Voyage of Antares

Back to the Rio Dulce

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Sun, 03 May 2009 21:09:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:29:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:57:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:16:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:13:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 01:08:00 +0000

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

Barbareta

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:12:00 +0000

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.

Utila, Roatan etc

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:58:00 +0000

Here are the pics that i wanted to post with the text below.

Here we are on Fantasy Island with the anchorage behind us.

Approaching Utila

One big iguana

us at Gio's restauarant where we had gigantic King crabs for dinner.

Utila and Roatan, Bay Islands of Honduras

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:53:00 +0000

Sorry, I am having trouble uploading images with the text.

After leaving Puerto Escondido, we sailed the 45 miles to Utila which is the westernmost of Honduras' Bay Islands. The three main islands, Utila, Roatan and Guanaja lie about 30 miles north of the mainland and run in a roughly southwest to northeast orientation.

Utila, is known as "party central" of the northwest caribbean. Lots of young people, backpackers and divers come here. Apparently this is one of the least-expensive places to come to become certified as a diver.It is a fun place with some nice restauarants and the cays southwest of here offer some great snorkliing and diving. After about three days we moved on to French Harbor, Roatan which is about 26 miles NW of Utila. ( We have come some 175 miles from our starting point in the Rio Dulce and it has taken a week.....such is the pace on a sailboat!)

Roatan is about 30 miles long and 2 -3 miles wide. It is quite hilly and green. There is a paved road that runs about 2/3 the length of the island along the hilly spine. It is surrounded by a barrier reef that provides spectacular snorkling and diving. The depth drops from 30 ft to 1000ft in about a hundred yards in many places.

We anchored in French Harbor which is a short dinghy ride away from access to Eldon's grocery store, ATM machines etc.It is also adjacent to Fantasy Island resort, which offers wifi access, beach ,pool etc.

The people of Roatan are a mixture of the Spanish and English influences that held sway here in the 17th and 18th centuries. Most people are bilingual but there are some mainly black ( the Garifuna people who came here from St Vincent 200 years ago) communities who only speak English. The English controlled the Bay Islands for much of their colonial life. This included a period of time in the mid to late 17th century when the English pirates ruled here. Henry Morgan had a hideout here at Port Royal.

From here we are going to the small island of Barbareta 16 miles east of here. More later.

Omoa and Puerto Escondido Honduras

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:48:00 +0000

Here are some pics we took on our way from the Rio Dulce to Roatan. Omoa is a small town on the N. coast of Honduras. Puerto Escondido is a beautiful little bay in a national park. It is also situated on Honduras N. coast.

We are now in Roatan which is about 175 miles from our starting point in the Rio Dulce.

More later.

Guatemala and Honduras January 14-22

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:02:00 +0000

We arrived back in the Rio Dulce on January 6th and spent a week straightening out the boat. This consists of Orin tearing things apart looking for the items that he "stowed" last season and then Mary picking up and organizing after she shows him where he left said items.

Our friends from the old marina in Biloxi came to visit...Joyce and Frank and Judy and David. Unfortunately, it rained the entire time they were in the Rio, but we showed them the sights and we had a good time despite being wet.

Above is a picture of Edgar, the great white egret that hangs around our slip at Mario's Marina.The beautiful little girl in the dugout canoe, or cayuca, we encountered on our trip through the Rio Dulce gorge on the way to Livingston which is a small town lying at the mouth of the river. The gorge is beautiful, with sheer walls of lush vegetation rising hundreds of feet above the river. The original Tarzan movie with Johnny Weismuller was shot here on location.

The next day we traveled to Copan, Honduras. Copan is a magnificent Mayan ruin site and is the only such site in Honduras. It is close to the Guatemalan border and is a 4.5 hour van ride from Rio Dulce. The 6 of us were joined by our friends Kathleen and George, from s/v Deja Vu. The small town of Copan Ruinas is quite nice, with several good restaurants and is only a short walk from the ruins.

While in Copan we visited Macaw Mountain , a beautful area devoted to housing and caring for tropical birds , all of which were at one time pets, and have been donated to the preserve for ongoing care.

After two days in Copan, we went on to Antigua, another 5 hour van ride. The weather in Antigua was beautiful, with sunny warm days and cool nights. Mary and I were here for a week last year "learning " Spanish. ( See that blog) There are many things to do here and the town is a lovely colonial city with many shops and good restaurants. The coffee grown in this area is some of the best in the world and we had a chance to visit a coffee finca, Finca Filadelphia. Some 90% of their production from 900 acres goes to Starbucks. The remainder is sold under the family name "R. Dalton" and is available in the US.

We left our Biloxi friends in Antigua and returned to the boat. They were to travel on to Lake Atitlan for a couple of days before returning to the states. Our plan is to await a favorable tide for crossing the bar at Livingston and then on to the Bay Islands of Honduras......more later.

Placencia, Belize

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:11:00 +0000

We left the Rio Dulce on Valentines Day, crossing the bar at Livingston without difficulty. We had left Mario's Marina a couple of days before and spent two enjoyable days at Texan Bay, a small anchorage just a few miles upriver from Livingston.
After crossing the bar we went to Bahia La Graciosa in company with our friends John and Beth Talley on UPJINX. We had originally planned to sail with them to the Bay Islands of Honduras but they developed problems with their electronics and had to return to the Rio Dulce.
Since the winds were not right to sail to the Bay Islands and wouldn't be for several days we decided to sail up to Placencia Belize, about 40 miles north and a good all-weather anchorage. Yes, although we are in "paradise" we are very much slaves to the weather as sailors. Most of the time the weather is quite nice and mild, but this time of year those cold fronts that produce bad weather in the states sweep down and produce strong winds from the north( hence the term "northers"). This frequently is manifested by a sudden change in wind direction and speed with winds as high as 30 or 35 knots from the north or northwest, sometimes lasting several days and accompanied by clouds and rain... such sudden changes can cause one's anchor to dislodge, typically it seems at 2:00 AM. That is not fun folks...its not always sunshine, beaches and drinks with little umbrellas!
Placencia is a nice little village in southern Belize and is a favorite stop for cruisers on their way north or south. A couple of days after we arrived we participated in a "dinghy drift". Everyone ties their dinghys together and we drift through the anchorage. Of course everyone brings an hors d'ouvre and beverage. After this broke up we were treated to a total eclipse of the moon....quite a show and the whole thing was visible from the cockpit of our boat.
Mary is going home for a few days to get her grandkids "fix" and I will remain aboard to
repel boarders.
We miss all our friends and family.
More later....

Chichicastenango and Lake Atitlan

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 18:03:00 +0000

From Antigua we drove through the mountains to Chichicastenango, a town known for its huge Sunday market where anything and everything is on sale. It is a good place to buy hand-woven textiles, pottery and artwork. Bargains abound and it is expected that the price will be negotiated. The Maya hereabouts are famous for their adherence to pre-christian beliefs and their religion is an odd mix of Catholicism and shamanistic ceremonies derived from the ancient Mayans.
After our shopping fix, we moved on to Lake Atitlan. This is a beautiful volcanic lake nestled among three volcanoes. It was formed 85,000 year ago by the Los Chocoyos eruption which blew ash as far as present-day Florida.The amount of magma expelled was such that the surface terrain collapsed leaving a roughly circular 8x18 km circular hole which filled with water.
We stayed at La Casa del Mundo Hotel which is built into a hillside. There are breath-taking views of the volcanoes from each of its 18 rooms.The lake shore is dotted with small villages most of which are only accessible by boat. Most of the villagers are of Mayan descent and there are two distinct dialects spoken here ....I was told that there are even noticeable accents from one village to the next within a dialect which is remarkable since these places are only a few kilometers apart.
We enjoyed our stay here although Mary experienced a day of GI upset.
We will return to the boat to prepare to leave the river this week and then on to Roatan.

Antigua Guatemala

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 21:26:00 +0000

We left the boat last Sunday and traveled to Antigua which is about 25 miles southwest of Guatemala City. It was the original capital of Guatemala from 1543 until it was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1773. In 1776 the capital was moved to its present site in Guatemala City. Antigua is a beautiful colonial city situated amongst 3 volcanoes; Agua which is visible in this photo and Fuego and Acatenango. Fuego is still active as evidenced by frequent puffs of steam from its crater throughout the day.

Although the city was abandoned as the capital, many peopled stayed and today it is a tourist center with many fine hotels, museums and some of the best restaurants in the country.

We stayed at La Escuela del San Jose El Viejo which offers instruction in spanish and which is located next to an old convent. We took classes in the mornings and had the afternoons free. Instruction is one on one and the classrooms are in a beautiful garden setting.

We had a field trip to a village nearby with a large Mayan population and while there we learned about the Mayan culture including traditionnal weddings. Mary and I served as models for some traditional Mayan wedding attire.

Throughout Antigua are many examples of colonial architecture, some of which are in ruins but many others are in varying states of restoration. One of the highlights of our visit was the walking tour of the city conducted by Elizabeth Bell who has lived in Antigua for 35 years and who has been intimately involved in the preservation of some of the city's most important architectural sites.

The climate here is ideal mainly due to the town's elevation with nightime temps dipping into the low 50's and daytime temperatures in the mid-70's.

There are many fine restaurants and we sampled several of them. Our favorite was Meson Panza Verde. It is situated in the hotel of the same name and was quite close to the school. The food was wonderful and there was live entertainment by a Cuban jazz band.

We will definitely come back here, perhaps not to study, but to hang out and enjoy the great sights, culture and atmosphere.

Tomorrow we leave here to travel to Lake Atitlan.....more to come.

Life goes on......

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 18:54:00 +0000

We returned to Guatemala last Wednesday and spent the next day doing a little sightseeing around Guatemala City. We visited two museums: Museo Ixchel and Museo Popol Vuh. Ixchel is dedicated to the indigenous textiles of Guatemala and contains many beautiful examples of the richly colorful garments worn by the Mayan people. These are especially prevalent in the highlands and hopefully I can post some pictures of these when we visit Antigua and Lago Atitlan next week. The other museum contains many Mayan artifacts dating back more than 2000 years.

Last Friday we returned to the marina where will will stay until Sunday when we travel to Antigua for a week's stay at spanish school. Antigua is reported to be lovely and we are looking forward to our stay there. Then to the highland village of Chichicastenango for the Sunday market and then on to Lake Atitlan.

More to follow next week.

Thanks Mom

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 01:26:00 +0000

My mother died this past Saturday night. She was 89 years old. The end, mercifully, was quick and peaceful. As I write this, Mary and I are on a plane from Guatemala to Memphis to arrange her funeral.

I last saw Mom two weeks ago-just a few days before Christmas. There was no sign that she knew who I was but I told her how much I loved her and how much she meant to me and all her extended family....and I told her goodbye. I had a feeling that I would not see her again in this life. As I left that day she blew me a kiss.

She was a strong, independent woman who lived by herself for as long as she could after my Dad died 23 years ago and before her mind was slowly stolen from her. As a mother she was never critical, she was always encouraging and she was never intrusive. If she had a fault it was that she was blind to my faults.

Years ago she told me that I should follow my dream, go sailing with Mary, and enjoy our time together...time that she and Dad were robbed of. We did. We will.

Thanks Mom.

Rio Dulce, Guatemala

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 17:28:00 +0000

We are back in the Rio Dulce at Mario's Marina. We arrived last Friday, having flown into San Pdro Sula, Honduras and taking a 3 hour van ride across the border.We have quickly fallen into the rhythm of this beautiful part of Guatemala. The marina is about 17 miles inland from the Caribbean with the first few miles winding through a marvelous jungle canyon. The river then widens and the marina is located near the small town of Rio Dulce ( sometimes called Fronteras). The Rio is a natural "hurricane hole" and many cruisers from all over the world leave their boats here during the Atlantic hurricane season.

Mario's has a restaurant/bar and the food is very good and inexpensive.

We have been busy readying the boat after its long layup over the summer and fall. Mary has gotten the interior ship-shape and I have been busy with various maintenance and repair projects.

Next week we plan to travel inland to Antigua Guatemala where we will spend a week in language school in an attempt at improving our spanish. From there we go to Lago Atitlan for several days. After that we may travel to El Salvador and Nicaragua....or plans are not complete yet but we will travel a while before taking the boat out of the Rio sometime in February.

We have renewed our friendship with numerous cruisers we met last season and who also keep their boats here including Deja Vu ( George, Kathleen and Kate) John and Beth Talley on Upjinks.

Tonight we have Karaoke and a New Years Eve party but it is doubtful that this crew will actually be awake at mid-night.

Happy New Year to all! More later.

A beginning.......

noreply@blogger.com (Orin and Mary Davidson) — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 16:01:00 +0000

This is the site that we will use to keep family and friends up-to-date on our travels aboard our sailboat Antares, a Valiant 42 cutter which was built for us in 1996-7 and launched in May 1997. We kept her in Biloxi, MS until just after Hurricane Katrina, when we shipped her back to the factory for repairs from damage sustained in the storm. In November of 2006 she was trucked to Pensacola and we took off from there just after Thanksgiving 2006 and sailed to Isla Mujeres, Mexico via Key West. From there we worked our way down the east coast of the Yucatan, ending our trip in May in the Rio Dulce Guatemala.

We are now poised to begin another phase of our trip and we will try to keep everyone informed of our whereabouts and our adventures through this blog.Check in here after the beginning of the year.