With Greg and Beth having arrived in West End, we left French Harbor on Thursday, the 22nd, while the winds were still out of the Northwest. Although not the best time to be heading into West End, we surfed our way with the large swells into the anchorage to pick up one of the 11 mooring balls. (Bob needed three anchoring beers to settle his nerves from surfing through the entrance.) Before weighing anchor in French Harbor, Maggie made a loaf of bread - the first on her own. Not bad, huh! It was great and Bob just hopes she makes many more!
After a squall on Thursday evening, we caught up with Greg and Beth on a rainy Friday; we had lunch at Lighthouse Restaurant and spent the afternoon at a bar or two. They were happy to be in the Caribbean - even if it was raining (they pointed out that being from Seattle they were used to rain - and at least here, they were in shorts).
Over the next few days, we had drinks with friends (and parrots), went zip-lining with Greg and Beth, and met at Sundowners to see Greg without his beard! It was Maggie's idea to do the zip-lining, which she regretted almost as soon as she got hooked up. Unfortunately, we could not get any pictures of the terror in her eyes as she zipped down at 60 mph. Our canopy zip-lining trip included a tour through gardens and park with monkeys and parrots (parrot is the country's national bird). Many of the bars on the island have parrots and wild monkeys waiting for handout at the bar.
After Beth's quick (though it didn't seem that way to her!) episode with Montazuma's revenge, they came aboard SeaTryst on Thursday the 29th and we quickly weighed anchor to head back to French Harbor. We actually got to sail, and got relief at the helm with Captain Greg... and along the way saw a pod of dolphin who decided to surf our bow wave. It was very cool!
Just before leaving French Harbor last week, we found out about a pay-as-you-go broadband card from Tigo, a local phone company. As soon as we dropped the hook, we were off to Old French Harbor to buy one - now Maggie has wi-fi on the boat wherever there is cell service in Honduras. What a great relief to both her and Bob (and Peter, though he may not realize the magnitude of it).
Fortunately, the weather was calm while Greg and Beth were onboard, and they were able to snorkel, swim off the boat, visit the local iguana farm, and even feed the monkeys at Fantasy Island.
Before we knew it, they were leaving. But ... they got to experience us circling around for the best spot to set anchor, and then resetting anchor the following morning. And just after they left, we set it yet again! As Beth said, what we experience is the same, yet always different ... no two days are alike.
The day after watching Super Bowl at Fantasy Island Resort (with 30 other boaters), we said farewell to our dear friends Jon and Heather on Evergreen. Our threesome is separating. Tashmoo's friends arrived from Massachusetts on Saturday; they took a slip at Fantasy Island, and we had drinks with them on Monday.
With winds predicted at 25+ knots on Tuesday, we weighed anchor for Parrot Tree, a first class, gated community/resort/marina still under construction and offering really good dockage rates. A great place! (www.parrottree.com)
Rosie got off the boat the first night, in spite of Maggie watching her closely. How did she disappear?! About 10:30p Maggie heard her crying; she was in the cockpit of the vacant boat next door. Over the next couple of days, we found several ticks on her and on us. This is something we are not used to!
We hooked up with Kathy and Tom on Jumbee , rented a car and toured the island. What a mix of high-end resorts and homes, and local island living. Friday we went to the home of a former US fireman to celebrate Robin's (Seabiscuit) 50th birthday. The views from the house are totally awesome. Most of the cruiser community from French Harbor showed up with food and drinks to celebrate. Cruisers are always up for a party.
Bob made sure to stay at the marina until we could christen the pool - he was the first person in, and had invited neighbors and boaters to a pool party. With the water at thigh-level, we stood around and celebrated the opening of the pool. It took forever to fill.
It's time to leave; winds are less than 20. Most boats are going off to West End (with the wind), so we decided to head into the Northeast winds, to Jonesville, where we'll have the all-you-can-eat lobster/steak buffet at Hole in the Wall, a famous bar here on Roatan. Rosie has the watch while we're gone.
Jonesville is a lovely harbor with high hills surrounding it on three sides. We will stay here a few days and then probably go to Port Royal of pirate fame.