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May 25, 2006 |
After two nights, we
pulled up anchor at Middle Long Cay before 7 a.m. this morning.
There was a lot of coral under the boat and the anchor chain hung on
some coral as we were pulling it in, so we motored towards the port side
and got it loose. Sonny was not quite ready for an early
morning swim. It has rained here, almost non-stop. It began this morning at 1 a.m. and still continues. No strong wind, just rain and lightning. In spite of the rain,
we decided to go ahead and head south. We think it must be raining
"all over the world". We have about 20 knots of wind with
the staysail up and one reef in the main and are going about 6 knots.
We are headed to Placencia, about 60 miles away. So, at 5 mph, it should take most of the day. We want to get in an get anchored before dark. Along the way, we saw dolphins and the gray skies turned to blue. Such a welcome sight. The sun even came out.
Closer to Placencia,
we passed mountains on the port side. It was really pretty, even
in the overcast day. We cannot believe we are on our boat, down
here, enjoying God's beauty. It is really awesome. We
arrived at Placencia about 5 p.m. and anchored then walked to town.
Placencia has a mile long sidewalk with restaurants, local vendors, and
guest houses all along the way.
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| May 27, 2006 |
It was washing day at Placencia,
We met Bob and Peggy, fellow cruisers who have spent hurricane seasons in the Rio Dulce at the Cozy Corner for lunch. We stayed there for 3 hours listening to stories of the river. We then walked around town and down the sidewalk. There are beautiful palm and coconut trees wild. |
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May 28, 2006 |
Today, we woke up and Sonny typed emails while Kay baked a carrot cake. It was already getting hot, so we decided to take
the dinghy 5 miles over to Bugle Cay and snorkel. After a bumpy
ride in the dinghy over, when we arrived at the island, there w
He knocked down two coconuts for
us, then cut them with the machete and we drank the water inside.
He then split them so we could eat the coconut. He handed us a
"spoon". It was one of the slivers he cut off the coconut. Very interesting visit. We then went around to the other side of the island and snorkeled. We saw lots of fish, one that looked like "Doree" on Nemo, but, she was not blue, she was spotted, a sting ray, barracuda, star fish, and conch. Very nice snorkel.
We headed back to the boat, then back to Placencia, and walked around
some more. Some children came by with backpacks selling necklaces, bowls, etc. for their school money. They said it costs them $100 a month to go to school.
They were very polite children, and not pushy or bothersome. Needless, to say, we bought something from all three. Starting a business, very young.
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May 29, 2006 |
We will head to town this morning and go to the "big" grocery store. The "big" grocery store is not as big as a small convenient store in a gas station at home.. We plan to head south in the morning. We will have to anchor outside of Livingston, then cross the sand bar at high tide and go to Livingston, then after customs and immigration, we will head to Mario's Marina. | |
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We
were told to eat at "De Tatch" for good fish, so we walked along the
sideway for a ways, until we reached the restaurant. It had
a thatched roof, palapas, palm trees and great food. After a
crossing, we like to go into town and eat a good meal. This
is our waitress tonight and the view from the restaurant.
so
we gathered up our dirty clothes and sheets and headed to town in the
dinghy. We stopped at a local shop for a lady to wash our clothes.
She charged us $8 US for washing, drying, and folding two loads with her
including the soap. A good deal and much needed. 
ere
four dogs to greet us. We were not sure we wanted to get out
of the dinghy, but, Castro, the lighthouse keeper, came out to greet us
and said, "the dogs are fine, come on ashore". So we did.
It was a pleasant visit. Castro is hired by the government of
Belize to keep the lighthouse going on the very small island. He
works 3 weeks solid, then off one week. He is 63 years old and has
done this for 30 years, and hopes to retire in 2 years.
We went to De Tatch and
sat on the beach with a cold drink.
The
small boy's father had died two weeks ago when he fell from a bridge.
We asked around, and it was true.