We Understand Manana Syndrome
[16:32] [Saturday, January 27, 2007]
We were boarded by a party of 4: customs officer, immigration, Port Captain and health inspector. We're not sure why they all boarded because all they did was sit in our cockpit while Raul (customs), who spoke excellent English, guided us through paperwork. They seemed more interested in the cat than our entrance into their country.
Speaking of the cat, God wasted no time leaping aboard the party's skiff. Much to everyone's amusement, we dug him out from their life jackets -- stowed under a tarp amidships -- as they readied to leave.
We went ashore to pay our fees and get passports stamped. Attempted to use the internet and buy drinks, but our lack of Spanish left us feeling alienated, and attempting to do the simplest thing -- like paying our bill -- became a major chore. It is eye-opening to be in a country where we are the outsiders and considered "minorities." Although a bit intimidating, this also has us feeling a little excited.
Raised the hook and began motoring up the Rio. Within minutes we were motoring through a canyon with cliffs mostly covered by jungle growth. Even given the lack of sunlight, you would not believe how green it is! Above the canyon walls we could see hilltops rising into the clouds. 100-ft tree trunks sprung from the cliffsides, competing with each other for the first drops of rain; the first rays of sunlight.
The term, "third world country," has been thrown around a lot by people preparing us for our arrival here, but the vastness of pure, untouched beauty literally surrounding us has us seeing Guatemala in a very different light. We would even go so far as to call it, "first world," though not in the sense most would mean.
No telephone poles; no electrical wires; no large settlements -- even Livingston still has the air of a frontier town -- the expanse of natural beauty leaves us so awestruck it is difficult to share in words, in a picture frame, or even with video.
Sometimes we are so isolated in all of this, we can imagine we have traveled backward 10,000 years.
We motored across El Golfete, a 10-mile lake in the middle of the Rio. Headed to a marina where we will enjoy internet, electricity and possibly satellite television ... So much for timeless beauty -- haha.
Speaking of modern comforts, Brady has managed to get our AC up and running. We can now retreat from mosquitoes in the event of an onslaught or sleep in comfort when it is hot and humid. This makes us, once again, officially a yacht.
We have made it to Mario's Marina and are enjoying reuniting with our friend and ex-slip neighbor from Rockport, TX, Roy. As much as we hate to drink, Roy keeps filling us with happy hour gin and tonics and cuba libres. He sailed here with his wife, Debi, aboard their boat Lyric seven months before we left. They have become very familiar with the Rio and Guatemala and Roy has given some great advice and personal experience.
As we type this we are drinking and shooting the shit with those who have been here a lot longer than we have. We'll post more manaña including photos and possibly video.
[09:35] [Friday, January 26, 2007]
Due to shallow water and low light, we anchored off the mouth of Rio Dulce last night to await check-in this morning. Ick! Didn't take long for the river current to swing us around at an uncomfortable angle in increasingly choppy water. We spent the entire night rocking worse than if we were making a crossing, and got no sleep.
Fortunately, we had no trouble entering Livingston's far calmer anchorage this morning.
We're wearing long sleeves if you can believe it! The temperature has dropped some 10- to 15° overnight, meaning it's still above 70°F but much, much cooler than the 90ish it has been. Sunshine and pina colada weather have given way to low clouds and cold rain. Looks pretty cool rolling over the hills around the river's mouth, though. Conjures images of King Kong.
Brady has gone ashore to start the check-in process, guided by a fellow cruiser we met in Placencia in lieu of a boarding party. Hopefully will not take long to cut the red tape so we can be on our way.
Within You Without You
[13:32] [Wednesday, January 24, 2007]
We were talking
about the space between us all
and people who hide themselves
behind a wall of illusion
never glimpse the truth
then it's far too late
when they pass away
We were talking
about the love we all could share
When we find it
to try our best to hold it there
with our love, with our love
we could save the world
if they only knew
Try to realize it's all within yourself
no one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small
and life flows on within you and without you
We were talking
about the love that's gone so cold
and the people who gain the world
and lose their soul
They don't know, they can't see
Are you one of them
When you've seen beyond yourself
then you may find
peace of mind is waiting there
And the time will come
when you see we're all one
and life flows on within you and without you
George Harrison/ The Beatles
Human/Cat/Rat Experiment
[11:40] []
Being on a lil' boat for a long period of time with other people, one's idiosyncracies quickly come to light. The following is a list of what we've (Brady, Tanya and God) learned about each other.
Brady:
•Despite his love of world music whose vocalists sing in French or Portuguese, he does not know these languages and should stop pretending he does ("... ce schoi vou le vou tambien de me toi, oui oui ...")
•Nor can he rap
•Though when it is clean the sink looks like an ashtray, it is not
•A dip in the ocean does not count as a good arm pit washing
•Farting is not cute unless you are a baby
•Yelling at Galaga cuz one of your men just died does not make you play the game any better
•He can chase me all around the chess board with his queen but it is still a draw
Tanya:
•Control freak with the laptop turns any sort of graphic work or site revisions into a battle
•She gets out of the dinghy like a girl!
•Her small stride makes walking that slow difficult for any long period of time
•Her whiny kitty talk is just that: whiny
•She doesn't like the Melvins for sailing music ... or Mr. Bungle or Fantômas
God:
•Insistent on drinking only from the faucet, he refuses to accept it's the same water in his bowl
•Scratching at the plastic sides of the litter box for 10 minutes and not covering his crap up one bit
•Crapping out of boredom (the record I believe is about 3 crap sessions in an hour; multiply that with scratching at the walls of the litter box and you have a full hour of kitty in the box, fun times!)
•Deciding to stay out in the rain then coming down below soaked to use the litter box and have his litter cling to his clumpy wet fur to track the stuff throughout the boat
•Using the deck as a race track making us listen worriedly for the "splash"
Still in Placencia; Hate to Leave
[09:30] []
We have enjoyed our short stay in Placencia immensely. Returned to the Tipsy Sunday night to catch live Reggae and Punta by Inner Vibrations and more good times with Salva and other old friends. Met a girl from Baltimore who had managed to get ahold of a bottle of Belizean cashew wine ... We would not recommend this as a beverage, and neither would any of the locals who noticed her drinking it. We took her under our wing until her entourage returned to deliver her to safety. The local men are like sharks when it comes to drunk girls.
We stayed late at the Tipsy as the bar quieted down and "closed" to chill with Salva and a local sailor, Japs. Special Thanks to Salva for indoctrinating us into the Tipsy Society with the shirts and drinks, We'll wear them with pride.
Our "layover" in Placencia has been delayed 2 days because of some serious computer trouble. Fortunately, we are up and running, but not quite as beautifully as we'd like to be. At any rate, barring some other catastrophe, we will head south to Guatemala tomorrow morning.
Oh! And to those who have been participating in our Rafflemania, a very warm thank you for the support.
