Rollin Down the River
This entry was posted on 2/25/2007 4:29 PM and is filed under Guatemala.
RIO DULCE - It seems we can´t get enough of this place. Before we headed to Antigua, Michael and Linda generously offered us a ride out to Livingston on their sailboat when we returned... it was an offer we couldn´t refuse! So after a few days kickin around in Antigua we returned to Tortugal Marina. That afternoon we happened to run into Elizabeth and Wayne, some very interesting folks we met a month ago on Glover´s Atoll! (We actually spotted them once from a bus a few weeks back on the way to Tikal but they didn´t see us) Elizabeth (a professional singer) taught us some exercises to expand our lung capacity and Wayne (an economist) talked to Anna about economist stuff. Turns out they were around for a few days so we spent some time catching up, playing rummycube and chasing giant moths. Before we left for Livingston Michael took this picture of us...
The next few hours were spent on the river... Michael is at the helm skillfully avoiding all manner of potential hazards and certain disasters. Look at the concentration...
Along the way Anna and I weren´t just sittin on our laurels... we learned a bunch. Michael walked me through charting their course to Belize while Linda showed Anna the systems on the boat. I also got to help navigate the river according to the charts. Underway we got a lesson on the auto pilot, the onboard gps/charting system, the particular rigging setup in use, what a 'rigid boom vang' was, and how to properly use a marine head. Here´s a view from the boat as we approached Livingston at the mouth of the river...
When we got to Livingston we helped dock the boat and spent the afternoon pretending it was ours while Michael and Linda headed off to imigration to check out of Guatemala. We ran into Oliver again, a frenchman who designed and built his own ginormous sailboat with the intention of chartering it. Ok back to us and 'our' boat... here´s a shot of me, Anna and Michael at the dock.
Getting to spend the day and night on the boat was fantastic. Had a little afternoon cocktail and some conversation, you know, just to get used to the cruising life. For dinner we had gargantuan burritos and some good Argentinian wine. Topped it off with the rest of the M&Ms Leigh brought us and a movie. That´s right, A MOVIE!! The accomodations were so comfortable, I could really get used to it. The next morning we had a little fruit cocktail, packed up our stuff, and sadly departed. We can´t say enough about how great Michael and Linda were and the fun time we had with them! Thanks guys, and we´ll see you in Boston if not sooner.
