio Dulce.

The View from Deja Vu...Rio Dulce, Guatemala

2010-03-09T17:34:00.008-05:00

We're here, we did it, we're back. It's hot, it's lush, it's heaven. No worries, mates.

Cruising Update

2010-02-06T08:29:00.004-05:00

A blip on our radar has delayed our arrival in Guatemala. George fractured his clavicle so I've been doing all the heavy lifting. This will present some interesting logistical challenges on board but we're hoping to rise to the occasion and cruise within the limits of common sense. We will now arrive at Mario's Marina on March 2, via flights from Portland, Maine, to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Until then, enjoy past posts of the Deja Vu Chronicles and contact us if you have any questions or comments. Expect the next post from the Rio Dulce!

Coming Soon...Cruising 2010

2010-01-09T21:20:00.007-05:00

Really winter... the Gulf of Maine... from our deck

Promises, promises. Yes, there will be blogs... but probably not until we return to Guatemala and Deja Vu in early February. Currently at lat. 44N. Get us out of here. Until then, when we take the wraps off the boat at Mario's, we will stoke the fires in Maine, layer up and pack the bags with great expectations for a fourth fabulous cruising season in the western Caribbean.

What good is a blog without a blogger?

2009-10-10T22:13:00.009-04:00

I just went to our blog and sadly noticed that I hadn't blogged in months. Can't have that... so
here's a morsel until next time. Memories of a blissful Belizean sunset w/ Beachhouse, Antares and Deja Vu at anchor, Caye Caulker, Belize, 2008. Photo by Sharon Smith, s/v Beachhouse.Show all

An Embarrassment of Bananas...and Chayotes

2009-04-30T13:55:00.011-04:00

Roatan Market Day

On a recent shopping trip with fellow cruisers to this great little island market, the owners were happy to share their beautiful, colorfully displayed fruit and vegetables. There might have been a language barrier as we awkwardly tried to speak our faltering spanish but they were very forgiving and taught us some new words...like zanahoria (carrot), perejil (parsley), albahaca (basil) and ejote (bean). The Honduran people are a racially and culturally diverse group with one common denominator...their warm, welcoming smiles.

Marcy (First Light) and Debbie (Sea Ya Manana) savor the sweetness of a freshly cut orange

Chayotes ~ I still haven't figured out a great use for them

The Oakridge market proprietors with their ever helpful employees

This Floating Life... The Pleasures of Parrot Tree Plantation

2009-04-07T16:00:00.005-04:00

Roatan, Isla de la Bahia, Honduras

This installment comes to you from the beautiful Parrot Tree Marina in Second Bight, Roatan. We are peacefully docked here ~ how refreshing not to worry about anchors dragging or boats dragging into us in the middle of the night...or squalls or all the things I don't like about sailing.

The placid anchorage at Second Bight, looking south through the reef cut

Parrot Tree Marina embarcadero at sunrise... the view from our cockpit...
Can you believe I got up early enough to take this photograph?

From right to left: Deja Vu, Goen Places and Miss Kathleen

The newly opened marina is part of a 160 acre development on a lush peninsula between two serene bights on the south coast of the island. The very long (267 yds) freshwater pool has recently opened, replete with fountains and water falls. There is also a lovely man-made saltwater lagoon with a pristine white sand beach. The "introductory" dockage rates are very reasonable and yachties have access to all the facilities, including a coffee shop, wi-fi, weekly fueling service, laundry...and security. The staff is professional, accommodating and friendly. A beach restaurant is scheduled to open soon and waterfront shops are also planned. The Plantation is a 15 minute drive to French Harbor and good provisioning.

On our almost daily walks we have encountered energetic agoutis, huge iguanas and shy hermit crabs. We have rewarded ourselves after the almost two mile, strictly uphill climb, with seafood paella at "The View" with its stunning vistas of both the north and southwestern coasts of Roatan. We've partied with our cruising friends on Capraia, Antares, UpJinks, Windquest, Compania, Allegro and Goen Places.

This is what I love about sailing ...being safely docked in a beautiful marina on a very friendly island in the western Caribbean. Got to finish this blog...it's almost happy hour.

Later this week we'll cast off the docklines and move eastward toward Barbareta and Guanaja to join our buddies on Jumbie before returning to the Rio Dulce in May.

Postcards from Utila, Bay Islands

2009-03-24T12:40:00.010-04:00

A rare photo of the Deja Vu Diva (far right) with Rick/Cindy~Dragonfly and Shirley/Brant ~ Bruja...enjoying sundowners in Puerto Este Harbor

After the weather settled down we had a mellow time in Utila, an island that is as laid back as they get. It's diver/backpacker nirvana, especially if you love a good tattoo and cheap beer. We feel like the elder statesmen on this island, although most of the liveaboard cruisers are in their 40s-60s.
If you've got college age kids on a tight vacation budget, this is the place to send them. We had a delicious grilled wahoo dinner for $5!

Most turistas fly into San Pedro Sula or Roatan and take the ferry to the island. Utila also boasts a unique species of iguana, a turtle nesting area and most impressive...an amazing cultural/racial diversity. Everyone says hello on this welcoming island and we look forward to returning en route to Guatemala in May.

A few postcards from Utila...

Uptown...and downtown
Mosaic and decorative detail from the Jade Sea Horse restaurant

Mariposa Cafe ~ a safe place to tie-up the dinghy and great food, especially the seafood pesto pasta

It's the Destination ~ Not the Journey

2009-03-16T12:32:00.011-04:00

The Coast of Honduras to Utila, Bay Islands ~
A Really Shitty Day in Paradise

Until a few years ago, I was from the "it's the journey, not the destination" camp, but after our recent sail from mainland Honduras to the Bay Islands, I'm convinced it's the destination that really matters. Seems we have at least one or two near catastrophes every sailing season and so far this one is no exception.

We are humbled, once again, by the power of the sea and feel fortunate to be writing this blog today. We have learned many lessons in our years of sailing in all kinds of weather but some of those lessons obviously didn’t sink in.

A Good Day Gone Bad

Getting to the Bay Islands from Guatemala is usually a slog to windward. The weather forecast indicated winds at 15 knots and fairly calm seas (3-5ft). In Maine we have an expression, “you can’t get there from here”. What began as a reasonable day to make this 40 miles passage began to deteriorate by late morning —an 8 hour motorsail seemed to have no end in sight as we plowed through 8ft seas created by the oppressive 25 knot headwinds.

By late afternoon we were salt-encrusted, soggy and dejected. It was one of the longest days of our lives. As I said to George more than 20 years ago after an equally horrible passage, “I would have rather been in labor.” Our boat speed diminished to 3 knots as the windspeed increased and the prospect of getting to the main anchorage of Utila-- with enough daylight to navigate the shoal entrance-- grew dim.

We were also running low on fuel due to a miscalculation and needed to have Plan B in the event we ran out of fuel en route. Reversing our course and heading back to the large open roadstead of Puerto Cortes on the mainland was our main option but one we hoped we didn’t have to implement.
Happy Ending

As we finally approached the west end of Utila we made a decision to try to anchor in the Water Cays –we had never been there and daylight was fading but we had a couple of charts and were able to identify the prominent cays and cut through a deep channel between Jack O’Neil and Pigeon Cays. We could still see the reefs on either side of the cut and miraculously managed to find a good spot in 15 feet to drop anchor.

Celebrated with copious amounts of wine and a freeze-dried dinner of Jamaican jerk chicken and rice.
Exhale. All's well that ends well.

To Kate and Cameron: don't worry, kids. we're fine. Wish you were here to share our adventures but you should be glad that you're not. Love, Mom and Dad

Sunset over the Water Cays of Utila

(Photos of Deja Vu taken during calmer passages off the coast of Honduras in 2007)

Next port: Parrot Tree Marina, Roatan (http://www.parrottreeplantation.com/) while George goes home to work for two weeks.

Postcards from Guatemala ~ It's a Technicolor Life

2009-02-28T12:25:00.007-05:00

Embroidery detail from the Panajachel huipil mercado

Confetti

The continuing, excellent adventures of Kathleen and Dinny in their relentless quest to enhance the gross national product of Guatemala~

While George was slaving away in Maine recently, working so we could afford to play, I did what any normal, abandoned mate would do...went to market in the western highlands of Guatemala. I took the early morning Litegua bus to Guatemala City (5 1/2 hours) and holed up in the Biltmore Express hotel while waiting for Dinny's late night arrival from the frozen north, aka East Boothbay, Maine.

At a time when spending money feels like a crime...where frugality rules and shopping is taboo...where we worry about EVERYTHING, spending quetzales in Guatemala was pure therapy for our Scrooge-infested souls. Beautiful textiles, carvings and jewelry were purchased from local artisans. The prices were good for us and good for them ~and that's FAIR TRADE. "You can't always get what you want but if you try sometime, you'll find, you get what you need." (Rolling Stones)

For more stories and pix of La Antigua, Lake Atitlan and Chichicastenango, Guatemala (2006-08), click on the archives in the left margin of our blog.

Enjoy the photos and send us a comment so we'll know you're out there.
Currently anchored at Texan Bay in the Rio Dulce with plans to sail to the Bay Islands in early March.

We would have brought back the whole pile if we didn't have to pay overweight charges.

Children's masks at La Antigua mercado

Hot, hotter, hottest...

We passed on the ceviche but I'm sure it's fabulous.

Espresso break to give us strength and keep us buzzed

Copan, Honduras ~Mayans Rising and Falling...but what a run they had

2009-01-26T13:06:00.030-05:00

Our convoluted travels in Central America have taken us to extraordinary Maya sites, among them Tikal, Caracol, Lamanai and Quirigua. Last weekend we ventured from our watery home on the Rio Dulce in Guatemala to the impressive ruins of Copan, a four hour drive through western

Honduras

and into the mountain valley that was called Xukpi by its original inhabitants.

Stones Tell the Story

Although less majestic than Tikal ~the mother of all Mayan ruins~ Copan is distinguished by its elaborate sculptures and carved stone monoliths or stelae. The quality and detail of the glyph stones have made it possible for epigraphers to interpret and understand much about the Maya civilization.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980, the ruins of Copan have been called the “Athens of the New World”. Kings with names like Great Sun Lord Quetzal Macaw, Waterlily Jaguar and Eighteen Rabbit built and maintained an empire that was a military and commercial power during the Classic Period (AD 250-800) of Pre-Columbian history. In its glory days, more than 20,000 people populated the 50 acre site. Archaeologists from Harvard’s Peabody Museum described the city as a “huge machine at work at the center of a civilization with hieroglyphic writing, an advanced calendar and complex astronomy.”

Sting Rays and Seashells

During early excavations, evidence of trade with distant cities linked the site to Teotihuacan, Mexico (700 miles to the north) and other Maya centers. Sting ray spines, marine shells, pottery made throughout Central America, pieces of jade and small amounts of gold were found. Burial chambers revealed much about their rituals and deification of nature.

Collapse of Copan ~ A Future Foretold

They may have honored and ritualized their deities, seasons, crops and animals, but it wasn’t enough for their survival in the long run. As urban sprawl engulfed the area, farms were replaced with housing for the increasing population. Eventually, deforestation led to major erosion, flooding and ultimately the downfall of the empire. Many deaths were caused by infectious diseases and malnutrition. Natural disasters, particularly earthquakes, collapsed many of the ruins, although evidence of 3450 structures remains, with many unexcavated sites still buried under the valley growth.

Hotel and Travel Tips

Our friend, Orin on Antares, arranged a shuttle van from Rio Dulce to Copan Ruinas with Ottitours. There were eight of us and the cost was $55 per couple for the one-way trip (approx. 4 1/2 hrs). We stayed at the Hotel Maya Acropolis which was clean, friendly, simply furnished and reasonable w/ private bathroom and hot water at a cost of $50 per double room. For our money (lempiras, that is) the best restaurant in town is Twisted Tanyas. Welchez Cafe has good espresso but there are other coffee houses in town with excellent coffee. Before going to the site we explored an informative museum in town that set the stage for our visit to the ruins with its diversity of stelae, funerary pieces and terra cotta figurines. The walk to the site is only 15 minutes from town and very pleasant. We hired a terrific guide, Juan, who was knowledgeable and entertaining. If you are anywhere near this part of the world, make the effort to visit Copan. You will not be disappointed.

Acropolis Maya Hotel

Back in the Banana Republic ~Deja Vu All Over Again

2009-01-25T15:14:00.005-05:00

View Larger Map

Welcome back to you and to us!

Where are we?

Latitude: 15 degrees, 40',72"N
Longitude: 88 degrees, 58',37"W
(I have to write out "degrees" because I don't have the symbol on my keyboard)

George and I returned to the good ship Deja Vu on January 13. After spending a beautiful summer and fall...and too much of winter...at home in Maine, we arrived at Mario's Marina on the Rio Dulce in Guatemala. For those of you who are location challenged, we've added a map of Central America. We are relieved to report that our floating condo is shipshape and none the worse for wear since we returned to Maine in May. For cruisers who are considering leaving a boat here for months at a time, it is essential to have some kind of dehumidifier system on board that will operate while you are off the boat. It's a jungle down here ~ with huge humidity levels, particularly during the summer rainy season. We also vacuum seal all of our linens, cushion covers and other items that would be damaged by moisture but that's another story.

The Rio Dulce is a beautiful freshwater river whose entrance is on the Caribbean Sea at Livingston, Guatemala ~squeezed in between Belize to the north and Honduras to the south. A long shallow sand bar stretches across the mouth of the river, making it imperative for us to come and go only at a very high tide with our 6ft. draft. It's almost 20 miles upstream to the small town of Rio Dulce.

We will stage here for our next adventure in early March when we will sail to the Bay Islands of Honduras and, hopefully, on to Panama sometime in April. Check in occasionally for updates of our adventures, including our recent trip to Copan, the extraordinary Maya ruins in western Honduras.

Sea, Silver and Stone ~ A New Blog

2009-01-24T23:52:00.000-05:00

Announcing a new blog for my sea-inspired jewelry designs. Have a look at www.seasilverandstone.blogspot.com

I'll be adding photos as well as pricing and shipping information as available. Please contact me via email.

Flashback ~ Grenada, Nicaragua

2009-01-05T21:37:00.016-05:00

While perusing my photo files, I opened up the Nicaragua folder from January, 2007, and was reminded of the vibrant colors and simple pleasures of Grenada, Nicaragua. Enjoy the flashback and do think about Nicaragua as a destination. The people are friendly, the country is beautiful and the price is right. After an unimpressive stop in Managua~and remembering that the city was flattened by a massive earthquake 30 years ago~we were transported back in time to Grenada, a colonial city founded in the 1500's and formerly a Central American capital.

Horse carts share the road

100% Cuban cigars ~ made in Grenada

Patio fountain at the Mona Lisa. Grazie, Leonardo.

Our adventure in the wayback machine was contrasted by an afternoon with mojitos and American football at Norm's Sports Bar and pizza at the Mona Lisa. Our rooms at the Hospedaje Italiano were spartan but clean and two blocks from the real deal parque central. No Disney rides here, just funky horse carriages and lots of smiles. Turistas are in the minority but the country is changing so go there soon while there is still peace in the land. If you have vacation money to spend, spend some of it in Nicaragua. The people will thank you.

Getting A Life ~ Safe Passage for the "Dump" Children of Guatemala

2008-08-09T22:49:00.014-04:00

Guatemala is one of our favorite countries, particularly because of its gentle, generous and extraordinary people. The physical beauty of the country is breathtaking. Guatemala is also a region of enormous poverty and a recent history of a devastating civil war between the ruling elite and the indigenous Mayan culture.

One courageous woman from Maine, Hanley Denning, also fell in love with Guatemala and the children whose families live and scavenge daily in the garbage dump of Guatemala City, a huge festering place filled with disease and peril. In 1999 Hanley founded an educational program, "Safe Passage", with a mission to "empower the poorest, at-risk children of families ...by creating opportunities and fostering dignity through the power of education. Children and parents discover that through their own efforts, they can move beyond poverty. "

Tragically, Hanley was killed in an automobile accident near Guatemala City in 2007. Her dedication to this program inspired her colleagues to continue the work she began. This video from 2006 was posted on Youtube, I assume, by a volunteer who worked with these amazing children. I thank him for giving us a glimpse of the lives of the children who participate in Safe Passage.

If you'd like to sponsor a child or make a contribution, contact Safe Passage.

Awash in a Sea of Silver

2008-07-18T18:58:00.007-04:00

I'm awash in a sea of silver, savoring the hours in my studio by the ocean honing my metalsmithing skills so I can take them on the water again next winter with no worries about blowing up the boat. Herewith a few results...

Handwrought silver and

phrenite bracelet

What goes around comes

around ~handwrought and

hammered silver bracelet~

less is more

"Red Dragon" vintage

mah jong piece set in sterling

silver bezel

"Green Dragon" vintage mah

jong piece set in sterling silver

The Not So Secret Life of the Deja Vu Diva

2008-07-16T21:36:00.030-04:00

These elemental silver bracelets are two of my recent creations inspiredby the sea. Each features a Costa Rican beach stone found by Kate at Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast. Please contactme via email if you'd like to see more.I'll be posting more designs when my

blog posting frustration subsides.

P.S. That's not my arm. It's a wooden mandrel.

What's in a (Boat) Name?

2008-06-23T09:21:00.010-04:00

Hey, what happened to that other accent mark?

This list has been in the making for a couple of years but I never could seem to get it to the point of being "blog ready". So I put the finishing touches on it while in Belize in April.

Sitting out a weather front , Deja Vu is anchored about 12 miles off the Belizean coast. To be absolutely precise, we are anchored at latitude 17.08.057 north, by longitude 88.04.821 west. Bobbing around in 10 feet of water (considered by some to be a generous depth inside the barrier reef) with 15-20 knot winds from the north. We’re tucked in behind the Colson Cays, a group of several mangrove islands with a couple of local fishing shacks and not much else. But this is the perfect spot for protection from these winds which are sweeping down from the Gulf of Mexico and we may be here a few days until the front passes through.

Since I’ve got nothing better to do today, I’ll share with you a fully categorized and lengthy list of boat names we’ve come across in our travels. Without further suspense, here are 11 (!) categories and the boats that inhabit them. Send me your boat name and I'll add it to the almost infamous list.

Escapist: Slip Away, Changes in Latitudes, Rx-Ta-Sea, Seabattical, Eclipse, Androsian, Sea Change, Sun Dazzler, Beausoleil, Jumbie (island spirit), Beachouse, Island Time, Barefoot, Winterlude, Dolphin, Sun Dog, Tiki, Winterlude, Discovery, Continental Drift

Flying things: Dragonfly, Willet, Sanderling, Kittiwake, Osprey, Hawk, Calidris Alba (sandpiper), Aquila (eagle), Griffin

Mythical/Heroic: Argo, Antares, Dragonheart, Sea Dragon, Aeolus, Polaris, Magic Dragon, Griffin and Ursa Major (our former Peterson 44)

Antares (Valiant 42) at anchor ~ Rendezvous Cay, Belize

Testosterone/Speed-Driven: Wild Horses, Endorphins, Lickety-Split, Infamy, Coaster, Tiburon (shark), Insatiable One, Scud, Hoof Beats Wet Dream (really), Cayuse

Meditative: Namaste, Repose, Sanctuary, Respite, Reverie, Dream Catcher, Tranquillity, Sea Whisper

Windy: Windbird, Wind Quest, Windcrest, Wind’s End, Wind Free, Tempest, Second Wind

Whimsical: Up Jinks, Groundhog, Escargot, Continental Drift, Famous Potatoes (really!)

Hearty: Wooden Heart, Heart of Gold, Angel Heart,

Silly Catamaran Names: Ber Kat, Catalyst, Purrfect, Twiny,

Women (boring but sweet): Wanda Jean, Katinka, Valentina, Helen Marie, Kailani, Ruthi B, Sno Virgin, Bettie, Frances V., Enchantress, Angelina, Waltzing Matilda, Helen Louise, Christiana

Pretentious: Leonore of Sark, Dynasty of Tainan, Ex-Doc

Names that defy categorization: Sea Yeti, Bizim ("ours" in Turkish and naughty child in Scottish where it is spelled "Bisim"), Beyond Reason, Lyric, Capraia*, Steel Magnolia, , 40 Mile, Litbe, Lapis, True Colors, Zeelander (Dutch), Esperanza (Hope), Evergreen (Vermont)

*comment from the owners of Capraia: " I had done a list of all the boats we met on the Rio but by circumnavigators, full timers, half timers and coasters. It's amazing how many great people we are all meeting out there. By the way, Capraia is a tiny island in Italy. We stayed there two nights while chartering out of Corsica while sitting out one of the Med's infamous blows. A cozy place where we met a bunch of German sailors. A few years later we visited their homes in Frammersbach and also sailed together with Capraia and their charter boat above and below Cape Cod.

Caye Caulker, Belize (photo by Sharon Smith)

Free Rice Project

2008-06-14T22:09:00.003-04:00

This is genius! Here's a way to help alleviate world hunger simply by using your brainpower. For every correct answer to the vocabulary quiz you contribute 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. That might sound trifling but your grains of rice will quickly add up as you continue to choose the correct answer in this multiple choice format. The site was created by John Breen, a computer programmer in Indiana with no political, religious or corporate agenda. He just wants to eliminate hunger and poverty...that's all.

Play the game and pay it forward. Pass on this website to all of your friends. So far this month, 105 million grains of rice have been donated. For more information on this phenomenon go to NPR (National Public Radio). Now go play and give.

Yes, There Will Be Blogs

2008-06-04T08:51:00.010-04:00

Camassia in bloom ~ our seaside garden

Our swimming pool

Yes, there will be blogs. I have a file full of unfinished stories and photos of Guatemala, Belize, sailing and random thoughts that don't fit any categories. Hoping for one or two a week but that could be too optimistic. I'm back in my jewelry studio, trying to get started again. Will post photos soon of my handwrought silver work.

The Maine days are gloriously long (it's about time) and I am trying not to be constantly "busy" so I can savor this exquisite part of the world. The garden is getting my attention and it feels good to be digging in the soil again. Watched a seal on a rock yesterday. This morning an artist set up his easel on our (?) lawn and painted a seascape. The lobstermen are tossing out traps just off the rocks. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood ~even the deer enjoy a day at the beach.

Can you find the deer?

Back on the Lobster Coast

2008-05-26T08:06:00.008-04:00

Sunrise on the Damariscotta

We've shifted latitudes and are back on the beautiful coast of Maine at the mouth of the Damariscotta River. The good ship Deja Vu has gone into summer/fall hibernation on the Rio Dulce in Guatemala where she is expected to safely ride out another hurricane season at Mario's Marina. We are often asked if we will ever sail her to Maine. Highly unlikely. As beautiful as it is, it is a long way to sail for a very short season. We're fair weather sailors.

Returning to the Rio Dulce ~ A Deja Vu Video Moment

2008-05-04T15:43:00.009-04:00

Once again, our tiny Pentax captures a semblance of the exquisite beauty of the Rio Dulce as we cruised upriver in early May. Next year I might bring a real video cam. When I filmed this I'd been up since 3 a.m. in preparation for crossing the dreaded bar at an astronomical high tide. If my speech is slurred, that is my excuse. We crossed without incident and didn't even bump the bottom!

Glover's Reef Atoll ~ Watery Oasis in the Middle of Somewhere

2008-05-02T14:56:00.016-04:00

Kate conducts marine research on a sea urchin skeleton in the shade of a beach palapa

Southwest Cay

Glover's Reef is my absolute, hands down winner for Most Beautiful Anchorage in Belize. Located 12 miles offshore, it is a pristine atoll described as a "coral necklace strung around an 80 square mile lagoon. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of only four coral atolls in the western hemisphere.

One-third of the atoll is protected as a marine reserve and the fish know it. We snorkeled a patch reef with an abundance of sea life and, most notably, a young nurse shark who surprised me as I was swimming around a coral head, not expecting to see this docile denizen of the not so deep. F.Y.I. The Pew Center for Ocean Science recently conducted a survey of the migratory patterns and health of the shark populations of the area with the cooperation of the Glover's Reef Marine Research Station.

View across the spectacular lagoon at Long Cay

Just a handful of boats were anchored at Southwest Cay and when we arrived at Long Cay with our friends, Kathy and Tom, on Jumbie after picking our way around the many coral heads in the inner lagoon, we were one of three boats there~with barely two feet under our keel. For scuba divers I'd heartily recommend the Off the Wall Dive and Resort as the wall dives on the windward side are supposedly fabulous. Even if you just snorkel, this would be the perfect spot for a lazy Belizean vacation. It's an hour ride from Dangriga, on the coast. On a boat, this is a destination only in settled weather, which is exactly what we had.

Cruising with Dolphins on the Barrier Reef ~ Belize

2008-05-02T13:52:00.006-04:00

We have a neat little Pentax Optio digital camera that also takes videos in its own low tech way ~which is perfect for me. Since I've discovered this capability you may be subjected to more home movies. The quality isn't fabulous but at least you can cruise vicariously with us on Deja Vu.

Adventures in Planes, Buses, Cars, Lanchas, Sailboats, Dinghys...and Three Taxis

2008-04-16T13:54:00.003-04:00

Getting Kate to Belize

When our daughter, Kate, decided recently that she wanted to come sailing with us, after spending the better part of a nasty winter in New England, we began to ponder the logistics of getting her here. Of course she could have flown from Portland, Maine, to Boston to Miami to Belize City—a fairly straightforward string of flights (provided they’re on time) all in the same day--maybe. But that kind of itinerary is for people who plan ahead and are willing to pay platinum airfares …and aren’t nearly as resourceful as we are in utilizing almost every conceivable form of transportation known to humans to get her here. Here’s how it all evolved:

Being frugal travelers (especially George), fairly familiar with the way things work in this part of the world, we had recently heard of some incredulously low fares on a maverick airline called Spirit. We were stunned to find a one-way fare for the jaw-dropping price of $150 (including taxes!) from Boston to Guatemala City. (Spirit doesn’t fly to Belize—yet.) Or she could have flown to Managua, Nicaragua for $29 and then spent days on a variety of buses just to get to Guatemala. Not a good option.

One of the reasons Spirit Airlines can offer these silly airfares is that they really want to break in to the Central American market ~and many of their flights depart at god awful times like 1a.m. But if you’re young and resilient –like Kate—it’s irrelevant.

If Kate had been a naive traveler we would never have considered subjecting her to the”Amazing Race” game plan we were hatching. When we told some cruising friends that she was coming they were impressed with her fearlessness as we explained the circuitous route she would take to ultimately get to Déjà Vu which is anchored off the coastal village of Placencia, Belize.

The only leg of this trip that was written in stone was the flight from Boston to Guatemala. Everything else was improvised. Let the games begin.

Day 1: Kate drives to Boston, spends the night with a good friend and departs Logan at 5:30 a.m with touch down in Guatemala City at 11:30 a.m. (Central Standard Time). She clears customs (a very uncomplicated affair), can’t find an ATM that works, borrows quetzals from a fellow traveler and hails a taxi ($9) to the bus station. She pays the $6 fare and endures a 6 hour wild ride through the mountains of eastern Guatemala to the frontier town of Rio Dulce in the steamy jungle. She calls Mario’s Marina on her cell phone (everyone has one down here) as she’s approaching the bus stop and marvelous Marco, the manager of Mario’s Marina meets her in town, carries her bag to the lancha at the dock then delivers her safely ($5) 2 miles downriver to the marina where she arrives in time for a cheeseburger in paradise ($4) and a good night’s sleep in the new casita. ($30)

Day 2: Kate boards the sailing vessel SeaYeti, owned by friend and marina owner, Jim, who coincidentally is about to sail to Belize. In company with Jim’s partner, brother and Shadow the Wonder Dog, she cruises downriver 2 ½ hours to Cayo Quemada (aka Texan Bay) where she dines on Mike and Sherry’s chicken fried steak ($8) and spends the night on board in a tranquil freshwater lagoon.

Day 3: SeaYeti gets off to an early morning start, motors down to the mouth of the Rio Dulce, clears customs ($20) at Livingston, Guatemala and sails to Punta Gorda, Belize, four hours to the north. After Captain Jim clears his crew in to Belize, Kate is dropped off at the town landing where she buys a ticket on the Tropic Air flight to Placencia, takes a taxi ($3) to the tiny landing strip and, with minutes to spare, boards the last flight of the day for the twenty minute trip. She lands safely, hails yet another taxi ($6) and drives to the Placencia dinghy dock (10 minutes) where she is met with huge hugs from her anxious and overwhelmingly happy parents.

Total travel expense: approximately $290

True cost of getting Kate to Déjà Vu: Priceless

We send out our thanks to everyone who had a part in getting here safely ~ Chris Williams, Victor, Marco, Inez, Jim, Una, John and all those pilots, bus and taxi drivers.

Otto Helm Takes Over

2008-04-12T14:36:00.003-04:00

Hey, who's sailing this boat, anyway? George and I were the only ones aboard when Beachouse took this photo of Deja Vu under FULL SAIL. Thanks to our reliable companion, Otto Helm, who never talks back

We're Really Sailing

2008-04-11T13:45:00.003-04:00

Update. Had two great sailing days coming south from Caye Caulker. 20 knots on the port quarter. Sweet. The photo was taken by Sharon on Beachouse, our buddy boat en route. We're in Placencia, Belize and Kate comes in today. She'll sail with us until we get back to the Rio in early May. We're planning to snorkel with the whale sharks off Gladden Spit on the barrier reef next week.

Swimming with Sharks and Rays

2008-04-08T14:35:00.006-04:00

Hol Chan Marine Reserve, Belize

photos by Carlos Ayala of Carlos Tours, Caye Caulker

Catatonic in Caye Caulker

2008-04-08T14:09:00.008-04:00

Caye Caulker is an oasis of “mellow” just inside the world’s second largest barrier reef. The streets (more like wide paths) are white sand. Bicycles, golf carts and feet are the major forms of transportation. There are no mega resorts or swarms of tourists here. It is probably the antithesis of Cancun or Cozumel which makes it really appealing to us.

The cruise ships can‘t come out here because it’s too shallow so most visitors arrive via water taxi or small plane from Belize City, twenty miles to the south. For years, it’s been a laidback destination for backpackers and divers who stay in simple, small hotels. Fancy doesn’t exist out here but internet does. The island’s ubiquitous slogan is “Go Slow” which everyone on Caye Caulker does very well. The island is less than ½ mile wide and several miles long. Speaking of locals, they’re a colorful and exotic mix of Creole, mestizo and Chinese. Native Belizeans are black, white and every shade in between. For those of you who are historically and geographically challenged, Belize is the former British Honduras which declared its independence a mere 27 years ago, in 1981.

We’re parked in the large bay on the leeward side of the cay. Although Belize is twice as expensive as Guatemala, many of the restaurants here are reasonably priced so we are existing on fresh ceviche and conch fritters when not cooking on board or pot-lucking with other boats. A sweet little hotel, the Iguana Reef Inn, allows cruisers to use its wireless for the price of a Belikin beer.

Kate will join us in a few days as we explore a few of the more than 300 cays in Belize. In early May we'll cross the bar and head back to the stable at Mario's on the Rio Dulce.

WE MADE IT!!!

2008-04-02T17:45:00.008-04:00

Sorry to keep you in suspense but I haven't had internet access until recently. We had an almost perfect crossing of the bar on March 13 and are currently anchored at Caye Caulker in northern Belize. Enjoy these postcards of blissful Rendezvous Cay on the barrier reef.

Quirigua ~ Land of Mayan Monoliths

2008-03-07T13:40:00.018-05:00

Field Trip!

While we languish away the hours during the heat and humidity on the Rio Dulce, we have found other diversions to combat the Manana Syndrome while we await Deja Vu's re-launching sometime this month. To help take our minds off our boat watch, new friends, Bud and Sharon, on the giant trimaran Beachouse, invited us to join them for an afternoon excursion to the Mayan ruins of Quirigua, about 45 minutes by car from town ~practically in our backyard.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Quirigua is home to the tallest monolith or stela in the Mayan realm, carved in the 8th century A.D. At thirty-five feet high, it is covered with heiroglyphics which glorified its exalted ruler, King Cauac Sky. Quiriqua had been a subservient state to the larger, more powerful Copan, thirty miles to the south, until Cauac Sky’s ascension to the throne. The beheading of Copan’s ruler, 18 Rabbit, signaled the beginning of the end of Copan.

“Unvisited, unsought and utterly unknown” were the words of explorer/writer John Stephens who visited the site in 1840 and tried to buy the stelae and ship them to New York. The ruins lay largely unexcavated until the late 19th century. Now, there is a paved access road flanked by banana plantations as far as the eye can see. Fortunately, Stevens was unable to purchase the carvings and the entire site with surrounding acreage was sold in the early 1900’s to the United Fruit Company ~but that’s another story. For facts about bananas you didn't even know you needed to know go to Cindy Miller's blog

Photo: Detail of stela ~ image of King Cauac Sky

The sandstone used for the stelae was quarried from the Motagua River basin. The massive pieces were transported to the Quiragua’s central plaza, erected, then carved on site. The softtness of the newly quarried stone enabled the master carvers to create stelae and zoomorphic figures (frogs, turtles, snakes and jaguars) with surprising detail and clarity, in spite of the limitation of their tools ~ simple stone chisels. Over time, the giant stones air-dried and set the carvings as a permanent record of a once thriving ceremonial and commerical center.

In its glory, the Quiriguans exported forest and sea products, handicrafts and jaguar pelts. They traded with other Mayan cities for cotton, gold, copper, honey, salt and feathers. Many theories exist as to why the Maya culture vanished so mysteriously. Some say natural disaster, poor farming techniques, overpopulation, war and/or disease caused the extinction of this extraordinary culture.

Photos: Zoomorphic boulders with detail

If Mayan history and archaelogy intrigue you, go to www.ease.com/~randyj/quirigua.htm . He has a well-written piece with accompanying photos of the site.

21st Century Explorers Bud, Sharon and Jennifer

A Cautionary Tale

2008-02-19T23:37:00.012-05:00

Why We're Not In Honduras...

Listen well, you sailors with deep draft vessels, for here is a cautionary tale of what can happen while attempting to cross the insanely shallow sandbar that separates the mouth of the Rio Dulce from the Caribbean Sea. (It does, however, prevent cruise ships from coming upriver, and that is a very good thing.)
Nautical chart showing Rio Dulce at Livingston, Guatemala (red circle lower
left of center), Bahia de Amatique and coast of Honduras

As always, we had planned a high tide crossing because of our six foot draft (a good reason to own a catamaran in this part of the world). The bar is a little over 6 ½ ft deep at the highest of tides and only in the deepest part. Some boats must be towed out or hire a “tipping” service that kedges the mast with a halyard (hence, the keel lays over) then pulls the boat across the bar. It was imperative that we make it out on one of these tides. A good set of waypoints is essential to stay in the deepest water until completely over the bar. And the sea buoy that sailors use to guide them to the bar, has a tendency to drift around and isn't always where it's supposed to be.

If we had crossed the bar with our “buddy boats”, Up Jinks and Antares, as planned, we would have had a fairly easy go of it in calm seas and little headwind. But a sudden generator problem forced us to stay behind at Texan Bay (a beautiful lagoon in which to be waylaid). We scheduled a rendezvous with our friends the following day, on the southeast corner of the Guatemala coast at Bahia la Graciosa. Reunited, we would wait for a good “weather window” and continue to sail along the coast of Honduras en route to the Bay Islands.

The Meaning of the Word “Naive"

So much for best laid plans. When we left Texan Bay for the 1 ½ hour motor to the mouth of the Rio, the winds were picking up from the east and by the time we began our passage on the rising tide, the seas at the bar were steep and confused with 20-25 knot winds on the nose. …a mini-perfect storm.

Déjà Vu slammed repeatedly against the muddy bottom as her bow tipped into the wave troughs and was yanked up again on the next crest. Over and over we bounced along and were nearly hard aground. I was crouching on the afterdeck trying to control our dinghy which pitched and bucked like a wild pony on steroids. If the dinghy tether went under the hull far enough it could wrap itself around the prop and we’d be seriously dead in the water. With every bit of slack I pulled in the tether and wrapped another loop around the aft cleat. I screamed at George to turn around and go back, pleading “The boat can’t take this pounding. Something’s going to break.” But Mr. Perseverance kept on keeping on. Miraculously, we finally cleared the bar but paid a dear price.

Once again we were painfully reminded that hindsight is always 20/20. Had we been smart enough in the first place we might have anchored off Livingston and waited to see what the weather brought on the following day when there would be one more "astronomical" high tide late in the afternoon.

Changing Course

The strong easterlies made it impossible to sail a straight course the 10-12 miles to Bahia La Graciosa so we tacked back and forth hoping to make it before dark. Weary and ready to quit for the day, we turned upwind and motored to Punta Manabique instead, a couple of miles south of Cabo Tres Puntas, and an anchorage we knew well. While maneuvering to drop the anchor I noticed that the wheel felt unusually stiff. I suggested that George take look at it in the morning.

My fears were confirmed—our rudder post was bent and the skeg attached to the rudder had broken . There are few places in the Northwest Caribbean where yachts can be hauled out of the water for repairs. Among them, La Ceiba, on the coast of Honduras and the town of Rio Dulce, Guatemala. We had no choice but to return to Mario’s Marina, schedule a haulout by one of the only facilities capable of pulling us up and vacate the boat while the work was being done.

The lyrics from “Hotel California” keep running through my mind., “You can check out, but you can never leave.” So our sailing odyssey has been briefly interrupted .

And while we’re at it, we might as well have the bottom repainted.

What Next?

Now that Deja Vu is out of the water for rudder repair and a bottom job, there's no telling how much longer we'll be at Mario's Marina awaiting splashdown. We've started a betting pool beginning with March 3rd being the earliest and the 22nd being the latest (we hope). For 50 quetzals ($6) fellow cruisers picked dates and placed their bets. The most cynical among us picked the last date, although there's talk that we may not get into the water before the end of March because of the big build-up to Semana Santa, the holiest week of the year which begins on Good Friday. Evidently there's major work stoppage and if we're not in by then we might not see saltwater again until early April. Well, such is life.

This is a little slice of paradise and we're happily ensconced in the new marina bungalow, "El Palacio", a two-room cabina with loads of breathing space and a queen-size bed. It overlooks a tranquil jungle inlet with enough fauna and flora to keep us entertained indefinitely--or until we get cabina fever.

We're livin' high. With a full service restaurant, pool and a place to do my silversmithing ~and, most importantly, the camraderie of other cruisers. We couldn't ask for more. We've both learned to play the cruising elite's favorite game, mah jong. Jorge has taken to it with a vengeance~it has really brought out his competitive streak, for better or worse. I'm too antsy to sit still long enough to complete a whole game (3-4 hrs.) So expect lots of blogs from me until we launch the boat.

Honduras Bound

2008-02-10T21:51:00.001-05:00

We're off to Honduras, although I'm writing this before we've actually left the dock in Guatemala. Now that much of the big weather from the States has blown through the western Caribbean it's time to stick our nose out there and air out the sails. We won't have internet for another week or more, until we get to Roatan in the Bay Islands around the 3rd week in February...possibly later if we stop at Cayos Cochinos. If you want to contact us while we're sailing we can receive email via our single sideband radio at KB1JIZ@winlink.org --a wondrous thing this technology.

The photos are of Texan Bay, en route to the mouth of the Rio Dulce and the Caribbean Sea. These were taken last year but not much has changed there. A sweet spot to hang out while we wait for the tide.

It's Not Easy Being Green

2008-02-05T22:37:00.001-05:00

Red Eyed Tree Frog ~ Costa Rica
(photo by Cloudforestalive.org)

POSTCARDS FROM COSTA RICA

2008-01-29T16:05:00.001-05:00

Resplendent Quetzal Sighting!!!

Monteverde Cloud Forest

Alert the media! We have finally seen a Resplendent Quetzal and here are the photos to prove it. Although the quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala, as well as the symbol of their currency, we had to come to Costa Rica to see one. One of my doubting friends said it was probably a stuffed bird attached to the same tree, but that is just too cynical a thought. Our astute, experienced guide, Elberth, told us that there are approximately 300 quetzals who thrive on the more than 85 varieties of avocados that grow in this extraordinary ecosystem.

These elusive, magnificent birds inhabit the Monteverde Cloud Forest from January through July. During their breeding season (March-July) both parents incubate 2 blue eggs for 18-19 days. When the chicks hatch the parents bring them tasty small invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles. As they mature their diet shifts to fruit, specifically avocadoes, ingested whole. The large seeds are regurgitated and ultimately grow again in the forest to insure a steady food supply. Fewer than 20% of the quetzal chicks survive to maturity. Their predators include brown jays, squirrels and weasels.

Our guide, Elberth (center), his brother (also a guide) and a fellow cloud forest afficionado

If I’ve piqued your interest, go to http://www.cloudforestalive.org/ to see photos of quetzal chicks in their nests and learn more about this ecosystem, including its gazillion species of insects and birds.

On our 2 ½ hour hike through lush vegetation, our guide spotted (with his high-powered scope), a sizeable Two-Toed Sloth carrying her baby from tree to tree at the forest canopy.Other sightings included Blue-Eyed Anoles, a Slate-Throated Red Start, a Guan (large bird in the turkey family), Three-Striped Warbler, Common Tanager and a Green-Crowned Brilliant Hummingbird.

WHAT IS A CLOUD FOREST?

In a nutshell, a cloud forest is a distinctive type of rain forest found only in mountainous regions, with cooler temperatures than lowland forests. At an elevation of 4600 feet, the average temperature of the Monteverde Forest ~ which straddles the Continental Divide ~ is 65 degrees F. Much of the time the forest is immersed in clouds with water from condensation supplying essential moisture for growth of the more than 2500 species of plants in an area of 21,000 acres which include 24 kms of trails (in both Monteverde and neighboring Santa Elena forests).

George crosses the suspension bridge
over the forest floor

AMAZING FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT THE MONTEVERDE FOREST

~ 450 types of orchids
~ 5000 species of moths
~ 425 bird species including 30 different hummingbirds
~ Quinine, used as a malaria prophylaxis, is extracted from the bark of the Cinchona tree

THE BAD NEWS...and Hopefully the Good News

Threats to Cloud Forest health include deforestation, hunting/poaching, global warming, increased exposure to UV light and introduction of non-native species. To experience this pristine and unique environment is to understand the imminent need to do whatever we can to stop further climate change caused by global warming. This forest in a faraway land doesn’t feel faraway to me anymore. If you haven’t seen the film, An Inconvenient Truth, do the cloud forest a big favor and see it.

The people of Costa Rica, and especially those who live in this remarkable environment have resisted paving the roads to this region and have limited the number of Monteverde Reserve visitors to 150 visitors daily.

_________________________________

More soon on Costa Rica, everyone's favorite tree frog and horses on the beach.

Gringas with Stuff ~ Atitlan Overload

2008-01-24T16:26:00.000-05:00

Exquisite Lago de Atitlan

On a recent Guatemalan adventure with my dear friend, Diana, consumerism in the name of art got the better of us. We had spent several days in the local artisan markets of Antigua and Chichicastenango, bargaining for handwoven textiles, ceramics, masks and jewelry. Normally savvy travelers who’ve been to many of the world’s exotic and remote destinations, we should have known better. But we were hell-bent on contributing to the Guatemalan economy and like many gringas we fantasized about the possibility of selling our finds back in the States. The worst that could happen would be that every square foot of available wall space in our homes would be covered with indigenous Mayan art.

Long gone are our backpacking days when we could barely afford a cheap hostel and a decent meal. Now that we're discriminating women with the need for more creature comforts--like a private bathroom--and an incurable desire to fill our homes with the art of the world, we need more space for all the stuff we suddenly can't live without. More space equals more weight, more bags. You'd think we'd have learned our lesson in Morocco two years ago when we suffered sore shoulders for weeks after lugging around our “must-have” purchases.
...worth a thousand words

With our newly stuffed, cumbersome bags filled with Mayan treasures, we boarded a public launcha in Panajachel for the twenty minute trip across beautiful Lago de Atitlan to our next destination, Hotel Casa del Mundo. When the boat dropped us off at the hotel dock, Diana and I knew immediately that we had made some bad luggage and excessive shopping choices. The diminutive young woman at the hotel reception area hoisted Diana's giant, bright turquoise bag above her head, balanced it and cheerfully hiked the equivalent of six steep flights of stone steps to our blissful room overlooking the lake. The sight of this woman with the huge bag on her head was enough to make us promise that we would enroll in the first available twelve-step program for schlepping shopaholics.

The first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem. Stop us before we hurt someone.

Feliz Navidad de Guatemala!

2007-12-23T09:37:00.000-05:00

Christmas Procession near Antigua

The Sloth's Life

2007-12-17T23:56:00.001-05:00

Just taking you out of your comfort zone momentarily.

Off to See the Lizard (and the Howler Monkeys) ~Part II

2007-11-15T20:56:00.000-05:00

In early December, we will return to the good ship Deja Vu for another round of unexpected adventures in Central America. We'll be based again at Mario's Marina on the Rio Dulce in Guatemala until the northern weather fronts blow themselves out in late January. But no moss grows on us...we'll be off to the Guatemalan highlands and Costa Rica in January so stay tuned.

For those who are still awaiting all those great cruising sites and blogs I promised, don't despair. I'm working on it.

A Rare Glimpse of Deja Vu Underway

2007-08-15T16:54:00.000-04:00

I found this photo on Bizim's website (http://www.svbizim.com/) so I'm borrowing it from them and hope they don't mind. It's one of the few photos of Deja Vu underway. That's me at the helm waving goodbye to Ruth and Iain on Bizim~one of my last happy moments for several hours as we bucked and pitched our way through the reef pass at Ambergris Cay into the BIG seas on the other side and en route to Turneffe Atoll.

Belize has the second largest barrier reef in the world and it's a night/day, shallow/deep difference between the ridiculously thin water around the cays inside the reef and the steep drop-off on the oceanic side. The water color changes dramatically from pale, translucent turquoise to a dark, deep indigo. In the narrow passes between the reefs and cays the water can be intensely churned up with confused seas. Better to spend the day snorkeling, inside the reef, toss down a few more Belikin beers and wait for a weather window.

A Deja Vu Moment ~Approaching Ranguana Cay, Belize ~ February, 2007

2007-08-13T12:18:00.000-04:00

Great Blogs to Inspire You to Sail Away ~ or Not

2007-08-13T11:15:00.000-04:00

While listening to librarian, Nancy Pearl, on public radio's "Morning Edition" I was briefly swept away to the fantasy realm of summer reading. As I cruised through her website, http://www.nancypearl.com/ I wanted to read almost every single book she critiqued. I wondered, "who are these people who read 20 books every summer? Do they have nothing else to do?" I'm no speed reader but I do have a life which includes several other time-consuming interests beside reading~like paying the bills, emailing my friends, mulching my daylilies, picking wild raspberries and watching ships sail by on their way to grand adventures (or really bad weather). But I digress.

Well, that chatty bibliophile Nancy Pearl has nothing on me. I've decided to become the recommender of "Great Blogs to Inspire" because they're more concise, more current and often way more mesmerizing than some of the books I've forced myself to sit down and read. (However, I'm currently charmed by Elizabeth Gilbert's quest for a real life in "Eat, Pray, Love", although I usually disdain most of the books on the bestseller lists because they're cheesy romances or convoluted mysteries that I can't follow.)

This morning when signing in to my blog, I was diverted by a Blogspot "blog of note"~ 1000 Days Non-Stop at Sea (http://www.1000daysatsea.blogspot.com/). Whoa, these people are serious sailors attempting a non-stop, three year circumnavigation on a 70ft. schooner. For the life of me I can't figure out why they wouldn't want to stop along the way. They have really taken to heart that old aphorism "it's the journey, not the destination". As far as I'm concerned the destination is everything, especially when you're seasick and being tossed around like a piece of flotsam. In their words, "we will not refuel, resupply or pull into any harbor." Come on, not even for happy hour or to have someone else do your laundry in a real washer and dryer? Nevertheless, this is an extraordinary challenge for Reid and Soanya. Their adventure is also called "Mars Ocean Odyssey" and they have a strong on-line, real-time education component where "students of all ages will learn how to live well within an environment of limitied resources." I'll say.

Coming next: Different strokes for different folks, aka blog/websites for the sailing vessels Bizim, Free Radical, UpJinks, Dragonheart and Namaste.

Windjammer Days~Boothbay Harbor, Maine

2007-08-06T07:59:00.001-04:00

The View from our Front Lawn~Damariscotta River Meets Ocean

2007-08-06T07:51:00.000-04:00

Stay Tuned

2007-08-06T07:30:00.000-04:00

OK, I lied--but not intentionally. Do not despair and don't give up the ship. There are blogs in me that are yearning to be free. Stay tuned. Maine life has gotten the best of me. I'm spending more time in my studio--trying to create fabulous jewelry designs--although I've lost my best teacher, Kate, to Nantucket life. You can take the girl out of the islands but you can't take the islands out of the girl. Tennis has also got a hold of me again after absolutely no court time for six months. Good thing I'm not afraid to make a fool of myself. I've thrown in a couple of Mainey photos to appease the hungry blog readers. Thanks, Cindy, for getting me to sit down and just do it.

The Blog: Alive and Well in Maine (sort of)

2007-06-09T09:58:00.000-04:00

Although we are in Maine until November, the blog will continue. There are many stories and photos of our adventures~Tikal, Nicaragua, Belize and the Bay Islands of Honduras~that are still in my journals or yet to be written. Kate had a frightening incident on board at Caye Caulker, Belize, and I'm hopeful that she'll share it before she goes to Nantucket for the summer. Until next post, enjoy the recent photos of Antigua, Guatemala.

Guatemalan Farewell

2007-05-25T22:08:00.000-04:00

Leaving Deja Vu and Central America was bittersweet. After working in sweltering heat and equally high humidity to put the boat in hibernation mode for the next six months, we retreated to the cooler altitude of Antigua, Guatemala, for three relaxing days before flying home to Maine. We celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary with Kate at the exquisitely beautiful Panza Verde Hotel (www.panzaverde.com). Couldn't resist shopping one last time at Nim Pot, an extraordinary shop which sells indigenous textiles, masks, terra cotta sculptures, ironwork and folk art. (www.nimpot.com). With its extensive, diverse inventory, it offers a fascinating introduction to the arts of Guatemala. Later we attended a textiles lecture at elegant Casa de Artes (casadeartes.com) and lusted after some of the unique huipiles (tunics), fajas (sashes) and cortes (skirts) that are part of the traitional Maya traje (costume).

Maya Weavers

Animal Masks~Casa de Artes Gallery

Antiguan Courtyard Fountain

Livingston, Guatemala ~ Only A Chosen Few Will Cross the Bar

2007-05-11T13:50:00.000-04:00

Deja Vu at anchor~Livingston, Guatemala

After several wonderful weeks in the Bay Islands of Honduras, we returned to the Rio Dulce in Guatemala. Timing and waypoints are everything. Deja Vu has a 6ft draft so we can only cross the shallow, wide bar at the mouth of the river at very high tides. This time we had new, improved waypoints for the deepest part of the bar~or so we thought. As the depth sounder registered less and less water under our keel we held our breath and suddenly we could feel the boat bumping along the bottom. Powering through, we crossed the bar, dropped anchor and waited for customs and immigration to clear us in to Guatemala~our home away from home.

The photos are of Livingston, (pop. 6000), a mixed community of Garifunas (Black Caribs), Q'eqchi Maya and ladinos, at the mouth of the Rio Dulce and only accessible by water.

It's a laid back town with a rasta kind of feel--the only one like it in Guatemala. It's mango season and the daytime temps hover in the 90's.

Edgar

2007-05-04T19:12:00.000-04:00

Paradise is a State of Mind~Confessions of a Cruising Family

2007-04-23T17:36:00.000-04:00

Meltdown Moments

In March, five weeks after leaving the marina in Guatemala, while anchored off a gorgeous Belizean cay that most people only dream of, I had a meltdown. All I wanted to do was get off the boat and seclude myself in a hotel room that wasn’t moving~ and I needed a modicum of privacy. The real truth about living on a boat in a tropical paradise is that paradise is a state of mind. Of course, that’s true for life in general but living in tight quarters for months at a time adds another dimension to family dynamics and the strange psychology of relationships. In spite of how well we get along most of the time and how much we love each other, everyone needs space and room to bloom. I have always needed regular doses of solitude—it’s how I keep my psyche on an even keel. I also understand that solitude can be a state of mind and that it is truly possible to create that space even in a crowded room. In the words of the immortal Firesign Theater “wherever you go, there you are.” In this case, wherever we go, there we ALL are, in our floating pod.

Many people think that sailing is about sailing from point to point, dropping the anchor for the night, and moving on the next day to the next destination. For bareboat charterers who have finite periods of time in which to carpe the diem on various islands, this is their reality. But what happens when you put 4 people on a 14 x 47 ft. fiberglass pod for six months? One of them decides he’d rather be in college—smart move. And then there were three. Kate knows that this is a rare opportunity and wouldn’t have missed it for the world. For George, he is in his element on board—a happy captain, even when things break. There are many aspects of the cruising lifestyle that I love~ but it takes work to make it work. (Photo above: Ranguana Cay, Belize)

Living in a physical space that is approximately 500 square feet (after you subtract all the storage areas and engine room) requires collaboration, patience, generosity, humor, tolerance, selflessness and a healthy dose of selfishness. I can’t even fart without someone hearing me. You need to know when to go to your own corner—wherever that might be—your cabin, the cockpit, the beach, the water, the dinghy. Sometimes a good snorkel among quiet fish that don’t talk back is the perfect antidote. I have discovered my own personal meditation room--under water. A contemplative perch on the bow at night, with a spectacular canopy of stars overhead is also unbeatable for head-clearing and pondering the “whatevers” of life.

Coping Strategies

When you'd rather kiss a boa constrictor than be at anchor in an exotic harbor, that's when you've got to develop some coping strategies.

A happy crew will not mutiny. Unless you’re Little Mary Sunshine you will have mood swings, pissy moments and days where you really would like someone to walk the plank ~ if not yourself. I try not to be defensive and rude when the captain ignores my excellent suggestions and brilliant common sense. We all have our individual ways of becoming invisible and finding our corners…Kate has designed exquisite jewelry and an entire fashion collection in anticipation of her re-entry to the pragmatic world. Until her iPod got waterlogged, she would zone out in her own musical realm and completely ignore the rest of us. Now she does it with books (having completed three 600+ pg books and several lesser ones). When Cameron was on board in Guatemala, he made nightly dinghy trips to a jungle backpackers hotel where he happily conversed in German with a group of his peers. As for George, when he’s not fixing things or planning the next leg of our adventure, he is addicted to spider solitaire, a computer game he recently discovered. I write our blogs and think about how I am not being creative enough. And we all read a lot, snorkel, swim, kayak, explore the islands, watch DVDs, listen to music and entertain our fellow cruisers—as we are entertained by them, too.

Reality Check

We are pleasantly, temporarily tuned out of a world with sad and tragic news that never changes. We highly recommend it.

Most of all, this lifestyle is never, ever boring. Sometimes when you’re in the midst of living a dream you begin to take it for granted—think of it as status quo, which isn’t so at all. This is a gift, especially to have this rare, precious time with our daughter. This is Déjà Vu all over again. We have each other, our love, our health… and time—every single moment of it, even though occasionally we need to remind ourselves of that. And although Cameron isn’t with us, he is thriving in San Francisco.

Girls in Wetsuits

2007-04-21T17:06:00.000-04:00

One Boat's Life~ Part II

2007-04-14T17:52:00.000-04:00

Is Anyone Out There?

Communicating with the Outside World…

Thanks to G’s ham radio license, we are able to send and receive email on board via our single-side band radio or ssb. While offshore and away from wi-fi our email address is KB1JIZ@winlink.org (that’sKB1(numeral one) JI (letter “I”)Z. Please do not send attachments like photos because we can’t download them—text only. We also have an Iridium satellite phone which we use mostly for contact of last resort-it costs $1 per minute and we pre-buy minutes before leaving the states. Unfortunately, we turn it on infrequently and rely heavily on our ssb email capability. We are in hog heaven whenever we find an internet connection in port—several restaurants and hotels have offered free internet with the request only that we buy a beverage while using it. Such a deal. (Photo above: Half Moon Cay~Lighthouse Reef atoll, Belize)

The Northwest Caribbean Cruisers Net

This dedicated group of volunteer radio operators performs a vital service to cruising yachts in this part of the world. Every morning at 8a.m. we tune into SSB channel 6209 to receive the latest weather forecast, positions of other yachts from the Gulf of Mexico to Panama, and, most importantly, the ability to call in an emergency situation. Several days ago, Paradox, a catamaran en route to Florida, failed to call in at a scheduled radio check-in time. Tragically, it had capsized in a squall but thanks to the efforts of the cruisers network in collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard and an amateur ham radio net the crew was rescued by a Hercules helicopter and flown to safety.

Navigating the Waters…

We’ve come a long way since the 80’s when we had a most unreliable satellite navigation system. Most of our navigation was done by dead reckoning--plotting course and position on a paper chart using compass heading, time, boat speed, etc. Years ago George actually used celestial navigation when we were sailing from the U.S. to the eastern Caribbean. The evolution and fine tuning of the GPS (global positioning system) in sync with electronic charts has made navigating much easier and safer-most of the time. It is a rare sailor who goes to sea without GPS capability. It’s not unusual for boats to have 3 or 4 GPS units-both handheld and fixed, just in case one or more should break. I accidentally dropped our handheld unit and George has not let me forget it. We also lost one of our stationary units at our nav station so we are down to a Furuno and the (hopefully) repaired handheld GPS.

Before making a passage we program our course on our electronic MapSea charts by plotting GPS waypoints for latitude and longitude. These waypoints have successfuly guided us (most of the time) through tricky waters. Of course, we have paper charts and cruising guides but often there is incomplete or antiquated info. Eyeball navigation is also absolutely essential, especially in the Bahamas, Belize and Honduras where there are many reefs and very “thin” water. Sometimes having two feet under the keel is a real luxury.

Going Aground…

Even the most careful and experienced sailors go aground occasionally in spite of their best efforts to avoid it. We finally joined the crowd in the shallow waters of Belize —on a sandbar off Caye Caulker. A common saying among sailors is “if you haven’t been aground, you will be”.

Fortunately, we were buddy boating with our friends, Iain and Ruth on Bizim(www.svbizim.com) who dropped anchor nearby and attached (with Kate in the dinghy) 200 yards of line from their boat to ours. We wrapped the line around our largest winch and slowly cranked ourselves off the bar. The western Caribbean harbors are not renown for their navigational aids so buoys and other markers we take for granted in the U.S. simply don’t exist here. We were told that one of the reasons Guatemala doesn’t put more buoys out to mark shoals and channels is because the locals steal them and use them for fishing buoys. Just hearsay. It would be impossible to mark all the shoals in Belize because the water is so astonishingly shallow inside the barrier reef. Once outside the reef in the Caribbean the depths quickly fall off to a thousand feet or more. We’ve heard that a non-sailor actually asked the question “Where do you anchor at night when you’re crossing the ocean?”

Honduran Hotspot!

2007-04-08T17:33:00.000-04:00

It's a small world. We are anchored in Honduras and with a a wi-fi hotspot right here in the cockpit of Deja Vu. This may mean little to you in the western world who turn on your computers and are instantly connected to the rest of the planet. To actually be sitting on board with an internet connection is an amazing thing to behold. Everywhere we've sailed we've had to go to shore and find a connection~usually at a bar or restaurant. Not every island has internet, let alone people, and for that we are grateful, too. But this is particularly exciting because we just sailed overnight from remote Lighthouse Reef, Belize to Roatan in the Bay Islands off the north coast of Honduras and we've got stateside business stuff to take care of like online banking and income taxes...and adding new stories to our blog. Yes, we can send and receive email via our single sideband radio but we are at the mercy of others for internet service. Of course, we didn't come down here to hang out on the computer but Swiss Family Robinson we're not.

It's almost time to go to Fantasy Island for a swim, shower and happy hour. Spider monkeys and iguanas vie for good bar seats. "One Boat's Life-Part II" is still in the works and we'll also share some white knuckle moments from our passage to Honduras.

Photo above: Monkeying around at Fantasy Island, Roatan

The Memphis Connection
For all of our Memphis friends, especially the Cuttings, Aunt Mildred and Uncle Sam, we met up with Orin Davidson (see photo), an MD from Memphis who was a few years behind George in med school and is currently in Belize cruising with his wife, Mary, whom we will meet when we rendezvous in May in the Rio Dulce where we'll be keeping our boats during hurricane season. Orin has known about our escapades over the years from our mutual friends, Carl and Joan Cutting, and has always thought of George as a role model for the footlooose lifestyle. It's nice to be validated even though at this point we're way beyond that phase of our lives.

Photo above: A Deja Vu moment with (from left to right) Kate, Ruth and Iain from s/v Bizim, Orin Davidson and Captain George

One Boat's Life~Our Floating Condo

2007-03-24T18:34:00.000-04:00

It occurred to us that there are readers of our blog who are following our adventures but don’t have a clue about sailing or living aboard a boat. Most of you have never been aboard Déjà Vu so we’ve included some interior photos of our main salon, galley and berths and assorted exterior pix.

Our amazing, self-sufficient, floating fiberglass condo is a Stevens 47, designed by Sparkman & Stephens. (For more about Stevens 47s, go to the Blue Water Sailing magazine archives for December ,2005, at bwsailing.com. Kathleen wrote the article “Impromptu Stevens 47 Rendezvous”. ) Deja Vu is a cutter-rigged, center cockpit sloop which means we have two foresails (the jib and a smaller staysail) and a main sail with in-boom furling (which we love). She weighs 20 tons and has a modified full keel with a 6 ft draft. This is a lot of draft for these shallow Belizean waters and going aground around here is a common occurrence. We've bounced along the sandy bottom but haven't gone hard on it, yet. Good thing we're not in Maine.

Déjà Vu’s beam (the widest point on a boat) measures 14ft, which gives us a fairly spacious main salon (living room) with lots of teak cabinets and large bins which hold all manner of stuff, including food, wine, games, books, flashlights, batteries, emergency equipmen, and a huge inverter which converts 12 volt current to 110. That allows us to run such lovely amenities as computers, DVD and CD players, a toaster and a microwave oven (which we rarely use because they are a huge power drain).

Thanks to the center cockpit configuration, we have a spacious (by sailboat standards) aft cabin with an almost queen-size bed, two closets, drawers and cupboards for clothing and other junk we’ve accumulated along the way. Our galley is quite commodious as boat galleys go, with double stainless sinks, a three-burner range with small oven (not big enough to bake a turkey or roast a whole chicken, though Kate has made some fabulous bread). There are cupboards and drawers for our plastic china, bowls, glasses, cookware, utensils, etc..

Forward of the main salon are two sleeping cabins, one of which is called a V-berth for its tapering shape at the bow. It will sleep two—our 6ft 4” friend, Rob, managed to sleep there with his sweetheart~ and never complained. It is now Kate’s space. The other little cabin has two bunks and is not for the claustrophobic. It was Cameron’s room when he was aboard and he never complained either. Now that he’s in college, it serves as a catch-all storage area for all kinds of miscellaneous stuff. We can close the door and it’s out of sight/out of mind. There are two heads (bathrooms) ~one next to the master cabin and one for the forward cabins just described. Each with a combo toilet/shower stall. The floors of the heads have teak grates with sump pumps located beneath. However, this still leaves us with a fairly wet bathroom should we decide to take a shower there. With that in mind, most of us choose to shower on the aft deck (in bathing suits because we’re not in St. Barts) with a cold, freshwater hose.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know…

1. How much fresh water do we have on board and where do we get it when we need it? Our two stainless steel tanks hold 160 gallons. We have a Katadyn reverse osmosis watermaker that converts salt water to fresh at a rate of three gallons an hour. (Most ground wells put out more than that per minute.) There are fancier models capable of producing far more than that but this one suits our needs. Boats without watermakers must take jerry cans to local docks to fill up with potable water-if available at all. Our watermaker gives us the freedom to travel to remote islands and hang around for as long as we choose.

2 .How do we generate electricity? When at anchor, we run a little gem of a generator on our aft deck—a Honda 2000-that charges our batteries (10 golf-cart batteries and one 12 volt)- for a couple hours a day. When we’re motor-sailing, our 80 HP Ford-Lehman engine charges the batteries which provide the juice for the refrigeration, lighting, and computers. This is probably too much information for many of you but hang on. It gets better. A large solar panel shares additional energy producing honors (putting out 10 amps at its best) with a wind generator (which needs 15 knots of wind or more to produce anything, puts out about 6 amps).

3. How fast do we go? When we’re underway we cruise at 6 to 7 knots (nautical miles) per hr, but on a good day when the wind is right and the sails are well set, we can push her way up to 8 knots. We obviously do not have a need for speed. When we’re passage-making between landfalls we might sail 10 miles or 110 miles. Overnight passages are rare in Belize because there are so many cays that offer protected anchorages in normal conditions.

4. How much fuel do we carry and how far can we go without running out? Our tanks hold 100 gallons with five supplemental jerry cans on the deck. The engine burns .8 gal/hr at 1500 rpm.
Yes, we are a floating condo of sorts with all the bells, whistles and attendant maintenance issues.

Got to get back to the boat. This blog is coming to you from the beautiful Iguana Reef Hotel bar in Cay Caulker, Belize. Tomorrow we head up to Ambergris Cay, then out to Lighthouse Reef.
Whenever I get another wi-fi connection I'll post the continuation of One Boat's Life. Take care and be happy--whatever it takes.

"No Name Cay" Sunset~Belize

2007-03-16T14:17:00.000-04:00

Today's brief update comes to you courtesy of Iguana Reef Hotel in beautiful downtown Caye Caulker, pop. 500. We are anchored in the harbor and enjoying wi-fi as well as grocery stores, laundry, restaurants and other amenities that we normally take for granted. We've been cruising around some of the barrier reef islands~Twin, South Water and Tobacco Cays. Wonderful retreats where the policy is always "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem". Our current position puts us just northeast of Belize City and south of Ambergris Cay~ which is almost to Mexico. In a few days we'll do some inland travel and will keep you posted. We're working on several different blogs like "Paradise is a State of Mind" (about our mini-meltdowns and coping strategies in close-quarters), "Let George Do It" (the many amazing talents of Dr. Deja Vu), and something about what living aboard a boat is about, especially for those who are non-sailors and can't quite grasp the concept. Synchronizing the writing with wi-fi access is challenging. Uploading photos seems to take an eternity but we've really got nothing but time. As always, we love your comments and any ideas for future blogs. And remember that the only thing you have complete custody of is your life. Enjoy it!

Mother Of All Dolphins

2007-03-16T14:08:00.000-04:00

We've had the joy of encountering numerous small pods of dolphins as they race across and along our bow as we sail. It is always magical but this particular Atlantic Bottle-Nose was one of the largest we've seen. Hard to gauge its size from the photo but use your imagination.

Belizean Conch Divers Chill Out

2007-03-16T13:33:00.000-04:00

Say No More...

2007-03-06T14:25:00.000-05:00

Hey Mon, We Be Sailin' !

2007-03-03T18:31:00.000-05:00

I’m sure that some of our sailing friends have given up on reading about our sailing adventures since we haven’t had any yet. Well, that’s all changed and I’ve got the pictures to prove it. Before checking out at Livingston, we anchored overnight at the new Texan Bay Marina (photo at right) and enjoyed their great home cooking and hospitality. No problems crossing the dreaded shallow bar at the mouth of the river the next morning, but we did graze the bottom briefly. UpJinks, a Catalina 38 with a 5ft. draft, led the way, followed by Kate and our singlehanding Belgian friend, Patrick, on his classic-plastic Irwin Citation 40, Tiburon. (We have since gotten good GPS waypoints and will return at another high tide in early May.) Ten miles later we were tucked in to our first offshore anchorage in the lee of Cabo Tres Puntas (photo below). From there it was an easy motor-sail the following day in light winds to Placencia in southern Belize. We anchored in 20 feet of beautiful turquoise water in the main harbor amidst the Moorings charter fleet and other private yachts.

Our dear friends from Montreal, Joe and Susan, had flown in the day before and were watching for us on the beach as we sailed in. We barely had the hook down when we saw them swimming out to Déjà Vu. They were welcomed aboard with cold Gallo beers from Guatemala and huge hugs. They were staying ashore at Harry’s Cozy Cabanas, a pleasantly funky group of small bungalows built on stilts above the sand, in typical Belizean style. That evening we dined on lobster curry at a breezy, thatch-roofed beachfront restaurant appropriately named De Tatch.

Sailed out to Laughing Bird Cay marine sanctuary for an overnight with Joe and Susan on board. Decent snorkeling with lots of sea life but reefs not impressive. Global warming is here. (See pix of Laughing Bird palapa to right and first time snorkeler, Joe, with Susan at LBC).

F.Y.I. Belize, formerly British Honduras, is a tiny independent country wedged between Mexico and Guatemala on the Caribbean coast. It boasts the second largest continuous barrier reef in the world (174 miles) and its waters are loaded with low-lying, palm-fringed cayes—of which fantasies are made. 250,000 pop. an eclectic mix of Creole, Spanish, mestizo (mixed European and Central American Indian ancestry) and Maya with a strong Garifuna or Black Carib
( a mix of South American Indian and African) in southern Belize. There is even a small population of Mennonites and Chinese. Go figure. For more, check out these websites: www.belizenet.com; www.belizeforum.com;
www.travelbelize.org (Belize Tourist Board)

Having spent so much time in Guatemala, the contrast between the two countries, culturally, is stunning. Two major differences: English is the official language and everything costs about twice as much. We should have bought more Chilean wine when we left the Rio. Coastal Belize really has a Caribbean feel and looks a bit like the Bahamas but with tons more palm trees and much friendlier locals. Just an observation.

This blog has come to you from the colorful Purple Space Monkey Restaurant in the little village of Placencia, pop. 600. The Space Monkey, which has become one of our favorite hangouts, smartly offers free wi-fi to its customers—even if you only order a beer, which by the way is Belikin, the national beer of this laid-back land. There are three ways to get to Placencia: Best option: sail in on your own boat; next best option: fly in via Maya or TropicAir to the teeny tiny airport from Belize City. Worst option: rent a car at the Belize City airport and drive nearly 4 hours, the last hour of which is a 23 mile dirt road which takes you to the village. Having said that, if it weren’t for our great friends, Tom and Carol, who love to drive and rented a Toyota Land Cruiser, we never would have gone to the Mayan ruins at Caracol near the western border…and that, too, is another blog in itself.

Coming soon to your favorite website~ “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride to Caracol” or “If Frances Ford Coppola had given us a better rate maybe we would have stayed at his place.” His loss.

How’s Our Driving? ~ We write about what we think are stories you want to read but, hey, give us some feedback and let us know how we’re driving and if there’s info you’d like that we can offer. We crave your comments!

Next destination: Lighthouse Reef, Belize. There will be a blog gap for a week or so while we head north to this beautiful (so we hear) group of cayes, with first stop at Twin Cayes. See you then.

Checking Out of the Hotel California

2007-02-22T15:30:00.000-05:00

Deja Vu finally left Mario's Marina"> on February 8 for a rendezvous in Belize with friends who were meeting us in Placencia. Leaving Mario’s felt like departing the Hotel California~”you can check out but you can never leave.” Many a sailor has fallen under the spell of Mario’s where it’s easier, cheaper and more fun to dine at a restaurant than it is to cook on the boat. Our friends John and Beth on UpJinks refer to it as the Cayuco Convalescent Center where we yachties of a certain age are rehearsing for retirement. Who would have thought that we would find groups of people playing mah jong every afternoon or charades every Tuesday night~in the middle of the jungle?

Shortly after we arrived last November, we vowed we would nix karaoke night since none of us had ever done it and didn’t want to make idiots of ourselves in front of a bunch of strangers. So we sat at the back of the open-air restaurant/bar watching people singing tunes from Frank Sinatra to Sting and country/western. They were having so much fun that I felt compelled to jump in and do Leslie Gore’s big 60’s hit “It’s My Party”. I may have made fool of myself but I had a blast doing it. As Maude said in the classic film "Harold and Maude, "You can't let the world judge you too much. Everyone has a right to make an ass of himself". Lest you think that Mario’s is filled with ageing sailors, as this story might lead you to believe, the age range is probably from 20 to 60 -something ~ an amazing, eclectic mix of fascinating people who have all fallen under the spell of Guatemala.

We celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve with our new-found friends At Thanksgiving we roasted five, 20 lb turkeys, made insane amounts of mashed potatoes and stuffing, and baked a dozen pumpkin and pecan pies. We shared our bounty with 65 people~cruisers, Guatemalans and marina staff. ( For a great slide show of the day as a well as interesting accounts of their cruising adventures , go to John and Beth Tally’s fabulous website: www.lifesstory.com. They’ve also published one of my stories about getting back into the sailing life and our nightmarish grounding in the Bahamas several years ago.)

We reprised Animal House on New Year’s Eve with an outrageous toga party that defied description. The photos speak for themselves. The inebriated revelers partied way past “cruisers’ midnight” (9pm) . At real midnight, the pyromaniacs on Aquila and Sea Yeti treated us to a fireworks display launched from an old surfboard towed behind a dinghy in the river. In the exuberance of the moment the dock nearly ignited ~but that’s another story.

If you’re planning on sailing to the Rio Dulce, I suggest visiting the websites of the following marinas: Mario’s: http://www.mariosmarina.com/; Tortugal Marina: www.tortugal.com; Another great site is Cindy and Mike Miller's blog: www.dragonheartadventura.blogspot.com. They managed Mario's over the winter and are dedicated cruisers~when they're not playing mah jong or organizing toga parties.

It Looked So Charming From The Outside...

2007-01-30T17:13:00.000-05:00

...Until I Opened The Door

2007-01-29T17:20:00.000-05:00

Leave the Driving to Us~Honduras to Nicaragua on the Tica Bus

2007-01-28T12:56:00.000-05:00

Several weeks ago, Nicaragua wasn’t even on my radar but some fun yachtie friends were planning to take the Tica bus all the way to Panama and graciously invited me to join their escapades. At San Pedro Sula, Honduras, we boarded the bus at 5 a.m for the 12 hour run through Tegucigalpa and on to Managua ($28 for a one-way ticket). The Tica bus line runs all the way from Mexico to Panama, stopping at capital cities along the way. This was supposed to be a luxury coach with beverage service, bathroom and a movie. Once again, my guess is that these are buses that no longer pass U.S safety inspections so they’re patched, repainted and driven all over Central America until the wheels fall off. Well, we got the movie~ E. T. dubbed in Spanish~and I never found out if the bathroom really worked. But the young Nica woman seated next to me threw up every time we rounded a curve~and there were many. I tried to explain to her in my best Spanglish that she would be better off sitting next to the window and gazing at the horizon—but she was too sick to move, so I did.

Here’s another lesson which is really a no brainer. Never stay in the same neighborhood as the bus station. Anyone in the states knows this because most bus stations are located in the worst parts of town—unless you live in Maine where the bus station is a world unto itself~ new and shiny and safe. We had all read our respective guide books when planning this trip and all agreed that the Hotel Los Felipes sounded like the perfect, budget spot for our one night stand in Managua since it was described in Fodor’s as a “pleasant, infinitely more upscale alternative to the slew of budget lodgings in (this neighborhood)…”. When I walked into my room, dirty, shredded plastic covers were still on the boxsprings and I thought I would have been better off sleeping in a hammock. This room was sorely in need of a glamour make-over~ $25 a night was seriously overpriced. They should have paid me to sleep there. The so-called pool was filthy and the so-called bar/restaurant was closed. So we did what any pampered gringo would do~ we gorged ourselves at an upscale Nica restaurant and after several glasses of wine we had the artificial courage necessary to go back and sleep in our hotel rooms. At least the sheets were clean.

All Over the Map

2007-01-14T18:33:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update. We're all over the map at the moment. George is back in Maine until early February~replenishing our cruising account. Kate is in Costa Rica and Cameron leaves for San Francisco next week to begin his studies at the Academy of Art University. I leave the Rio tomorrow for a bus trip with sailing friends through Honduras and Nicaragua. In February we will sail to Belize to rendezvous with good friends for a couple of weeks and then it's anyone's guess where we will go from there. Isla Mujeres or the Bay Islands of Honduras??? That's part of the fun of this lifestyle. Expect the unexpected. My next blog will probably be about Tikal, the ultimate Mayan ruins. See you then and stay in touch! We miss you all.

Mellow in San Marcos La Laguna

2007-01-03T13:50:00.000-05:00

Said to be among the most exquisite destinations in the western highlands of Guatemala--or the world for that matter--Lago de Atitlan, at an elevation of 5,000 feet, is the splendid result of ancient volcanic activity a mere 85,000 years ago. The lake is surrounded by three inactive volcanoes and the first sighting of it from the road high in the mountains is breathtaking.

Writer/visionary, Aldous Huxley, who knew a thing or two about psychedelics, first gazed upon the lake and declared that it was “too much of a good thing”. We were no less impressed by the beauty of the lake and its towering, encompassing volcanoes. The lake measures about eighteen miles long and six miles wide. There are a dozen or so indigenous Maya villages surrounding it, whose people make a meager living—at best—from small coffee plantations, subsistence farming and the sales of their weavings and other crafts to the turistas.

The major transportation mode from village to village is the lancha~a long, narrow, wood or fiberglas, awning covered boat with a substantial outboard engine. The public lanchas stop at all the village docks to pick up passengers. When we arrived at the town of Panajachel we had no idea where we would stay but had been advised to avoid staying in "Pana" because it was supposedly overrun with tourists and no longer the appealing spot it had been in the 60's and 70's when the hippies discovered it and made it their own. Having once been a semi-hippie, I was not interested in reliving that period of my life~not even in Guatemala.

Before leaving Chichicastenango we tried to contact, to no avail, El Arca de Noe Hotel in Santa Cruz La Laguna. We had read in our Lonely Planet guidebook that it had a "welcoming, social atmosphere and great food with candlelit dinners." The only other hotel that appealed to us and had a phone number in the book was Posada Schumann in San Marcos. So we took a chance and took the 45 minute lancha ride to the village dock. The hotel entrance was just a few steps from the water and the bungalows reminded me of the hobbit abodes in Lord of the Rings. After the chaos of the market in Chichi, San Marcos La Laguna was a welcome respite. Knowing nothing else about the hotels in this tiny village, we checked into the Posada and paid way too much~$40 per bungalow. The rooms were reasonably clean but the bathrooms were very funky and haphazardly constructed. The view from our patio was the best part of staying there.

That evening we discovered a charming restaurant just off the unlit pathway to the village~Paco Real~which served hearty portions of pasta (even w/ pesto!) and chicken mole. We met some of the so-called seekers who are attracted to San Marcos for its mellow ambience and numerous retreat centers like Las Piramides Meditation Center (www.laspiramides.com.gt) and the San Marcos Holistic Center (www.sanmholisticcentre.com).

But let's just jump right into the heart of our three days in San Marcos. Acquaintances from Antigua happened to be on our lancha the day before and they were staying at a recently opened hotel called Aaculaax (the Kek'Chi'Kel Maya spelling of the owner's first name, Nicolaas.(www.en.aaculaax.com). Lonely Planet Guatemala describes it as an "ecological fantasy come true" for its innovative use of recycled materials in the construction. The German developer has incorporated recycled glass and plastic bottles stuffed with plastic bags inside the wall construction, added composting toilets and designed a gray water system. Fanciful stained glass creations and unique works of art embellish the minimalist rooms. A delightful open-air restaurant serves delicious breakfasts.

Built into the side of a cliff overlooking the lake, Aaculaax is a very special sanctuary. With only 2 suites and 4 rooms, we were fortunate that one was availabe for us. We unpacked our bags in "Pescado", a tiny but lovely space with its own cliffside terrace. (Kate and Cameron opted to stay in a backpacker's hotel, "La Paz", a few minutes away~great for us because those places usually cost anywhere from $5 to $15 a night.) Our high-end rate at Aaculaax was $26~and that included a private bathroom.

This is what we did while in San Marcos~as little as possible. We were so happy to stop traveling temporarily that we just sat around, read, wrote, studied a bit of Spanish and explored the nearby restaurants in the village. The climate on Lago de Atitlan is fairly constant year round with temperatures in the 70s during the day and low 60s at night. Banana trees and extraordinary exotic plants grow along the wooded paths among the small coffee plantations.
We passed a huge pile of bright red coffee berries that were being separated from their sweet outer pods for processing. Raw coffee beans look like peanuts, are slimy and have no flavor until roasted.

Except for the scorpion bite, it was perfect. In this part of the world, scorpions and spiders are part of the package but usually they are benign and won't bother you. George just happened to pick up his backpack in the dark and one was sitting on top. It nipped him, defensively, but the result was akin to a bee sting. This should not put one off from staying there. If you don't have a sense of adventure, you shouldn't go to Guatemala.

Happy 2007 from the Jones Family!

2007-01-02T12:52:00.000-05:00

A Surreal Adventure: Chicken Bus Meets Maximon

2007-01-01T16:09:00.000-05:00

Traveling in Guatemala is very straightforward and simple if you're not in a hurry. Getting from A to B to Z, other than via chicken bus takes conscious forethought--or you can fly by the seat of your pants, as we have done on occasion. Guatemala has an immense bus network with a variety of companies that span the comfort spectrum, with the cheapest and most ubiquitous being the camioneta or chicken bus, as it is aptly named by gringos.

If you've ever wondered where old U.S. school buses go to die, they're all in Central America where they are resurrected, beautifully repainted in vivid colors, and renamed--usually after women like Gilda or Esmeralda. The dashboard is home to the requisite Virgin Mary, assorted good luck charms and bobble-head dolls. Local Guatemalans get on board with all manner of paraphernalia--baskets of live poultry, suitcases and heavy bags of maize, beans or rice.

Chicken buses stop to pick up passengers anywhere and everywhere, if there's room--or if there's not room. The more the merrier--until passengers are standing room only and hanging out the windows. There's an ayudante, or helper, who collects fares and loads baggage on a rooftop rack that runs the length of the bus. Sometimes he ties things down and sometimes things just fall off en route. If it's raining he might cover the cargo with a plastic tarp but don't count on it. The ayudante is quite agile and will jump off the bus as it slows to a stop, call out the destination, then run to catch up with it as it takes off down the road. These feats provide solid entertainment for the entire ride.

Our chicken bus adventure took us to a small town about 45 minutes north of Antigua, San Andreas Iztapa, where we had one bus change and paid a fare equivalent to $1. We were on a "field trip" with our wonderful Spanish school teachers to the shrine of Maximon, a cigar-smoking, legendary, local deity (not recognized by the Catholic church) who has his own "church" in numerous communities, particularly in the western highlands, and is actively worshipped with the belief that he will cure illnesses, grant favors or bring prosperity to the supplicants.

As we entered the concrete courtyard of the shrine, villagers were creating beautiful circular arrangements of bread, candles, rose petals, herbs and other items that would be burned in Maximon's honor. After fervent prayers, the mandala of offerings was set ablaze. We counted eight or nine small fires burning when we arrived while small firecrackers were set off outside the building in the road. Inside the shrine, metal-topped tables hold small candles and platters of offerings that run the gamut from candy to cans of soft drinks and small bottles of rum. Adhered to the walls are hundreds of plaques that resemble license plates but are inscribed with words of thanks from families who are thankful for Maximon's grace. At the front of the shrine a line of supplicants waits to approach the statue of Maximon--who is dressed to the nines in a western-style suit with a cigar in his mouth and is wearing a cowboy hat. I think this is where the word "surreal" comes from.

Maximon effigies for sale with photograph of this unique saint

Where in the World is Chichicastenango?

2006-12-18T16:38:00.000-05:00

Until a few months ago if you'd asked me where in the world is Chichicastenango I wouldn't have had a clue. The name itself conjured an image of somewhere exotic and remote--like Timbuktu or Zanzibar. Fact or fiction? I didn't know whether this place was real or mythological but I sensed that if it was real I needed to get there someday.

I can tell you now, without a doubt, that "Chichi" (as the locals call it) is a very real and magical place that exists in the western highlands of Guatemala, at an elevation of 6400 ft. As a longtime admirer and collector of ethnic art and artifacts, I was thrilled to discover that Chichi is the home of one of the most remarkable artisans' markets in the Americas, if not the world. To be there is to be transported back in time to an ancient mountain town where the indigenous Maya bring their wares to market twice weekly.

For centuries the women have continued to weave and wear the same style of handwoven huipiles (blouses) and cortes (long skirts) fastened with beautiful sashes. The ensemble is completed with the rebozo (multi-purpose shawl) and tzute (brightly colored cloth that is folded and placed on the head for sun protection or worn as a cape during festivals). Each Maya region has its own unique design, weaving and embroidery techniques, colors and symbolism. Traditionally, the quality of the weaving and materials used was an indication of social status. There are both ceremonial and everyday huipiles but you could have fooled me. These stunning women and girls were rainbows of color as they walked along the narrow cobblestone streets, carrying huge baskets brimming with produce, textiles, chickens and chiles.

The heart of the market is in front of the church of Santo Tomas, a 16th century church built by the Spanish priesthood in the hope of converting their "pagan" populace. To this day the Maya practice what is called a synchretic relationship with the Catholic church. Eons old Maya rituals are still practiced and a stone block near the front door of the church is supposedly all that remains of an early Maya altar.

Reminiscent of the souks of Morocco, but without the aggressive sales pitches, the sprawling market of Chichi is vibrant every Sunday and Thursday. Bargaining is expected with a suggested starting point of half the asking price of an item. The simple stalls are filled with all manner of goods~from the mundane to the unique. Smiling and eager merchants, anxious to sell their wares (so they won't have to lug them home), will follow you down the street with a lower price if they think you are really interested. In retrospect I bought far less than I should have because I don't know if I'll ever see some of these items again. Guess I'll have to return.

The Guatemalan currency is the Quetzal, named after the national bird which is nearly extinct because of the increasing decimation of its rain forest habitat. But that's another story.
7.5 Quetzals = $1 U.S. I paid 200Q for a large elaborately woven and embroidered paprika colored huipile-- its design distinctive to a particular highland village. Carved, painted wooden masks have also been an important element of traditional Maya ceremonies for centuries. They feature exaggerated images of coyotes, jaguars, deer, monkeys, devils and Spanish conquistadors. (That relationship is another one I'll save for a future blog.) Hung in long, colorful rows, most masks are now carved for the benefit of the turistas.

Kate and I found a jewelry vendor who had old silver coins and some unusual silver charms which we plan to incorporate into our own designs. George bought a handsome leather belt and Cameron found an unusual mask amongst the hundreds to choose from. Reluctantly, I passed up the simple but lovely terracotta pottery because I couldn't transport it back to the boat; although I did buy a rather large "olla" for 15Q ($2) and it now holds a tropical floral arrangement in our cockpit.

...And you can imagine the fate of the poor turkeys. Christmas dinner?

While I was busy shopping and gawking, George took loads of photos which help to convey the feeling of this amazing market and village...but you had to be there. --Kathleen

Habla Espanol? ~Spanish School in Antigua

2006-12-09T07:52:00.000-05:00

George here, with an update about our adventures in Spanish school. In late November we took a long bus ride (6 hours) from the Rio Dulce to Guatemala City where we were picked up by a shuttle van and taken to beautiful Antigua and our new home for the next two weeks~Escuela San Jose El Viejo. Antigua was the capital of the old Spanish Central American empire. It was severely damaged in the 1700’s by two muy malo terremotos (very bad earthquakes). After the second big shaker many buildings were not rebuilt or only partially, hence the explanation for the many ruins of Antigua. Not a moment to soon Guatemala realized the value of this historic treasure and took steps to preserve its character. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, the setting is spectacular. The city has 30,000 people but seems much smaller. At an altitude of 5,000 feet it’s nestled in a valley surrounded by three volcanos, one of which is active and smoking, all with peaks at approximately 9000 ft.

We are staying on the grounds of our school (http://www.sanjoseelviejo.com/) a typical colonial Spanish dwelling which has the expected high wall around it so that from the street you have no idea what’s behind it. It’s actually like being in someone’s private hacienda. One of its walls adjoins a partially ruined church, the namesake of the school. Entering through a large door we were stunned by the lushly landscaped gardens planted with palms, banana, orange and avocado trees with several casitas set amongst them. I’m constantly enthralled with the beautiful singing of the birds. Our “Castillo” room is 700 sq .ft.~a real splurge for us at $425 a week. Our apartment is one large room with all walls free standing and five have large windows/glass doors with commanding views of the volcanos (five miles away), swimming pool and tennis court. Kate and Cameron have a smaller room below us. It's been on the cool side at night (50's) so we've been using the fireplace at night to take the edge off.

December 8: We have just completed our two weeks of school. I awoke this morning at 4:30, unable to sleep because in addition to my early- to -bed pattern I have been looking forward to this weekend to review my Spanish lessons and enter my first blog. Learning another language is demanding. We were in school three hours, five days/wk. After each session we couldn't do much but lie down and zone out. Learning the words is not too bad but putting them together in conversation and worse yet, understanding someone else spitting it back at you rapido makes my brain turn to calabaza (squash)!!!!!!!! To compound things we were initially disturbed late in the morning by an anxiety producing caffeine high! We have learned, au contraire, that the lightly roasted coffee (grown locally) has much more caffeine than espresso so now we have expresso without reaction in the morning.

We celebrated Kate’s 25th cumpleanos (birthday) by going to a beautiful restaurant named Meson Panza Verde only a short walk from school down the treacherous cobblestone street. It again is a lovely Spanish colonial residence with gardens and open air dining. The food was wonderful and we had Cubano jazz during dinner. We did not travel the first weekend as we want to relajer/se (relax) and catch up on correspondence/blog. This last week we completed school, saw a first class performance of Handel’s Messiah set in the ruins of a 17 th century convent, and attended a fiesta commemorating the burning of the devil. We are now off to the Western Highlands to experience the world famous market at Chichicastenango and will spend a few days on Lago Atitlan--considered by many to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. We'll soon find out for ourselves. Now its time for desayuno (breakfast)!!!----George

Mario's Marina on the Rio Dulce

2006-12-04T17:41:00.000-05:00

Deja Vu at Rest on the Rio

2006-12-04T08:56:00.000-05:00

Getting Deja Vu~and us~ to the Rio Dulce

2006-12-03T09:09:00.000-05:00

I write this from Antigua where we experienced an earthquake this afternoon that measured 5.8 on the Richter scale. No damage reported but we really felt the earth and buildings move. Very scary but short-lived. It's what destroyed this town two hundred years ago. Cameron thought it was the coolest thing that's happened yet. ---George

Before beginning our trip to the Rio Dulce I need to tell you why and how we got there. Deja Vu, our 47 ft sailboat, had been in George Town, Great Exuma, in the Bahamas for the last 2 years. Earlier this year we decided to move on as we were in a hurricane area and wanted to decrease our risk. To get out of the H- zone for insurance purposes we would have to sail south to about 12 degrees latitude. For many cruisers, Trinidad is a common destination as is the north coast of South America or Panama farther to the west. From our location in the Bahamas to Trinidad would be a hard, long slog into the wind. Since we had been to most of the eastern Caribbean islands on our former boat, Ursa Major, and the western Caribbean was a pleasant downwind sail, we decided to go west.

Guatemala's Rio Dulce has numerous well-established and safe marinas located 20 miles up river from its mouth at the Caribbean and has long been considered a relatively safe area throughout the hurricane season. It is also extraordinarily beautiful and very inexpensive. So, in April, 2006, we set sail for Guatemala with stops in the Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and the Bay Islands of Honduras. We arrived at the Rio Dulce on May 8, 2006 and held our breath while we crossed the notoriously shallow bar without incident and anchored off the Garifuna town of Livingston where customs were cleared and I tasted my first Gallo beer. (Kathleen had reluctantly jumped ship in Jamaica to fly back to Maine to be a dutiful mother.) My sailing companions from the Bahamas were Maine friends, Rob Patterson, Bruce and Maureen Kinsey, and John Tarbox. The following day we motored upriver for 4 1/2 hours to Mario's Marina just south of the small town of Rio Dulce. We cruised past high limestone cliffs which gave way to a verdant jungle before crossing a wide lake, El Golfete, and finally to the marina. Once there, I prepared the boat to be stored in the water until our return several weeks ago.

To get to Deja Vu, we flew to Guatemala City, spent a couple of days there and hired a van to take us to the Rio because the amount of luggage we had would have made it nearly impossible to take a public bus-- and we still needed to provision with essential groceries that would not be availabe on the Rio. To say that this was a good idea would be akin to being modest about the invention of the wheel! After the van was packed the rear was full to the ceiling and the remainder of the luggage was in the passenger section. Our driver, Jose, then proceeded to take us to Hyper Paiz, a Super Wal -Mart type store. The adventure was on. We spent 90 minutes there, filled the remaining unoccupied passenger space in the van and then were off to see the lizard.

A note of caution here: We attempted to pay the $500+ provisions bill with our Visa and it was rejected. We has used this Visa for smaller purchases successfully in Guat City but this large amount triggered an automatic rejection because we had not informed the bank that we would be in Guatemala. Remember to do this should you travel abroad.

What followed was an enthralling but long and dusty 5 1/2 hours to the Rio Dulce. As we approached the beautiful high arching bridge spanning the Rio, everyone was full of anticipation. I had been here before but for the rest of the family it was new. I think everyone was pleasantly surprised. We unloaded the van and stood there in an alley way at the water's edge with this giant pile of luggage. What did the Guatemalans think? We looked like gringos out of our comfort zone. Undaunted, we dragged all the baggage to the river side and awaited the arrival of the launcha from Mario's Marina which would finally take us to the boat~ our home for the better part of the next few months. When we saw the little launcha and eyeballed the possibility of all of us plus baggage fitting in without sinking, we began to have second thoughts about ever seeing Deja Vu again. Marco, the dockmaster and our pilot, was unruffled and proceeded to take all the baggage and load it in the boat and the put us on top of it then off we motored slowly about a mile down the river.

Now, if you have never left a boat stored in the tropics for some months then you need to know that making the boat home is not a simple procedure. It would take us 4 days to have everything in order. For instance, the forward berth was to be Kate's but was occupied by sails and many other objects so she had to sleep on the boat next to us the first night. But Deja Vu
was in surprisingly good shape as the marina and our reverse cycle air condtioner/dehumidifier had done a wonderful job keeping the boat dry. All the linens/clothing/cushion covers had been vacuum sealed so there was no mildew. Everyone pitched in putting things right again and after minor meltdowns, mood swings, numerous beers and rum punches, we had a home.

The Rio is a wide and slow moving river and quite peaceful. We spent hours in the cockpit or in a swing rigged on the deck just enjoying the birds singing, howler monkeys and the activity on the river. There are no roads east of us all the way to the Caribbean so the river is full off Mayans in their cayucos or dugout canoes, and other launchas going to and from work or fishing.

Cameron, our 19 year old son, immediately noted that there were no persons younger than 40 at our marina so he was on the prowl for a peer group. As time and necessity will do, he began out of frustration to make conversation with some of the yachties and soon had some good times with them. Everyone at the marina accepted and cared for the kids. Kate, our 25 year old daughter, was a hit from the start and is readily regarded as one of the gang. Cameron had heard about a backpacker hotel, Casa Perico and took the dinghy up a small inlet stream nearby to the marvelously located hotel/restaurant that is truly in the jungle. If Tarzan swung out of the trees it would have surprised no one. There he not only found the people he sought but they often spoke German, Cameron's second language. So everyone finally found happiness on the Rio.

Kathleen hasn't cooked for over a month as the food is so reasonable and available at the marina that even penurious me has relented. The favorite menu item for the family and Cameron in particular is chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy for $6. He has even eaten it three times in one day. The activities during the day/evening range from boat work to reading to games. The rage here is mah jongg. We have avoided learning as it takes too long to sit through an entire game. Two other events of particular note are funky movie night and karaoke night. For funky movie night which evolved as a sort of cult thing from a showing of "Signs", attendees wear individually designed hats of aluminum foil to keep out the attempts by aleins to penetrate our minds!! Quite a sight to see! The last movie was Galaxy Quest. Karaoke night was a definite no for us, so we thought, but we happened to be, as we are most of the time, in the restaurant/social area and we happened to be having our evening rum punch. You can only imagine what followed...and to the chagrin of our children... we were full participants.

Weavings R Us~Museo Ixchel

2006-11-27T17:29:00.000-05:00

36 Hours in Guatemala City

2006-11-21T11:39:00.000-05:00

It would be unfair to make judgments based on our short stay in Guatemala City--but I will anyway. With a population of two million, it is all things to all people but mostly a city that travelers pass through en route to somewhere else. A fairly new city, it was created when volcanic eruptions made it impossible for Antigua (a one hour drive to the west), to remain the country's capital. Guate is poor, rich, old, new, noisy, polluted, confusing, crowded and not at all what I expected. There are swanky hotels like the Westin Camino Real and Intercontinental, gourmet restaurants and modern universities which are a stark contrast to the shanties which carpet the ravines surrounding the city.

All the guidebooks caution against walking around after dark, especially in poorly lighted neighborhoods, which are many. Going out we were a little anxious about our personal security. As a family of four we felt reasonably safe, carried our money in deep front pockets and tried not to stray from the busier streets. We had no problems at all, but during dinner at Hacienda Real, in a beautiful, garden courtyard setting, Kate and Cameron had simultaneous meltdowns. They were tired and less than enthusiastic about our urban environment ---and frustrated that they couldn't speak Spanish. George and I felt less unsettled and probably made complete fools of ourselves as we attempted to order dinner en espanol and converse with the waiters who were very forgiving.

Realizing that maybe it was better to ease into this culture, on our second day we ordered cappucinos to go (para llevar) from the espresso kiosk and explored the indoor shopping mall, "Los Proceres", across the street from our hotel. With its cineplex, department store, shoe stores, food court and chic internet cafe we could have been almost anywhere in the western world.

We grabbed a taxi and spent the next few hours at side-by-side museums located on the campus of Universidad Francisco Marroquin. They were our major reason for spending a second night in the city. Both museums--Museo Ixchel and Museo Popul Vuh-- came highly recommended and we were not disappointed. Museo Ixchel, a fascinating textile museum, is named after the Mayan goddess of the moon, women and reproduction. Exhibits of colorful regional textiles and dioramas of weaving techniques were enlightening and inspiring. The Maya artifacts in the Museo Popul Vuh helped us to understand the timeline of the extraordinary Maya civilization and will set the stage for our future visit to Tikal. But two museums is enough and we later rewarded ourselves with dinner at a local Italian restaurant, Tre Fratelli, in Zona Viva.

The following morning our hired driver, Jose, loaded our cumbersome bags into his mini-van and we were finally off to the Rio Dulce and our reunion with Deja Vu. That was a week ago and I'm still catching up. Stay tuned for Jungle World--life at a marina on the Rio.

Maya Textile Detail~Museo Ixchel

The Gringos Have Landed

2006-11-19T12:23:00.000-05:00

En route from Charlotte to Guatemala City the arid southern coast of Mexico came into view with its hotel enclaves speckled sporadically along the beaches. A single road paralled the coastline and behind it, to the west, was a flat plain as far as I could see. The unimaginative landscape changed dramatically as we approached the Belizean coast and made our way farther south and west to Guatemala City. Suddenly we were landing in the middle of a lush valley surrounded by cloud covered mountains and tiny villages that gave way to the Central American metropolis of Guatemala City, or Guate, as it is called by the locals.

When we packed our bags in Maine, we completely maxed out on our baggage weight limit of 50 lbs per person--a total of 400 lbs of boat parts, books, art and metalsmithing supplies, prescription meds, clothing, blank journals, cruising guides, supplies requested by other sailors, sunblock, cameras, laptops, tennis racquets, and other accoutrements of our early 21st century peripatetic lifestyle--all the things we thought we couldn't live without. What were we thinking? We couldn't wait to stop lugging our bags from airport to hotel to van to boat. Travel is exhausting.

Miraculously, all of our duffles arrived in Guatemala City and we arranged for a minivan to take us to our humble hotel, Eco Los Proceres, in Zona 10 , considered to be one of the safer neighborhoods in the heart of the city. By the time we checked in we were utterly spent, but the rooms were clean and comfortable. Not the Ritz Carlton but for $45 a night, who can complain? There are many less expensive places but this was about as cheap as we needed to be. I later figured out that "Eco" means economy. Sweet but noisy dreams.

Half a room at Hotel Eco Proceres

The Prequel

2006-11-02T08:58:00.000-05:00

This is all about a deja vu adventure on board our sailboat, Deja Vu. If I can figure out how to get those proper French accent marks over the "e"s, it will surely elevate our credibility on the global level. But this blog is not about following rules. It's about following our passions and embarking on an odyssey--somewhat of a reprise of a sailing journey we took over sixteen years ago when our kids were very, very young. So young, in fact, I was still breastfeeding. We thought that was the trip of a lifetime and were thrilled that we could manage an eight month sabbatical that would take us from Annapolis to Venezuela. But that's another story.

Now our much older family~Kate is 24 and Cameron is 19~is heading south to Guatemala to reunite with Deja Vu, docked securely in a hurricane safe, jungle marina on the Rio Dulce. During the next six months, we are all planning to contribute to this blog as a way of sharing our adventure with friends...and strangers who are welcome to cybersail with us as we head out to the western Caribbean countries of Belize and Honduras. Welcome aboard!

2006-11-02T08:47:00.000-05:00

Deja Vu enters the Rio Dulce, Guatemala.
May, 2006