April 25th to May 5th, 2010 - Belize and Guatemala

We anchor at Placencia, for our last few days in Belize. Lesley and Fern leave us for the showers and air conditioning at the Paradise Resort next to the anchorage. We sneak in to have showers and a farewell drink. In the anchorage is SV "Callisto" from Victoria, with Richard, Selma, Nadia and Aaron aboard. We met them at Lighthouse Reef. They are one of Fern's customers back in Victoria. They are also Bluewater Cruising Association members. It is a wonder we have not met before. We really enjoy their company and hope to see more of them.

To check out of Belize we take the "Hokey Pokey" Water Taxi to the commercial port. Waiting with Sandra are Aaron off SV "Callisto" and Brian & Cathy off SV "Tundra". They are from Ontario, but it turns out Cathy and I (Barrie) went to the same high school. Also, her uncle worked with my father. Scary small world!

We arrive at Livingston, Guatemala, after crossing the infamous Reo Dulce river bar. We managed to get in at high tide without hitting bottom, although our depth sounder indicated no depth below the keel. A Scandinavian boat, on it's way out, was not so lucky. It had to be towed off. SV "Callisto", also from Victoria, anchors next to us. After a quick check into the country we head up the river through beautiful jungle canyons, passing resorts on the way.

After putting the boat "to bed" for the hurricane season we leave from the village of Frontera for Guatemala City, via bus. A six hour (not soon to be forgotten) trip on crowded winding mountain roads, where a double yellow line is considered an invitation to pass. Friends warned us not to sit at the front of the bus and we are glad we took the advise.

April 2010 - BELIZE, INCLUDING VISIT FROM LESLEY & FERN

After a fast and uneventful passage from Isla Mujeres, MX we arrive at San Pedro, Belize. The Village is behind a barrier reef, with a very narrow and shallow enterance. The harbour itself is very shallow and the bottom hard packed sand, that does not allow your anchor to set. The ferries and pleasure boats create constant wake and make swimming dangerous. In spite of these challenges it is a very pleasant village and a great place to check into the country.

A Sting Ray checks out our anchor rode. The keel has less then 2 ft of clearance from the bottom. Only one and one half of the anchor's flukes have a tenuous grip in the hard sand. We add a 20 pound kellet to the rode to improve our holding.

Para "skiers" are part of the harbour traffic. San Pedro even has a 7/11. We join Dan and Susan off SV "Gypsy" for a Myan Dinner. The sharks also dine.

Next we sailed to English Cay, the enterance to Belize City Harbour. A busy place, with the pilot boat servicing freighters and cruise ships. Friendly, third generation lighthouse keeper and good snorkeling kept us busy for 3 days.

We arrive at Cucumber Beach Marina in Belize City to pick up friends Lesley and Fern. The city is only 18 inches above sea level. Hurricane surges have been as high as 12 feet. Thus many buildings are on stilts (not shown). We soak up the shade and "adult beverages" at the marina.

We take a day trip to Lamanai. Part of the trip is by boat through a bird sanctuary. The female hopping lily pads mates with several males, leaving each to care for the children. Can you see the baby croc? The mother has maternal instincts for only 3 months, then will eat her young if they do not leave the area. The stork rests on a snag after a delivery.

We arrive at Lamanai, a Myan city reclaimed by the jungle. Once a city of over 100,000 it was abandoned. The most likely reason is the collapse of the agricultural base supporting the population.

We travel to the Lighthouse Cays. We survive two squalls, with fantastic lightning shows and scary winds and seas. No pictures as we were too busy securing electronic equipment and checking the status of our anchor and the boats around us. Half Moon Cay is a world nature site. We visit the Blue Hole and see Red Footed Boobies, lizards and snails.

Belize has world class snorkeling and diving. These are a few shots of our snorkeling adventures with Lesley and Fern, including pictures of the reef at the Blue Hole.