bonvoyageendorfin: 3/22/09

Gil and I spent a couple more days in Cayos Cajones and sailed to Media Luna another set of cays in the same reef system about 20 miles further south. This is where we bid Karen and Mike fairwell and continued to Providencia. as luck would have it the wind was on our nose so we changed course and headed to San Andres, which took a total of two days to get to. But it has been worth the head winds to get to. Checking into the island is a little different here. You must go through an agent who does all you paper work for you. If you do it any where else in South America it takes a couple of hours maybe. Here it takes Rene two to three days and one hundred and four dollars. And sometimes he is on time for your appointment. Oh well! The island is worth spending time in Beautiful beaches and great diving and snorkeling. You can rent a golf cart of scooters and do your own thing going around the island. Or hire a guide to take you on a tour. If you go on your own most people can tell you where the attractions are and how to get there. All of the people here are very friendly and courteous. Just before we anchored on our first day here we sailed into a group of spinner dolphins who gave us a spectacular show . there are plenty of things going on at this beautiful island paradise and I don't know if we can get them all in before we leave.

January 16, 2009. While we were waiting for our transmission parts to arrive, Gil and I have been exploring the Island of Guanaja. The snorkeling is fantastic here; the reef extends all around the island. On the inside, there are wonderful coral formations from brain to tubes, with lobsters hiding in the crannies and all kinds of small colorful fish swimming around amongst the undulating coral fans. We have spotted moray eels, grouper, snapper, angelfish, parrotfish, and a myriad of other sea life. On the outside most of the reef falls off in a steep wall to about 80 feet. There are a couple of dive shops here and Gil went out with one that is operated by a Canadian fellow by the name of Bill. He was impressed with the pinnacle and has promised to take me to the site the next time we go for a dive. Because we have spent so much time here, I have gotten to know many of the local residents and have been socializing with the women of the island. On one occasion, I was invited to a horticultural scavenger hunt, which means you go from one woman’s home to another have refreshments take a tour of her garden and collect clippings for your own garden. The next day we walked the beach on the north side of island and collected sea beans for jewelry. We ate lunch at Bo’s Green Flash Bar and then drank beer while we sat in the ocean to cool off. I had so much fun I did it again the next day with a group of women on the other sailboats in the harbor and we went to the small waterfall. Almost every Saturday Gil and I go to the Manatee Restaurant for drinks and the dinner special. On Thursdays, the supply boat comes in with fresh fruit and vegetables from the mainland. It is nice outing where you run into everyone getting his or her groceries for the week and it turns into a social affair. Pati from the sailing vessel Alpha Wave showed Kate and me how to make jewelry from the seeds and shells we collected. I hosted a bread making demonstration on our boat one day with two women from other boats that were having a difficult time making bread. Moreover, that day my own French bread recipe turned out perfectly. We also made cinnamon buns that had to be tasted as soon as they came out of the oven. Gil took me to the pinnacle for the dive he promised me. The top of the coral formation starts at about ten feet down and you descend to ninety feet around this huge mound of coral with crevasses you swim threw. There are tube corals that are a shade of transparent blue color and large fans that are purple. In addition, the best part Gil caught our dinner a mutton snapper. Leaving here is going to be a little harder than most places because we have made so many new friends. Our parts are due to arrive on the next supply boat once we have installed them and do a test run we shall be moving on to the Vivirillos and the Hobbies, a group of cays and reef at the upper eastern end of Honduras. There will be no internet until we get to San Andres or Isla De Providencia Columbia. Until then enjoy some of the pictures.

Feb.23 2009.

Left Guanaja at 6 am in company of Alfa Wave with Patti and Marc and another sailboat named Morning Star the captain’s name was Brad. The wind was out of the northeast with the expectations it would shift more to the north. As it turned out it stayed pretty much on our nose. We had a couple of squalls and we were motoring when our engine died Gil bleed the filter to no avail. The wave action had stirred up all dirt and water that had accumulated in the bottom of the tank. The decision was made to head back to Guanaja. As soon as we got into hailing distance with the VHF, we hailed Buea Soliel and they came out with the big boat, Loran, and Aliann from Lioness came out with their dinghy to tow us into the anchorage. It is good when you have made friends in the last harbor. The next morning Mike and Karen left for the Hobbies and I had to clean out the fuel tank on my birthday. The bright side of all of this I had another wonderful dinner of fillet mignon prepared by Klaus at the Manatee restaurant.

Feb. 25 2009.

The winds were predicted to come from the northeast light at 5 to 10 knots. Moreover, the waves 2 to 4 feet. HA! HA! On us, we spent the next 40 hours humping into 20 to 25 knots of wind and waves that were 8 to 10 feet getting to the Hobbies (Cayos Cajones), which are a group of small cays on the northeast corner of Honduras inside a large section of reef. Getting around this corner to go south is rather difficult because of the predominant east wind. The Spanish sailors called it Gracious Adios (Thank God). I now know what they meant. We dropped our anchor at 3:00 in the morning next to Mike and Karen on Beau Soliel. They had kept the light on just Motel 8. We spent the next two-days relaxing and snorkeling, with Mike and Karen, and exploring the small cay. I had to dry many things on the boat, it has a few leaks.

Mar. 2 2009.

Cayos Cajones. Because there was a northerly blow coming our way on Saturday, we moved about 15 miles to a more protected anchorage along the reef. There is a lovely curve in the reef that protects you in a north wind and inside there is another smaller reef just for good measure. All together, there were five boats in the anchorage when the cold front came in from the north. It blew a steady 20 to 25 knots of wind with gusts in the 40,s at times for two days. Before it came in Gil and I had a chance to do some snorkeling on the reef. I still cannot get over how very beautiful it is when you are down in the water. Karen and Mike spent the evening with us and had pizza and wine. We shall be travelling together down to Providencia, which is an island off the Nicaraguan coast but belongs to Columbia. I think they will stay there a while and visit with some friends who will be travelling there with their boat. From there Gil and I will head to Panama.