So we FINALLY left Rio Dulce last Thursday. We finally got Sjelle’s boat settled to a point where we were able to leave it. We didn’t secure a mast, but there were a good couple of prospects that we can revisit when we get back here in about a month to check on things. We did find a guy who was selling his whole rig, mast, sails, cables and everything else, for a good price. The rig is a little shorter than what Sjelle had on her boat. So we’re going to ask Luigi to go and check it out before Sjelle makes the decision on whether or not to buy it.
There was a big ol’ coldfront heading our way that was due to arrive in the area sometime Saturday. So we wanted to leave Thursday afternoon, so we can get to La Ceiba by Friday afternoon. I decided to go to La Ceiba, because the weather was looking to get pretty nasty over the weekend, and I didn’t feel like dealing with that in Utila. Plus, we had to get a bunch of work done on the boat during this week anyway, so La Ceiba it was.
The sail over was quite nice. We had great wind for the first 8-10 hours or so, and then it just died. So we had to motor quite a bit. The winds picked up in the morning, so we were able to get some more sailing in, before it died again. The motoring was a good thing, though, because I had purchased some new batteries in Rio Dulce, and this gave them a chance to get charged up pretty good. The weather stayed nice through most of the trip as well.
We arrived in La Ceiba Friday with time to spare. Interestingly, Rob was there with “Siqqittuq”. He was getting ready to head out back to Canada. And his crew to go back at least to the states was none other than Lisa, the crazy ex-lawyer from Ohio. It’s ok to speculate that something has been going on between these two for some time now. Parciularly since Rob and his wife Heather had unfortunately split up a few months back. Now I’m not one to gossip, so don’t spread it around ok?
Anyway, Lisa was supposed to come in from Tegucigalpa on Saturday. She had lost her passport, and had to get a replacement (don’t ask). She showed up on schedule, and it was an odd reunion again of sorts. We had dinner that night (I made my always fantastic sauteed conch steaks), and played Turbo Cranium. Sjelle and I killed them, Rob didn’t seem to like that very much.
The weather passed through by late Sunday, but we still had the heavy northerly winds. The port stayed closed all day Monday, so Rob and Lisa couldn’t leave. They’re due to leave sometime today for Isla Mujeres.
So the rest of this week promises to be a busy one. Sjelle and I are now working on the galley countertops, replacing the HIDEOUS, disgusting old formica with new, bright white formica. Should look nice. The paint guy is supposed to start work today spot-painting and fixing all the dings and nicks that Andiamo experienced over the past few weeks’ ordeals. I also have a metal guy working on some long-standing issues on my bow pulpit that have needed to be fixed since the boat was in Key West. Hopefully, we’ll get everything major done that’s on the list, and get over to Roatan by Friday afternoon.
That’s the plan.
In other news, I’ve introduced a new section on the “Tony’s Blog” section called “Tony’s Anecdotes”. Basically, this is where I will put interesting (at least I think they’re interesting!) stories of experiences I’ve had in my oh-so-illustrious past that do not quite fit into the time/space continuum that belongs to Andiamo. I find I have alot of interesting memories and stories around them. I think I should write them down before I lose them forever. Some of them may end up being horribly embellished, but only I will know the truth about that. =)
So, this section is really for me, but you are welcome to peruse them if you so wish. Stories should start trickling in over the next few weeks.
