GUATEMALA, CATAMARAN MARINA, RIO DULCE, MID MARCH 2020

LIFE UNDER GUATEMALAN LOCKDOWN. PART TWO.

The President has issued his Sunday Orders. There will now be an 8 day nationwide curfew from 4pm to 4am. An increase to the curfew time by 2 hours since last Sunday. The river and bridge traffic has reduced even further.

Some of our American friends here are discussing leaving Guatemala. This carries a risk of being in close contact with people as they will have to cross the Mexican border to reach the Mexico airport to fly to Houston, Texas. The American Embassy is organising emergency evacuation for American residents who are stranded here in Guatemala. With this news and chance of leaving, a few boats are quickly arranged to be hauled out at Ram Marina and laid up or left in the water. It’s all so fast, decisions being made over a few days whether to stay or go. There’s last minute packing, sharing out of stored boat food and hasty goodbyes by our American friends who are leaving independently or as part of the evacuation process. Terry and I wish those who leave a safe and uneventful journey home. Our now tight knit cruising Catamaran family is becoming smaller.

Catamaran Marina and Hotel is owned by an American who lives in Guatemala City. He is monitoring the situation and making decisions, Coronavirus is badly affecting his business. No tourists are passing through here now, the cabanas are empty, no lanchas call to pick up guests, and now local contract workers are not allowed in the grounds here for 7 days. He has reluctantly made the decision to lay off all but a minimum of the catering and housekeeping staff. The gardens here are maintained by 2 or 3 gardeners, he has had to lay them off too. Nature will quickly overtake in this climate. He has a business to run, and on his Marina and Hotel there is just us, a small group of less than 30 cruisers. This is incredibly hard for these local people. Steve Elliott, the Marina Manager sets up a donation box, and food parcels, we all too glad to contribute to help them through these times, we all hope it won’t be for long. They have become good friends to us, it’s a sad time. But we have to carry on, we’re doing all we can to help them. We are also helping by buying lunch from the kitchen here, the food cooked by the couple of catering staff still employed at Catamaran is absolutely fresh and delicious, fortunately food and provisions can still be dropped off by lancha to the kitchen. BLT sandwiches & fries, vibrant and divine quesadillas are our favourites, washed down by a local beer makes working on Sisu in this heat worthwhile! Steve has also set up a pizza delivery service, delivering fresh pizzas made in the kitchen to the neighbouring marinas, this service is still allowed, masks must be worn and social distancing adhered too. He quickly has a brisk trade on the go through the day!

Terry and I continue with working on Sisu, I’m sanding and varnishing floorboards, steps, doors from the galley and saloon and scrubbing the anchor for repainting. All the sanding is giving me a sore throat and I feel unwell, when we get absorbed in jobs it’s too easy to forget to hydrate and rest. I’ve had too much sun, and it feels lousy.

Terry’s working on the mechanical and electrical side of Sisu. He’s currently dismantling the engine and gear stick mechanism, it’s an oily mucky job. We have such a glamorous life! We have to pace ourselves, so work hard in the mornings, head to the pool for lunch & shade for some of the afternoon, meet up with friends and keep up to date with news, then back to work late afternoon when it begins to cool. There is still 1 case here, remarkable given 17 million population, a sure sign that the President’s rapid action and Orders work. We have 15 cases back at home in the Isle of Man.

Latest Orders bring us the news that the State of Emergency is to be extended for another 30 days and Guatemala is to stay closed till 6 May, there are 32 cases. I wonder if this is what it felt like for people at home during the wars. Instead of huddling round the radio for news from Churchill, Every Sunday now, we all anxiously read our ipads and phones for news and fresh Orders from President Giammatei.

We’ve not been to town for over a week, we have all we need here, luckily we stocked up on gear to work on Sisu beforehand. In Fronteras is a Childrens Home called Casa Guatemala. I recently had a clear out of clothes and these can be passed on to the children, there is a mix of young and teenage children being cared for. Casa Guatemala also run a lancha filled with provisions, fresh fruit & veg, alcohol, bread, meat and cheese, all sorts of food is packed into the lancha, complete with weighing scales for the fruit and veg. Casa Guatemala calls round all the marinas in the nearby vicinity. All produce is bought by the at cost and all profit from sales helps fund the Casa Guatemala charity. They have a rota which changes each week, so if we are first on their list, then we get first pick, of course the rota being fair, means that you do end up last on the lancha’s route so you could end up with a near empty lancha just some onion skins cast around the floor or some very bruised tomatoes and worst of all, no beer!!! Disaster!!!

Casa Guatemala call to each marina twice a week, in a traditional lancha, however, they are also up to date with technology and we can check their route, time and whereabouts on iphones! The call goes up along the pontoons “Casa Guatemala is here!” and we grab our bags, money and queue up along the pontoon to see what’s available. We all wear masks now but it’s still a social event. When we are confined to a 1/4 acre area of land, Casa Guatemala is our twice weekly highlight, believe me.

Living here in close quarters with each other can be claustrophobic. Our boats are tied up close to one another, any fractiousness between a couple can be heard, diplomacy is required. The heat and worry about whether we will ever get home and the ramping up of restrictions takes effect, even in this beautiful paradise. I’d be lying if I said Terry and I never had cross words. Of course we do, we’re a pair of strong characters, it’s not too often, but he’s worried about the situation, I’m worried about the situation, we worry about each other, we live in a pressure cooker, it would test the most mild mannered person. If there’s stomping off down the pontoon to be done, and we do, we can’t go far, it’s ridiculously farcical to be honest.

I have found solace and peace, where I can swear and have a wallow by sitting in the wooden chairs at the back of a cabana, overlooking the Rio Dulce river where I can be alone and process thoughts, or sometimes I’ll bring my ukelele and piping chanter to keep up with new tunes for when I get back to my Pipe Band at home. One day I found one of the gardeners having a siesta on “my chair”!

Walking the gardens and the rare luxury of simply stopping to look at the glorious plant and bird life is calming during this uncertain period.

We all begin to find our quiet places, even though we all get on remarkably well for such a mixture of personalities, we pull together, some have down days, some missing home, mostly we are in good spirits, it’s early days yet in the coronovirus time. We sailors are used to making our own decisions and roaming the seas, being ordered to stay in one place and on dry land is not easy!

GUATEMALA, CATAMARAN MARINA, RIO DULCE, MARCH 2020

LIFE UNDER GUATEMALAN LOCKDOWN. PART ONE.

We had done it, we were safely inside Guatemala and very thankful. What of our friends? They are all here spread amongst the Marinas along the Rio. But some did not make it back and have sailed onto Roatan and other Islands. Though these cruisers aren’t allowed to land at least provisions and water can be brought out to them, socially distanced. This situation is new and alarming, it’s all we talk about. We hear that American airlines have stopped flights till 6 May 2020, this is not good for us as we are booked to fly out through America on 12 May. My sister reports that the Isle of Man may be locking down too. Yet here we are not really affected. Yet. Here we are in this small outcrop on the river, the Marina is part of a hotel with cabanas where tourists can stay, tours are organised from here, we have a small pool and its truly a miniature garden of Eden.

It’s a busy spot normally with lanchas coming and going picking up tourists but even after a couple of days, the tourists have gone, there’s a real sense of uncertainty around us.

Well, we’re here for as long as it takes, fortunately we have a great little gang of cruisers around us, all nationalities, American, Canadian, South African, English, Russian and us, the Manx! We set Sisu up for the hot humid life here. Heavy duty tarps over our cockpit and coach roof to shield us from the searing sun and provide shade. By 10am temperatures have soared to near 30s, below can be red hot, we have the loud thrum of our three fans which are switched on 24/7. We also have a couple of wind scoops which we erect over the hatch which funnels a good breeze into the boat when there is wind and when the scoop behaves itself….But my god, it’s still hot. Terry and I dance better than Michael Flatley on any deck area which has full sun.

I put up our Three Legs of Man bunting to the amusement of our friends. Cheered up and smiling at our national symbol of the Isle of Man on the bunting, I’m reminded of the motto which accompanies the Three Legs of Man “Quocunque Jeceris Stabit” “Whichever you throw us, we will stand” is now more than ever relevant for us all!

We all make the best of it, humour is essential living so close together as we all do. The pool becomes our 5pm meeting place, to sit in and around the pool. Over a few beers we share each other’s stories, jokes, sort fact from information on what’s happening corona wise both here and in each others countries, getting to know cruisers we’ve just met and deepening friendships with cruisers we’ve sailed with, it’s a real global melting pot.

We have a happy diversion from our worries over Covid. It’s Terry’s birthday on the 16th March and that means birthday cake and celebration! Firstly, I need to get the birthday boy tidied up. This means a haircut, Terry gets out his clippers and entrusts me to do a good job! The birthday celebration was much needed, good company, good food, we don’t know what’s going to happen in the near future so let’s enjoy ourselves while we can. And we did. The following day was a slowish start…….

We need provisions, Belize was lovely but food was far more expensive there so we are short on fresh food, and beer. We dinghy to the nearby town of Fronteras. This is a few minutes ride passing trees full of Egrets and dodging numerous lanchas. The new supermarket has signs stating that no more than 3 of the same items can be bought. Sanitising units are placed at the door and the friendly guard at the entrance is wearing a mask and so must we. It’s all very low key though, there is none of the panic buying we’re reading about back in the UK. Guatemalans take things in their stride, they’re really incredible, stoic, polite, hard working and figure out ways to deal with any situation. We stock up and head back to Sisu.

Life has definitely altered in just the few days we’ve been here and the discovery of the first Covid case on 13 March. Each Sunday evening the Guatemalan President, Alejandro Eduardo Giammattei issues Orders for the week. He’s a Doctor, and immediately realised the full severity should Coronavirus get out of control in his country of over 17 million people and declared a State of Public Calamity. He will be issuing Orders each Sunday and they will be acted upon without question, those found to disobey the Orders will be arrested and punished. Non essential shops are to close. The road side markets will be reorganised. All festivals are cancelled. National Parks are closed. Sporting events are cancelled. To prevent the spread of the disease there is to be an 8 day nationwide curfew from 6pm to 4am. Chemists and Hospitals remain open. Prohibition of hoarding. Prohibition of any foreigners (us) entering Guatemala. Prohibition of public transport. Exemptions will be made for essential personnel, inc Police, private security, medical professionals and food delivery drivers. Masks will be worn outside of personal residences. He’s hitting hard and fast to keep his people safe, it’s reassuring. There are 17 confirmed cases with one associated fatality. We are seeing the adherence to his Orders already, the hardware shop is closed and the supermarket has lower stocks. We realise our daily lives will evolve around the weekly Presidential Sunday Orders.

Fortunately we have lots to do on Sisu. At present Guatemalans can still work on our boats, many Guatemalans are self employed, if measures become tighter, life is going to become very difficult for them. To help, we ask Carlo& Elmer, carpenters, to finish teak work in our fore cabin. They do a tremendous job. This is going to be a perfect opportunity to get all the unfinished jobs done. It’s not like we can go anywhere!

Liferafts have a lifetime. They are regularly sent for checking and date stamped with an expiry date. Our liferaft had just gone past it’s expiry date. Sailing to and from Belize didn’t give us too much concern if anything happened and we needed to deploy our liferaft, assistance would not far away and the waters are warm enough to survive in for a reasonable length of time. However, it would be foolish and could cost us our lives to undertake any future passages with an out of date liferaft. Terry decided to, well, blow it up! He’s an engineer and this is simply the best fun for him, blow it up, take it apart, see how it works. Tutty and Doug were up for a “boys own” fun experience too. Boys…..

Terry unpacked our liferaft and cut open the plastic covering, then to our alarm we could see that the gas valve which would inflate our raft was corroded! Would the valve still work? He pulled the cord, psssshhhhhhhtttt, ah, yes it works!

This was good, of course by now our liferaft was unable to be repacked and used again, not that we would. Further confirmation that we would not be using this again was the fact that the 4 sea anchors which keep the liferaft the right way up when inflated and at sea, had begun to disengage from the liferaft, the glue holding the anchors to the raft had disintegrated! We disposed of the liferaft by offering it to anyone who would like it. A couple of the local workers quickly found a use for the material, recycling here is a necessity not a nice to do.

Wow, a lesson for many of the cruisers, check the expiry date on your liferaft! We ordered a new one for our next season. Crossing fingers there would be a next season…….. Still, it was great fun and at present we welcome any fresh diversions from the Coronavirus news!

Life mid March changes again. We have to tighten down a bit more. This is how it is, each day brings a change. Now we are not to have outside workers on our boats. Hopefully it will only be for a short time. We feel bad at having to tell Carlos & Elmer that we shall have to postpone further work. They are very understanding, I so hope this situation doesn’t last.

We notice that the huge bridge spanning the Rio Dulce is carrying less cattle trucks and wagons since the Orders came into place. Normally the hiss of the air brakes and rumble of the trucks is a constant background noise. At night we can hear the frogs & insects singing even louder. The river traffic has reduced too. But for others life goes on, fishermen still cast their nets in the Rio. However, there are remote communities living together in multigeneration homes deep in the surrounding dense countryside who will be devastated by Coronavirus if it reaches them.

We and many of the cruisers are also restricting going ashore, limiting our contact with people. It’s for the benefit of everyone, be they cruisers or Guatemalan. We are living in uncertain and challenging times.

PLACENCIA TO TEXAN BAY, RIO DULCE, GUATEMALA, 11 MARCH 2020

Well, there we were, dodging weather fronts and snorkelling in crystal clear, warm waters, drinking beers, laughing with friends, and generally having a high ol’ time. We had very little idea that the world outside was starting to go mad.

Sure, we’d heard news of the Covid virus, but it hadn’t had any impact on our lives in Belize. Terry & I were dealing with unpredictable weather disrupting our sailing season! The weather, it’s effects and gear breaking down are our reality, not Covid. We decided to cut this season short and head back to the Rio, get boat work done and be ahead of the game for our next sailing season.( I should add here, that I’m writing this retrospectively in Jan 2022, oh, if only we’d had a crystal ball then, or perhaps not, as our 2020 selves would never have believed that Covid and it’s partner, Omicron would still be buggering up everyone’s plans at the start of 2022). So we packed up, we were getting cabin fever anyway due to the relentless rain and wind. We had things we could do onboard, practise Spanish, play music, fix things, stare at the rain…… re-secure the dinghy to the boat as it attempted to take off at one point…….

We checked out on the 10th March, another yeeeha ride on the Hoky Poky lancha, paid our fees, doffed our caps to the Customs & Immigration Officers, and hauled anchor to set sail for Newhaven, then overnight at Orange Point, all nice and ready to go over the Rio Dulce sand bar the morning of Friday 13th March and check in at Livingston. Simples.

After a calm motorsail to Orange Point we moored up in a small mangrove lined lagoon. We found we had some wifi data left from Placencia. As we were near the Punta Gorda Digimast we were able to pick up wifi. Straight away a message flashed up from our good cruising friend Ken Goode. “Where were we? Did we know Guatemala was entering lockdown?” What???!!!! We immediately emailed Raul, the Livingston Immigration Officer. He confirmed Ken’s news. We could not enter, Guatemala was in a lockdown from previous midnight till 28th March. I won’t type the swearing that ensued onboard Sisu. It wasn’t pretty. We just looked at each other……We were potentially stranded. It’s not a case of just hanging around till 28th March, what if the borders close for months? We couldn’t even go on to Roatan further down the coast as our exit papers aren’t correct for entering that Island. We potentially could go back to Belize, but then we discovered borders were closing down around us and in fact other cruisers. Timing is also quite critical to get over the bar, boats require the highest tide to get over the sandbar across the entrance to the river. The next time would be April. With the little amount of wifi left we checked a Facebook page for Rio Dulce Cruisers. One post said Europeans can enter Guatemala. Another said it’s old news. We didn’t know what to do. USA has locked out Europeans for a fortnight. Norway the same, other countries following suit. The world was locking down……. it was frightening.

We emailed Raul and literally begged him to allow us to enter. That night was a sleepless, rolling in the slight swell and grim. In the early hours we checked our emails, hoping the small amount of data would last. Relief! Raul pulled out all the stops, we and a small number of other cruisers in the same situation could enter, now!

n the 13th March, 0930hrs we were sat outside the entrance to the Rio and waiting…. at 1040hrs we gingerly motored over the sandbar following our waypoints. We saw a depth of no less than 2.8mtres.

We anchored at Livingston and waited for Raul, Immigration and Health Officers to arrive by lancha.

We were not to leave Sisu. I felt like crying. At mid day Raul and his colleagues arrived wearing masks and scrubs. The world had indeed changed since we left. They took our temperatures, were very pleasant and all was ok. Terry was allowed ashore to pay the Immigration & Customs fee. Then straight back on board. We’ve never felt so relieved to be back in the Rio Dulce. We felt for those who were not so fortunate. We learnt of sailors who were stranded at sea, borders had locked down around them, they were unable to land anywhere. Fortunately aid in the way of food, water etc could be provided by lancha’s, boats and dinghys.

As we motored down the stunning Rio, rivermartins flew down and sat on our guard rails, escorting us all the way to Texan Bay, tweeting at us as if to say, “You’re safe”.

We arrived at the tranquility and safety of Texan Bay, anchored by Texan Mike’s Bar, climbed into our dinghy and those beers have never, ever tasted so good.

We didn’t know what was ahead of us, but then we were in good company, the globe had no idea either.

The following day we motored up the Rio Dulce where a berth at Catamaran Marina was waiting for us. Then we would learn how our cruising friends had fared and update ourselves with the Coronavirus situation.

BELIZE, RUANGA 5 MARCH 2020

Rain capture!

The weather this sailing season was proving to be very mixed. Regular weather fronts passing through every 4 to 5 days. A short settled forecast saw us cruisers scooting out to the large numbers of reefs to be explored, only for us to make a dash back to the sheltered safety of the lagoons in Placencia and Sapodilla to beat yet another poor weather front bringing high winds and rain.

We checked the forecast and decided to head for Ruanga, a reef not too far away from Placencia. We had pretty much given up going to the outer reefs, the forecasts just didn’t allow us time and we weren’t familiar with the bolt holes that are there to be found, if you know where!

Navigating over the coral beds are nail biting. I would navigate by eye as Terry used the charts, you can’t beat eyeball navigation here. The coral heads can hole your hull, plus there’s a hefty fine if you hit or anchor on these fragile reefs. I learnt quickly from my perch at the bow, to seek out coral heads, call out to Terry to steer round them, to watch for “brown water”, where the reef can suddenly rise, where we had depth for our hull to pass over, suddenly we had no depth at all! The angle of the sun can affect navigating too, or wind on the water’s surface, altering your perception of depth, honestly, we’re far happier sailing in deep waters!

We safely reached the beautiful little island of Ruanga and it was easier for the cabin boy to jump ship and attach our mooring line to the buoy rather than try to snag it with a hook, especially in shallow waters! We’re not allowed to anchor, as of course our anchor would damage the reef beds.

In bright sun, which we did get in between the rain, weed grows rapidly on our hull. It’s a regular job to clean Sisu’s hull, which involves snorkelling all over over and under her hull with scrubbers and scrub the green weed off. We took the opportunity to hull scrub in the clear, calm waters to give her a good old scrub. The fish appreciate our work and we would often be surrounded by exotic fish and occasionally ramora fish and even little squid who were very curious indeed!

Chris and Janet Wenderoth, of s/v Respite joined us and we enjoyed sampling beers, of course, and a wonderful lunch, it’s a hard life at times!

Whilst we sat back and enjoyed the good life, local fishermen were hard at work. These tiny boats frequently have a small crew, top heavy with the canoes used for line fishing and include sleeping quarters and a galley. We really do have it easy at times.

Snorkelling here is a joy. Thanks to the strict rules regarding anchoring and preserving the corals, there is plenty of sealife. Corals, fish, rays and we were lucky to see several rays who would pass silently by under us.

Paradise.

All to soon though, the forecast showed another front passing through and we reluctantly packed away our fins, packed up and made haste back to Sapodilla Lagoon.