Back to the Rio Dulce

We left Roatan on April 17th and sailed to Utila where we spent 4 days. We checked out of Honduran customs and immigration before sailing on to Laguna El Diamante on the mainland of Honduras. This is a very well-protected bay surrounded by mangroves and is adjacent to Puerto Escondido where we had spent two nights on the trip over to Roatan 6 weeks ago. We traveled in company with Windquest, Compania and Goin' Places . We have had very strong trade wind conditions for the past 4 weeks and it made for a fast, if somewhat rough ,passage across the Gulf of Honduras. It is about 50 miles from Utila to Diamante and we made it in about 8 hours.

From there we went back to Omoa and checked out the fort which was built by the Spanish 250 years ago. Omoa is a very lively place on the weekends, with lots of folks from San Pedro Sula coming over to enjoy the beach and water activities. We found that they like to play loud music all night which is not conducive to a good nights sleep in the anchorage. Besides our 4 boats, we were joined by our friends, Dave and Jan on Odyssea and we all went ashore for a very good seafood dinner of shrimp and lobster.

From Omoa we sailed the next day to Cabo Tres Puntas which is just across the bay from Livingston which is at the mouth of the Rio Dulce. High tide the next day was at 9 AM so we were up and underway to position ourselves at the bar one hour before high tide .The bar at the mouth of the Rio will carry 5.5 feet at slack tide so it is important to cross on the rising tide.We draw 6 feet and the high that day was 1.9 feet so we slid acoss with about a foot and a half of water beneath our keel.

After checking in to Guatemala in Livingston, we went through the Rio Dulce gorge and back to our slip at Mario's Marina. We will spend the next 10 days getting the boat ready to leave it for the season and then we will fly out of SanPedro Sula Honduras for Houston and then Memphis on May 13.


We have had a great season, have seen a lot of places and have had a lot of fun but it will be good to get home to family and friends. I am even looking forward to going back to work!

Port Royal, Roatan

Port Royal is a large bay on the eastern end of Roatan. In the 18th century it was a hangout for some notorious pirates including Henry Morgan. Nowadays it is a hangout for cruisers and fly-fishermen, most of which are not notorious.


Ashore here is Mango Creek Resort which is a world-renowned fly fishing resort offering some of the best in permit,tarpon and bone-fishing in this part of the world. The owners, Patrice and Terry are former cruisers and world circumnavigators. They are very hospitable and it is possible to eat ashore in the resort restaurant if they aren't full with their own guests. The food is delicious. They make a fish stew which can't be beat.

In the small-world category, Patrice and I discovered that her ex-husband and I were college fraternity brothers at Tulane 40-odd years ago. How's that? She didn't hold it against me.

While anchored here we hiked some 3 miles over the mountain to Camp Bay, a small settlement on the north side of the island.It is very laid-back here. We ate lunch at Sirena's Bar and Restarant which sits out over the azure blue water. Very nice.As you can see Mary made another friend here.

When we leave here we will begin to slowly retrace our steps back toward the west with our plan being to cross the bar back into the Rio Dulce late this month. We are flying back to Memphis in mid-May.

Calabash Bight, Roatan

The south coast of Roatan is studded with inlets that provide good protection from the prevailing trade winds. The north coast, by contrast, is fringed by reefs and is exposed to the easterly trades and the northerlies that accompany cold fronts during the winter. Therefore most large settlements are on the south coast. Some of these such as Coxen Hole and Old French Harbor are commercial and provide ports for the local shrimp fleet( the largest in the Caribbean) and cruise ships.




The others such as Calabash Bight are beautiful bays surrounded by hills and are the location of a mixture of homes for local fishermen and for ex-pat gringos as well.


We had just dropped anchor when two local fishermen brought some lobsters which we bought and put on the grill last night....hmmm good.

Even anchored out here we have access to the internet thanks to the entrepreneuership of former cruisers Mark amd Laurie who sell access to their satellite hook-up for a good price. They live in the house on the hill in the upper photo.

Well thats all for now. We will be moving on to Port Royal in a day or so.

Parrot Tree Marina

So Mary flew home for a little break and I am staying at this marina in Roatan. It is in a beautiful development called Parrot Tree Plantation. There is a nice coffee house/restaurant, pool, and a beach area. It is in-expensive as far as marinas go...only about $20 per day which is a real deal considering the amenities present. Electricity is extra.
Mary will be back next Thursday and we will then continue our exploration of Roatan, probably going to Port Royal and then to Calabash Bight. In the meantime I am catching up on my reading

Jonesville, Roatan

After leaving Barbareta we sailed back to Roatan and went into Bodden Bight, home of Jonesville, Roatan and more importantly, the Hole in The Wall Bar which is pictured at right.It is accessible only by water and has become a cruiser favorite over the years. The food is good and Bob, the owner, is extremely hospitable. We anchored just off the restaurant and were able to use his wifi signal for internet access.

Jonesville is primarily a working village with shrimping being the main livelihood and it is the home of a sizeable fleet. The homes are built on stilts above the water along the shore.


We were able to take the dinghy east from here all the way to Calabash Bight and west to Caribbean Bight. The canals were mangrove lined with mangroves forming an overhead canopy for almost the entire length. The water was crystal clear and just beyond the canals ,to the south, is the fringing reef that borders the entire south coast of the island.




From here we will make our way the few miles west to Parrot Tree marina. Mary will fly out on the 9th to take a break and play with the grand-kids. She is also having some dental problems that need to be attended to.

Barbareta

Here are the pictures I wanted to post with the previous blog.Not sure what the problem is.
Enjoy

Barbareta

We left French Harbor and sailed about 20 miles to Barbareta, a small island just to the east of Roatan. We passed by Port Royal which was a hangout of the famous privateer Henry Morgan.Barbareta is surrounded by coral reefs and the snorkling is fantastic. There were just four boats in the anchorage, us( Antares) ,Upjinks, with John and Beth Talley aboard and Capraia with Breck and Sally Thomas aboard. Theses three have been together since leaving the Rio Dulce. Joining us from French Harbor was Windquest with Jim and Carol Defelice aboard.



The island is mainly jungle with tall hills and is rich in bird life. In the early mornings in the cockpit of our boat, with a cup of coffee in hand ,I could see many parrots flying to and fro. There were also many wading birds such as herons and egrets and black-necked stilts( a new one for me).There is a nice beach on the south side where we were anchored, with two reefs within swimming distance from the boat.

The island is privately owned and we were fortunate to meet the owner, Kelcy Warren, who gave us permission to explore ashore. He is an affable Texan who owns the power company in Roatan( and gas and oil pipelines in the states) There is a lot of development on this island which I hope does not destroy its pristine character. We were able to hike the entire island and Mary even made some friends with a local bovine inhabitant.

We spent three nights here. We sat out a norther with 30 knots of wind but the anchorage was secure and we had no problems. Our friends on Upjinks, Capraia and Windquest will go on to Guanaja. We will return to Roatan so Mary can fly home for her 2 1/2 week break from me and the boat, but mainly to see the grand-kids. I will have to hang out at Parrot Tree Marina(sad face) ( check out the website)....more later.