This wonderful Fort is located at the mouth of the Rio Chagres River. Built in 1597 it was conquered and re-conquered many times over the centuries. It is said that it has had more gold pass thru it than all the gold of the California Gold rush.
Monday, October 15, 2007
San Lorenzo Fort –N09.18.975; W079.59.997 Oct 11, 2007
This wonderful Fort is located at the mouth of the Rio Chagres River. Built in 1597 it was conquered and re-conquered many times over the centuries. It is said that it has had more gold pass thru it than all the gold of the California Gold rush.
The Panama Canal
A visit to the Panama Canal is not complete until you sit and watch the ships go through. Each ship requires 50 million gallons to transit the locks which are 100 feet wide, 84 feet deep and takes 10 minutes to fill each lock. There are three sets of locks and it takes a ship between 1 ½ to 2 hours to transit the three locks. These super ships are amazing but on the planning boards is the expansion of the canal to 140 feet which will double its capacity by 2014. We look forward to our transit of the canal in 2008.
Rio Chagres River and the animal life there. N09.16.681; W079.56.462 Oct 7 – Oct 11, 2007
Having just finished reading ‘A Path between the Seas’ by David McCullough (a must read for anyone who plans to transit the Panama Canal), we were excited to finally arrive on the Rio Chagres. This is the river that feeds the canal and our anchorage was just a short walk to the Canal. The River is home to a variety of White Faced monkeys, and Howler Monkeys, Sloths, snakes, Toucans, parrots & crocodiles. Gary and Doc had a most memorable experience on their first day as they hiked thru the Jungle trail that leads to the Canal. As they neared the end of the trail, they came around a bend in the jungle and there standing not a hundred paces away was a large Black Panther. Gary and Doc froze, as did the big ‘cat’…and altho the experience was only seconds long, it left a lifelong impression (on Gary at least). It was amazing to look into his face (with wonder, awe and a good sized portion of ‘oops what do I do now?) One of the very cool things to do here is visit the ‘swimming pool’ a natural cold springs and waterfall. As hot as it gets midday here in the Tropics, you only have to take a quick dip in ‘the pool’ and all you’re sweating is forgotten. A wonderful reprieve when you just can’t take any more of the Panama Jungle heat.
Escudo de Veraguas –N09.05.423; W081.34.425 Oct 3 – Oct 6 2007
This is an island that time forgot. It reminds you of Jurassic Park (without the dinosaurs). On our way there we were joined by a Hitch Hiker Moth (not sure that’s his technical name, but you get the idea) 8 inches across and not at all intimidated by Doc. Again joined by our friends on BMA we enjoyed the almost complete isolation from any kind of civilization (except for the ‘turn left’ road sign in the middle of the water) We enjoyed snorkeling is some of the most unique caves we have ever seen. Doc was sporting his T-Shirt which provides sun protection and keeps him cool. When you are big ‘ol black dog in the tropics, it is important to not only look cool, but to be cool. Doc had great fun chasing lizards and enjoying the cool clear waters. Gary had fun catching a big ‘ol Bonita tuna…can you say Sashimi?...now that’s some good eats.
Bluefield Laguna –N09.09.121; W081.52.907
Bluefield Laguna is another beautiful stop along the way. Somewhat disconcerting as you become the ‘entertainment factor’ for the locals. They will row out in whatever floats and just sit beside your boat and stare at you…for hours. They don’t ask for anything, they just sit and look at you like you are a spaceship from another world. The children are irresistible and the offering of a few candies makes them friends for life. There is also a wonderful trail thru the jungle that opens up onto yet another of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
Cayo de Agua –N09.10.665; W082.03.308
This small perfect jewel of an Island is home to a few of the very lucky. One of those is our friend Daniel who arrived here from Peru 4 years ago. He now owns a piece of this private getaway and was kind enough to invite us to spend some time with him at this very private retreat. Along with our friends Aaron and Lyla on S/v Blow Me Away and Worth his wife Natalie and daughter Kayla we celebrate Gary’s Birthday (Gary from S/v Sea Feather). This island is home to a variety of nature’s unique wildlife including lime green frogs, snakes and green chickens??? Must be something in the dirt, turns everything green, including us with envy… a beautiful spot to stop and relax. This is also just a short hop from Zapatilla’s Cays which offers some of the nicest white sand beaches and snorkeling to be found anywhere.
Starfish Beach – N9.24.232; W082.19.528
This is a glorious retreat from Bocas, a short one hour sail away. With beautiful long sand beaches for Doc to run and play, crystal clear water with more starfish than you can count and shells a plenty for Kaija. She was thrilled to find this amazing Triton Trump shell, you wanna talk ‘pucker factor’…check out the face on this guy. This beach is a favorite with backpackers and it is not uncommon to see their hammocks strung between the palms. This is a must see if you ever get to these parts.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
The Bocas Magnificent Flying Dinghy Machine - Bocas Del Toro, September 2, 2007
Ya’ll gotta try this!!
Oh what fun we had this morning as Keith from Air Land Sea Adventures dropped by and took us up in the sky in his magnificent flying dinghy…
no kidding!!.
...and there goes Kaija !!!
This is a flying dinghy with glider wings and a 55 hp engine turning a 4 bladed propeller that can take you 8000 feet in the sky.
I doubt that the inventor of the inflatable dinghy had flying in mind, however, they just might fill a void in the cruising community (that is if you have a spare 20k AND a 100 ft boat to house it… & therein lies the problem…but perhaps I digress)
It is about as much fun as you can have with your shorts on!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Dolphin Bay (Green Frogs abound) 09.11 N 082.13 W May 17 – 20 2007
Dolphin Bay is located just a short distance south of Bocas town and is just what it sounds like. As we sailed thru the cut, we were met by a pod of happy dancing dolphins. Doc was in puppy heaven as he pranced and paced up and down the deck trying his best to talk back to his little dolphin buddies. We spent a couple of nice days in this bay visiting with Mary and Carl S/v Camryka who are building a new home on the shores of this bay and also visited with David and Linda (ex-boaters) at their home called Green Acres, also known as the Chocolate Factory. They have 30 acres of cocoa plants and David has turned this into his hobby farm making organic chocolate. They provided us with a lovely walking tour of their small plantation and witnessed ourselves the process by which he produces some excellent tasting chocolate. His production facilities are rudimentary at best and looking around his small workshop it is hard to fathom that he produces the quality and quantity he does. But the proof is in the eating and it is ‘some good’.
Also, here, amongst the old shelled out cocoa husks we found the ‘Green Frog’ approx twice the size of our Little Red Frog. It was from this Little Green Frog, that David and Linda picked the name for their property, thus, Green Acres. We were able to enjoy one very nice dive and saw a tremendous example of Starfish coral unlike anything we had seen before. Between the hospitality, and the natural splendor, it was a very worthwhile visit.
This is an easy place to get two, by boat or plane, with daily flights to/from Panama City. One of the benefits of spending time here, is the number of places you can go and see, either by water taxi, (Changuinola, Alimarante) or train, or bus (San Jose, Costa Rica $10) and a number of small quiet anchorages when you feel you need a ‘getaway’.
Red Frog Beach (Short Cut) 09.19 N 082.10 W
We soon heard of Red Frog Beach, Dolphin Bay, Starfish Beach, all of which were a must see. So off we went.
Red Frog Beach on the island of Bastimentos is a windswept stretch of beautiful white sand beach and surf. Our main goal was to find the elusive Red Frog. These little creatures measure no more than the size of your thumbnail. They are bright red with black spots, but are elusive and difficult to find. The natives in the past have used these little Red Frogs to make their poison darts. It is rumoured that one frog has enough toxicity to kill upwards of several hundred people. We walked the entire beach and finally on the resting spot, we found one, well, actually we heard one then found him.
This is also a beach where the Loggerhead and Leatherback turtles come to nest and lay their eggs. Although we camped out two separate nights at high tide, we did not witness them come ashore, although, the next morning you could clearly see the tracks of two or three very large turtles that had ridden the high tide in, laid their bounty of eggs, (upwards of a 100) and floated back down the beach as the tide receded. This is one of a few different beaches in this area where these Turtles come to nest and just one more reason to come for a visit.
Bocas Del Toro, Panama 09.19N 082.10W May – Sept 2007
Bright and early on the morning of May 1 we set off with BMA with a good bit of breeze on our way south to Panama. The wind died around midnight and we ended up motor sailing the rest of the way, finally making Bocas just after noon on May 2.
Having just finished the book ‘The Path Between The Seas’ written by David McCullough we were very excited to finally be here. This is a country filled with tremendous history and is a place of rugged beauty and friendly people. It is an ideal Hurricane ‘hole’ and a safe anchorage and from a boaters perspective, there is almost anything you could want or need by way of provisions, although, not necessarily true for boat parts.
From a tourists perspective, it is a backpackers paradise, with a good many inexpensive ‘Hostels’ available and lots of places to see. It is an undeveloped country with tremendous potential and one only has to spend a short while to witness the amount of money being invested by foreigners and a new real estate office every second door.
The eating is good and has been recognized as being in the Top 10 places to go for combination eating and natural beauty.
We had fun exploring all the water holes on Lyla’s (BMA) birthday and making the rounds and meeting new friends.
Cayos Albuquerque 12.09N 081.50W April 21 – May 1 2007
We had an early morning brisk sail south to Cayos Albuquerque. These are two small islands located approx 29 miles south of San Andres. We met up with our friends Aaron and Lyla on S/v Blow Me Away (BMA) and spent the next few days enjoying their company and the beautiful snorkeling and fishing that these islands afford.
The two little islands are no more than an acre each and only 500 yards apart but are as different as night is to day. The one island is comprised of a number of small hut type structures in every manner of disrepair. It is a fishing camp and daily small fishing pongas arrive and take up residence for a few days while they fish the local waters. Some of these young fellows are amazing in that they can free dive quite easily to 60 feet and stay down there long enough to actually ‘spear the big one’. It is not uncommon to see them bring in 20 and 30 pound Grouper and Snapper. But what they have in fishing skills they lack in domestic skills. The island is quite the mess, with every manner of fishing hook, line and sinker strewn around and they tend to clean their catch and leave the tendrils where they fall, which makes for great eating for the flies and boy are their flies. Also, because a goodly portion of the fish cleaning product makes its way into the shallow water, it attracts a number of sharks. We had been allowing Doc to swim to shore but quickly changed that after seeing the size of some of these Darwinian monsters. One of the hammerhead sharks measures approx 30 feet. I think you get the idea. This is not a place for casual swimming.
The other small island is home to the Columbian Navy. At any given time you will find a dozen or so clean cut, well mannered young men who are eager to converse in any language, but in particular they want to learn English. They are well disciplined and they keep their little island spotless. Albeit it is all sand and coral, they sweep it daily, and have numerous paths all neatly lined with conch shells painted in different colours, a small exercise area with the most rudimentary type of weights, i.e. Conch shells in cement on either end of a metal rod, but it gets the job done. Doc and Gary had fun each day spending sometimes hours at a time talking in Spanglish (Gary’s version of English/Spanish with hand signs) but somehow both sides of the conversation were understood and friendships were made.
It was finally time to move on, and with some regret we said our goodbyes and left behind the Spanish/English dictionary we had been using with our new friend Amelio who had undertaken to teach the rest of his amigos English.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Friday, April 20, 2007
SAN ANDRES - WE'RE ON THE MOVE !
San Andres 12.34N 81.41W April 16 - April 21 2007
A very easy passage brought us to San Andres and a very nice tuna decided to join us along the way…can you say Sashimi? Now that is some kind of eating…mmmm mmmm good.
We are here only long enough to re-provision, fuel up…(there is no shortage of fuel in Columbia…mmmm and the price is reasonable 5,200 pesos a gallon, sounds scary don’t it…it’s actually only $2.60) This is a regular stop off for cruisers heading north or south because of all that this ‘rich little island’ affords. It’s not unlike shopping in San Francisco or New York and you can get most any kind of food products.
PROVIDENCIA - CAPT MORGAN, MR BUSH & ELVIS
Providencia 13.22N 81.41W April 8 April 15 2007
Sailing the 211 miles Providencia took 29 hours. During our passage we caught three fish, a small tuna, a 31-inch Spanish mackerel, a 37-inch barracuda, which we released. Between watching for fish and holding his bladder I am amazed at how Doc manages to ‘keep control’ altho there is some dispute whether this is a correct description during the ‘fish landing’ process. He is quite simply beside himself…and when the fish is landed, photographed and measured he sits enguard by the bucket with ‘his’ new prize.
Providencia’s check in procedures includes a visit from Mr. Bush and Elvis. Truly, that is their names and not only did they make the check in painless, but Mr. Bush was there to accommodate everything from laundry, to island tours and fuel if required.
Providencia is so laid back and joined to Santa Catalina island via walkway that lead to a lookout spot where Capt Morgan built his fort in defense of his pirate hideaway. If you look close you can see his image in the rocks.
We departed Providencia at midnight on April 15 for a wonderful nite passage to San Andres, the Hawaii for the Columbians.
VIVORILLOS - A LITTLE TOUCH OF PARADISE!
Vivorillos 15.50N 83.17W Mar 26 – April 8 2007
Early in the morning we departed for our overnighter into the Vivorillos, a small group of islands located 180 miles east. Just at Sunset we were joined by a pair of swallows (locals call the sparrows) who settled in for the night and the ride on a small line in the cockpit. Doc was mesmerized and spent the entire nightshift checking on his two new friends (or snack) not sure what he was thinking. They departed at sunrise after spending 100 miles with us. Maybe this is how different species migrate, but we were happy to have their company.
It was a solid 24 hours from hook up to hook down and no sooner had we settled in than we made friends with the local fishing boat out from Guanaja Lady Atty, and Arturo (the captain’s brother) was especially taken with Doc and by days end had provided us with 2 lobster, two good sized hogfish, and 3 lbs of cleaned conch (the cleaning is the tough part on conch…catching em ain’t too tuff, cause they swim slow:o).
The Lady Atty, had generator problems and had to depart for Guanaja to save their catch, leaving behind a solitary soul to guard their stuff. His name was Marvi, and Gary and Doc would visit him two or three times a day, and before long they were ‘fishin buddies’. Marvi taking Gary to his favorite spots and each day they would bring back 5 or six good size grouper, trigger, grunts and Gary got his first big hogfish…and she was a 22-inch beauty. We spent two weeks enjoying this wonderful place and were joined along the way by fellow cruisers and got to enjoy a fun get together celebrating Greg & Judy’s (LoneStar Love) Anniversary and Sonny’s birthday (Sonny & Kay, S/v Valentina)
During our stay, we had some very interesting weather including a ‘waterspout’ which came as close as we cared to view it, here is a picture taken by fellow cruisers of KaijaSong with the ‘spout’ in the background…note the size of the funnel and the water at the base.
One of the attractions during our visit was the nesting of the ‘brown booby’ and I do mean birds. Kaija had great fun walking among them taking pictures, despite her presence they paid her little mind and seemed quite comfortable in her company.
Once again, weather was the determining factor in our departure and with light but favorable winds we set sail for Providencia, around the corner of Nicaragua into Columbia Territory and a most pleasant stop along the way.
GUANAJA
Guanaja 16.27N 85.52W Mar 21 – Mar 25 2007
We set sail for Guanaja, which is tallest of the Bay Islands discovered by Columbus on his 4th and final journey in 1502. The town settlement is unique in that it is two small islands in the bay…very little development exists on the big island itself. There are no roads, no cars, and no traffic, only sidewalks in the settlement, along with a menagerie of canals.
Checkout procedures were easy and we took advantage of a weather window without seeing all the sites such as Michael’s Rock on the north shore or Josh’s Cay which is quite popular with the cruisers, however we did enjoy the grand re-opening of the Manatee Restaurant which was severely damaged during the last hurricane season.
JONESVILLE DEPARTURE!
Jonesville Departure 16.23N 86.22W March 21 2007
With saddened hearts we said our farewells to the many new friends in Jonesville. This included dear Gladys whom we met thru Don & Yvonne and does great laundry…thank you Gladys. We had fun visiting the Iguana farm run by owner Sherman Archer whose life work is saving this species. Since it is a local menu item, his challenge is great, however, he encourages locals to bring him anything over a foot length and he trades them for a chicken, a win win situation. It was amazing to see his ‘preserve’ of these wonderful animals, parrots, monkeys and other animals indigenous to the island.
Our farewell dinner was at Mi Gato owners Jurgen & Stefani Derer from Germany…via Canada, oh my…what a meal and a wonderful setting amongst her gardens.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Barbareta! - Talk about your private island!
Barbareta
Barbareta is a privately owned island of approx 500 acres…with it’s own private air strip and stables for the horses…not a bad life you might say. Boaters and cruisers are not exactly welcomed with open arms, but the anchorage is safe for a Norther and there is no issue with being there. The real attraction, other than watching local brightly coloured parrots in the shoreline branches singing at the tops of their little lungs, and seeing the horses come to visit ‘Doc’…was the hunting/gathering/snorkeling/shelling available in the anchorage as well as Pigeon Islands a small group of sand spits out in the deep water where it is fun to go and shall we say “put out the invitation’ to dinner’ to the local fish populace hoping that some big ‘ol fat grouper will find my ‘swimming technique’ irresistible and become our honored guest ‘for’ dinner.
We spent a few days enjoying this wonderful place then headed back into Jonesville for are final goodbyes and provisioning as we are now heading to Guanaja, the most eastern of the Honduran Islands to check out of the country and into Vivorillos a very isolated small group of Islands a couple hundred miles further east before we can turn the corner and head south toward Panama.
We have enjoyed Honduras, the climate, the scenery, and most especially the people who have been warm hearted and made our stay here a memory of a lifetime!
Cayos Cochinos - A little bit of Paradise!
Cayos Cochinos
This beautiful group of islands, located 10 miles off the mainland coast of Honduras are a must see if possible. There are two larger cays (islands) and then many small ones that are anything from sandbars to cays with palm trees and homes. This area is a marine park and all the waters are protected and you pay a small fee for taking up a mooring buoy for your visit. The snorkeling is great right off your boat. You can see everything from fish to rays, urchins to brittle stars. Then if you go out to the outer cays, well there are so many other things to see. While we were visiting, there was a Columbian film crew doing, Survivor Columbia. The film crew tried to keep everyone away from the small cays, however the lure of the chase was just too much and off we set to explore and adventure with all good intentions. In the distance of some 2 to 3 miles of the anchorage is a string of pearl islands including one village but mostly inhabited by small crabs and a few insects and is a gunkholers dream. The first island we came to was perfect…isolated, two acres of palm trees and white sand surrounded by incredible coral and one fantastic turquoise coloured sandy bay…but as we got close enough to step ashore, we noticed a white T-shirt blowing in a tree on the beach…then we noticed a single person sitting in the sand. He rose to meet us and said “My Name is Carlos and welcome to Death Island”. Great…Death Island I thought…this would not have been my first choice, but getting in the spirit of the ‘Survivor Show’ I said …Great…Carlos quickly started showing Kaija and I around while Doc was romping in the waves…he was explaining that he had nothing, I mean a handful of cold corn kernals, and few bottles of water, and no sooner had he shown us his ‘thatched hut’ (thank goodness it had not rained in a last couple of weeks cause altho it had no windows...it didn't need any) then out came a ‘launcha’ from the neighbouring island and a very excited young Spanish man said…”You are not allowed here…this is a private island…you must leave…”…we were keeping in the spirit of the show and plead mia culpa mia culpa and agreed to leave, and as we were a minute or so behind the ‘launcha’ and ‘spoil sport’ aboard, Kaija tossed Carlos a nice cold Coke from the cooler which he promptly retrieved with a gracious smile, doing his best to hide it from whatever hidden cameras were there.
We enjoyed a fun filled day of exploring and shelling on the small islands in the Cochinos. We met some of the locals including our new friend ‘Alexander’ with his radio going full blast hanging around his neck and talking to you like it wasn’t even on…but he was listening to good gospel music so it wasn’t all bad. Heading back to the anchorage we saw more of the cast and crew of ‘Survivor Columbia’, who try to encourage us to land on their beach, but the show ‘police’ were there to keep us at a distance…all good fun.
The rest of our time we spent enjoying the wonderful big island of the Cochinos where we were anchored. We hiked up to the lighthouse on a path best reserved for goats and other wild animals…altho I will say that Doc seemed to be in great stride bouncing over logs and taking the lead to find whatever path was ahead, keeping an eye out for Pink Boas…yup I said Pink…apparently there are only two islands in the world where Pink Boas live and we were on one of them. We met a wonderful couple, a retired pilot Hoss and his beautiful wife Lori in their beautiful home ‘Eagle Nest’ who took especially to ‘Doc’, they made us feel so comfortable. They opened their home to us and we so enjoyed spending time with them. For Local knowledge of the surrounding waters and a great meal you only need to go next door to Plantation Beach Dive Resort and met Roger the Dive Master and ate a wonderful, all you can eat meal of Beef Tenderloin and Key Lime Pien prepared exquistely.
It was time to leave, as there was a cold front approaching which makes the anchorage unsafe. We said our good-byes and set our sights and sails for the wonderful hunting/gathering spot known as Barbaretta.
Come along and enjoy the Roatan Island Tour with us!
We arrive in Roatan to a gorgeous sunrise in the westend of Roatan. There is a cruise ship waiting to come into Coxen Hole, the main city on the island and we are sailing along side her until she pulls in and we pass by. We try to anchor in French harbour, but decide against and continue to Jonesville. Here we anchor off Woodside Marina and meet Larry. He is most welcoming and he has WiFi that reaches our boat. There is a small gathering here on the first evening with Adagio and Valentina. We are also greeted by Don and Yvonne. During the time we spend here, we get to see most of the island by land with our hosts – Don and Yvonne. The next little town is Oakridge - where we can shop for vegetables and groceries. Passing by there is Calabash and then the end of the island where you can see Rose Island and Helene. The north coast is so different from the south side, long spectacular reefs, and beaches. Camp Bay is one of the longest and is used by the locals for special Easter festivities – they camp here for the weekend. This eastern end of the island is more remote and not well developed and not that many tourists, but then you come down to the West End and here are your hotels and resorts. Fancy and costly. Most of them are all inclusive and you don’t have to go anywhere. Diving and snorkeling are the main activities – along with sun tanning.
There are many dive resorts on the island and out of the way places, but visiting the Old Port Royal of the pirates was like stepping back in time.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Hole in the Wall - Jonesville Bight - Roatan - Bay Islands - Honduras - Central America !!!
It is a wonderful thing to reach a strange new land and yet not be a stranger. The people here are so very friendly. We were greeted at the mouth of the inlet by our friends Sonny & Kay, S/v Valentina and Bob & Peggy S/v Adagio who made anchoring fun as we jostled for ‘position’ closest to the internet WiFi antenna at “Lucky” Larry Wood's home and WoodSide Marina on the point, offering WiFi and laundry.
Our friends, Don & Yvonne, have made our stay here very comfortable and convenient. It seems they know everyone and everyone seems to know them. They purchased land here in the mid ‘90’s from one of the original island families and they have been accepted graciously into their new neighbourhood. It is a real treat watching their dream come to life as Don’s designed Beach Home takes shape. Our first day visiting their new building site, we we had just climbed up the constuction ladder and were standing on the second floor admiring the the amazing vista from east to west, every sunrise and sunset....mmmmm..., when to our surprise, who should climb up the construction ladder to join us, but ‘Doc’…who is not one for being left behind, but sure enough he did climb it all by himself. Now, going back down was a little different story, but after some pulling, pushin and prodding, he made it.
Kaija arranged a surprise birthday party for Gary and it was a great afternoon of fun. Somehow she managed to bake a cake without Gary knowing!!!! Seems incredulous…but she did it, then while Gary and Doc were taking their afternoon shoreparty, the dingies started arriving en masse and our friends Aaron and Lyla, S/v Blow Me Away, came sailing into the bay making the guest list even better. I did have to admit, that Larry did spill the beans when Gary stopped by and Larry asked, “Where are you going, I thought you were having a party for Kaija at 2 O’clock?”. Larry is a fellow Canadian and easily confused :o), but he was smart enough to purchase land here and build a lovely home and dock which he shares with fellow boaters. (party pictures )
Last Friday, Don and Yvonne hosted a wonderful beach party at the setting of their new home. The local children swam in the bay and we enjoyed a potluck BBQ with local fare like deep fried breadfruit…you have got to try this stuff…salted and sprinkled with lime…. I think I could eat an entire tree! (Did I say that?) It was all great fun getting to know and share with other boaters and locals alike.
We are in the process of waiting…(remember I said process) for a few items to arrive (mail sent in August 2006) to reach us. We missed it in Guatemala when it arrived after we departed in November. We have been trying to get it since. For those of you who really NEED convenience in your life to function…I am telling you now. DO NOT TRY THIS!!! O’K…now you can say you were told! This lifestyle is really one of Mind Over Matter…. and, if You Don’t Mind…. It Don’t Matter!!!!…. Take for example, .hot water on demand….taking out the trash…going for a walk…TV…convenience store…ice…checking your email…finding a cash machine that takes your card….(traveler’s cheques do not work!!!!!)…oh and did I mention…getting anything delivered to you. FORGET ABOUT IT!!!
Ok…so you get the picture….just remember….Mind Over Matter.!!!….which I think at it’s essence you are either completely numb to any thoughts or feelings, or you’ve finally reached Nirvana, take your pick!
New Years 2007!!!
New Years 2007
We brought in New Year’s 2007 with another fun get-together aboard KaijaSong and celebrated not only New Year’s Eve, but also, Kaija’s Birthday (Jan 1). Judy and Greg, S/v Lone Star Love, hosted a wonderful Birthday brunch with homemade Biscuits and Gravy, Texas style and had a day not soon forgot as birthday brunches go. (pictures from New Years)
We spent almost 5 weeks out on the Belizean Atolls. We highly recommend this place to anyone who is looking to ‘get away from it all’ and just enjoy peace and quiet. The snorkeling and diving some of the most incredible to be found anywhere on the planet. Among the dozen other boats in the anchorage, you might see one of the more unusual examples of "floatsmanship" , in the very unique 4-story catamaran. It is one of the local dive boat/hotel vessels that are seen daily in these waters. (picture of snorkeling and boat)
In the words of our friend, the immortal Capt Don, “Outstanding”
This was our longest visit at anchor since our cruising life began, and reluctantly we decided to leave, but with new horizons ahead, and friends awaiting, off we set for an overnight sail to the Bay Islands of Honduras. We arrived next morning at Jonesville Bight, Roatan, and as we sailed by the bay, our friends Don & Yvonne hailed us on the radio, S/v Usquebach, who are building a home on the beach we just sailed by.
Fresh Fish is soooooooooo Goooooood!
Our days on the reef were filled with lots of swimming and fishing by spear, commonly referred to as hunter/gatherer exercise. Well, Gary had to learn sometime, it is year three after all, but with great enthusiasm and more than enough floatation, in he jumped and lo and behold, he hit something!!…and he even learned the art of filleting the catch…can it get any better? …all Kaija has to do is put a little fire to it and Voila…. ‘Catch of the day’ par excellence!…and I must admit…Kaija’s cooking can make anything taste good, but it isn’t as hard when it is fresh caught and just melts in your mouth…Grouper, Hogfish, Snapper, Trigger, Conch, Lobster…shall I continue ?
…we even discovered a place where you can catch Saltwater Catfish and after announcing the fine meal of it we had on the ‘cruiser’s morning net’ there have been many who have traveled out of there way to make the catch.
Trolling is another matter…and Gary is still working on his ‘junior trolling fishing badge’, altho he can claim victory over a very nice 30” Cobia (looks like a small shark) which is a firm white fish of the finest taste. (Note*…apparently Cobia like Catfish as well, he was lured with a pink squid with a catfish tail attached)
Christmas Dinner 2006 aboard KaijaSong
Christmas Dinner aboard KaijaSong with Greg & Judy S/v Lone Star Love, Doug and Remeri S/v Kristiana, Torrey & Barb S/v Litbe. (picture of Christmas dinner and all)
Christmas on board KaijaSong was as good as it gets without snow. We awoke to the gentle rocking of the blue green shades of gin clear water under picture perfect skies at Lighthouse Reef, the largest of the three Belizean Atolls.
It’s amazing how Santa can find you even in the most remote places and we enjoyed a fun day capped off with a Christmas dinner organized by Barb of Litbe and pot luck , aboard our home along with Greg and Judy, S/v Lone Star Love, Doug and Rayene of Kristiana and Rose Marie and Gerard of S/v Plenitude. Needless to say it was some good eating.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
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