We Made It To Panama!

Merry Christmas from Leilani in Bocas del Toro, Panama.

We are currently swinging on the anchor on Leilani here in the south anchorage off Bocas del Toro, Panama. Merry Christmas to all!

Views of the busy anchorage in Bocas del Toro.  No such thing as a no wake zone here!

Apologies go to you dear readers for our less than timely posting of more current dispatches. It remains a challenge to post when reliable internet is simply not available. At best, we have erratic internet or limited connectivity using data from cell phones. As such, while it is not our preferred means of communicating, we simply post a short note on Facebook or send emails from time to time when we can. We just treated ourselves to a Panamanian cell sim card with a lot of data so we can now post this and maybe, a bit more.

Just a reminder and a gentle nudge, if you feel up to communicating, please do so via any way you wish, including email or leaving a comment here (go to the bottom of the page). We love to hear from you, and it gives us motivation to keep posting. We will reply.  

From Rio Dulce to the Bay Islands (Utila, Roatan and Guanaja), Honduras, to Providencia, Columbia, and on to Bocas del Toro, Panama

Much has happened since we last posted from Tucson, Arizona in August.

We very much enjoyed our nearly three months in the states as we journeyed from north and south borders, and east and west coasts to see family and friends in Chicago, Illinois, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Beaufort, North Carolina, Tucson, Arizona, and Southern California. We treasure those short visits more than we could have ever known.

We returned to Leilani waiting for us in Rio Dulce, Guatemala in late September with the plan to prepare once again to make our way to Panama. We had a list. We always have a list of necessary tasks and wishful thinking. We checked off most of those items including, completing the sewing of the cockpit cushions (Tracy has turned into an amazing seamstress), cleaning and waxing Leilani, re-provisioning our stores (including sorting some food now 2 years old from previous voyages).

The hardest part of making cockpit cushions - stuffing the foam into the newly made cover. 
This is definitely a one person job!

Finally, the cockpit is complete!

Far too many cleaning products for the job, but we used them all!

Just before Thanksgiving, we had tearful goodbyes, especially with our sailing buddies, Robyn and Tony on AlleycatToo, and Jim and Jane from “Jim and Jane’s Dock”. An ideal weather window was beginning to open, and as we learned last year, we needed to be prepared and not to miss a window this time of year. Unfortunately, that meant we would not be able to travel with AlleycatToo as Tony was preoccupied by dental appointments.

We will miss these two, Robyn and Tony.  We will meet again somewhere, sometime. 
We will always remember you with big smiles, as you were after the SA Springboks won the World Cup.

We connected with two boats from the Rio, Takamoana (Australians, Gary and Louise), and Saltair 3 (Canadians, Brad, Krista and Cole), to travel together to the Bay Islands of Honduras to stage for the passage of about 2 ½ days around the notorious banks off Honduras. This area has received a lot of attention, much of it is a very confusing mix of news of incidents of piracy, of “bad actors” acting badly, and just paranoia. Add to this drama, the weather can be challenging as boats round the “horn” of Honduras where winds and waves can conspire to make a miserable romp.

Three cats on the river.  Following behind SaltAir3 and Takamoana as we snake our way
  down the magical canyons of the Rio Dulce heading toward Livingston to check out, and then beyond.

Fortunately, we had good weather with a mix of sailing and motoring. Although tiring (we traded two hour watches at night), the passage across the banks was uneventful. Accompanied only by Takamoana, we diverted to the quaint island of Providencia for a few days rest and to wait for another favorable weather window. Saltair 3 did not stop but continued on to Colon, Panama to get in the queue to cross the canal. (Check out the family of three on Saltair 3 and their adventures on the YOUTUBE channel “Sailing Trio Travels”).

Utila was a colorful and interesting place. 
We would have loved to spend more time there.

Tracy looks to be having a very engaging conversation with a local West End, Roatan cat at happy hour. 
She actually was trying to convince the cat to eat cracker crumbs.

We spent one evening at the 'Hole in the Wall' Bar and Restaurant in Jonesville Bight. 
We were entertaining and entertained by the proprietors juvenile Capuchin monkey. 
He was devious and delightful! 

Who get's a chance to do this!

We enjoyed our short stay on Providencia. It is an unusual island for so many reasons, including its beauty as a iconic tropical isle, its rich history, and friendly locals.

We rented a golf cart for a day with our friends Louis and Gary on Takamoana (above)
and Maris and Linda on Amakya to check out the Island of Providencia.

Today was the day we heard the news that Tracy's sister passed away. 
Teri would have loved this place.  

A colorful mosaic depicting the unusual and facinating Providencia black land crabs that
make an annual migration from the highlands to the beaches to release their eggs.

We stopped for lunch at Roland's Bar and Restaurant.  We ordered their special - a whole fish cooked in foil packets on an open fire with their special sauce.  It took almost 1 1/2 hours, but was worth the wait!

The views made the wait tolerable!

A siesta was needed after lunch.  This hammock, unfortunately, was taken.

Overlooking the anchorage in Providencia Harbor viewed from Santa Catalina Island. 
Leilani is the catamaran furthest out.

As all sailors know, we are travelers of course, and it is inevitable that we have to say goodbye. Takamoana decided they would forego further travel in the Caribbean and, instead, head directly for Colon to stage for crossing the canal. A motivation for many boats to cross the canal is, as of January 1^st, 2020, the rates will double for small vessels. While the savings of about $800 to go now would be significant, we very much want to explore the enchanted isles of San Blas and surrounding area. We opted to continue on to Bocas del Toro as our first port in Panama.  

Our departure from Providencia was greeted with a pod of more than twenty dolphins. 
They stayed with us for about twenty minutes as new ones came in to join the fun.

One of them gave us quite a show - jumping several times in a row. 
We think it was a teenager showing off!

Once we rounded San Andreas, the seas died down and the wind disappeared. 
We chose to motorsail with only one engine in about 4 kts of wind, averaging 5.5 kts speed over ground!

   

Of Sailing and Travel

So that brings us here and now to another country, one of our nearly fabled destinations, Panama. We are quite pleased with having come so far when at times we doubted we would ever arrive. The delays and diversions clouded the view of this destination for quite some time.

We knew our choice of sailing and travel as a lifestyle that would entail hardships and sacrifices along with the many rewards. Among the sacrifices that have remained difficult for us to fully accept is the extended separation from friends and family, sometimes at the worst possible times.

Sunset at anchor in French Key Harbor, Roatan, Honduras.

We were given the full force of the pain of separation and losses on our passages from Guatemala. First we heard that Tracy’s sister, Teri, had died. Next we heard that our previous sailing buddy who shepherded us down the intracoastal waterway on Layla, Ernie Schroeder, had died. And then shortly after hearing that news we learned Bud’s aunt, his Mom’s sister, Elaine, had died. The weather then turned badly and we remained on Providencia. We grieved apart from friends and family.

Sunset at anchor in Providencia, Columbia.

We have gained some perspective from sailing and from travel these last several years. Among the lessons, Layla and Leilani taught us patience. Our boats taught us (often with their unrelenting demands) that we cannot control all things, and things don’t go as you plan. Our travels showed us that new lands, new people, new foods offer endless experiences to enrich our lives. Our travel also showed us how to embrace and marvel at this wondrous, diverse collection of beings on this planet. We are quite mistaken to exaggerate how much we differ rather than to celebrate how much we have in common. We appreciate each day and we appreciate all of you.

Locals often come through the anchorage in Bocas del Toro to fish. 
Here a group of boys must have been given the lancha for the day. 
Imagine what fun they had!

Catch us next time as we explore San Blas Archipelago and beyond in Panama.

Dispatches from Leilani - Provisioning

Leilani, finally at anchor in Shell Bay in the Rio.  

Catching up  

As we write this, we are back in the USA -Tucson, Arizona, to be specific. Leilani is in Rio Dulce, Guatemala safely tied to a wonderful dock offered by our lovely and generous friends, Jane and Jim.

Briefly, in early March we left the “Rio” and made our way to Sapadillo Lagoon on the coast of Belize for several weeks waiting for a weather window to head to the next stop, Roatan, Honduras. Our plan was to spend about a month there and stage for our ultimate destination, Panama.

After weather patterns conspired to thwart our travel plans for Panama, we decided to return to the best hurricane hole of the entire Caribbean, Rio Dulce. We then decided that with the time available before the end of hurricane season, to fly to the USA several weeks ago to see friends and family in Arizona, California, Illinois, Wisconsin, and North Carolina.

     

Until now it has been a challenge to connect to dependable internet and to submit more frequent blog postings. Now it is time to catch up with you.

Here we post an excerpt from one of many short dispatches sent to family over the months. We expect to post more of these in the following weeks.

We hope you enjoy some of the flavor of our "life aquatic".

An Egg and Chicken Lesson 

  

Rio Dulce, Guatemala (Spring, 2019)

Boats are meant to move, and after sitting on the hard for months, and then tied to the dock until now, we have been so eager to go- ANYWHERE. Although trip was only few hundred feet, it is a big deal to move Leilani off the dock from Nana Juana Marina and anchor in Shell Bay today! Free at last.

But that was not the best thing. The best thing was that we started to provision for our passage to Honduras! That translates to – it must be getting real.

One more trip to the crazy town of Fronteras for provisioning.  

Watch your step!

Shopping in Rio Dulce is always a bit different than shopping virtually anywhere we have ever been. We actually enjoy most of the challenge of putting the dinghy in the water, zooming over to the dock at Bruno’s Restaurant, tying up, and making our way onto the chaos of Fronteras - the road that is a town.

Restocking the local grocery store after all the cruisers deplete their stocks is not so easy in Fronteras.  

It takes three men to hold back the palette from sliding off the tail lift.

Some of the best pork and beef can be found the local meat market in Fronteras.  

Just tell them how you want to cook the meat, and they cut off a slab for you.  

The owner befriended us as he shared stories of his travels to the United States.

Casa Guatemala usually has items that the local grocery store doesn’t carry, like greek yoghurt, an assortment of cheeses, smoked sausages, and spinach.  Even better, Casa Guatemala comes straight to your boat on a lancha.  

Casa Guatemala is a non-profit organization that supports the local orphanage.

If you are really ambitious, you can go to Guatemala City to provision,
 about a 6-8 hour journey by bus each way.

We have made lists, good detailed lists, and on this day, we began to shop for various items. As we began to cross them off, some items came with a story.

Eggs and chicken offered one such story. When we visited our very tiny egg and chicken store (or was it the chicken and egg store?). Instead of us greeting the usual egg lady, a man was standing and smiling at the counter. We quickly discovered the egg lady was still there as the man (her husband) delighted in telling us he was just filling in. In broken English mixed with rapid-fire Spanish, he was excited, first, to tell us that he used to live in New Jersey, and secondly, that we could help him practice his English!

We began our language lessons with negotiating for two dozen eggs (for about $3). “How do you say, dos dozenas, in English?” the man asked. We said “two dozen” and then we all practiced by repeating “two dozen” several times. Good practice. 

We continued with the Spanish and English lessons now to order chicken. The local beer in Guatemala is Gallo, which our helpful man clarified for us in buying chicken, “No, you don’t want Gallo, that is rooster. You want Gallina. How do you say Gallina in English?”. Bud explained, “Hen, la Gallina is the hen.”

Can you identify the gallos and gallinas?

The questions and answers continued. “How many?” “Una Gallina”. One chicken.

“OK. Do you want the amarillo or el blanco?”, the man asked.

Did you know chicken comes in either yellow or white in Guatemala? We had learned that the yellow chickens tend to be much better quality and better flavor.

“We want the amarillo -the yellow. And we also want four leg quarters – cuatro piernas y muslos.”

Egg and chicken lessons while shopping is just another example of the joy we find in travel. Yes, it all took a bit longer to buy the chicken and eggs, but it was a memorable departure from routine shopping. We interacted with real people and had fun as we learned from one another.

We have to go now to make some more progress on that very long list.

Excursions to Discover New Lands

Mysterious and captivating Tikal awaits you

Travel for most people is an interlude- a short break between what you do everyday. What would you call travel that is not an interlude? When your home is a boat, you seek a different description of travel.

We say we “take excursions” to explore the new lands we have just discovered. Although we may take some well-worn paths where many have trod before, the allure of the unknown persists. Isn’t that one of the reasons we do this? We might just find some old-fashioned adventure along the way- even if the adventure is merely taking a kayak and paddling down a jungle tributary. 

Come along with us and explore fascinating Guatemala and Belize.

Across the border and Tikal

We had to leave Guatemala or risk being illegal aliens.

We were required to leave the country for a minimum of 72 hours before we could renew our Guatemala visas. We followed the recommendations of others to take a road trip to Belize for a few days and then return to renew the visa.  

Transportation in much of Central America can be very good and inexpensive. Despite some poor roads here and there, the combination of buses and passenger vans (colectivos) help you go to most any place you want to visit.

We were advised by the agent at the local bus station AGAINST making bus reservations. He explained we should purchase our tickets just prior to boarding to save some money. We paid the very low price of Q65 (about $8.50 US) for an air conditioned 4-hour bus ride to Flores, Guatemala. With reservations, the full fare was about Q110 ($14 US). Once the bus arrived, the crowd at the bus door grew larger by the minute. Fortunately, the bus driver selected us to board among the first group. We are not really sure why he did this but we think he may have just given a favor to the gringos. It was a good thing as passengers continued to board even after the last seat was taken.  Four hours of standing in the aisle would have been exhausting.  

Leaving Fronteras by bus – What will be our next adventure?

Some passengers had to endure standing on the bus to Flores

Flores

Our first stop on our way to Belize was Flores, located on an island in northern Guatemala on Lake Peten Itza.  Flores dates back to pre-Columbian times, where the Maya Itza from Yucatan built the town as their capital in the 13^th century.  Called Nojpeten, or Great Island, it was the last independent Maya state to hold out against the Spanish.  It took the Spanish over 150 years to finally conquer the island.  In 1697 the Spanish marched in, attacked by boats, and destroyed the town.  The modern city of Flores was built upon the ruins of Nojpeten, and is considered to be the second oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the Americas, after Cholula.

As soon as the bus entered Santa Elena, the sister city to Flores on the mainland, it pulled off the road, and announced that this was the stop for Flores.  We were a bit confused, as we knew we weren’t in Flores, and we did not relish the thought of walking with our bags several miles into town. However, when we got off the bus, a taxi was waiting for us. Before we could pose the question about paying for the taxi, the driver told us the ride was included in the bus fare. He took us directly into the middle of Flores, dropping us off at a tourist agency, which in part, explained why we did not have to pay for the ride. The agent/taxi driver asked if we needed lodging, and then asked what we wanted to see in the area.  Before we could even mention Tikal and Belize, he calculated $600 per person for 4 days, not including food and lodging. Tracy had done her homework, and knew that our trip should probably cost about $200 for the both of us. We told him that his quote was far too expensive, and that all we needed was a place to stay for the night. He grumbled and complained. We relented a bit and agreed to arrange a shuttle across the border to Belize the next day.  We knew the short trip would cost 2-3 times more on his terms compared to navigating on our own (about $25 per person), but he would simplify crossing the border and catching transportation to our next destination, the town of San Ignacio.  After we exchanged money, we caught a lancha to our accommodations at Casa de Grethel in the town of San Miguel on the north side of Lake Peten Itza.

The colorful town of San Miguel as seen from the main plaza in Flores

It was really a delightful ride in the small boat to our lodging. As the hostel provided shuttle service to and from Flores for free from 6 am to 9 pm, we explored Flores for the remaining afternoon and early evening. Similar to Antigua with Spanish-influenced architecture, Flores is an interesting town to explore.  Narrow and winding cobblestone streets are lined with hotels, hostels, restaurants, and shops that sell colorful Maya trinkets and souvenirs.  After spending the afternoon getting lost down back alleyways, we found a restaurant to watch the sun set over the lake.

We were enticed to explore colorful Flores as seen from our lodging across the lake at Casa Grethel 

San Ignacio

The trip to San Ignacio, Belize was uneventful, except that we had to get up at 4 am to catch the lancha across the lake to Flores and then catch a shuttle to San Ignacio.  We had no idea why the shuttle had to leave so early as the Belize/Guatemala border was only 1 ½ hours away, and San Ignacio was no more than another ½ hour from the border.  We imagined it must have something to do with tourists needing to get up early to complete their long itineraries. We did catch a few minutes of sleep on the shuttle before we were dropped off to walk across the border out of Guatemala and into Belize.  A taxi waited for us after we crossed into Belize to take us to our hotel, Bella Maya, in the heart of San Ignacio.  

San Ignacio is the second largest town in Belize, about 10 miles east of the Guatemala-Belize border.  Settled initially to harvest mahogany and chicle during British colonialism, it now serves as an eco-tourism hub for tours of the nearby ancient Maya ruins of Caracol, Xunantunich, Cahal Pech, and El Pilar, and tours of Actun Tinichil Muknal cave, Barton Creek Cave, Chaa Creek Nature Reserve, and Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve.

The downtown pedestrian walkway is lined with restaurants and about six different tour shops within one block. Most of the tours cost $100 per person, which includes transportation, and possibly, a packed lunch.  We decided against the organized tours to pursue low-energy activities such as walking through the open-air market on Saturday morning, and eating Belizean food.  Even as far inland as San Ignacio, much of the Belizean fare includes seafood with a curry coconut sauce, and of course, beans and rice.

Scenes of San Ignacio on a Sunday afternoon

Riding Sidewalk Sage’s motorcycle

Tracy got a hair-brained idea that we should rent a motorcycle and take a trip into the mountains near San Ignacio to see a waterfall and assorted attractions. We eventually found our way to meet the Dave, the “Sidewalk Sage”, a former British (Scottish) soldier and policeman. He gained the local reputation for his gift of gab, his humor and his advice. He took an immediate liking to us and we lingered to hear a number of his stories about his life in Central America and Belize.

We eventually paid Dave $45 to ride the small Chinese-made 125 cc motorcycle for the entire day. Dave said we did not have to leave a deposit because he could tell from his days as a policeman that we could be trusted! Dave explained this was the most dependable of his motorcycles (the only operational one), and not one of his go-fast bikes (unavailable) which are in constant repair from the young guys “hot-dogging and destroying them”. The bike was still muddy from the last rental, but we were told not to worry as we should expect to have dry roads now. Bud asked “How are the roads?”.  After some hesitation Sidewalk Sage answered, “They are Belize roads. They are OK”.

We returned the motorcycle to Dave with big smiles and a bit more mud.

At one point in the conversation, Dave rummaged around the cluttered shop and pulled out an old Cuban cigar box. From it, he revealed an old hand-written map. He was willing to share his map with us. “Of course you can’t take it with you. Just take a picture with your phone”, he laughed.

Well-worn map from Dave to assist in navigating the roads to Mountain Pine Ridge

As we were to discover, after leaving the paved portion of the road, the dirt roads were passable but rutted and uneven. Bud was challenged to remember some of his techniques from riding motocross decades ago, but his biggest challenge related to short-term rather than long-term memory. This Chinese-made bike had the opposite shifting pattern compared to what Bud was familiar on his Yamaha motorcycle. On this bike, he had to push down on the shift lever to shift into higher gear. The Yamaha shift pattern was so ingrained in Buds’ brain that just as we would start picking up speed, he would forget the correct shift direction and throw us forward as we bogged down with a low gear downshift. After about dozen or more attempts he finally shifted smoothly by the end of the day. 

Our first stop was Francis Ford Copola’s retreat (yes, the award-winning Director of The Godfather and other films), the Blancaneaux Lodge.  After 1 ½ hours of bumping up and down deeply rutted and potholed dirt roads, the lodge was a welcome to rest our sore butts.  Tracy treated herself to a beer, and we shared a tasty and crispy pizza on the patio.  Would you expect anything less at Copola’s retreat than a wood-burning pizza oven imported from Italy? 

Pizza from a wood-burning oven in the courtyard at Blancaneaux Lodge

Peeking at the elegant accommodations of the Blancaneaux Lodge

The bungalows at Blancaneaux Lodge are spacious and include a central open sitting area with hammocks.
Some of the bungalows start at $400 per night.

After wandering through the gorgeous grounds, we returned to the motorcycle and headed to Big Rock Falls. We hiked a well-marked trail with sturdy stairs down the canyon wall to the Big Rock Falls. We could have stayed for hours, but we considered we did not want to attempt the 1 ½ hour ride back to town in the dark.  After a dip in the cool stream we hiked back up the canyon trail and bounced our way back to San Ignacio.   

Beautiful Big Rock Falls

El Cruce and Tikal

After spending our required 72 hours in Belize, we headed back to Guatemala for our next excursion. For this part of the trip we opted to navigate back to Flores on our own. We caught a local bus from San Ignacio to the border town Benque Viejo Del Carmen and a taxi from the bus station to the border.  We walked out of Belize and into the border town of Melchor de Mencos, Guatemala, where we were immediately harassed by taxi drivers.  The drivers wanted to charge us about $30 per person to take us to our next destination, El Remate, and tried to convince us that public transport, the colectivos, don’t go there.  After waiting about a half hour, we caught one of the non-existent colectivos to the town of El Cruce, just south of El Remate for about $5 each.

Our next destination was Tikal.  We had not completed our planning for this part of the trip in part because there simply was not much information available on the internet on how to find our way there. (We think that may be part of the plan to keep the tourist’s dependent on travel agents?). We were dropped off on the side of the road from the colectivo, and we walked to El Remate, about a mile and a half, to look for lodging.  Although we had Guatemala SIM card with data, the phone was not working. Although it should no longer be a surprise, we remain amazed that even in third-world countries, cell phones and internet are ubiquitous. We stopped at a tienda (a small shop) that sold SIM cards and asked for help. We discovered the fix was simple. Since we left the working range of our Guatemala SIM card when we went into Belize, we just needed to restart the phone here to re-register. 

Tracy took a quick look at the hotel options in the area, and found an interesting option for one on the east end of Lake Peten Itza about a mile or so up the road.  It was a long walk, but it was well worth it.  Posada del Cerro was more of a retreat than a hotel, with private bungalows for about $30 a night, and food made to order.  We stayed there two nights, and arranged transportation from there to Tikal the next day.  

We were rewarded after our hike up the hill (cerro= hill) to Posada del Cerro with delightful lodging

Open seating area at Posada del Cerro called us to grab a hammock and a good book

Keychain for the coati mundi room at Posada del Cerro. We were thrilled to see a few of them at Tikal

Happy hour at Posada del Cerro overlooking Lake Peten Itza

Friendly staff at Posada del Cerro cooked us a dinner of chicken and rice

Tikal

Tikal encompasses the ruins of an ancient Maya city, Yax Mutal, located in the rainforests of northern Guatemala.  Tikal is huge. It is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of pre-Columbian times.  In 1979, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Tikal was the capital of one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya, dominating much of the region between c. 200 to 900 AD.

Painting of Tikal from an Ornate hawk-eagle perspective in the trees

Tikal is clearly an amazing experience- not merely a destination or a place to check off on your must-visit list.  Part of the allure is spending time close to nature.  The site covers 222 square miles, with thick vegetation and abundant wildlife. As we walked the paths through the forest, we saw and heard hawks, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, coati mundis, red lored parrots, great kiskadees, montezuma propendolas, pileated wood peckers, and ocellated turkeys.  We calculated we walked about 10 miles around the various structures. We could have spent more time.  Tikal and the Maya will captivate you. As you explore, you will be challenged by more and more questions about this fascinating place and the people.

Pyramids at Tikal had steep, sturdy stairways to give you a bird’s eye view of the park. 
We got a lot of exercise climbing the structures. 

The view was always worth the effort.
Morning fog made the mix of the jungle and ruins appear more mysterious.

Temple IV (of the two headed serpent) is the highest temple pyramid of Tikal (~ 69 m)
and had one of the most spectacular views

Atop Temple IV – Watch your step, no safety lines or handrails here!

The forest never sleeps. 
All of the structures in the park were completely covered with vegetation
and only discovered in the mid 20^th century

Temple V was the first temple pyramid built in Tikal c 600 AD

A well-preserved carving on a pyramid

A tree-of-life (Ceiba tree) entangled with a strangling fig vine 

Color amidst the green vegetation

The coati mundi ignored us taking photos as they searched the vegetation

Keel-billed toucans are a rare sight to see in Tikal.  

We did not see any. 

We spent a wonderful week on this excursion. We caught a colectivo back to Flores, a bus back to the Rio Dulce, and then finally we took a tuk-tuk back to Leilani – home sweet home.

NEXT TIME:  Join us on our next excursions to several nature reserves in Guatemala.