After
Chris Wooley came to the rescue
and
sorted our Clutch Cones on our sail drives (Chris really was amazing!)
we
finally left the Rio Dulce.
We
sailed as far as practical from the Honduras border and cleared in at Utila
(the Bay Islands of Honduras – Utila, Roatan and Guanaja)
Clearing
in was a simple procedure, only costing $20
We
then made our way to Roatan, where we snorkeled and dived various locations,
starting at West End. We stopped
at French Cay, where we enjoyed a few beverages with Aussie Pete and the
Cruisers there.
Guanaja
was really different…
All
of the dwelling are build on rock or have piles directely in to seabed.
We
met “Hando” who took us on his “regular” trip around on the island
“Books
on Wheels”
Hando
has found that the children (and adults) are not learning English,
so
he pushes his wheelbarrow around the island swapping 3 books a time to each
child,
trying to encourage to keep up their English.
trying to encourage to keep up their English.
We
had also crossed paths since leaving the Rio with Luc & Aline
a French Canadian Couple. Richard went for a lovely hike with them
a French Canadian Couple. Richard went for a lovely hike with them
Richard
went up the mast to take a photo of our Spinnaker Halyard Sheath as we need a
replacement from South Africa which is being sent for us to receive before our
Pacific crossing
sure is a long way up there
sure is a long way up there
Just
before clearing out, we again caught up with Hando, who took us to see a Cuban
boat that had just arrived with 26 political refugees
Unfortuately,
I did not have the camera with me, however what they crossed the sea in was
nothing more than an oversized shell of a hull, a motor and no cover. It was extremely primitive!
We
cleared out of Guanaja – meeting a really lovely customs and immigration guy
and headed off to Providencia Columbia.
The
forecast was favourable, however the first 24 hours or so was like being in a
washing machine!
When
we finally had some gentler waters, we stopped briefly, as we had managed to
get a line around our starboard prop.
Luckily
Richard sorted dived in and sorted it with no problem with the saildrive.
Providencia
was a lovely stop – we hired a buggy and drove the island
(3
times actually)
The
public seating and bus stops have all nautical themes – just great
I
started some bottling with Christmas in mind
“Boozy
Christmas Mince – actually has Brandy, Rum and Amaretto in it
and
Beetroot Chutney.
We
left San Andres and had a really lovely sail from Providencia to San Andres –
what a change – lots of “Perfumeries” etc – a place Columbians come for
holidays.
