We left the Bay Islands of Honduras on Sunday, May 1^st and had a great overnight sail to Tres Puntas, Guatemala where we  anchored overnight in order to get up early on a rising tide to cross the sand/mud bar to get into Livingston, Guatemala. We were pretty salty as their were nice winds but along with that comes waves that occasionally break over the stern quarter. So we were blessed with a nice rain shower as we entered the anchorage.

The next early morning we crossed the bar which is about a mile. It was abit exciting to see the depth sounder go to below 4′ which with the offset is 6′ when we draw 6′! We felt the keel bump slightly once. So the routine is that you anchor in Livingston and call Raul (the agent) to brings out ALL the officials (port captain, customs, immigration, agriculture) to your boat to start the process to check you and boat in. Or should you say just to collect their money. The costs continues to rise at $160 the first 3 months and $240 thereafter for a year.

So this season we sailed from Panama, Providencia-Colombia, Vivorillos-Honduras (near Nicaragua), Bay Islands-Honduras then finally Guatemala so it was abit of a journey but enjoyable most of the time. We met a lot of new cruisers that we really enjoyed so was a nice social season as well. We can see why a lot of cruisers hang in this area as marina and living costs are reasonable, 15 nm to Belize and a overnight to Bay Islands-Honduras.

Its HOT here until afternoon when the land heats up so the breeze from the river/lake kicks in. Its not too bad at night but will be better once the rain starts apparently every evening to cool things down. We are up the Rio Dulce about 25nm so don’t get the sea breeze any longer. For some reason we waited a couple weeks to put our small A/C window unit in — it is pricey to run about $4/day at .46/kw but worth it. Getting things repaired and cleaned since lots of fresh water.

I was flossing and pulled a crown out a week ago. OOPS! So asked on VHF cruisers net (boats near Rio Dulce) at 7:30am if anyone knew of a local dentist in Fronteras (oddly known by locals as Rio Dulce). Apparently a dentist Dr. Carlos comes from Guatemala City on Saturday/Sunday so I called him and went to see him last Saturday at 7am. So I took the Catamaran Marina/Hotel/Restaurant boat shuttle (used to pick up/drop off workers in town) in at 6am and walked to his office. The last launch in the am comes back at 7:45am. Its always interesting to see what locals do at this time of the early morning. Its quite nice as its still abit sleepy as workers are cleaning the front of there tienda (store), taking things back out to the street along with asking if you want to buy something (always looking for customers). Plus the local ladies are bringing their corn kernels that were soaked overnight to the local grinder so they can make tortillas to sell. I found his office to be quite rustic but acceptable. After asking if he would try to finish by 7:30am, he cleaned, reviewed and cemented the crown (corona) back in while listening to chickens looking for food. His young 10 year old daughter Carmen was his assistant. Got back to meet launch only to find that they were at another dock and starting to head back to Catamarans. So I yelled and fortunately they heard me above the motor/chatter. Next time I’m taking a whistle! Got back to boat and proceeded to chip my front tooth along with needing some more of the crown ground off so called him back for a Sunday 7am visit. This time I brought my camera to preserve these memories. Each time I spent 150Q which is $21. AMAZING!

I and sometimes Tom have been walking at a eco tourist palapas/restaurant/marina resort called Tejax that a Canadian cruiser friend is staying at. So I grab the 6am launch that drops me off en route to town and ask that they pick me up en route back to Catamaran’s at 7:45am. A few times they have forgotten me as there are different drivers and have had to call Tom to come pick me up. Its abit cooler but still quite HOT. Its a neat place to walk as they have many suspended bridges some as high as tree tops along with rubber tree plantation that is constantly being harvested of its white glue.

I had a girl thing happen in December after about a 1-1/2 years of nothing so my OBGYN thought I should have it checked out. Cruisers and another Dr. recommended a OBGYN in Guatemala City (that speaks English) so I made appointments and took the 5-6 hour bus early on May 22nd to stay overnight and have physical, ultrasound and then meet with a OBGYN/Surgeon to see if he thinks. That was interesting to learn how to traverse the city buses/taxi’s/walk as there are dangerous sections just like any big city. I go back on Friday en route to fly to MN to have a diagnostic hysterocopy proceedure done in my uterus(camera).  I’m sure there is nothing. 

We also got up early and to take the bus to Morelas (next town) to have blood lab stuff done so can take to Tom’s Dr. for his Thyroid and Cholesterol stuff. Its much cheaper here than in states as we don’t have insurance.  When we picked up the results we noticed that they had missed his Thyroid test so fortunately they still had blood and were able to fax it back to Rio Dulce.

Have you ever had Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)?  Well I woke one morning to being very dizzy.  I started asking others and was amazed how many people had this issue.  So I started researching internet and found that crystals (octoconia)within the inner ear break loose.  I also found excersizes so started doing and it went away after about a week.  Aging sure is interesting.

Other observations:

I have realized that since cruising I don’t think I have purchased any garbage bags as you always seem to have enough grocery bags even though I use our cloth bags a lot.

Gas continues to increase and around $5/gallon in central America.

You buy a pineapple or avocado but it continues to amaze me with how many variations there are in each country. 

Oh my gosh – we have mostly left no see ums (sand flies) area. They REALLY are small but BIGHT like they are monsters. We now are seeing mosquito again and at least you can hear and see them!

My latest way to cool down while sleeping without A/C is to put a wet handkerchief on your chest.

Bus from Guatemala experience – start with A/C good thing as we sat for an hour in the heat waiting for an truck accident to clear, then none after our bathroom break so I open the window (thankfully this bus did have and the sun was going down), then bus assistant comes to open the windows, then watch a pregnant women and husband do nothing to open a window as she is looking sick so I suggest that he open window and does (WHY not think of this himself – its an example of Spanish culture), its dark but the interior lights don’t work or driver forgot to push the button, then we change buses ½ hour away from end of line. This life sure is interesting!

Rooms that advertise bathrooms and hot water as specialty items. 

Okay you can only get white eggs in Roatan, Honduras but now we are back with brown eggs in Guatemala. Is it the British?!?

We will be coming back to MN in June for 5-6 months this year as our renters have left our Pagan town home and Tom wants to spend more time with family/friends and land based things. So we will be updating the town home, moving our boxes/things stored various places and buying abit of furniture to start thinking about using this as our part time home. We may rent out a room to help with income and have someone look after the place as we will only be there 5-6 months out of a year so let us know if you hear of anyone. Looking forward to seeing ALL!