Guatemala 2023…again!

I arrived at the sea buoy marking the entrance across the sand bar at the mouth of the Rio Dulce at 13:25. The earliest of four different High Water times was 13:18, and varied by 44 minutes! Happily, I crossed the sand bar without problem, and anchored in the bay in front of Livingston.

At around midnight it was raining heavily and I heard a strange noise. Looking out I was sideways on to an old steel barge. My anchor was still holding but on tidal rivers and in wind boats can swing differently. I lifted my anchor in the dark and in the pouring rain, and moved to another spot. None of the local boats had any lights on which made manoeuvring exciting. But eventually the rain stopped, and I was firmly anchored away from the barge and other local boats…phew!

The header photograph was the sunrise after a long night at sea on my way to Guatemala…again!

Having completed all the customs, police and immigration procedures I motored up the gorge of Rio Dulce to drop anchor in Cayo Quemado where I met Chloe, the new owner of Cayo Quemado Sails and Rigging, to begin some work I need completed during my stay in Rio Dulce. After two nights in Cayo Quemado I motored in some torrential rain through El Golfete to my new home, Nanajuana marina in the town, Rio Dulce.
The photograph above is taken from the leisure area of Nanajuana hotel & marina showing the pool, the palapa on the left where daily yoga classes are held and the Rio Dulce itself in the background.

The Wildbeast is now in the boatyard where I will do some boat jobs and the Nanajuana team will do others to get myself ready for next year’s Pacific adventure. In the meantime I’m trying to organise a visit to the UK to meet my sons, Alec and Elliot, and as many friends as I can. But this may not happen until October because of the boy’s holidays and work commitments during August and September.

It’s now 1 August, and the first of two super moons this month this is called a Sturgeon Full Moon.

In the last ten days five boats have been hit by lightning in Rio Dulce, causing lots of damage. In 2017 the Wildbeast was hit by lightning in Croatia. I was at anchor with friend, Caroline, and the noise and bright explosion of light was like nothing we had ever experienced. We were able to continue our island hopping adventure until Dubrovnik, where a local technician confirmed that our electronic system was damaged beyond repair. My UK insurance company, Bishop Skinner, paid for the replacement of the full system which took about a month to complete. 

Earlier this year while staying at Fantasy Island marina on Roatan I watched “Searching for Sugar Man” at a marina movie night. It was a documentary about singer-songwriter, Sixto Rodriguez, which turned out to be the best ever music discovery for me. Sadly, in August 2023, Rodriguez has died aged 81.

I have booked return flights to the UK via Bogotá, Colombia because there are no direct Guatemala – UK flights. It will be a short trip to include an OCC dinner, Southampton Boat Show and a Boys Weekend with Alec & Elliot and visiting as many friends as possible. By the time I fly the boatyard work will be completed, and I plan to be ready to sail by 1st November. Although the official hurricane season doesn’t end until 30th November it is often over by the end of October. We shall see!

The 30th August saw the second full super moon of August and is known as the Blue Moon. In the evening, and for the first time ever, I participated in a celebration of the full moon.

On 1st September Jimmy Buffet died aged 76. His music was introduced to me by Floridian friend, Sharon while sailing Greek waters in 2016. I fell in love with his music, read one of his fiction books, A Salty Piece of Land and went to one of his outdoor concerts on Jones Beach after sailing to New York City in 2019. Jimmy Buffet’s music and books will continue to be part of my sailing days.

It’s 10th September, and statistically the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Lee and Tropical Storm Margot are well established although neither may hit land as yet. There are also two depressions off the coast of west Africa that may evolve into something or nothing.

My 2023 UK trip started with fabulously quick taxi ride to Guatemala City which began at midnight, but I hardly slept and consequently I’m still struggling with the tiredness of jet lag.

The flight to Bogotá was uneventful and I was able to leave the airport during the ten hour layover to visit the capital city of Colombia. I hadn’t realised that Bogotá is 2600m above sea level and can cause altitude sickness, including tiredness! But the Centro Historico was fascinating and the famous dish, Ajiaco soup was wonderful. Again, as last year, I chose to fly the transatlantic section on Business Class with the Colombian airline, Avianca which allowed me some good sleep on a decent bed. From Heathrow airport I took a coach to Southampton where I  had planned to attend the Ocean Cruising Club dinner and the Southampton Boat Show, even though a strong storm was forecast to  affect the south coast. 
The Southampton AirBnb was fabulous but not quite the same as the canal boat in Devizes, the home of friend, Catherine who was now my taxi driver and host.

I then left Devizes on a train, via London, to my hometown, Nottingham for my annual lunch with old schoolmates, which is a fabulous event with the added spice of us all (I think) reaching 70 years of age in the next twelve months!

I have now booked a train and AirBnb accommodation for the fourth frantic stage of my UK trip which will take me to Hull where I lived for 20+ years before sailing down to the Mediterranean in 2014. The photograph above is the new Murdoch’s Connection footbridge which connects the city centre to the marina.

It’s now October, and the next stage of my trip is tomorrow on a direct train to Kings Cross London to stay with my eldest son, Alec in Hackney….which is a fabulous area. 

I completed all the jobs on my list including a train trip to Weston-super-Mare to pick up my serviced watermaker from the team at Mactra despite industrial action by train unions. I also bought a copy of the South Pacific Tide Tables from my favourite travel book shop, Stanfords, which was a reminder of next year’s adventure in the midst of a hectic week in London.

Elliot joined us in The Virgin Queen pub on the Friday evening to start the Boys Weekend, the only real reason for my UK trip. The weather was fabulous all weekend which included a yoga class, breakfast at The Bach cafe, a walk along the Regent’s Canal to Angel Islington to watch an England win over Samoa in the Rugby World Cup. The boys also “forced” me to watch a TV program, Naked Attraction! The photograph above is Regent’s Canal at Angel Islington. Sunday began with a Japanese breakfast in Broadway Market and a walk around nearby Victoria Park. Elliot finally took a 2pm train from Kings Cross back to Leeds to end our weekend together…until the grand finale of Alec and I going to the cinema to see the new Scorsese film, Killers of the Flower Moon starring Leonardo Di Caprio only to discover that Alec had booked tickets for 22nd October for a Cinema Date on 8th October!…so we took our popcorn, peanut M&M’s and Fanta orange juice to have our very own “kids party” on Victoria Park in the sunshine!

The journey back to Rio Dulce was destined to be “interesting” because of widespread roadblocks in Guatemala as the general public protested against anti-democratic politicians. I had a long layover in Bogotá and decided to continue the journey to Guatemala City despite possible disruption at the airport. In reality, the process through the airport customs and immigration was quick and efficient, and I was soon in a taxi taking me to a small local hotel to stay until the roads are clear to take the six hour bus journey to Rio Dulce.

The hotel was in Zona 10, a smart district close to the airport and showing no signs of political unrest, and far from the roadblocks in Zones 1, 2 & 4. Rio Dulce Cruisers social media was full of questions and information about travel around the country and the effect of the protests on everyday life…food shortages, work disruption and lack of transport. After four days in Guatemala City I was able to get an overnight taxi back to Rio Dulce, and apart from some quick diversions in the city it was a trouble-free four and half hour journey.

I am now back in Nanajuana marina, in the photograph above, arranging for the boat to go back in the water, to complete some boat jobs and to watch England Rugby team advance through the World Cup quarter finals to play South Africa in a semi final next weekend.….England played an immense game of rugby but sadly lost by just one point, and will now play Argentina in a match for 3rd and 4th place.

In the last few days of October the Wildbeast is back in the water and I’m getting ready to continue my journey. The Atlantic hurricane season has seen the demise of Hurricane Tammy, but still has storm activity in and around the Caribbean. The most recent Hunter Full Moon has recently passed, but proved difficult to witness in cloudy skies. I’m about to start reading my 30th book of the year, Cup of Gold by John Steinbeck, about Sir Henry Morgan’s life as a buccaneer, in part off the coast of Panama…which will be my final stop in the Caribbean before passing through into the Pacific Ocean. England won the Rugby World Cup Bronze final, and South Africa beat New Zealand in the final. But to end the month on a very sad note…Matthew Perry who played Chandler Bing in my favourite US sitcom, “Friends” died on 28 October aged just 54 years old.

Inadvertently, I was to begin the month of November with a weird and wonderful experience…I tried a homemade Special Brownie for breakfast, and then “lost” the rest of the day to a weed-infested stupor! I now know what Special means!

There’s been heavy rain in the region leading to a rise in level of the river and local flooding. The photograph above was taken in a brief respite. The rain will continue for more days and the river will rise even further.

I’m waiting for some new locally handmade pillows and cushions to a be delivered, and a small parcel to arrive from the UK….and if the weather looks good I’ll leave Rio Dulce again!

I now the proud owner of new cushions and pillows. This may seem a simple statement but the heat and humidity can ruin fabrics. It’s now a week away from the beginning of December and I’m still waiting for the UK parcel to arrive. I really would like to be on the move in November, although it would be cool to hang around for the official opening of the new swimming pool at Nanajuana marina, as seen in the photograph.

 I have just finished my first ever audiobook, Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey, which was an OK experience, but I’m now reading again…11/22/63 by Stephen King as it’s 60 years since the JFK assassination!

The vague plan to leave Rio Dulce in November drifted because one final boat job on the forestay was bigger than imagined, and I needed some parts. The work will be completed in time for Christmas in Rio Dulce, and then I’ll leave to spend New Year in Belize. This is part of another vague plan to visit the Cayman Islands and Jamaica before heading south to pass through the Panama Canal in March 2024.

I left Rio Dulce with buddy boats, Riki and Calusa with planned stops in Cayo Quemado and Punta Gorda on our way to Placencia in Belize. It turned out to my most eventful three-day passage ever…I went aground on the sand bar at Livingston and had to be towed off, the engine exhaust hose sprang a huge leak which flooded the bilges and when finally repaired my anchor windlass wouldn’t work so I lifted the anchor by hand and winch! Consequently, I was much later than planned and it was a slow and uncomfortable passage to Placencia. But I’m here on New Year’s Eve eve at anchor in front of Placencia Yacht Club with Riki and Calusa waiting for sunshine and calm for the New Year, 2024.

But 2023 ended with a beautiful bang as my football team Nottingham Forest beat Manchester United…a match I watched at the Barefoot Bar in Placencia.