HourGlass

Rio Dulce, Guatemala and El Mirador

Upon entering Guatemala, we checked in with customs and immigration in Livingston. We gave the officials hoards of money for them to stuff in their personal wallets, as is typical of these beaurocratic systems we call governments. We stayed in Livingston for the night and in the morning motored 25 miles up the river, known as the Rio Dulce (meaning Sweet River in spanish). The river narrowed as we entered into a steep walled gorge with a few exposed limestone cliffs. The river was full of Guatemalan men and boys paddling canoes while fishing.

The Rio Dulce in Guatemala

We moored the boat (and are now docked) at a marina near the town of Fronteras. The marina provided us with a safe place to leave the boat, allowing us to explore inland. We decided to visit El Mirador, the first Mayan city ever to be constructed, which holds numerous magnificent temples including the largest ever to have been built (235 feet tall). The ruins of El Mirador date from the early PreClassic period (1500 - 1000BC) but most are from the late PreClassic period when the city flourished (150BC to 150AD). These ruins were not rediscovered until 1926 and very few people have even heard of El Mirador, including the Guatemalans themselves. Fewer still ever visit the ruins due to their remote location.

In the afternoon on Wednesday, March 27th, we took a bus from Fronteras heading north to Santa Elena (outside of Flores). We spent the night in a disgusting hotel in Santa Elena. In the morning we caught a micro (a small bus) to San Andres. On the micro, we met the father of a Guatemalan archeologist. We met the archeologist in San Andres and told him of our desire to find the ruins of El Mirador without a guide. He placed a call to Carmelita, the small town where the trail begins, and spoke with the local who has assisted the archeologists with their work for the last 30 years. From San Andres, we began hitch hiking north on the dirt road to Carmelita. Due to the color of our skin, it was difficult to get a ride. We started walking. Our first hitch was only a few kilometers in which we stood on the back bumper of a pickup truck to the edge of town. Our second hitch was more fruitful, bringing us 30km closer to Carmelita. We rode in the back of a pickup truck with one other hitchhiker, and we picked up a couple more en route. The truck stopped in a small village with a school right beside the road. It being Guatemala, where the school children seem to always be on recess, the place was swarming with kids. Moments later there were forty small children staring at us with large, open eyes of curiosity. They seemed to be fascinated by anything and everything about us. We needed to find something to break the ice and to make them laugh. Sue had the idea of taking a blade of grass, placing it between the first and second joints of both thumbs, and making a whistle that sounds more like a dying duck. Graham was soon making all sorts of loud, funny sounds, and the children were bursting with laughter. They were continually staring at both of us with fascination as we kept making these strange noises. To further the entertainment, Graham started to dance to the tunes, and the children erupted in giggles. Sue asked in Spanish, "May I take your photograph?" They didn't really respond, so Sue whipped out her camera. Immediately, about thirty-five kids turned on their heels, and ran away at full speed, screaming as they went. We hung out and played with the ones who remained and the few who returned, while we waited for cars to pass by this deserted road, as we hoped to find another ride.

School children during their full day "recess"

A logging truck was parked nearby. They spent about 2 hours fixing the breaks; afterwhich, the driver offered us a ride. We road another 10km to the next village in the front cab of the semi. In the next village, we sat and cooked a lunch of peanut curry pasta before catching our fourth and final ride in the back of a pickup truck that took us the remaining 20km to Carmelita. We were dropped off in the center of Carmelita in front of a guide agency offering guided trips with mules to El Mirador. We tried asking directions to the trailhead but quickly realized that it was as fruitless as asking directions from a cab driver, whose sole objective is to make business. The guide agency discouraged us from trying to go on our own and told us we would get lost. However, we still refused their services, as it cost more money than we had brought with us, but more importantly it went against our style and prefered method of travel. The gentleman, Brijido Perez, in Carmelita who had received a phone call from the archeologist was awaiting our arrival. He saw us at the guide agency and came over to introduce himself. He suggested that we go to his place and spend the night. Once at his place, we discussed with him the logistics of hiking in alone. The entire trail to El Mirador is about 60km and passes by many other ruins, including two former Mayan settlements, called La Florida and El Tintal. He agreed that we would be able to follow the trail on our own, but suggested that we hire a local to show us the way to La Florida (about 10km) as the trail had numerous branches. From there we would hike on our own. He introduced us to his friend, Jose Luis, who agreed to walk us to La Florida in the morning.

Graham, Sue and Brijido

At 6am on Friday, March 29th, we met Jose Luis and began our hike. The trail to El Mirador was fairly flat with only a few hills. The difficulty lay in the condition of the trail. It was filled with numerous, deep mule tracks formed in the wet season. It now being the dry season, the broken up ground had hardened and provided very difficult and painful walking. By the end of the trail, it felt as if someone had taken a meat tenderizer and had repeatedly pounded it on the underside of our feet.

following the mule tracks

The tropical forest through which we walked was filled with plants and wildlife. Most of the locals in the area, including our guide, Jose Luis, earn their living by collecting the green, leafy fronds of the xate plant, which is exported to the US and Europe for the greenery in flower arrangements. None of the xate collectors we met knew what the plant was used for, and the man who purched it from them either refused to tell them its use or did not know himself. The xate collectors earn about 25 cents for collecting 70 fronds, which must be in perfect condition. Many xate collectors also harvest the sap of the sapodilla tree, which is used to produce chicle, an ingredient in chewing gum.

Upon reaching La Florida, we said goodbye to Jose Luis. We met the vigilantes, or caretakers, that watched over the ruins of La Florida, protecting them from looting. To our surprise, we learned it is also part of their job to ensure that hikers do not get lost in the forest. A vigilante, named Jesus, decided to accompany us on the next leg of the trip (about 14km) to El Tintal. We reached El Tintal in the early afternoon, which gave us time to rest and to explore its ruins. The ruins of El Tintal have not yet been excavated, so we mostly looked at mounds of earth covered with trees and other foliage. However, we did see many trenches dug by looters into the sides of numerous tombs. We also hiked to the top of the main pyramid and from there we could see El Mirador in the distance.

We hung out with the vigilantes at El Tintal, who provided us with rain water to drink, and we spent the night in our tent under a thatched roof structure. Jesus asked us if we would like him to accompany us to El Mirador, but we declined his kind offer. In the morning, we set off alone to El Mirador. We were given general directions to stay to the right if we came to an intersection; although, on two occassions our instincts told us to stay left, which turned out to be the correct route. Most of the trail followed an old Mayan road, which due to the thick vegetation and overlying dirt was difficult to notice. The road bed rose up about four feet high and was approximately fifty to sixty feet wide. After about 8 hours of hiking, we reached the entrance to the National Park in which El Mirador is located. It was here that we saw our first excavated Mayan ruins, which dated to the early preClassic period. These ruins, known as El Grupo La Muerta (aka the Death Group), consisted of a pyramid temple beside a former stone residence. We were able to crawl inside the residence and see the interior sleeping quarters.

the residence of El Grupo La Muerta

We then continued on to El Mirador, which was another 45 minutes of walking. Upon reaching El Mirador, our feet were aching and we decided to spend the rest of the day resting and eating. While we were eating, we met the chief archeologist, who instead of giving up interesting archeological information, decided to express his conservative, living in fear attitude and hence his disapproval of our walking in without a guide. He was busy and had to be on his way, but we couldn't help wondering if his helicopter ride was really safer. We spent the next two days exploring the ruins of El Mirador. The Mayans were an advanced society of the time with a good understanding of astronomy and time. The Danta pyramid (on the east side of El Mirador) is positioned so that from El Tigre pyramid (on the west side) on will witness the sunrise over its central summit on the equinox and over its secondary north and south summits on the winter and summer solstices, respectively. They lived off the land (both naturally and agriculturally). They were also masters of stone from creating great temples of limestone to knives of obsidian and carvings of jade (both of which were imported). One of the biggest questions yet to be answered is why they buried the entire city under a few feet of rock and earth. This required huge amounts of energy and eventually resulted in the city becoming overgrown with jungle. It makes one think that it was perhaps an evacuation planned years in advance. Also no one knows why they left.

Map of El Mirador

Part of the thrill and experience of seeing El Mirador lies in the beauty of its natural surroundings. El Mirador is situated within the center of the largest tropical forest in all of Central America. It is so remote that, since the evacuation of the Mayans, it has been virtually untouched by mankind. The forest is filled with wildlife. Neither of us had ever seen so many monkeys. They were everywhere. We saw spider monkeys, which travel in large groups and are extremely quick, agile and always moving about, crashing around in the trees up above. We also saw howler monkeys, which are named after the loud growling sounds they make. We were warned not to stand directly below them, because the mischievious howler monkeys will throw sticks at you and try to pee on you. We also saw numerous birds, including a pair of toucans, as well as spiders and snakes. We also saw a few coatis up in the trees. These strange animals look like a cross between a fox and a racoon. Unfortunately, despite the wildness of the forest, it is threatened on its outskirts by illegal logging, slash and burn agriculture techniques and poaching. In the last 10 year, both spider and howler monkey populations have declined by 20%. We hope that recent efforts by the Guatemalan government will help to preserve and protect this amazing area.

Un Mico (A Spider Monkey)

Un Saraguate (A Howler Monkey)

A Loco Arriba Monkey

Unfortunately some of the wildlife we encountered on the journey was not so pleasurable. The forest is also filled with near microscopic-sized ticks. Graham unknowingly sat in a nest of them while wearing shorts. The next morning Graham had about 150 to 200 of these tiny creatures clinging to his body. We won't go into the details but they were in some of the worst places imaginable. Fortunately, the ticks in Guatemala do not carry diseases, as deer ticks in the US do. After two days exploring El Mirador, it was time to head out. We spent one long day hiking from El Mirador to La Florida, where we camped for the night. Along the way, vigilantes had been supplying us with rain water to drink. To our dismay, we discovered that the vigilantes in La Florida did not collect rain water but instead drank from a manky swamp. The hue of the swamp water would remind one of an expensive powdered greens drink one might find at a health foods store. But...it was not. It was swamp water, and we drank it (after bleaching it for 30 minutes and boiling it, of course!) The return home was uneventful, except for our micro ride, during which the driver had to stop ever 5 minutes to reinflate the front tire with a bicycle pump.

Our swampy drinking water

All in all the trip was not for the faint of heart. The reward was a great insight into the Mayan way of life. March 2008

Rubber Legs Not Lubber Legs

As we ventured further south in Belize, the landscape of mainland became more and more mountainous. Victoria Peak, a 3675 ft (1120 m) peak, rising sharply with its prominent summit jutting out high above the surrounding mountains, immediately caught our eye. Not having climbed, or much less even seen, a mountain for may months, we became fixated on climbing it.

Victoria Peak

Due to Belize’s geography and weather patterns mainland access is quite difficult by boat. The winds at this time of year come predominantly out of the north and the east. Most of Belize’s coastline lies exposed to these wind directions. Even though the large barrier reef to the east shields the mainland from most of the ocean swell, during periods of moderate or high winds the coast can still be exposed to rolling waves. (The barrier reef lies several miles to the east of the mainland coast, allowing several miles for swells to build up and develop.) We needed to find somewhere protected from swells and from theft, where we could safely leave the boat on anchor for a few days. After spending a number of days in Placencia, we discovered we had found such a place. We had met an excellent and supportive community of cruising sailors and found a couple that agreed to keep an eye on our boat and on Squeak for us for a few days. We also decided to leave immediately after a norther had passed through, maximizing our chances of calm weather before the next norther decided to rear its ugly head. We did not feel comfortable leaving the boat and Squeak for more than 3 days (2 nights), so we would have to travel fast and light. Victoria Peak lies in the Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Preserve. To access the park, we needed to take a bus from Placencia to a town called Maya Centre. From there the park entrance lies 10 km by highly eroded dirt road. Being too cheap to pay for a taxi and not having the time to walk, we decided to bike into the park. We had only one bike aboard Chandrika, but were able to buy a beat up old mountain bike in Placencia, so we now each have one to ride. We were ready to begin our attempt at Victoria Peak. We awoke at 3:30 in the morning. After eating breakfast, we piled both bikes, two large backpacks filled with camping equipment and provisions and ourselves into our 8 foot plastic rowing dinghy (with a rated 450 lb maximum weight capacity) in the dark. It was a bit of a delicate balancing act, but we arrived at the dinghy dock with all of our supplies in one trip. We left our dinghy at the fuel dock. Our friends, Susan and Gary on Pacifico would be borrowing and looking after our dinghy while we were gone. Their dinghy and outboard engine had been stolen from behind their boat one night while at anchor in Placencia. We caught our 5:30 am bus to Maya Centre, which ended up leaving at 6am. We were able to take our bikes on the bus without any trouble. After arriving in Maya Centre at 7:30, we hopped on our bikes and began the journey into the park. The bike riding was absolutely exhilarating! The dirt road was quite rocky and full of potholes and other obstacles. It also would rise steeply and then drop down quickly, allowing for some very exciting and adventurous mountain biking. It was made all the more thrilling for Graham, who rode the second hand bike we purchased in Placencia. It only had one gear and it had pedal breaks, only allowing him to break with the rear tire. The large backpacks only added to the challenge. Halfway through our 10 km bike ride, it began to pour. There is a reason the forest here is called rainforest. We very quickly became completely drenched. The rain had permeated through our Gortex rain-gear. But...at least it wasn’t hot! Despite the weather, we enjoyed the lush sounds of the forest with its beautiful bird song melodies. When we arrived in the park at the Victoria Peak trailhead, we hid the bikes behind some thick vegetation and locked them to a vine. We began hiking. It was still raining, but since we could not get any wetter, it really did not make much difference. The first 12 km of the trail was gentle and pleasant hiking, which led us through thick luscious forest full of tropical plants and birds. We only saw one group of 3 hikers on their way out of the park. Otherwise we would see no other people during our hike. The rain made the trail very muddy and slick, but since it was fairly flat walking, it was not much of a hindrance. After hiking 12 km, we arrived at Camp 1, which had a simple thatched roof structure (with no walls) and an adjacent pit toilet. Having only 3 days, we decided to push on towards Camp 2, the site of another thatched roof structure located at km 19.

jungle ferns

Camouflaged Evolution

Soon after leaving Camp 1, the trail began to rise and fall more steeply. By km 15, the elevation changes were becoming increasingly steep and exhausting. Hiking uphill, we would have to grasp onto tree limbs and vines to prevent ourselves from sliding down the wet and muddy slope. As soon as we arrived at the top of the incline, we would look down at an equally steep and slippery descent. We climbed in all about 10 of these hills only to descend to the same elevation at which we’d started. Furthermore, the signposts that marked each kilometer were getting further and further apart. We realized that this was not due to our fatigue, but due to the fact that the signposts marked kilometers according to their GPS position. It was one kilometer “as the crow flies” between signposts, even though the trail took numerous bends and undulations. It took us longer to hike the last 7 km between camps as it took to hike the first 12 km. We arrived at Camp 2 at 17:30 completely exhausted. We had been biking and hiking for 10 hours. Because of the wet and soggy shoes, Sue’s toes were covered in numerous painful blisters. From all of the steep ups and downs, her knees were throbbing. A few days later, Sue’s big toenails would turn bright purple and almost fall off. With the lack of use on the boat, our legs had turned to rubber unlike those of a landlubber. We made dinner and set up camp. Because of the presence of the thatched roof huts at each camp, we did not bring a tent for shelter, but instead hung mosquito netting, which we slept underneath.

Waterfall at Camp 2

We awoke at dawn. Our original plan had been to hike to the summit of Victoria Peak and then descend back to Camp 2 on our 2nd day. On our 3rd day, we had planned to retrace our steps, hiking out the “19” km and biking back out to Maya Centre. We had only brought food for 3 days and the cruisers watching our boat were expecting us back on Day 3. We were unsure of the total distance we still had to hike to reach the summit of Victoria Peak; however, we knew that it would be a very steep ascent involving a climb up a fixed rope through a narrow and wet gully. The entire rest of the route would follow a soggy vertical creek bed. Due to the extremely wet conditions of the day prior, we were unsure if the ascent would be dry enough to be passable. The rain had lifted during the night and we had awoken to a clear sky, improving our chances. Over the years, we both have learned to listed to our bodies, and this was one of the rare occasions where we did not ignore what our bodies were telling us. It is after all about each footstep and the pleasure of the journey and not the achievement of the summit. We spent the hiking back to Camp 1, where we spent the night. On our 3rd day, we hiked back towards the park entrance and our bikes. As we got closer to the trailhead, we began to see more and more human footprints. Among those were prints that appeared to be of a hoofed animal, or so we thought. As we walked, the prints became more legible, and they looked more like those of a large dog. We found our bikes, and while we were unlocking them, we heard a strange noise that sent shivers down our spines and froze us in our tracks. It could be nothing other than the sound of a very large and angry cat. The only cat in the park large enough to make such a deep and ferocious sound is the jaguar. You could literally hear the cat breathing. As the cat exhaled, it sounded like a roar and with every inhalation was a deep purr. We could see no further than a few feet into the thick jungle, but the cat sounded as if it were within a hundred feet of us. To avoid being seen as a fleeing target, we walked the bikes instead of riding them. Eventually we noticed that the roars and purrs overlapped. We kept walking and then there was a dead eerie silence. Even the birds of the jungle had gone silent. Now we were scared, so we just walked...quietly. When we arrived at the park headquarters, we saw the ranger. He confirmed that the sounds we’d heard were those of two jaguars meeting, exhibiting a characteristic competition for dominance. We asked the ranger if jaguars and dangerous to people. He answered, “Typically no, but when meeting they can be.” We hopped on our bikes and headed out on the dirt road towards Maya Centre, where we caught a bus back to Placencia. January 2008

Isla Mujeres to Belize

After being in Isla Mujeres for about a week, we were growing weary of the weather. We experienced strong winds (often up to 40 knots) both from the SW and more commonly from the N. Strong winds from the north, called northers, are common in this area during the winter months. These northers begin in December and grow in intensity and become more frequent in January and February. They can reach 80 knots later in the winter. Because the Gulf Stream current in this region runs from south to north, these northerly winds run opposite to the flow of the Gulf Stream, resulting in large seas, which are rough and disorganized. We were eager to leave Isla Mujeres and head further south where the northers are much less intense and where the northbound current is weaker. We decided to skip the rest of Mexico and head straight to Belize, which is surrounded by the world’s second largest barrier reef. This reef runs almost the full length of the country and protects the eastern coast from ocean swells. In order to sail to Belize, we would have to keep an eye on the weather and try to depart after a norther, which would provide us with a window of good weather before the following norther. Another reason for wanting to leave Isla Mujeres was the poor holding ground around the island. There is only a thin layer of weed covered sand above a dense layer of hardened coral, so our anchor was not able to penetrate very deeply. After watching numerous boats drag anchor and start drifting off, it was finally our turn. On the night of December 14th after going to bed, the winds began to grow in strength. It was difficult to sleep. I (Sue) awoke at least 10 times during the night. Everytime I awoke I would look out and check the GPS to make sure we weren’t dragging. I’d also go on deck and check the tension on the anchor line. It seemed that every time I checked, the wind was coming from a different direction in varying intensities from 20 to 40 knots. At 5am, we were awoken by our anchor alarm on the GPS, telling us that our boat had moved significantly from its original position. We looked outside and saw that the boat was moving rapidly unimpeded towards a concrete wall. We jumped out of bed, ran out on deck, started the engine and hoisted the anchor. We decided we would reanchor in a lagoon, called Laguna Makoy, inside Isla Mujeres that we had learned about a couple of days prior. The holding ground is only marginally better, but the area is nestled behind a patch of mangroves which shield some of the wind. Because it was still dark and visibility was poor, we decided to motor around in circles until sunrise. At first light, we squeezed through the opening into the lagoon and set anchor. Inside the lagoon, the winds were about 10 knots lighter. Soon many other boats decided to join us and the lagoon rapidly became crowded with boats. Despite being in a more protected area, we were uncomfortable being in such tight quarters. For the next couple of days, we waited out the ensuing norther. We were not comfortable leaving the boat unattended, so we mostly entertained ourselves by reading, playing cribbage and backgammon, and when the winds would lessen a bit, visiting our friends, Mark and Lori, aboard neighboring Aeolus. We decided we would leave for Belize after this norther, so Sue visited the port captain, where we officially cleared out of Mexico. Weather forcasts we heard from other cruisers predicted that the norther would subside on December 18th, and would soon be followed by 10-15 knot easterly trade winds. On December 18th, the winds had lessened a little, and we set sail for Belize at 4:45am. We were sailing under full main and staysail in 15-20 knot NE winds, occasionally gusting to 25 knots. The seas were choppy until we rounded the southern tip of Isla Mujeres, where we met the ocean swell. The seas were now 6 to 8 feet and very rough and disorganized. As we rounded Punta Cancun, we got hit broadside by a large swell that sent our 5 gallon water jugs flying across the aft cabin down below. A locker (cabinet) door also flew open, sending pieces of wood and other items all over the main salon. We were sailing quickly from 5-1/2 to 7 knots until we hit the strong northbound current of the Gulf Stream as we squeezed in between Isla Cozumel and mainland Mexico. The current slowed us to 1-1/2 to 2 knots. Not wanting to spend the next 24 hours fighting current and getting slammed around by the waves, we decided to turn on the engine and motor-sail until we exited the current. After dark, the winds were still coming from the NE at 15 to 20 knots with 25 to 30 knot gusts. No longer fighting current, we were now sailing along at 5-1/2 to 6 knots. We were eager to feel the predicted 10 to 15 knot easterly trade winds, which would calm the seas significantly. Although the seas were rough and the winds strong, we were not concerned for our safety, but we were very uncomfortable and growing sea sick due to the strong quartering seas. Graham had the pleasure of making dinner and when he came back on deck had a pale green complexion. The sea conditions made it impossible to sleep, which aggravated Graham’s condition. Squeak was also feeling ill. I had tried giving him Bonine for motion sickness, but did not do so early enough and he was unable to keep it down. The wind and seas did not finally subside for another 24 hours. The beautiful 10 to 15 knot easterly trade winds that had been predicted for most of our passage were only experienced for one hour during the night of the 19th. They were soon followed again by 15 to 20 knot NE winds. The brief change in wind direction, however, had managed to calm the seas a little, and we were both able to finally get some sleep. To sleep we would lie down on the cabin sole (floor) in the center of the boat, and smoosh our body in one place by wedging it in between cushions and pillows, like a canned sardine. The winds and seas lessened steadily throughout the evening and on the morning of December 20th, the winds stopped. The seas were flat and calm. We took turns sleeping heavily for the rest of the passage. Soon the winds picked up at a gentle 10 to 15 knots out of the west and we were able to sail at a beam reach until we reached the Eastern Channel entrance through the barrier reef leading to Belize City. We had made good time on our passage, having gone about 90 nautical miles the first 24 hours and approximately 130 nautical miles the second 24 hours. We anchored at 1pm on the 20th behind a beautiful island at Robinson Point. We decided to eat and rest and check into Belize City the following day. Clearing into Belize went fairly smoothly once we were able to contact the officials, who do not monitor the VHF radio. We ran some errands in the city and then left to explore more remote parts of the country. Since entering Belize, we have done a lot of snorkeling. Many of the reefs here are alive and thriving; although some of them are on their way out. While snorkeling we have observed many strange and indescribable organisms. We have no idea what many of them are and would love to learn more about coral reef biology. We saw two strange bright orange and yellow polk-a-dotted blobs that appeared to be parasitizing the coral. We have also observed an organism that looks like an underwater Venus flytrap. We you approach them they vanish in a blink of an eye into a tiny little hole. We have also seen sparkly little cones that look much like Christmas trees, which display a similar disappearing behavior. We also saw a manatee about 10 feet from our rowboat. It was quite shy and did not stick around for us to observe it. While sailing and at anchor, we have seen numerous dolphins and a couple of whales. The dolphins love to race alongside and in front of Chandrika while she is under sail. It is such a rush to sit on Chandrika’s bow, dangling your legs off the front and watching the dolphins surface only feet away. I don’t think I will ever grow tired of watching them. After having done so much snorkeling, we are now excited to spend some time on land. The islands here are almost entirely mangroves, so are not conducive to exploration. We would like to visit the mountains and rainforests on mainland Belize. We are currently anchored near Placencia, a small touristy town on the mainland waiting out the first norther we’ve experienced in Belize. The winds here are from the north and northwest mostly around 25 knots, with frequent 35 knot gusts and the occasional 40 knot gust. Again we have seen many of the neighboring charter boats drag, but so far are holding steady. While we were down below playing backgammon, we heard the faint sound of a fog horn. We ran up on deck to see a 45 foot 33,000 pound steel sailboat 20 feet away being blown straight towards our bow. We quickly grabbed inflatable fenders to try and cushion the upcoming blow. We were extremely fortunate as their boat grazed our bow with only 6 inches to spare. The outboard motor for their dingy, which was mounted on the stern of their boat, smashed into our front navigation light, shattering it. However, had they been 6 inches further aft, they would have done serious damage to our bow. Apparently they had just laid down their anchor when it began to drag. At that moment, their inboard motor died on them, so they had no way to control their boat. After securing their boat, the captain kindly came by to visit and to reimburse us for our broken running light. This incident has reinforced our extreme dislike of being in a crowded anchorage during a norther. Not only do we need to worry about our boat dragging and hitting other boats, but we need to worry about other boats as well. This event also reinforced our desire to purchase a Single-Side Band (SSB) radio. We have been relying upon other cruisers who have SSB to provide us with weather forcasts. When we were out exploring the reefs, we did not meet any other cruisers (or for that matter any other people) and did not have access to weather predictions. We are hoping to buy an SSB high frequency radio that will give us this access, but we will probably have to wait until we get to Honduras before we can purchase one. We plan to stay in Belize until the end of January. We can hardly wait to see Graham’s mom and his Uncle Chucky (aka “Uncle Fun”) when they come to visit us on the 23rd. After their visit at the end of January, we plan to sail southward to the Rio Dulce of Guatemala. After the Rio Dulce, we will travel to Honduras, where we will visit some friends in Roatan. January 2nd, 2007

US to Isla Mujeres, Mexico

We ended up spending 2 and 1/2 weeks in Marathon. While we were there we made some improvements to the boat. We repaired our boom vang, which had ripped out of the boom on our sail to Marathon. We installed lazy jacks, patched a tear in our jib sail, restitched the sacrificial canvas on our roller staysail, and installed 2 new house batteries. We also waited for some supplies in the mail and our Coast Guard registration. We provisioned the boat with plenty of food and water. While in Marathon, we met some wonderful new friends, Linda and Larry on Enchantress, Brenda and Dennis on White O' Mornin', and Bill on Anticipation. We left in the morning on Nov. 29th, as our friends waved us fairwell. Our first leg of the journey was to Dry Tortuga, our final stop in the US. From there we would make the passage to Isla Mujeres in Quintana Roo, Mexico. It took us 3 days to sail to Dry Tortuga. The first day we had very little wind and it took us most of the day to go the 25 miles to our anchorage in Key Lois. However, each day the wind grew stronger and by our third day we were flying at a broad reach in 20 knot winds all the way to Dry Tortuga. Unfortunately, our beautiful trip sailing was met with tragedy. Our second night we anchored in the lee of Boca Grande. We had had an excellent day and spirits were high. Kate decided to go outside and enjoy the wind. We went out after about 20 minutes to check on her and could not find her anywhere. We scoured the entire boat and looked in the water around the boat. The moment we looked into the water, we knew there was no hope. The water was rushing past with a strong tidal current. She must have fallen in and quickly been carried out to sea. There was nothing we could do. That night Sue could not sleep. Every time she closed here eyes, she imagined Kate´s terror as the current carried her further and further away. We will miss her greatly. We have now come to appreciate that Kates new found freedom on deck was the path that she had chosen to live. We could have protected her more and not allowed her out, but it would have resulted in a battle of wills and she would not have been happy. Her short life aboard Chandrika was a good one. We had never seen her more happy.

Kate and Squeak cuddling below decks

Captain Kate at the helm

Squeak spent the next week looking around the boat in all the nooks and crannies for his sister. He still looks around for her from time to time. We are not sure how much he understands. However, he must have a sense of what happened, because he has expressed zero interest in going outside since Kate disappeared. We have decided that if he starts wanting to go out again, we are going to throw him in the water and teach him to climb back aboard with some netting thrown over the side. We stayed in Dry Tortugas for a couple of days waiting for the strong winds and seas to dissipate. Dry Tortugas is a US National Park in the Florida Keys that can only be accessed by boat or by plane. Dry Tortugas was much different that any national park we have ever visited and would be much better classified as a national monument. The island has an old civil war era fort called Fort Jefferson, which is built out of crumbling brick made from coral. The fort is not nearly as solidly built as the other forts from the same era up in Casco Bay, Maine, since Florida lacks granite. We enjoyed exploring the fort and snorkeling around the outside of the moat.

arriving at Dry Tortugas

Chandrika at anchor at Dry Tortugas

On Dec. 3rd the winds had subsided and were coming out of the north at 10 knots. We left Dry Tortugas and 07:30 and headed out to sea. Once out to sea, the winds quickly dropped to 0-2 knots. We spent most of the day attempting to sail before finally deciding to motor. We motored through the night. Part way through the evening we hit the strong east bound current of the Gulf Stream. We ended up fighting the Gulf Stream currents almost the entire way. The current varied in places from 1 knot to up to 3 knots. Much of our trip the wind was too light to allow us to make significant headway under sail against the current. We ended up motoring and motor sailing much of the way. However, the positive side was that seas were calm much of the time. We did have a few days with some excellent sailing. On our second day, we watched a wall of clouds approaching as a cold front moved southward sending us 15 knot winds from the NW with gusts of 20 knots. We sailed at a beam reach the rest of the day. The wind also kicked up the seas and we had 5 foot swells from the side. Chandrika handled the seas beautifully until part way through the night when the winds stopped, slowing down the boat so much that the swells began to knock us broadside. Again, we were back to motoring. The following day the winds picked up again and we were able to sail once more. This time we had a headwind straight out of the SW. We close hauled under full sail in 15 knot winds with 20 knot gusts. It was exhilarating sailing. While we felt as if we were over canvassed for 15-20 knot winds, because we were fighting cvurrent we could not make headway and actually lost control of the boat under reduced sail. Chandrika sailed wonderfully and pretty much sailed herself with only occassional corrections at the helm. Along our passage to Mexico, we had dolphins swim alongside our boat 3 times. One evening as the sun was setting, we had a school of about 100 dolphins swimming alongside us, playing, doing flips and twists, and enjoying the gorgeous reds and oranges of the setting sun. On December 6th, after spending the day motorsailing and pushing our was through 2-3 knot north-bound current, we finally exited the Gulf Stream. That evening the winds increased from the South at about 15 knots. No longer fighting current and having favorable winds, we were able to sail at a close reach in the dark. We had only 20 -25 miles left until we reached Isla Mujeres and we were able to sail almost the rest of the way at 5 to 5.5 knots. It felt great to be out of the currents so we could finally move at a decent pace again. About 2 miles out from the flashing green light marking the North entrance to Isla Mujeres, the winds stopped. We decided to drop sail and motor the rest of the way. As soon as we dropped sail, a huge squall hit us unexpectedly and out of nowhere. Blinding rain and 40 knot winds destroyed visibility and made steerage of the boat difficult. We could no longer see the flashing green light, which according to the GPS was less than 1 mile off our bow. We decided it would be crazy to make our entrance into Isla Mujeres at night in such conditions, but at the same time we did not want to go back out to sea. Using the GPS to guide us, we motored to an open area to the NW of Isla Mujeres where it was shallow enough for us to drop the hook. The area offered little protection from the elements, but it provided a place where we could sit still and not worry about hitting something in the dark. Soon after we anchored the rain and the wind eased off. A fishing boat with 2 Mexicans pulled up to make sure we were okay. We told them that we were fine, planned to stay there through the night and would make our entrance in the morning. We did not want to risk another squall hitting us if decided to go further. We managed to get a couple of hours of sleep before the winds switched kicking up swells that were hitting us broadside. The boat was rolling so uncomfortably, it was impossible to sleep. In the morning of Dec 7th at first light, we saw 2 sailboats anchored 200 yards away from us in the lee of Isla Mujeres and therefore out of the swells. One of them was our friends Mark and Lori on Aeolus, who we´d met at Dry Tortugas. We had been unable to see their anchor lights the night before. Wishing to get out of the rolly seas and to finally get some sleep, we quickly weighed anchor and motored into Isla Mujeres´ somewhat protected harbor. Overall, Squeak did very well on our passage. Sue gave him one-twelfth of a tablet of Bonine (similar to Dramamine) for motion sickness two times on our passage. Sue gave it to him early to prevent sea sickness. It seemed to have worked. The only trouble was trying to get Squeak to eat. We fed him 2 cans of wet cat food mixed with chicken broth and tuna juice, as it was all we could get him to eat. Later that day we cleared into Mexico, which involved a random hocus-pocus of meaningless paperwork and beaurocracy, where we had to travel between multiple buildings spread out all over town. Watching other cruisers wandering around town trying to clear through, made the whole process more entertaining. The whole process took us half the day. Afterwards we headed back to the boat and ate and slept. Isla Mujeres is a touristy Mexican town with some Mayan ruins on its Southern tip and lots of restaurants and shops in the town center. The anchorage has poor holding ground and lots of Mexican boat traffic that flies through sending big wakes. We´ve seen a number of other boats drag anchor, some of them repeatedly. But fortunately, our anchor has been holding well in winds of up to 40 knots. We luckily chose a good spot to anchor. We plan to spend a few more days here before heading south, while we wait for the seas to subside from the strong Northeasterly winds that we´ve been experiencing. December 12th, 2007

Precruising Refit

We’ve been in the Miami/ Fort Lauderdale area for the past few months working obsessively on the boat, getting her ready to go cruising. We’ve been working so hard, we haven’t taken the time to update this blog for a very long time. We send our apologies to those who have been checking regularly and waiting to hear from us.

The first night we spent on the boat, it rained heavily. To our dismay, there was water dripping (and in some places streaming) inside the boat. Our first boat repair projects were to fix the leaks which involved rebedding almost all of the deck hardware. We also added backing plates, where they were lacking to add structural integrity. Repairing the leaks also involved treating a few areas were the plywood deck had begun to rot. We now have a dry boat and the few rotten areas of wood have been repaired.

Our next large project was to install a toe rail along the edge of the deck. The toe rail provides structural support to the hull to deck joint, as well as providing an edge to catch someone’s foot or a kitty cat (preventing them from falling overboard) if they should happen to slip. We purchased two 34 foot long sections of aluminum toe rail from a consignment store up in Fort Lauderdale. The first challenge was transporting the sections of toe rail to our boat in Miami. We borrowed a friend’s 16 foot long van, strapped the 34 foot long pieces of toe rail onto the top, tied three orange life vests onto the ends (as flags) and drove through the crazy Miami traffic to our boat. The next challenge was the installation, which proved to be quite a difficult project, as we soon discovered that the trim on the boat (which was cored with wood) was completely rotten in some places with some areas having large voids. We treated the rotten wood with Dr. Rot and filled in the voids with epoxy. We ended up using almost 1-1/2 gallons of epoxy! While we were fixing the deck trim, a beautiful dove landed on top of Sue’s head and nibbled at her hair. The dove allowed us to pet her and hold her, and stayed with us all afternoon. After filling all of the voids with epoxy, we now had a solid deck trim into which we could drill to install the toe rail. Using the lines from our rigging, we surprisingly had no trouble bending the toe rail into place. We also added a beefier rub rail to the side of the boat to protect the edges of the deck from bumping up against docks, etc.

The dove landing sitting on Sue's shoulder

The Love Dove

Installing the Toe Rail

We also made numerous other improvements to the boat, such as rerigging some of the halyards and sheets (lines for the sails), rewiring the cabin lights, cleaning the forward water tank, removing two leaking water bladders that were in the aft water tanks and replacing them with water jugs. We wanted much better anchor gear, since we are planning to live “on the hook”. We purchased a 15kg Rocna anchor, mounted it onto the bow with a new bow roller, installed a new deck pipe fitting for the chain to feed through the deck into the chain locker and divided the chain locker. The boat came with 3 other anchors and we were given a few anchors from a friend. We now have 9 anchors aboard. We figure it never hurts. If the wind really starts to howl, we have no qualms with throwing them all overboard. The largest project of all however was repowering. The boat came with a 1985 36hp Volvo MD3B marine diesel engine. The engine was in need of a major rebuild. We decided to replace it with a brand new (never been used) 2006 28hp Beta Marine diesel engine, which we purchased on Ebay. We found a boat yard in Fort Lauderdale where we decided to haul out for the engine installation and for some other repairs to the hull. The day before we left for the boatyard, we opened up the engine compartment to check the engine. We discovered that during our last sailing excursion on Biscayne Bay, the alternator had managed to tear loose and fly off the engine, ripping the alternator belt and breaking the metal fittings that hold it to the engine. Not having time, nor wanting the headache of doing a proper fix, since we were about to replace the engine, we decided to strap the alternator onto the engine with wire and replace the belt with a spare that we had aboard. Our cranking battery designated for starting the engine was completely dead, so we had been starting the engine off the house batteries (designated for the electronics and lights). We would have to try to use as little energy as possible and hope that our crude fix for the alternator would be able to charge the batteries enough to get us where we were going. We would definitely need our engine to navigate through the tight waterways to and from the Atlantic Ocean. We headed to the boat yard the following morning on September 23rd. Because of one bridge that is too low for our mast, we were unable to head north up the Intracoastal Waterway, which meant heading out onto the Atlantic Ocean instead. We first had to motor south down the Intracoastal Waterway to Government Cut, where we were able to cut out onto the Atlantic Ocean. The sailing on the Atlantic was wonderful and provided an excellent relief from all of the work that we had been doing. The wind was coming straight out of the East at 10 knots allowing us to sail at a beam reach the entire way to Port Everglades, and the entrance to Fort Lauderdale from the Atlantic. We spent one sleepless night anchored in a narrow waterway in the Fort Lauderdale area just outside the main channel. In the morning we turned on the Volvo and motored down the New River to the boat yard. The New River is a very narrow waterway with several low drawbridges. Fortunately, the bridge tenders who open the bridges were very responsive and opened the bridges quickly. It would not have been fun to try and back up or turn around in the river. One of the last bridges that we had to go under, required that we pass under it at low tide. The bridge clearance at low tide (when we passed under) was a hair over 54 feet. Our mast height (including the VHF antennae) is 54 feet. The next bridge was a draw bridge that requires 24 hours advanced notice for an opening. We had called them the day before we left. After passing through this draw bridge, we were looking on the left for the sign for the boat yard. There was another bridge a short distance away. Not seeing the sign for the boatyard, we figured that the boatyard might be past the next bridge. Unfortunately, since the bridge was “under construction” according to our chart from 2003, the chart did not show a clearance. As we approached the bridge, Sue was on the bow looking ahead for the minimum clearance sign. When we were only about 100 feet from the bridge, Sue was able to spot the clearance sign hidden behind a motor yacht. It read, “45 feet”. If you recall, our mast clearance is 54 feet (49 feet if you do not include the antennae). If we passed under the bridge, we would most certainly be demasted! Sue yelled to Graham to back up and turn around. Seeing as the current from the river and the 10-15 knot winds were pushing us directly into the bridge and that the river was only about 50 feet wide between the expensive motor yachts docked on either side (our boat being 34 feet long), backing up or turning around was not an encouraging prospect. With Graham at the helm and Sue kicking her feet on the expensive motor yachts trying to fend them off, we somehow miraculously were able to turn around, our aft stay coming within 15 feet of the bridge. When we turned around we saw the sign for the boat yard temporarily get blown up into the air, just enough so that we could make it out. There were two pilings in front of the boat yard. We were unsure if we could pull in between them because we did not know how deep the water was that close to shore. We decided to pull up alongside the pilings rather than pull in between them. It turns out that this was a wise option, as we later measured the depth with a stick and discovered that it was definitely too shallow. The parallel parking nature of the situation combined with the wind and current being against us, made Sue diving into the water with the lines the most appealing option. Fortunately, it was a Sunday and there was no one at the boatyard to witness our dramatic entry.

Graham, hard at work at the helm, sailing up to Fort Lauderdale

The following day, we began removing the Volvo. While removing it, we discovered that one of the mounts (that secures the engine to the boat) was completely broken in half. The engine had essentially been standing on three feet instead of four. Perhaps this was the reason why our engine managed to shake off the alternator? Disassembling the engine was no small project. It took us about 4 days to remove it. It barely fit through our narrow companionway entrance. We hired someone with a crane to help us pull it out of the boat. Next we put the new engine inside the boat and began the installation process. We hired a consultant to guide us through the installation process. He would come by the boat periodically and tell us what we needed to do next and then loan us the necessary tools. Other than his guidance, we installed the whole thing by ourselves. It was one of the most stressful and overwhelming experiences we have ever been through. Getting the engine to fit into the engine compartment was no small task. We had to extend the forward fiberglass beds (that the engine sits on) back using fiberglass cloth, matte and polyester resin. We had to then grind away part of the aft beds coating every square inch in the cabin with fiberglass dust ( as well as much of our lungs). Then we built up all four of the beds with white oak, all of which required custome fitting, and fiberglassed them in. The installation also meant putting in a new shaft, buying a new propeller, getting all new hoses including a new wet exhaust system with a high rise elbow to the top of the lazarette with a shut off valve for protection in extremely heavy seas, cleaning and painting the engine compartment, draining the fuel tank and cleaning the sludge sediment off the bottom, rewiring the starter cable and battery selector switches, restuffing the stuffing box, installing a new cutlass bearing and various other odds and ends. After 3 and a half weeks we put the boat back into the water and bolted the engine in place. It was time for the final alignment of the engine with the propeller shaft. Amazingly we discovered that we had bolted the engine down in exactly the correct spot and no further adjustments were needed. Now the question we had been wondering for the past few weeks...would she run? She runs great. Despite all of the difficulty of putting in the new engine, we are happy that we chose to repower. In addition to having a brand new engine, we learned tons about diesel engines, fiberglass work, etc. While the boat was on the hard, we also had some fiberglass work done on the hull and we painted the bottom of her hull. Also while we were in the yard, we got to see our friends, Dale and Regan, and had a visit from Graham’s mom. It was wonderful to see them; however, we were sorry that we didn’t have more free time while they were here. Hopefully they will come visit us again in a more relaxing environment in some beautiful place.

Out with the old

In with the new

We also must mention our huge appreciation for our friends, Leti and Christoph. We stayed with them the entire time our boat was on the hard and for a few weeks before we purchased the boat. Before we discovered that they had moved to Miami, we had been camping behind a neighborhood in Miami in a patch of mosquito-ridden tall grass. We do not even want to imagine how horrible this whole experience would have been without them. They took us into their home and made us feel like part of their family. They have three beautiful children, Stephan (6 yrs), Erica (just turned 5 yrs), and Lucas (about 1-1/2 yrs). It was wonderful playing with them and getting to know them. Lucas loves climbing anything and everything in sight and one of his favorite words is "Arriba" which means "Up" in Spanish. It is no surprise that Lucas and Graham really hit it off. We will miss spending time with Leti, Christoph and all of the kids.

Stephan (Luke Skywalker) battles his father (Darth Vader)

Leti and Erica

Erica finishes her dance performance

Lucas (the Arriba Man) in his Halloween costume

After leaving the boat yard, we took the boat back to Miami. The trip out the New River and out to the Atlantic was uneventful. Unfortunately the wind was coming directly from the south, so to avoid a long overnight sail on the Atlantic, we decided to motor back to Miami. We spent the next few days relaxing and doing absolutely nothing in Biscayne Bay. It felt great to be a vegetable after working everyday, 10+ hours a day for 3 and ½ weeks straight. It also felt wonderful to be at the end of our boat refitting process. There will always be boat maintenance, but we were finally done with the initial start-up phase. It was finally time to go get the cats, sell the car and get out of Miami. Just as we were about to drive to Alabama to get the cats, we learned of the approaching tropical storm Noel that was heading straight for Miami. We decided that it would be best if Graham stayed in Miami with the boat, and Sue drove up to Alabama alone. Unfortunately the whole trip was quite rushed, and Sue had very little time to spend with her family. Having the cats back however has been absolutely wonderful. The first night the cats (especially Kate) had a hard time and were pretty nervous that their new home was bobbing around. However, the cats have settled in quite quickly. We were surprised that Kate was the one who adapted to the boat first. She absolutely loves it! Since both Kate and Squeak are indoor cats, being allowed outside on deck is a new and thrilling experience for them. Very soon after moving onboard, Kate was jumping up on top of the boom, running around the deck, rubbing her checks on Graham and Sue and all of the rigging and purring away madly. She hasn’t been so frisky since she was a kitten. She even somehow managed to be the alpha cat for awhile. (She eats first when given tuna juice and makes Squeak wait). Squeak also enjoys the boat, but has settled in more gradually. He prefers to stay inside and cuddle with us in the V-berth.

Kate and Squeak settling in

Captain Kate, climbing the boom

After getting the cats, we sold the car and headed down to Marathon in the Florida Keys. We spent three days sailing down. It was excellent sailing with a steady 15 knot wind at our backs most of the way, except as we headed westward towards Marathon, we sailed at a beam reach. Chandrika absolutely flew. We sailed her from 6 to 7-1/2 knots most of the way and at times were even surfing on top of the following swells. It was a blast. Being in Marathon has also been wonderful. The people here are extremely friendly and welcoming, and it is nice to be around so many cruisers. We plan to stay in Marathon for a couple weeks while we wait for a few things in the mail. We will be spending Thanksgiving here. There will be a Thanksgiving dinner at the marina for all of the liveaboards. It will hopefully ease the blow of not being with our families for Thanksgiving.

We have decided to sail to Isla Mujeres off the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. We will most likely depart sometime in early December (depending on weather and our packages in the mail). From there we will work our way southward along the eastern coast of Central America.

November 17, 2007

Chandrika

Sorry it has been so long since our last posting. It took us over a month to finalize the purchase, but she is finally ours. We settled on a 34 foot Creekmore cutter built in 1982. She is a very solid and seaworthy vessel and we are happy to have found her. Her name at the time of purchase was Bald Eagle, but we have decided to change her name to Chandrika, which means Moonlight in Hindi. Below are several pictures from the haul-out during the survey and from the original advertisement. We will be keeping the boat here in Miami, Florida until the end of hurricane season.