Just overcast on Friday morning we woke ready and waiting to shove off; knowing we had a couple of hours of work left to be done we waited patiently – Dale somewhat pacing on the dock – waiting patiently to finish up – waiting patiently to start… then the last task - get a couple of bags of ice and away we went – Dale, Max and I – waving goodbye to Salome – one of the great caretakers of Companion at The Moorings base.
No fanfare – no fireworks – kind of anti-climatic. just motored into Placencia Lagoon - on our way…. of course we weren’t in the lagoon 15 minutes before Max had his fishing pole in the water - tuna for supper – seared with soy sauce and sesame seeds – really yummy!! We had a few of hours of sailing (20 nautical miles) to reach the Icosea Bay – where we anchored for the night – a protected spot with a great sunset… early to bed for us as Dale wanted to leave by 6am – which we did!!
Sailing with15 knots of winds – we reefed once – made great time to Livingston, Guatemala. (21 nautical miles) The customs agent, the administrators for the health department and finance department, the captain of the harbor and our “handler” motored out to greet us – all paperwork was in perfect order – after the handler, Raul, took our passports, got them stamped - Dale and I went ashore to retrieve them – Max was the watchman on the boat – we started motoring up the Rio Dulce….
Well, I have to tell you, I felt like I was on the African Queen – (yes, Nancy and Doug I did watch the entire film when we returned from Kas) – motoring up the river (8 nautical miles)– one football field wide, anywhere from 20 to 75 feet deep, we were surrounded by sheer limestone cliffs overgrown with lush rainforest growth – bromeliads blooming, howler monkeys squealing, palm plants that were 2 stories tall – the local folks were in hollowed out log canoes – families fishing together – working together – quite a sight – all up and down the river they were tucked into tiny little coves – pulling their nets and lines in….. I just know they were catching their dinner. Their thatched roof homes sitting on the edge of river – laundry strung from the poles that holds up their roof. Reminded me a Tibetan prayer flags – how do those women get their white clothes so white in the river water?
Now getting back to the African Queen, I have to be sure and tell Gail Andersen from Australia, Singapore and London (where are you Gail?) that I am using the Aussie hat that she gave me at the Chicago Symposium – it is absolutely perfect here – that hat has gone around the world!! Thanks friend!!! Not quite as glamorous as Katherine Hepburn’s bonnet – but totally practical!!
The mouth of the Rio Dulce opens up to this magnificent lake – the view of the Guatemalan mountains in the background is glorious – only have 7 more miles to go before we land at Bruno’s – hopefully a good shower and dinner await us…. Max is at the helm – Dale enjoying the view – and I needed to get out of the sun…. so here you have it – our first two days at sea!!
k
Wrote this before we actually anchored…
So this world is really so small… we were heading up the river to Bruno’s – still about 2 miles away – and here in a dinghy that is flying right in our direction is our Dutch friend Ben, whom we met in Placencia last March – blowing kisses in my direction - how could we not welcome him on board – had a beer or two – made arrangements to enjoy supper with him and Nannie – they have been sailing for 5.5 years – and here we are together… he is one of the rare gems in the sailing community….great conversation and an eagerness to share his knowledge with Dale – all was well last night!!
Well it's a beautiful Fall Day here but somehow I don't think it's quite the same :) Great to hear from you Fran
ReplyDelete