The Bay Islands

From the cockpit, the sail from Grand Cayman was fairly smooth. Sanibel soared through the water with ease. Jimi set a course, turned on the auto pilot and sat back to enjoy steady five to six knot speeds. Nothing required him to adjust the sails, which is usually a never ending job. However, the last thirty mile stretch was a different story. Just as the sun said goodnight the winds picked up. Jimi fought to keep Sanibel on course, the autopilot couldn’t handle the pressure which meant  Jimi had to hand steer the final six hours while regularly being smacked with salt water from the port side. He changed our destination for the night to the lee of the island because the winds were blowing to strong to enter our planned anchorage. He safely anchoring us about 1am Monday morning. The passage took about sixty hours. Jimi managed the helm the entire time taking twenty minute cat naps throughout. 

From below deck,  contents rolled around (including me). I decided not to take any motion sickness medication in case Jimi needed me to keep watch. For the majority of the trip I was miserable. I got up about twice a day to use the head. Barely drank any water, so I wouldn’t have to get up more and had a pile of snacks by my side. Laying there rolling back and forth, trying to hang on, every muscle in my body ached and I may have shed a few pounds. After the first twenty-four hours, I thought I’d have given anything to be able to get up out of that bed and walk around. By the time we anchored, I was so wore out, I didn’t want to get out of bed. Ironic? Usually I like to read, write, watch a movie or do some craft while we sail. But this trip I could do much of nothing.

The following morning we raised our quarantine and Honduras courtesy flags, pulled anchor and headed for the town of Banaka to check in. Approaching the point, the wind gusts picked up making us uncomfortable to continue. Jimi opted to find a hidey hole, anchor and wait it out. If caught we could be fined additional fees – well actually we weren’t sure what the consequences would be – but decided to take our chances.  It was Wednesday before the winds subsided to our favor. Surely our friends s/v Jingle would be wondering where we were and what happened to us. Therefore, we were anxious to make contact with them.

The bay was bustling with activity when we arrived. Small locals were skimming the water in their little motor boats. Helper boats were catching our attention trying to sell us some fuel or other service. Three to four other monohulls arrived about the same time, all trying to anchor and get to shore to also check in.

Check in was a breeze. No questions were asked by customs or immigration. No one boarded Sanibel to  inspect her and everyone was friendly. We were automatically given ninety days on our cruising permit and visas for a total cost of 114 LEM or six U.S. dollars We are specifically  at Guanaja Island. There are several islands here and as I understand it, there aren’t any roads, street signs or even automobiles on any of these islands. The town, built on one of the islands, is Banaka with several ma-and-pa grocery stores (or more like mini-mini Wal-Marts), an internet shop, restaurants and more. It’s all here but in close proximity and small scale. With only sidewalks available, everyone walks everywhere.  Locals line the sidewalks with their product for sale: clothing, fruits, jewelry, etc. Boats or skiffs are used to get from one island to another, water taxi’s are readily available for those without their own mode of transportation. Canals come into the city; it’s said to be the Venice of Honduras. It is a floating town. The native language is Spanish, but many of the hanging signs are in English and we’ve talked to quite a few people who speak English nearly as well as we do (still with their Spanish accent).  The grocery prices are right on target with what we would pay in the United States. After Cayman, who wouldn’t be happy about that? The currency is Lempira. Approximately 20 LEM is equal to one U.S. dollar. We withdrew 4,000 LEM from the ATM when we arrived. So much money makes us feel rich, but it also went quickly when we began buying a few things. At the grocery store we bought a small bag of dry milk, a handle of Bacardi, a block of cheese, and a bottle of vodka – the cost was nearly 800 LEM. And then we spent 600 LEM on a data card for our phone. Along our walk we came across a man selling mangos and plums. He talked us in to buying mangos, normally 5 LEM each, but for us a special price of 10 LEM for three and a small bag of plums also for 10 LEM. To fruit isn’t ripe yet, so we  haven’t tried it. Jeston, our mango sales guy, is now our ‘go to’ man. He’s helped us many times finding supplies, as we have also sent our cruiser friends to him for mangos.

After the check in process and a small tour of the town, we sailed to where Eric and Sandrine on s/v Jingle were waiting for us. We explained where we’d been only to find out they left Cayman twenty-four hours after us and had only arrived  in the Bay Islands on Tuesday. They were still wondering where we were, but only for a day and not three like we’d thought. That evening we went aboard their boat. Sandrine  prepared for us a beef and gravy meal with mashed potatoes.  And then we played Mexican Train.

We’re excited to take photos of the area. From the water, houses line the mountain sides, their roof tops peek through the mountainous carpet of green trees . Old wood pylons protrude from the water’s surface and docks hover over the salty blue liquid.  Sanibel is anchored close to a rock islet which a large structure is built upon, supported with stilts on the massive rock. We can see vegetation peeking over the top of the structure, it looks to be some sort of garden area in which the house is built around. Trees also decorate the front of the building. It’s one of those things you might expect to see in a magazine or on the internet, but never in person. It’s quite an amazing sight and a beautiful structure.

I’m a little off on my times again. While Honduras is in the Central Time Zone, they do not adjust for daylight savings time. So now we are on what we know of as Mountain Time.