March, 2007:

So here I am, back in Utila for my birthday. Two years after spending a very splendid birthday here with all new friends. That was a very special birthday for me. It was my first birthday onboard the boat, after my marriage ended, and after losing my dad just a couple of months before. Despite the pain, loss and mourning, I was able to fully celebrate. All the great people around me managed to make me feel so at home, loved, and able to celebrate life in a way I’ve never really been able to do before.

I’m still never sure how I’m going to be or feel during these sentimental times I come across where I’m supposed to celebrate. Especially when I use those times to assess all the changes and yes, loss I’ve experienced in my life thus far.

I do, however, also try to use special times like these to look on all the good stuff too. Lucky for me, that’s not all that difficult. Despite all the bad stuff that’s happened to me (some quite recent), I find myself still able to smile about the good things, the good friends I’ve made, many of whom are scattered around the globe, the adventures and misadventures, the places I’ve been to, I can go on and on.

So on this day starting my 43rd year on this rock, I can still say I feel very fortunate, lucky and just downright happy to be living life the way I am now. It helps that I still have my age guessed anywhere between 29 to 35.

It helps alot.

Comment from: mietsie [Visitor]

We know each right about two years now, 🙂

We should celebrate that sometime too!

X mietsie

03/22/07 @ 06:13

Comment from: Elizabeth [Visitor]

Um…I’d say no older than 45. Oh wait…aren’t you 43? I meant to say 35. Yay, yay, that’s right, 35. ;p

03/27/07 @ 18:32

Comment from: Maria [Visitor]

Hi, i came across your Virtual Tourist home page then I got to this site somehow. I loved your pictures, I would love to travel like that some day (unfortunately I know it wont be soon.) Good luck on your travels and be safe. I will check in every now and then to see where you have gone to.
Maria

03/28/07 @ 21:19

The past couple of weeks since being in the Rio have been more on the unproductive side. The time has been more or less evenly split between La Ceiba and Utila.

There have, however, been a couple of jaunts around the islands. The first one was a sail to Cayos Cochinos with Lucia, Cristina, and another eight La Ceiba pals in tow for a weekend. Though winds were light, we were able to sail over from Ceiba. The trip threatened to be cut short because of incoming coldfront. I watched it pretty closely, and it didn’t look like the worst of it would pass until well after Monday. So we opted to stick out the whole weekend.

Though the ride back to Ceiba on Monday morning was a wet and rainy one, we made it in well before the nasty weather hit. And boy was it bad. Three days of NON-STOP rain, serious northerly and westerly winds, and lots of general havoc. I was glad to be tucked into La Ceiba during all that. Then, last week, from Utila, we went on a day sail to the Cays Monica and several other Utila-based friends for the day. The sail over was pretty fierce, reaching in 20+ knot gusts, but fun. We spent the afternoon hanging out at one of the cays, called Bell Cay, until just before sunset, when we ventured back. I had trouble with my main furling again, so we had to motor back into the heavy winds and seas. Unfortunately, a couple of the passengers didn’t handle it very well. I won’t name any names. =)

Since then, I’ve been biding my time in Ceiba and Utila. A myspace friend, Jackey, flew into Ceiba last week. I offered to give her a ride to Utila from Ceiba on Andiamo provided I was there. I did manage to get there on the day she flew in. I had to buy bottom paint and primer in Ceiba as well to prepare for my upcoming haul-out/bottom painting job which will happen in Puerto Cortes sometime this week. After some scrambling around town, we managed to find Jackey. The next day, we set off for Utila. After a nice motorsail, we made it into the harbor. Just in time to deliver Moni her Whopper with Cheese she made me deliver to her from Ceiba (don’t ask).

I was originally planning on heading to Puerto Cortes right away this week. But Moni talked me into staying in Utila for the rest of the week on account of my birthday coming up on the 21st. Since I’d had a memorable birthday here two years ago, I figured I’d stick around and have it among friends. Besides, Moni promised me another pinata. So I’ll head to Puerto Cortes just after recuperating from those festivities.

In the meantime, I got another trip planned for Cayos Cochinos with some Canadians itching to go there. So I won’t just be sitting around.

Can’t believe it’s been three years already since getting on Andiamo. Ay Caramba!

Finally, something happens as planned and on schedule. In just one week’s time, I managed to get Sjelle’s boat stripped and sold off. Yeah, there was probably some money left on the table, but with Sjelle in India, there were not a lot of options to go with. I managed to sell alot of the more valuable gear to Luigi and a friend of his, as well as to Bob, who took care of Sjelle’s boat after we left the river. The rest of the boat, mainly the hull and its diesel engine, was sold to a local guatemalan welder guy who is quite known to be a major asshole. Nonetheless, he came up with the money at the 11th hour, and a deal was made.

I also managed to swap my stove for hers, which was much nicer, and has a working oven. Had a bitch of a time getting it installed on my boat, but thanks to Luigi, and his Italian ingenuity, we got her in, and all is good.

So this turn of events breaks the last of Sjelle’s ties with the river, and I’m relieved none the more for it. To me, it was something long overdue, and I hope she can move on from all that has happened with her boat positively. While it was nice to see everyone, including some good friends like Luigi and Luisa (who as always spoil me with great food, and crostata!!) a week in the rio was enough. I was glad to get the out of there when I did.

For the trip back, Mitzy of the GC gang came along again. She was on her way to Honduras to go hang out with Lucia and the LC gang at Cayos for the weekend, and somehow they talked me in to giving everyone a ride over from Ceiba. Also got two passengers for the trip, Tony and Treva. Tony’s a dutchman traveling in Central America, and Treva is his new travel partner, an american who’s a freelance chef in the yachting circuit. So it was good company for the trip back, which included a now-obligatory stop at Puerto Escondido.

Before getting out of the rio however, we discovered that Aretha was MIA on the boat when we brought the passengers aboard. She was nowhere to be found. After more than 30 minutes of searching the boat, I came to the conclusion that she must have jumped off back at the marina we were tied up at the night before to get caught up on laundry and for me to go up the mast for a repair I had to do to the in-mast furling. So I called Bob back at the marina, and sure enough he said one of the marina residents heard a cat wailing from one of the boats. We motored back to the marina.

After a quick search of a couple of boats, there was Aretha. She was holed up in the boat that was tied up next to Andiamo. I peeked into the boat, and she was lying on the galley countertop, just looking at me as if she was saying “hey, what the hell took you so long?”. After a hairy dinghy ride back to the boat, she was aboard Andiamo again, and visibly relieved. So was I. These damn cats can be worse than kids sometimes.

We made it to Utila yesterday, only to head to La Ceiba this morning to retrieve the LC Gang, and head over to Cayos Cochinos for the weekend. Thanks to the wonders of wireless technology, I can post to my blog in the idyllic setting of a quiet anchorage nestled between two beautiful islands. Can’t beat that.

Probably will have to head back to Ceiba tomorrow though, due to an incoming front which promises to wrack up the weather by Monday. But that’s how it goes.

Hope to get started on the bottom work I need to do to Andiamo, as well as taking care of some new-found mechanical issues. Then, hopefully, I can start planning for my eastward-bound trip to Jamaica and DR. Hope I can pull it off within schedule.

More to come… also getting caught up on photos.

Comment from: Elizabeth [Visitor]

See how you are with Aretha? You didn’t even notice she was missing at first. Now if it had been Queen Lucifer- I mean Lucy…God forbid!!! Long live the Queen!
And despite your negligent parenting, you got some good Italian loving via la cucina. E bene!
A friend’s problem solved, a crostata-filled belly, a cranky ole’ cat retrieved, and a better stove and oven to boot-sounds like a productive journey. : )

03/04/07 @ 11:36