Saturday morning...

While lisa and the cap'n are hiking to the top of El Bejucho, katie and I are chillin' riverside. It's only 11am and I've already taken a nap!

Let me see if I can remember some of the hilarity of the week so far.....

Upon arrival on Wednesday, we loaded up immediately and began a cruise along the south shore of the island with plans to anchor close to Pigeon Cay. But as the sailors know, the best laid plans usually change with the winds! So, we anchored at Port Royal for the evening and cooked lobster pasta on the boat. On the ride there, both the little girls sat on the back steps with their feet dangling in the water giggling like first graders! (I was catching up on rag magazine reading that they brought with them!!...priorities, don'tcha know?!) Once we had arrived at destination, plans were to snorkel, so on goes the globs and globs of sunscreen. Then they sat on the tramps with a cold one and that was as far as the snorkeling went! We all sat out there telling stories and being in awe of the starlit sky until way after dark. Alot of this time, the cap'n was inside doing ALL the cooking!! After dinner, we had the Comedy Hour. Ala, clisa....the sailor woMAN!

She brought sailor hats for all of us, including crafting supplies to decorate them. um...we haven't gotten that far yet! And she brought pirate patches and towels and oh geeze.......so much stuff. She checked it all in a body bag for travel! And the tattoos. Of course, the tattoes and we had mucho fun with those!! Pics will definitely be going out to WA and ID of those!! (Big T!!!)

Thursday morning after coffee and sausage and grits, the sails fly up and away we go...

A beautiful, perfect day for a sail. Great breezes, crayon blue sky and of course, we were going in the best direction, heh!! We anchored at Fantasy Island for a beach day. White sand, I think I counted 5 different colors of blue water, palapas .... what more could one ask for? Oh, how 'bout a cap'n that goes back to the boat and makes us homemade nachos with local tortillas, beans, cheese with pepperoni....and luv?????! So. Fun!

As the day winds down and we've just heard the bar play Blew Bayou on their radio, we head back for the boat. Cruise back to the marina for the night because we're leaving for the mainland early in the morning and the baby, boat, will be safe there. A taxi ride to the ferry at 6:30 am and quite a commotion trying to get sophie jane on the ferry WITH me and not in the cargo area.

Ugh. No dogs allowed in the boat with the riders. After much 'discussion' with the authorities and their going to talk to the owner of the ferry! it looked bleak. My friends have to know how much I wanted them to have this lil adventure, because at one point, I turned to the cap'n and said, "Just put her in there". Meaning in the cargo hold. With tears in my eyes. And then, all of a sudden, they walk out and say "ok". We go back thru the security check and it's like all of a sudden there is no dog and we walk right onto the boat. Whew! And she rode just like a baby in her carryon all the way to La Ceiba!!

Adonai picks us up at ferry dock and drops us off at the mercada. We walked all thru the area with Katie's eyes about to pop out of her head at every turn. Dried fish, fresh fish, fresh meats...meaning, liver, tripe, kidney and the like... hanging with their smells wafting throughout our nostrils.........!! All the while, sophie is on my back in her backpack and every kid there patted her or pulled my back, laughing 'perrita' !! Cap'n hollers out "Fried Chicken" and we stop for lunch. O.M.G. Just watching those two look at each other when they saw where we were going to sit down and eat was priceless.....suffice it to say that it was definitely a local 'restaurant'!! Chicken, beans, fried plantains, cheese and tortillas! DEEElish!!

After we had thorougly explored the markets, we hit a bakery for some breakfast items for next morning.....lisa was dying seeing the sandwiches WITH mayonnaise just sitting out on the counter in the heat!!....and last stop was, of course, the tamale stand!

On to the mountains and the Villas Pico Bonito! My heart smiled so warmly when lisa turned to me in the car and said, "Thanks for bringing us to the river!" Makes all the planning and all the anticipation of hoping they'll have a good time worth every second!!

Our 2 bedroom villa is beautiful. But we were hot, so we hit the pool for naps!! Swimming and watermelon drinks with a few monkey la-la's thrown in.....a hike to the short waterfall.....a swim in the river. Ahhhhhhhhh....and just when I was going to say a perfecto day.....I remember the shower! Lisa has brought the sweetest smelling stuff to bathe with and we all had long, leisurely showers that made us smell like fleurs!! Dinner at the restaurant here...bruschetta, pork chops, shrimp, and mauhi-mahui! So, at this point I would say it was a perfect day but alas one more thing takes it over the edge.........they saw LIGHTENING BUGS for the first time ever!! And you would have thought they'd seen Santa on his sleigh in the sky!! And we found out that our good friend, jules, gave birth to a healthy baby boy this day.

So, yeah..............NOW, I can honestly say it was a perfectly perfect day in Honduras!!

oops, here come the hikers.......Back later for pics and more hilarity!!

Oh Boy......as our friend, Antoni, and taxi driver would say. We are back on Blew Bayou now after a very rough ride back across the ocean on the ferry. 1 1/2 hrs of windy, rough waters and some of us got just a leetle bit seasick. Poor, poor clisa.......she hiked to the top of the waterfall this morning, has a cough and a bit of a cold.......and then...the ferry ride. Oh Boy. Let's just say it was one she will never forget. I was miserable and had stomach cramping so bad from the motion of the ocean and nerves that well, Oh Boy. But Katie? Strong, brave and smilin' all the way back across. She and the cap'n have gone to have dinner while the other two weinies stay onboard. Sweet lisa is in the bed looking for a long night of sleep.....

I'm sure days...no. Make that weeks from now, we'll all have a good laugh about the adventure this afternoon and appreciate the memories that were made in LaCeiba!

(trying to go thru pics to decide which ones to put here, but now I realize I have to wait till another day to get permission before I do it..............oh my! you know what that means!!)

Happy Days....!

It's late. Tired, but oh so content! Good friends + sailing the blue seas make for contentment.

Have to go to bed right now for we are getting up very early to catch the ferry with the locals .... hmmmm, wonder if there will be any pigs or roosters on there?.....to the mainland for a few days, but just wanted to pop in to let ya'll know that all is well. Girlfriends arrived on Wed. and we've been hitting it hard since then. Won't have internet in the mountains so it will be weekend before I can write a good, long post. And put some pics up. Don't leave me, for you will laugh and laugh at some of the antics on Blew Bayou this week!!

Tomatoes, anyone??

Today it's all about the FOOD!! and where we get it....
Last Saturday, we were in LaCeiba walking thru the mercada, the market place. I am always amazed....the smells, the sound of people talking and laughing.....but mostly? The colors! I just have a feeling that if the same scenario was set up and played out in the states.....a farmer's market of sorts....there is no way that the colors would come close to what a Central American market looks like! Everything is so vibrant, so alive!
Deciding what we would eat for lunch this day was kinda like walking thru the state fair, trying to decide if you want a corn dog or an elephant's ear. Heh! We finally decided on a plate lunch. From the ladies around the corner from the bus stop and across the street from the tamale man. Yes, before you even wonder......we did buy more tamales. One can never have enough tamales stashed away!! I digress. So........the whole family was there. Sitting on rocks. Watching the people, mostly us cuz we do look a bit out of place.....hmmmmmmm, can you imagine that? This day, the family is cooking smoked chicken, rice, salad and the ever famous tortillas. Pics will show the set up and the cap'n getting right into the middle of the action! He acknowledged to the woman, "Pollo?" and the lil boy in striped shirt looks up at him and says, "Chicken!!"!! Haha!We then took our plates to a bench in the town square and chowed down. Y-U-M-M-Y!!
We crossed back to Roatan on Sunday and since it took about 5 hrs, we just decided we'd done enough work for one day! So, we layed around putting off our chores.....which would be cleaning the boat and provisioning for our next guests.
Side note: marina managers had warned us that they had seen someone with a purple visor that had LSU on it. We had a mission. At dinner on Monday night, they sat right next to us and in the course of conversation, the guy mentioned that they'd been so busy getting married the previous Saturday.....I promptly told them that they should tell everyone they were honeymooners. He said....."Um, you pretty much just did!" haha. So, we're thinking how funny it is that someone from good ol' Loosiana is here with us....Tiger fans at that.....when today, we find another newlywed couple from Loosiana who are also Tiger lovers!!! What are the odds? 3 LSU couples all at the marina swarming together. I truly think that LSU fans could prolly take over the world if we wanted to!!
Last pic is a taco from a jucos stand right across from the grocery store today.
If the sunny tropics don't lull one away to heaven, the food sure will!!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

I sit here with a very full heart. It is Good Friday. We made a short hike today, and on my way down, I imagined the hike that was made carrying the cross. And then the actual nails. I don't know....something about being in a completely different world from the one I'm used to living in, so in tune with the land and my surroundings, just really makes me stop and think about this day of the year in a way that I've never done before. I have felt closer to God today than any day I have ever spent kneeling in prayer in a church.
Of course, sitting on a balcony that overlooks Rio Cangrejal and seeing a magnificent waterfall just across the river from me, tends to put one's heart right into God's lap! We came here to escape the celebration and party of Semana Santa, Holy Week. The serenity of this place is undescribable. Toucan birds. Whoompa birds.Butterflies. Cool, cool breezes from the rainforest drifting down as the sun sets behind the mountains. People who are so helpful and nice that if you have to be around anyone, they are the ones you want to spend your time with. I have no idea what time it is. Barely, remember the days. And it's ok. It's exactly what I feel like I need to be doing.........just soaking it all in.

We arrived in the town of LaCeiba yesterday about 10am. Went to the grocery store and picked up some breakfast items and TAMALES! This is the home of the best tamale in the world. And we then headed straight for Villas Pico Bonito.
The place we stayed last time we were on the mainland. Just because we love it so much. And after being onboard for 5 1/2 weeks, it was EXACTLY what the doctor ordered for me! We enjoyed the company of the owner in the palapa bar(from Dallas!) (which looks so much like Rio Bonito!) and I went for a swim in the river. Collected some rocks as I do everywhere I go. A nice, leisurely dinner and an early night..........with breezes blowing thru every window in the house.
This morning, my lovely husband who is not only a very fine sailor man but also a great cook, made me breakfast. BACON and fried eggs and toast. Man, oh man.......I haven't had a rio bonito breakfast in a long time and this one hit the spot. Better than fillet mignon. Or even fresh tuna steaks! After very leisurely enjoying a morning on the balcony, we made a short hike to a smaller cascada and then played in the river. I even have bruises on the 'bottom of my feet' to prove it! So. Much. Fun. To the bar for some internet time and a monkey la-la and the invention of a new drink! Watermelon and vodka/rum. Seriously ya'll..........they put watermelon into a blender, add water and brown sugar......we suggested the vodka! and it is the perfect afternoon refreshment. Back to the cabana for a nap. And that, my friends, is my accomplishment for the day!! Yet, I feel so rested and so complete that the only thing I could even find to gripe about might be the loudness of the crickett chirp or the musky smell of the jungle air!!!! HAHA! And believe me, I am in full appreciation of all that surrounds me and know that I am so undeserving of the beauty of this day. It's just been too perfect.

Tomorrow, we plan to go to town and experience a bit of the celebrations......which means we will prolly find an outside café bench to sit on and watch the people. The mercada is such a fun place to watch people…local people who love life.
Then, weather permitting, we will sail back to Roatan to get ready for guests. HA! Girlfriends..guests??
I think not. Just two wild and crazy chicks coming aboard to cruise and have a wild and crazy time!! And believe me, we’ve got a wild time planned for them!

So, I close tonight, hoping that all of you have a very Happy Easter and that you find it in your hearts to realize how blessed we all are! And how thankful I am that my college roomate’s husband is making the turn back to good health and that my children are all happy, safe and healthy.
(Easter Bunny…………I promise that the next Easter Sunday that I’m home, we will have the biggest, best and most fun Easter egg hunt, ever!!!

A few posts back, I showed a pic of the cap'n doing his mountain activity of "raft watching" from a boulder. Well, he's perfected his art now and simply puts his feet up on the balcony of our room to be the "Best All Round White Water Rafting Watcher"!! And he wonders why his bones are sore today? Why, it's all that mountain exercise!!
The nice people I talked about earlier? We just 'happened' to mention to richard, the owner, that our only complaint about the place would be that there are a few limbs blocking our view of the waterfall from our room.......um.....the next thing we know "my friend" is cutting those suckers down right in front of us!!! And hauling the remains away. He was very proud of his work and we just looked at each other and thought.......We better be careful what we ask for!!!

Some Easter beauty for you!

If you look closely, you can see the waterfall behind this beautiful bloom!

A blooming poinsetta for Easter Sunday!!

And this one's for you, Josh................LOOK HOW CLOSE THAT SHIP GOT TO US!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday was a Screensaver day! (Chad&Elaine!! wink, wink)

Sunday, after chad & rachel left, I had a salt scrub and a massage........ahhhhhhhhhh. Then the cap'n had pulled all the shades in my room, and Maria (rachel!) had made the bed (which after she did so, she announced, "Well spank my ass and call me Maria!") (Hence, her new name!) I promptly went to sleep! A cool, dark, clean nap. Nice.
Afterwards, we finally went to the Butterfly Garden at 4:50. They closed at 5 and no way, no how, were they going to let us in. So close; yet, so far away! Hopped a cab over to Tranquil Seas to listen to the South American band they had, but it soon got boring, so we caught some pulled pork next door and headed home.
Monday was a waiting day. Cap'n dove in the morning and I put a pot of Roatan red beans on to cook. Was set up to do a sunset shoot of a very pregnant sweetheart but she got called into a meeting and by the time she was finished, we'd lost the light. Hoping to get her when we get back on Sunday or Monday, if she hasn't already had him by then. So, we basically sat around all day waiting for that, instead of exploring the southern coast to the eastern tip end of the island, as we had earlier planned. No biggie. It's island time, remember? And believe me, we've grown quite accustomed to doing absolutely nothing, if we HAVE to!! In other words, we have turned into complete bums. But we're really good at it!!

Today, tuesday, we left about 6:30.........ahem, or should I say the cap'n cranked up the motors then and I woke and quickly fell right back to sleep.....there's something about those motors purring underneath the bed that makes for a very sound sleep! We skirted the southern coast all the way to the east and anchored at Pigeon Cay. I now can honestly say that this was the most beautiful place I've seen yet. Pristine waters...5 different colors of blue...a small uninhabited island with shells and palm trees.
The pictures will tell the tale. Which is why I call this a screensaver day.....picture postcard pics from this place!! We walked all around the island, finding the coolest shells and seeing conch shells at every step...jessica, I took pics of them all for you and even saw a conch cemetery! Then back to the boat to get our snorkel gear. Un-Believ-Able. Honestly. This was the best snorkeling I've done since the very first time I snorkeled, over 15 yrs ago. Every fish imaginable with huge coral reefs just glowing in the sunshine. Schools of fish, LSU fish!, sand steps that had been made by the winds and tides. Just stunning. But soon, the sun started to fade and the cap'n motioned me up and said "Time to Go". Little did I know how it really was time to go........dark clouds above. So, we take off on a 4 hr sail to Cayos Cochinos, which is a halfway point to the mainland of Honduras. We are going back into the mountains for a few nights because this is the celebration of Holy Week, Semana Santa, and all the mainlanders come to Roatan to party and play. We thought we'd hit the mainland while they are all on the islands. Well, that lil cloud? Kinda turned into a pretty big storm so you already know where sophiejane and I went.....to our room! Was quite a scary, er...um...educational afternoon!! To say the least. And I just THOUGHT I'd seen the Perfect Storm a few weeks ago..........BUT, finally got here about 5 and we picked up a mooring with the cap'n showing off ALL of his sailing skills, while sj and I sat google-eyed in the salon.
While I write this, my sweet puppy is looking at me with that "Why didn't I get to go to shore to do my business today" look, I am remembering not how our day ended....but how it began. With the most beautiful landscapes on land and underwater that I've ever seen! True works of God.........and man, oh man is He ever good at it!!!

Some gems from the island!

Ya know? No matter where you go in this world, there's always a piece of "bamboo" lying around!! Heh!

It's now Wednesday afternoon and we've tied up at Lagoon Marina until Sunday. Tomorrow, we'll go back up the mountain and stay at our sweet villa Pico Bonito for two nights. Ahhhhhh....cool, rainforest air. Listening to the sounds of the Rio Cangrejal right below us.....enjoying Holy Week. I WILL be thanking Him for what He's done for us on Easter Sunday..in one of His most glorious creations....

Once again, I'll try the re-cap..

Now, where was I?
So.........Wednesday morning, we motor over to Punta Gorda....or as close as we could get to it and go to have lunch at the Sacrifice cafe. I've talked about this place before and yet everytime we go, it just seems to get cooler and cooler. This day we all had fried shrimp except for Karessa, who had her a big ol' fried fish...head and all. YUM!

I need to explain here about having lunch on these islands..it doesn't get prepared until after you've ordered. Literally. Like we think that if you order chicken....they may go out and catch some chickens to fry. Seriously. And because of that, it may take 2 to 2 1/2 hours to have your meal. Which also means there is a whole lot of talking, laughing, telling stories and basically just sitting back to really enjoy the comraderie of mealtime. Which...really....isn't that how it is supposed to be? Not how fast you can get it or how quickly you can finish a meal in order to get something else done......but just the simple joy of mealtime with friends and family. These islanders know alot more than Americans who crave convenience!! Ok, off my soapbox!
After lunch, we move to a spot off the reef that is good for snorkeling but it is too rough that day so we anchor at Big Bight, a very secluded spot off of Coolie Point for the night. Only one or two houses in site and one rather large bale of hay, er.......I mean a standard red poodle! No lie. I looked thru the binoculars trying to see thru a house's windows and saw something red-like and it turned out to be a red poodle!!! So funny but I guess you had to be there to think so!
Cooked 'shrimp chuckie' for dinner on the boat and enjoyed a nice evening of bright stars and a cool breeze blowing thru the boat.
Wednesday morning, we go out across the reef and this time, it's beeee-uti-ful for snorkeling. Crystal clear waters and beautiful coral and starfish and fishies to look at.


About the time we had all had our fill of snorkeling, Billy rows up to our boat in his fishing boat. Now, this story is one I will not soon forget. Billy is a local fisherman who wants to be a country western singer! He loves Travis Tritt and Randy Travis and is hoping to get discovered by someone to make him famous. Hated to tell him that it would not be by us. But he sang us a song with all of his heart and soul put into it and we decided it was not half bad! And all of this is coming from his wooden carved fishing boat. Pics will follow! And to make this story even better....his mama had wanted lobster for breakfast so he goes out, catches some lobster, brings it to her and she cooks him breakfast, he goes back out to get his catch for the day and comes by our boat where he finds 6 very hungry lobster lovers! We bought his whole catch!! 11 lobster, 7 or 8 conchs, and a beautiful shell to keep as a souvenir.....and he cracked the lobster and cleaned out the conch shells for us while he sat in the boat! It was a hoot, I tell ya! Don't know who was funnier...him or all of us just watching all of this in disbelief!!













Billy, singing his country western song!

And more to the story?? Along comes another boat of snorkelers, driven by Chris who introduced himself as a cheery Brit and told us about a little place he had in Sandy Bay with a bar....we should come by for a beer. So we did. O>M>G!!
The most beautiful tropical bar and cabanas you have ever seen! All built by himself and his dad, from England, and there was not a piece of plastic in sight. All wood and all handmade. With the most amazing place to watch sunsets and enjoy life that you've ever seen. I may have captured on of my most stunning sunsets yet here.....I know, I know.....I think every one of them are stunning!
So, we all walk around in awe of this place and have a few drinks which led to a few more....then a sampling of tapas that his girlfriend from Spain cooks up...and then a few more drinks....and before you know it, we have new best friends!! Chris and Monica and his dad, Paul. oh.....and did I mention that chris is 26 yrs old???!!!!!! We finally dinghy back to boat, sounding like a bunch of silly, laughing bums and having a ball!
Thursday morning, we leave out early to catch a taxi to West End for breakfast. Only there are too many of us for one taxi, so the girls get in one and the guys hitched a ride on the back of a truck to ride into town! (The city boy was dying here!) Then, we're off to Gumbolimba Park for some ziplining!! I was too chicken but the rest of them strapped on the gear and took off to 20 different platforms thru the jungle. I laughed and laughed. Oh Boy....as Antoni would say!

And then finally. FINALLY. After 15 yrs of travel and wanting to see monkeys, I get to see, hold, and watch monkeys!! So. Much. Fun. 11 of them. And did you know that boy monkeys have something that I could not ever, in my wildest dreams, imagine an animal having?? Even me? My imagination? I'll include a pic to make my point!
And now what time is it? Why, it's monkey la-la time, of course!! We stop for a cold la-la and some snacks before going back to Tranquil Seas, Chris's bar, where we really shouldn't have stayed so long, if ya know what I mean....! Dinner at Blue Bahia and back home to boat.
Only to wake up the next morning around 7am with someonesaying"hellooooooo...hellooooooooo at the back of the boat. Cap'n gets up to talk to him and he tells us we have to leave...that it's a park and we cannot anchor there. Now, we've already anchored here and spent several nights in the past few weeks but this day, they tell us we have to leave. River Rats have been kicked out of another anchorage.........um.....do you think someone is trying to tell us something??!!!
So....we haul you know what out of there, I go back to sleep and by the time I wake up, we're coming back into the marina. Needed fuel and the plan was to just fuel up and sail over to Fantasy Island for some beach time. But alas, we forget once again, we're on island time and it takes several hours for this lil chore to get accomplished. So we chilled by the pool and had fancy schmancy drinks delivered poolside all afternoon. Realizing it would be our last night all together, because the Edwards were leaving the next day, we all gussied up(which means showered!) and dinghyed over to Romeo's in French Harbor for dinner. Lobster and steak, which was vera, vera tasty.
Saturday morning brought good breakfast, more pool time and salt scrubs and massages for the baby girls before it was time for farewells. Saturday afternoon, we took chad and rachel, by taxi, to Coxen Hole, the capital of Roatan, for a walk thru the mercada. Nothing like seeing the streets and how the people of a third world country live to make you appreciate what we have at home. Everyone should see that. Yet; some of my best shots come from the faces of some of the happiest people in this third world country. They only know what they have and they love it. And the expressions on their faces show it. Just hoping I can show the real picture thru an image!

One more lobster dinner with my babyboy and my daughter in law on Saturday night (I think she had her request for lobster filled on this trip!) and before we knew it, it was time for them to fly away too...............boohoo!

But what can I say? I'm one happy mama who has had a wonderful week of hilarity and hugs to keep me going for awhile. Wish all the boys could have joined us but everyone goes in so many different directions, it's hard to make it all happen. But that's ok....cuz in a few weeks, I'll know just where to find those other two and I'll MAKE them come play with me!!! And know that soon, we'll all be able to sail away together, making memories just like we did this week.
Because after all, FUN, FRIENDS, LAUGHTER, CHILDREN = FAMILY!! and I have one of the best...muey bueno!!

Farewell dinner with the chirren!

I just typed out a major re-cap of our week and lost all of it, but the last paragraph........and way too tired tonight to do another one. Friends left this afternoon and kids are leaving tomorrow. Will come back then to do another one. Stupid Hondurian entrynet!!
Until then, here is a shot of all of us at dinner last night! Aren't they boo-ti-ful?? (laura and sandy.....just like a new home!!)