Sometimes we have breakfast at this little stand in town.  Eggs, of course, and maybe beef or ham - but also fried plantains, beans, and tortillas.  Today it was $3 (25Q) for us both.

This place, Vista Rio, has one of those great hand-painted signs.  We come here for their steaks- pretty good, of the grass-fed local type.  So last night they were having their Monday night special- ribs!  A bunch of us decided to come over for an early dinner.  The drinks were great- fresh pineapple, papaya, or watermelon, with or without rum.  The side dishes were lovely- roasted vegetables and two great salads.


The ribs were cooked exactly the way they do their steaks, 10 minutes on the fire.  Good thing nobody ordered them rare.

Somebody sat in my hammock with a wet bathing suit
Whaaaaaaaaaaaa

Saturday there was a big band 'La Sonora Dinamita' in town for Guatemalan Independence Day.  It was very entertaining- a huge crowd showed up, even in the rain.  It was a chance to see all the locals, the cruisers, and the backpacker volunteers together in one place.

I switched hammocks

We've been without internet for about week- though at times it reappears for a few minutes, just as a come-on.  But now it's up- yay!  In the interim, we've lazed through some very hot weather, and watched some impressive yachts dusted off for Labor Day weekend (some towing their kids behind in plastic watercraft.)  The marina denizens put together a Labor Day feast, with lots of lavish eating.  And now we're sitting around the palapa trading info on hurricane season.  Most of us need to renew passports or cruising permits to stay here another month- so an excursion may be in store.

This is the view from my hammock, where I have spent the last six weeks. Pot goes for $12 a lid and everyone here at the marina is a hard core stoner. Makes for some very lazy days. We consume hours figuring out which pineapple to cut up next, when to go for our swim, what to have for dinner, and watching the thunderstorms blow by. In a few weeks we will head back out to the Bay Islands for more snorkeling and diving and then maybe on to Columbia, or not. Some of the best reef is right here off Belize, but almost everyone says the people are real dickheads. When you're on a boat it's tricky because they can always throw a chain on it and demand a $5000 fine for wearing the wrong color shorts, or whatever excuse they want to come up with. Not a problem in Guatemala and Honduras, the folks here are very pleasant, a regular lovefest.

We had a big rainstorm on the river Wednesday night, with some minor damage to the docks here and at the marina next door.  The boats were all fine.

Yesterday we were back at Casa Guatemala to volunteer.  As usual we spent most of the time standing around chatting.  Local people manage the place, augmented by young volunteer teachers from other parts of the world.  

Lorenzo's been able to help out by doing little construction projects- patching up plumbing and carpentry.  But most of the buildings are threatening to fall on their heads, so he's always uneasy.

The kids are pretty undisciplined, so it's hard for me to just walk in there and do art with them.  Whatever you're saying to them, they'd rather be playing ball!