Back in Utila and in salt water again, took a dip and saw an Eagle Ray right in front of me.
First day out of Guate was a mess, anchor all tangled up, Joyce jumping in to retrieve the boat hook twice, me wrestling to tie down the dinghys in a pitching sea as they slid all over the roof.  Seas not really bad, but coming from the wrong direction and we were just plain sloppy after hanging on a river for four months.  Second day was calmer and we put out the paravanes which made the boat feel like a big fat Caddy with soft tires, nice.

Here's the lovely small town of Livingston, where we just checked out of Guatemala.  Got to spend some extra time because the ATM's weren't working- it really is a lovely place, after a few months of shopping in Fronteras, whose one street is packed with food vendors and cattle trucks.  But Livingston is unreachable except by water.  Now we're waiting for the tide to come up so we can get across the shallow bar and back into the ocean.

Oops,

Here comes Rina with another right behind it.

We're good where we are, but Roatan might not be such a good idea this week.

The party is slowly winding down, one last potluck tonight before we all move on. The hurricane season passed with no real storms and none in view. Most of the folks that hang here do so at the insistence of their insurance companies, and that ends Nov 15.


We will stay until the end of the month and then head back out to Utila and the rest of the Bay Islands of Honduras. We picked up a fiberglass lancha locally made and a new 15 hp Yamaha 2 stroke and are stocking the larder with cat food and filling the freezer. I must say that the Rio Dulce is a lovely place to pass some time, the Guats are delightful and the gringoes are crazy as loons, the water is sweet and easy on the boat and fun to swim in, and the local markets pretty much have what you need.


The general plan is to slowly head south through the islands toward Panama. The coast of Nicaragua and Costa Rica are mostly isolated mangrove swamps with very few attractions so most just pass them by.

Just got back from Guatemala City after a few days of shopping amid torrential downpours.  Luis, who owns the marina here, has a place in the city, so we drove with him and hauled back all our stuff in his truck.  Cat litter.  Battery charger.  Chinese mushrooms!  Stores are either open air venues like this auto parts place, where you provide your own security- or like WalMart, the absolute peak of luxury shopping, which provides a gated parking lot and armed guards.  Restaurants were unexpectedly good; we stayed in the 10th, considered the civilized zone.

Our inflatable dinghy was stolen last weekend, which made us both very sad.  It was tied up in its usual spot next to our boat, tied on both sides so we could push it over to the dock:  not well secured.  We were having dinner with the other denizens a few hundred feet away.  And right at dusk- the most opportune moment for dinghy-stealing.


Dave on the boat next to us wants to sell his fiberglass lancha, so we're going to buy it from him.  At least the bottom won't get torn up by the reefs.  And it will be sporting an incredible number of locks and chains.

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.