Guatemala we are here!

Well we left Guanaja on Tuesday. Stayed in West End, Roatan a night then headed to Tres  Puntas. It was a 29 hour sail with the wind behind us. Lots of rolling and I hate rolling. We arrived in Tres Puntas around noon, set anchor for the night. It was a bit bouncy but Steve was able to catch up on his sleep since I was useless for the last part of the trip. 

We woke around three this morning, made coffee and headed out for Livingston, Guatemala. We needed to reach the low spot at high tide this morning. Made it with no problems. While anchoring I called a fellow named, Raul, over the VHF radio. He is known to be a good agent for checking into the country. We knew we did not need him but we like to give what we can to the locals. Jobs are scares and if we can help some then we will. 

Raul had the officials come out to our boat. They sat in the cockpit and wrote down our information. We then had a water taxi come to take us ashore so we dont have to unload the dinghy and outboard. We went and met with Raul' nephew and he took care of the paperwork and copies while we went and had lunch. 

While having lunch we met an interesting fellow named Polo. He had played in a band and was educated in the states. He talked with us for a while and of course sold Steve a CD, then he was done with us. We picked up some produced. 

Found these crazy things. Not sure of the smae but you pop them open and they taste like a grape but with a larger seed

We will stay the night here then head up the river where the marinas are located in Fronteras. Not sure when we will check into ours but its available for sure on the 10th of August. No worries we hear there are plenty of places to anchor. 

Thoughts on our upcoming trip back to Texas

Well we have just a tad bit over a month before we fly to Texas for a month visit. We are very eager to meet our little baby Schooner. Getting her and seeing our family is our first priority. Next, is to get Schooner's paperwork squared away and the supplies that we would like to take back with us. Then, see as many of our friends as possible. There are many we consider family and have missed them greatly. 

We are not looking forward to the life change. We are very comfortable in the life we have made aboard Saga Sea. Thinking of what the month of September will be like makes me anxious. We havent drove in almost a year. That is a bit scary. Steve said he might not be so eager to let others drive us after riding with our kids.  Thank goodness we will have to experience Guatemala City before entering the States.  We need something to prepare us for the masses again. 

Television again, UGGG commercials and News, Yuck!

Here in Guanaja there arent many vehicles, none around us. All transportation is by water. It is an amazing way of life. Wonder how much longer it will remain this way? 

Next week we plan to leave this Green Island, weather permitting. Heading for the famous Rio Dulce river in Guatemala 

Back In Guanaja

We returned to Guanaja. The island is all a buzz for the up and coming anual Conch festival. 

It looks pretty exciting. 

We enjoy Guanaja life, the only thing we would change is the sand flies, they sure love us. 

We love how green and quiet it is here. Like something out of a movie 

People travel by boat.  So if you get sea sick this place probably isnt for you. 

In a few weeks we will check out and head for The Rio Dulce river in Guatemala. 

There we will be clear of hurricanes. We will keep the boat in a marina and have her hauled for a quick bottom job. Then we will head for Guatemala City where we will fly out for Houston Texas for a month. There we will see the kids, family, friends and most importantly lol pick up Schooner from my cousin'. 

I cant wait to get my hands on her. 

ATM FRAUD ABROAD

Recently we were victims of this atm machine skimming. Luckily we saw the fraudulent charges when we were online paying a bill, they were for that day and the day before.  We try to never use a street atm machine, only in a bank. We also set up multiple accounts proctecting the majority of our savings. Of course the one time we did use a street machine the info was skimmed and used several days later.

This has caused that card to shut off amd it was our only card left. Steve' card had already been shut off when we first left because Home Depot' data was compromised, this left only my card active. We will now need to be very careful with our spending until we get back to the states in Sept. 

We have been discussing new strategies to provent this in the future. Since we have several accounts we will take cards for all of them. We also decided to take the advice of another cruising couple, we will electonically transfer only the amount we plan to withdraw into the account a few days before, leaving the account empty and less vulnerable. 

Lesson learned, thank goodness we use Capital One, they will reimburse us fully.

I would love to hear what other travelers do to prevent this from happening 

Thanks 

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/savings/4-tips-to-protect-you-from-atm-thieves-1.aspx

Traveling with a Dog

We are very please to say we havent had any trouble, BUT, we had a great dog!  

Fairlane was a great traveler. She has been on numerous long road trips from one side of the states to the other. She has flown in airplane, road farriers, bikes, motorcycles, motor boats and of course lived on a sailboat. 

When she first came to us we were in a one bedroom apartment with a balcony. I bought a potty pad and used it on the patio. She was a very particular girl by not wanting to potty if other dogs had before her and she seem to hate messes. She would sulk if she got anything on her. So moving her to the boat wasnt a problem at all. We put her potty grass up on deck and she used it rain or shine. We would clean it off by dipping it into the sea. 

But we lost her and we have plans to go get Schooner, a teacup Aussie. She will need to be trained but they are smart dogs so hopefully we wont have any problems. 

CHECKING INTO FOREIGN PORTS WITH A DOG 

 

We have been very lucky with this, no problems. We left with all her shots and medicines renewed and a copy of her medical records. We used an agent in Isla Mujeres, Mexico where a representive of their vet came and checked over her records and issued us a health certificate all in spanish. Easy breezy!

We have heard rumors of others withholding that they have a dog on board. We have never been boarded for that sort of inspections so it is possible. 

When flying Schooner back to Guatemala we will need a certified health certificate. This is required by the country when bringing a dog into the country by air. 

I hope this helps everyone. It does take some work but we love having a dog on board. We love taking them for walks and adventures. It more or less entertainment for us I suppose. 

Good Luck Pet Lovers!

Sailing Roatan

We set sail yesterday for French Harbor. Had one of our best sails. Its nice to have a destination that isnt days away. We have met a few couples that sail the bay islands during the winter. They keep their boats in Guatemala during the summer month and return to their homes on land. I kind of like that idea. We have also met a couple that provides charter sailing and diving trips. They know all the ends and outs of the Bay Islands. Zeppelin Dive & Sail. They have a facebook page,  https://www.facebook.com/ZeppelinDiveSail. Its a great adventure. 

So as I said, we had a great sail back to French Harbor. With all the traveling we have done to new places its nice be go back to something familiar. We plan to head a bit more east to Jonesville today once these morning showers are done. 

We went there in our dinghy when we were having the work done. Its a lovely protected area, nice and quiet.  We will enjoy a beer at Jonesville Point Marina.https://www.facebook.com/Jonesvillepointmarina

 and visit with new friends John and Debbie with Blue Rock Vacations, https://www.facebook.com/bluerockvacations

Didnt take too many pics yesterday 

Saga Sea all read

Things stowed away

Im ready

But this is when I realized I forgot something Big!   My HAT! This is why Gingers should NOT be out in day light. Haha

Before retiring to my nice comfy bed I remember I needed to clean up a mess in the closet I made. I spilled my trays of sprouts. UGGGG what a mess 

So that was yesterday. Today we are waiting for the morning showers to end before heading out. Guess Ill have another cup of coffee

We have a LOGO!

A friend' son is a amazing graphic artist. I asked for something cute and amusing that we could put on shirts or hats.  He pegged us!  I cant wait to move forward in designing something around this. If any one would like to contact him regarding something personalized contact Paul Bailey @ practicalimage@outlook.com. He is amazing!

We also have a Facebook page, so go like us and you will get all the latest news and see our Coctail Hour Videos when they are posted. 

No Flushing

So this post is on a sensitive subject, toilet paper, to flush or not?  If you have traveled outside the US you may have experienced seeing a sign in a public restroom asking you to not flush the used paper. I was told and have read that the pumbing is just to fragile to risk bogging it down. This wasnt too unfimilar, I have lived in rural areas with septic systems with a father that was old school. Plus I live on a boat, no flushing there. 

One day we met a nice couple that brought the subject up when discussing culture differences. I ciuld understand how most Americans are not use to this custom, not all have experienced my father ir lived on a boat with my husband. But then I noticed this label on a package of Scott brand toilet paper sold here in Roatan. 

Now Im interested in why they really dont flush. So Ive been asking around, asking home owners with newly built homes, owners of older homes, locals and expats. I have read about septic systems, googled why people dont flush, and why is that label advertising it is made exsulivley for Honduras?  

What I have found is this, plumbing is old and fragile in many places, some toilet paper is NOT  good for septic systems, many of the plumbing here is gravity fed, and toilet paper is expensive. The last reason is what I found is the reason for the label. Toliet paer is expensive and many cant afford it so the longer it last the better. 

I found this great article about living in Honduras. 

http://www.pateplumaradio.com/central/honduras/hond2.html

Staying Flexible

Preparing to move east soon. The tricky part of cruising is moving locations. Weather is the strongest determiner. We have until the end of July to check out of Honduras, but will we have a good weather window to travel to Guatemala at that time?  We have made up a flexible plan to start moving east over to Guanaja then to head back to Roatan to check out and head to The Rio Dulce in Guatemala by the end of July. We decided to leave from Roatan because of the angle it puts us when sailing. That is also a huge factore in cruising. 

We wanted to head back to French Harbor this week but the trade winds are up so we will leave when they calm down some. The wave intervals are more frequent in this area when wind are higher which causes a rougher sail. 

We have been snorkeling and hanging at local places. We also met our neighbor boat for dinner. I always get a little sad to leave the area because the locals here in Honduras are so friendly and welcoming. I am looking forward to seeing the folks on the east end. 

Here are a few pics

These prove I am the hotter one and Steve is the cooler one. Lol. 

Haha they crack me up. 

These are of a place called C Level in west end that we hang out at. 

This is what I look like during the day. Crochet, crochet. 

Hope everyone has a great week

Smooches

The Southern Gypsy