They're Just Lovely
Lago de Izabal
[13:08] [Tuesday, February 06, 2007]
We left Mario's Marina alone and rather anxious because of all the horror stories we'd been told about the Rio and the Lake. We made our way to Denny's Beach, a small anchorage on the southeast corner of Izabal we'd been told would be safe. It was here we met our Brits, Peter and Theresa and Will and Jeanine. Over dinner and drinks we familiarized ourselves with everyone and swapped cruising stories. Both couples, despite their age, were still full of spunk and far from being over their cruising bug.
The next morning we fumbled around the boat, drinking coffee and trying to decide what we wanted to do, seeing as the lake is very large and we did not have, as yet, what we could call a cruising buddy. Deciding we might try to coax one of the British boats to accompany us across the lake to Finca de Paraiso, we began to prepare the boat for departure.
Looking out from the cockpit, I noticed Peter and Theresa motoring over in their dink, and it did not take long for us to partner ourselves with them on a circumnavigation of Izabal. Will and Jeanie agreed to travel with us, also, and all of a sudden Sol Searcher was no longer alone but a member of a three-vessel convoy.
Being a part of a group of boats has probably increased our level of enjoyment on the lake tremendously. Nerves on edge because of all we've heard, we are certain we would have spent far more time in our travels being too nervous to go ashore for long because of our anxiety over possibly losing valuables, money, or worse -- the boat.
Peter and Theresa have been more than just boat buddies, though. They have become fast friends, and their vitality and spontaneity are huge inspirations for us as relatively new cruisers. We would not have guessed their senior citizenship in a million years -- they still carry themselves with a day-to-day attitude, taking life as it comes and letting nothing get them down. This a couple who had a dream to spend their winters in warm water, and they've been doing so for 15 years.
And they're so outgoing! Their Spanish is absolutely horrendous, but that doesn't stop them from meeting as many new people as possible when they dine out or roam the streets during the day. "Como se llama?" turns out mutated and mangled by their British accent, and yet they manage to communicate a love of life and an understanding of people. As we left El Estor, a boatful of Mayan children waved excitedly to departing Sonatina, yelling, "Bye bye!"
We cannot thank Peter and T enough for sharing all they've discovered on Izabal with us, and we cannot even begin to thank them for the inspiration they've given us. It is so excellent to meet cruisers who truly love to cruise and refuse to slow down. They possess a let's-do-it attitude we hope we still have when we've begun to turn gray, and we think all our loved ones should embrace.
We have parted ways to resupply and pay a visit to Mario's again -- hoping to convince our fellow Texans to come out beyond the Rio and see all the beauty on the Lake. But we'll definitely stay in touch! Cruising in company really takes the edge off, and cruising in such good company makes our adventure that much more fun.
