After the quiet anchorage at Lighthouse Reef, we returned to Caye Caulker, where Bob's son Matt and his girlfriend Vicky joined us. We walked around the island, and found a place for wonderful fruit and fresh juice. Vicky is from Mexico and knew many of the items at the market that we couldn't identify. She's a great cook, and Maggie quickly put her to work!
They arrived during the second, and worst, cold front we've seen this winter - wind, rain, waves in the harbor. But, like any Caribbean island, it is short-lived and the sun revisited us in no time. We had the unfortunate experience of dragging anchor twice in Caye Caulker - both times at night. Seven of the nine boats in the anchorage had to reset. We hit a boat, causing some damage to our starboard stern rail. The next day Bob tried to help him off the bottom, we ended up puncturing a hole in the dinghy with his anchor. A few nights later, we were having dinner onboard Slip Away when another squall approached; Bob thought it best to leave and with Matt made it back to SeaTryst in the driving rain just as the anchor broke and she started to sail south on her own. The cruising life isn't always idyllic; it goes from slow lazy days to intense anxiety as squalls and fronts rock and roll us.
One of our almost-daily places on Caye Caulker was the Canadian sports bar, where they had free wi-fi. Flags, t-shirts and license plates decorating the place; Jan and Rich from Slip Away are starting a spot for cruising flags. We'll have to get some for SeaTryst to leave behind.
Vicky had to leave mid-week and the weather had cleared, so were able to sail 30 miles to Cucumber Beach Marina, just south of Belize City; this made it easier to catch a cab to the airport, and for us to go renew our 30-day visa. Have we been here a month already?
While in Belize City, we stopped by a local market. Here it is - you stand outside, look through the bars at the inventory, tell the clerk what you want, and it is handed to you through the bars. Why Belize City has a reputation for crime when everything is locked down I don't know?
One of the best stops in the City was the produce market. Row after row of vendors, mountains of fresh produce - and this was a slow day! We stopped to take a picture of some of the local fishing boats anchored in the harbor. To think people actually sail on these boats in heavy weather for a week or more is incredible.
After Vicky left on Wednesday, Bob, Matt, Maggie and Rosie sailed to Garbutt Cay for the night, and then on to Placencia. Rosie was happy to leave Belize City behind! Bob and Matt got do to some shelling with bob(.com), and Matt stayed in close touch with Vicky by texting.
With more weather coming in, we thought we'd better get Matt to a place where he could catch his flight on Monday, so on the 6th we sailed to Placencia, another very pretty spot. Bob was here many years ago and has seen a huge change. It is still known as having the longest sidewalk in Belize and maybe the only one. The sidewalk is away from the main road into town and parallels a beautiful palm-tree-lined beach.
With another front due in, and being a bit shy about our anchor holding (especially in 20' of water), we went 4.5 miles south to Big Creek, a river with a commercial dock. We found a nice place to hide - in fact we kept getting up during the night waiting for the front that never came - at least to our spot. In the morning boats on the net reported 40 kt winds. We were glad to be hiding. After one night, and the weather clearing, we returned to Placencia.
Maggie and Matt took a tour boat to Monkey River, where we saw birds, monkeys, crocodiles, birds, bats, a turtle, and more birds. It was fun to be in the jungle to see - and hear - howler monkeys in the wild. As you can see we got very close, but just far enough that they could not throw something at us.
Placencia is the busiest harbor we've been in in Belize, with about 20 cruising boats and a Moorings charter facility here. A favorite bar is Yoli's, where you can tie up the dinghy right at the front door! We had a reunion with Angelina, Evergreen and Slip Away - we had not all been together since Isla Mujeres.
We are now anchored next to Up Jinks - Beth and John are friends with Bobby and Francie on Barefootin' (friends we met in the Bahamas). Barefootin' put us in touch last summer when they knew our plans to go west, and it is in fact Beth that was Maggie's inspiration to get the courage to make the crossing.
Another connection made was through the Tuschicks - who sold a PDQ to Oscar and Carola Garcia, who have a home on the Rio Dulce and outside Guatemala City. Maggie and Oscar have been emailing regularly, with Oscar offering recommendations of good places along the way and generous assistance once we get to the Rio. We stayed in Placencia to meet them as they traveled with friends for Easter holiday. What a nice couple! If this is an example of what the Rio is like it will be great to be there for a few months.
We've made reservations for SeaTryst to be at Tortugal Marina for the hurricane season (www.tortugal.com). We love sailing in these waters and want to be here again next year; there is still so much to see - more cays in Belize, the Bay Islands of Honduras, and maybe even Columbia and Panama.
We thought we'd be in the Rio Dulce much sooner, and we'll get there -- eventually. We are going to update this page, head to some cays for a few days, and then make the 50-mile trip to the Rio.