Still the Pleasant Punta
Placencia
[16:39] [Saturday, January 20, 2007]
Departed South Water Caye at 8 AM and dodged coral reefs and shoals through Blue Ground Range. We had a relaxing sail downwind in 65 feet of water. As we approached Placencia we had "Incident #324" ... Since we were sailing downwind we had put on the preventer to prevent unintended jibing. I went down below to use the head after drinkin a gallon of my infamous coffee.
While "concentrating" I felt the wind suddenly pick up and change direction. The boat began to try and jibe, but the preventer held the sail over. I was yelling up toTanya from the pot to adjust our course for the change in wind direction. She tried but the wind blowing into the back of the sail had slowed us to a stop. To regain control over our course she tried to start the engine and broke the key in the switch. We should have seen this coming, since the switch has been exposed the entire trip and corrosion plus a cheap key were bound to get the better of us sometime. Luckily we managed to get the broken key out of the switch and had a spare to get the engine started. All in all not a big deal, but after a full day of smooth sailing, it came unexpectedly. It's amazing how often and quickly the weather keeps changing these past few weeks.
We got the main down and motored the remaining mile into Placencia Harbor. There are 28 boats now anchored and moored in the little harbor, making it a bit crowded. More than half of these boats are chartered catamarans that, in my opinion, far outnumber the demand and just crowd up the anchorage. When I was here aboard Chiriga in Jan 2001, we were 1 of 4 boats.
In 2002 Placencia was devastated by a hurricane, but the village and peninsula have rebuilt, and the foliage is back and just as beautiful as I remember. There is new development happening and Placencia is aiming to be the next hot spot in Belize. Along with this "progress" comes good and bad. The economy gets a boost and life becomes more comfortable and stable for the locals, but I fear what makes Placencia such a wonderful place will be lost to over-catering to tourists.
A parcel of land in 2001 that was selling for $10,000 US is now $100,000, and that is not even beach front. Wealthy foreigners are coming in and buying up property to build condos, and in time, the peninsula could be overcrowded with condos like the anchorage is with catamarans. Luckily there really is no property for sale in the village and a majority of the development is happening north on the peninsula.
The dichotomy of those who come here from the rat race of the city to experience a life so much more natural and relaxed and those who come here to start their mega resorts could in time defeat what would draw anyone here in the first place. But I am just another outsider who admittedly wishes he, too, had land and a personal utopia in which to park his boat.
We went ashore at dusk and as we approached the dock I told Tanya the story of when my father had a night of too many Belikins and attempted to get into the dink from the dock high above the water. Instead of landing gracefully, he accidently used the dink as a trampoline to catapult himself into the water. Sorry, Dad, but that was hilarious!
We wandered the village and up the sidewalk to Tipsy Tuna. It was very special for me to be back at the Tipsy. I had made many friends and had many memorable nights there. In 2001 I made a personal vow to return to this place I loved so much. I met up with Salva, the Tipsy's owner, Jillian, now his wife (congrats!), and their cute son Victor. We talked of those early days of the Tipsy. I was truly honored that they even remembered me after 7 years and even asked about Chiriga. Looking forward to spending more time there when we return from Guatemala.
South Water Is Mouthwatering
South Water Caye
[17:31] [Thursday, January 18, 2007]
Anchored last night at Colson Cayes. Because of all the turtle grass it took 6 attempts to set the anchor and was a pain in the ass. Wind changed overnight, too, so what was a calm anchorage became very rolly by this morning. We left in a grumpy mood, to say the least.
The weather changed for the better by 10 AM or so, though. Just enough wind to unfurl wing and wing -- Brady took some great footage in the dinghy. Crossed our fingers for blue skies and sunshine all day so we could play at South Water.
And we did! The Caye is a bit more crowded than Brady remembers but still beautiful. We snorkled for a couple hours under a (mostly) clear sky; was very colorful underwater. We had planned to take God ashore to explore South Water's pretty beaches, but by the time we returned to the boat, we were too tired to do anything besides have dinner.
Brady broke out the kerosene stove and finally cooked the rest of his jack. Much thanks to the fish (again), and to Brady for being a better chef than he thinks.
We traded cold drinks for some bitty lobster tails with a local fisherman. Depleted our beverage supply doing so, but now we have some tasty lobster without effort. Huzzah!
Should reach Placencia mid-afternoon tomorrow. Hopefully it is still a relatively quiet fishing village ... Just lively enough to have some fun on a Friday night.
Bye Bye San Pedro
Caye Caulker
[18:30] [Tuesday, January 16, 2007]
We have been itching to get away from San Pedro for almost a week, and today, though the weather was not exactly perfect, we decided to go for it.
Ran some errands in town this morning with the intention of clearing out early. Turns out you have to wait 'til the afternoon to get that done, so we hung around long enough to notice the wind had died down. In desparate need of fuel and water before we could head south, we rushed back to the boat to make ready for our approach to the fuel dock.
It was quite a chore getting to the fuel dock. The marker buoys are positioned so closed to shore they offer minimal guidance, and we must have tried ten different approaches before we found a pathway clear of coral heads and/or sandbars. Still, the guys at the fuel dock were very helpful, and they didn't mind God sniffing around the pier.
By the time we were off it was too late to think about covering any ground, but it is good to be on the move. Tomorrow we'll continue heading to Placencia; hope the weather will permit decent sailing.
