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I dropped Ian and Trudy off at the airport, then went to the market and the grocery store. I stowed my supplies on Malakii, and headed out. The wind was perfect, and I had a fast trip down to Colson, where I spent the night. The next day I went down to Tobacco Range. From there I headed back to Glovers.
I spent a few days off SW Cays at Glovers. I did a little diving, first around the shallow corral heads as a refresher / checkout. Then I went out to the wall and along it a ways. It was spectacular. The next day I took my tanks over to one of the resorts to have them filled, and asked about going diving with them. They were heading out shortly, so I hurried back to the boat and grabbed my gear. We went diving up at Long Cay. We took our surface interval between dives at Off the Wall Dive Shop , and Jim and Kendra remembered me from when I was up there with Lynde a few years ago.
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| Long Cay, Glovers Reef | Jim, Off the Wall Dive Shop, Long Cay | Long Cay |
When we got back, I did a little exploring with the dink.
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| SW Cays, Glovers | Malakii, SW Cays, Glovers |
I discovered there are a bunch of big cairns people have built on the rocks on the outside side of the cay. They look like something from Norseland...
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| Sculptures at SW Cays, Glovers |
Mom and dad gave me a personal locator becaon when I sailed to Guatemala from Florida last fall with my friend Casey Brooks. I mounted it on my harness; it's a little bulky but I don't even notice it.
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| Harness with Personal Locator Beacon attached |
The next day I sailed Malakii back up to Long Cay. I did some more diving with the folks at Off the Wall Dive Shop . If you're looking for a nice place to stay and do some great diving, I recommend them. Some days I just went snorkeling, poking around on some of the many coral heads dotting the inside of the Glovers atoll. Jim and Kendra had me over for dinner one evening, and it was very pleasant.
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| Long Cay, Glovers | Weird Cat, NE Cay, Glovers |
After a few days, it was time to head back. I motored out the cut between Long Cay and NE Cay, then sailed back down to SW Cays, where I spent the night.
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| Leaving NE Cay, Glovers |
I left SW Cays early in the morning, hoping to catch enough wind for a quick trip to Gladden Spit. Unfortunately, the wind died a few miles before I got there, and I had to motor for a little ways. Once inside, I decided to check out Queen Cays, a place I've been by several times but never stopped. On previous visits, there was always a boat in there, and I didn't think there was a whole lot of room. But once I got there I discovered there are now five buoys, so it's obviously a popular place. Fortunately, I had it to myself this time.
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| Malakii at Queen Cays | Osprey at Queen Cays | Osprey Nest at Queen Cays | Queen Cays | Queen Cays | Queen Cays |
The next day I sailed down past Laughing Bird Cay, and on into and up Big Creek, where I checked out of Belize. Then I sailed back out and headed for Placencia for the night. The wind was out of the N with some heavy squalls, so I had to tack to get there. One of the squalls hit me before I got there, and it was a doozy. I couldn't see squat, there was spray flying everywhere, waves building up; looking like real weather... I headed out into more open water, since I couldn't see anything. I had the main reefed down and only had the storm jib up, but the shackle at the tack of the storm jib opened from the strain. I went forward and reattached it, but it was frustrating to have it happen. The storm passed after a while, and I continued my sail up to Placencia, where I spent the night.
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| Laughing Bird Cay |
The next morning I left early and made it to Cabo Tres Puntas in Guatemala, where I spent the night. Then on in to Livingston and up the Rio. On my way to Livingston I was passed by a couple of largish container ships, on their way to and from Puerto Barrios.
I spent a week on the Rio, fixing things on Malakii and helping my friends. I spent a few hours one afternoon grabbing lobsters in the mud in one of Jennifer's ponds. What a mess, but it was fun! Then up to Fronteras, the bus to Guatemala City, a plane to Denver, another bus to Missoula, and my car home.
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| Shipping | Guatemala City Flowers |
