It is hard to believe that we were back in the states for 2 months. Our trip up seems so long ago (we are now back in Guatemala) but the time there flew by in a blur. It is amazing how much we accomplished in our 2 months and 9,000 miles while living out of suitcases with a few nights staying here or there. Each visit was too brief. As much time that we spent in each place we would have like to spend more. We tried to do much but everything was needed.
A welcome back toast at our first dinner with dos Gallos. Did not realize I grabbed Light until after I opened them.
During our journey we picked up stuff to facilitate our road trip such as paper towels, food, drinks, paper plates and other things that would support our traveling independence. We even joked about having our own bar because we traveled with wine, rum and coke. In the last few days we figured ways to consume what we could, leave what we should and pack things that could fit in to our bags when we returned to the boat.
So with an early morning trip to the airport on 5 September it was over. The net result of our 2 months had either been shipped ahead or was in our bags. In the past I always traveled light but now we were traveling (very) heavy. I looked at the scales as our bags were weighed and we had about 200 lbs of cargo going back with us of which maybe 10 lbs were clothes. Because of the assortment of goods we made an inventory of everything we packed for 2 reasons. First so we could have it for own shipboard inventory and second to see if anything was removed by DHS. I'm really glad we did this because it helped highlight in our minds what we were bringing back.
Both of our flights were on time and the trip was uneventful. I was a little concerned because with the hurricane moving into the Eastern Caribbean flights would begin to get cancelled at the Miami hub and disruptions would begin to occur so that even if there were no issues at our destination we could be impacted from weather elsewhere. From subsequent news we learned that flight changes were being announced later Tuesday, the day we flew, and beginning Wednesday widespread flight changes were being arranged with Miami facing major impacts by Friday.
Our temporary housing while we're on the hard.
We had some concern on the first leg of our trip. After departing Chicago I tried to check the status of our checked bags. When the status updated it showed 3 bags being checked in but only 1 being loaded. That was disconcerting since it meant DHS might have delayed our bags because of their inspection. There was no concern about them checking, but it would cause a huge logistical issue on the other end. The next flight from Miami to San Pedro Sula was Wednesday, assuming it wasn't impacted by the storm, which meant even if they put the bags on the next flight to Miami we would have to stay over in San Pedro Sula to claim them or have a service pick them up and transport them across the border to Guatemala from Honduras. It also wouldn't be clear how the bags would clear customs at San Pedro Sula since we wouldn't be allowed to go into the secure area and the airline couldn't forward them. Somehow we would need a cleared agent to do that which meant more time and expense. We didn't get too concerned immediately because I thought things might update once we got to Miami showing the bags unloaded or we might get some other update. Or if all else failed we could talk to an agent to get clarification. However, shortly after we landed our status showed bags unloaded in Miami and then reloaded so we were fine. Crisis averted.
When we got to San Pedro Sula we were concerned that we might be examined because of all the supplies we were bringing in. The regulations specifically prohibit meat, fresh produce, dairy products. The entrance questionnaire also includes food. Among our many items we were carrying included things that some people would call food. They were all packaged and processed items not requiring refrigeration so I reasoned we would explain them as non-food supplies. But, after a brief and friendly stop at the immigration station we retrieved our bags and they scanned them and we were through. The immigration officer looked at our questionnaire but unlike everywhere else nobody collected it. So we walked out of the secure area with our bags and back into the tropics. Almost home.
Inside views of the apartment building.
We had previously arranged with the driver that took us to the airport to pick us up and as expected he was there waiting for us. So in less than 30 mins from the time we left the plane we were out of the parking lot headed home. Not bad for an international airport arrival. There are lots of warnings out about dangers at San Pedro Sula. I'm not sure I would wander around parts of the city at night and some of the warnings involve Americans being abducted at the airport. But, as in most things it's important to always maintain situational awareness and don't look like a victim. We went there and left there without incident.
The last hurdle was crossing back into Guatemala. Just like going the other way we stopped at the unified border station and went to one window to check out of Honduras and then to the next window to enter Guatemala. A nice 10 minute rest stop and we were on our way.
We got back to the boat and it looked as if we had just left it the day before. Inside and out it was clean and bug free. Aden, the guy the yard had checking it did a great job. Inside the air conditioner and dehumidifier were chugging away. The air temp was 82 and the humidity was 30%. We had been warned about mold growing because of the moisture, after all it is the rainy season, but mold won't grow in 30% humidity. The packaged food we left appeared fine with no spoiling in the heat but we needed a few days to inventory and examine everything as we felt good to be back aboard. But now the work begins.
The work begins.
Our shipped boxes were in the boat and we took our heavy bags of supplies to the boat. We immediately unpacked the boxes so we could get the cardboard out of the cabin. One cardinal rule about having a boat in the tropics is to keep the cardboard out of the cabin. Roaches lay eggs in cardboard and when they hatch they will infest your boat. Fortunately there were none so the boat remained virtually bug-free and everything we shipped was now at home!
The next day we began unpacking our bags and checking our inventory. Remarkably everything we packed arrived except for a partial roll of paper towels. A roll of paper towels! Maybe DHS had to analyze them, maybe they needed them for their break room or maybe they just forgot to put it back in the bag. But everything arrived in perfect order so we started filling up the boat. It was great to be home!
One of the purchases we made when we back in the land of Amazon was a pack of silicone rings. For some time we've been concerned about wearing the simple gold wedding bands that we've worn since we were married. The gold can become potential targets in a theft or the ring could get caught on a piece of hardware around the boat damaging a finger or worse. So we left our rings secured in good storage and now have matching silicone wedding bands that no thief will want and will tear if caught.
Our matching silicone wedding bands.
But, we aren't really home yet. For the next couple of weeks we are having work done on the boat while it is out of the water. Before we left we got the boat ready to haul and hauled it out so the work could begin once we returned. While the boat is on the hard and the work being done we are staying in an apartment at the marina that has some conveniences we wouldn't have on the boat out of the water. Even though it keeps the boat comfortable, our small window air conditioner doesn't have the capacity for us to be living there and constantly going in and out. Our main conditioning unit is water cooled and we can't run it out of the water. We can't use our refrigerator because that also is water cooled although we could just use it as an ice box. But having a functional kitchen is better than living in the constraints we would have on the hard. On the hard I keep all the openings taped shut to keep bugs out. If we open them we run the risk of an infestation. Finally, in the apartment we have a working bathroom. On the hard we would need to climb down and use one of the public heads even at night or use our holding tank, but in the heat on the hard that would get unpleasant and eventually the tank would get filled and our shower water would have to go out on the pavement. Where we are on the hard there is no potable water source so we would be eventually depleting our water supply without the opportunity to refill it. So we stay in the apartment.
The apartment reminds me of Army housing I've lived in. The essentials are there but it's not home. Very stark and utilitarian. Basic assortment of dishes and utensils with a gas stove that has no pilot so it has to be matchlit every time. A nice fridge and a microwave but it limits our ability to really invest in food because of the dearth of our usual preparation equipment. Also, the cabin has 3 bedrooms. The bedroom we're in has an attached bathroom and the other 2 bedrooms share a common bath and all the other areas are shared. At this time there is nobody else here but I think that will change soon.
Outside our apartment are some organic papaya trees.
The boat work has started so now our focus is to get it done so we can begin sightseeing in this beautiful and wonderful country. We are having the marina strip and refinish the teak; clean and wax the hull which includes polishing the stainless steel hardware; repaint the bottom with copper-based ablative paint; rebed all our hardware including the ports; and while we were on the hard the yard had a fellow checking the boat constantly and cleaning it. The impressive thing is that the cost when compared to the US is all the work will be done for about what I would pay to clean and wax the hull back in Maryland. It would even be less if the bottom paint weren't so expensive. That's about a third of the total cost.
When we returned to Guatemala our nation was focused on the flooding from Hurricane Harvey in Texas and then the focus became Hurricane Irma which has now crossed through the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and is crossing into the US. Here in Rio Dulce, probably a perfect hurricane hole, it is hard to watch everyone with boats and vulnerable property in the path of such a deadly storm. So far I think all our friends have made it safely through but the next 24 hours will reveal the truth for the remainder. We wish them all the best. I keep thinking of how wise it was for us to come here for hurricane season. We considered choices on the eastern side of the Caribbean but none afforded the safety we find here. Next season we will only stop in a place where we can have as much confidence in the safety of the harbor to avoid worry. We have several friends who had boats stored right in Irma's path. So far it looks like all have avoided disaster but tragedy was all around them.
Although our second night back as we were preparing to go to bed things began shaking as we felt an 8.2 magnitude earthquake a few hundred miles away in Mexico. The marina checked for damage and everything here was ok.
Looking out over the Rio Dulce from The Shack Cafe.
Throughout my life I learned to maintain situational awareness at all times and how to avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I guess in that sense our travels are boring because we're not on the edge of a hurricane, not fighting pirates, dealing with equipment failures or reinventing the wheel. We'll keep boring. Boring helps us sleep at night and allows us to socialize with friends and learn new cultures. It allows us to be home wherever we are and it's good to be home.
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