As we move along the coast of Central America we find Internet harder and harder to come by. That is our excuse and we are sticking to it. But no more excuses, let me catch you up on our most recent travels. We are currently in Guanaja, Honduras. Guanaja is the easternmost island in the Bay Island Group. These islands are very popular with divers. The water is spectacular, the people are friendly and there is good food here....need we say more. But first let me do some backtracking.
We are new divers so it is a treat for us to be in the company of two very experienced divers: Barbara and Terry on the sailboat Wind Whisperer. Here we are back in San Andres going for a dive.
Steve gets a chance to try out our new underwater camera. Here is a nice Squirrel Fish.
The dreaded Lion Fish
Flounder hiding in the sand
A curious eel
A graceful Ray
Another curious eel
It was time for us to get out of San Andres. We waited and waited for good weather and then it came and we motor sailed the 50 miles to Providencia. Another Colombian owned island but so different than San Andres. Providencia is a volcanic island and has beautiful green mountains. The island is laid back, friendly and the people here love their island. It shows. Welcome to paradise.
Caribbean culture is alive and well here.
Idyllic lifestyle. How could you not love this?
Typical island home
We always manage to find good local food. Providencia has some great restaurants. Our host at Bamboo restaurant preparing a great New Year's Eve dinner.
Terry and Barbara celebrating their wedding anniversary, New Year's Eve. That would be hard to forget!
Like most Caribbean Islands, Providencia has a history of European dominance, piracy and slavery. Relics from the past are good reminders.
Nice day for a stroll
Sharing the road
One of the great local foods here are Arepas. A corn cake stuffed with egg or chicken or fish or ? Yes it is fried that is why it is sooooo good.
Local artist at work
We take a nice tour of the island with a local taxi driver. There are some very nice beaches here.
Bus bench
Nice claws!
Steve finds a local girlfriend
New Year's Eve celebration at Bamboo Restaurant.
More local artwork
We stay in Providencia for 10 days. We could stay longer because it is very nice here.
But the weather is looking really nice for a long sail and we decide to head to our next destination. We will sail 210 miles, west north west, towards a remote reef located off shore from Honduras. We have heard from other boaters that these reefs called, Hobbies and Cayo Vivorillos are very beautiful. We are in good company with our friends on Wind Whisperer and Sapphire. A fourth boat has joined us for this trip. Traveling with a group is always a good idea in this part of the world. We bid adios to Providencia at 1pm in the afternoon.
It is a great sail. We are making great time sailing at 8-9 knots. The wind is behind our beam and we fly our colorful Gennaker until it gets dark. Later we take down sails to slow our boat down or we will arrive at our destination too early. We always want to arrive at a new harbor during daylight.
The next evening we are anchored at the Hobbies. We are tired from the 26 hour sail and it looks as if we will get a good night of sleep here.
The next day the local fishermen pay us a visit. Thank you very much.
This part of the Honduran coast is a prime location for shrimp, lobster, crab, conch and various fish. The local shrimp boats go out fishing at night and come back to anchor in the morning.
Anchored at the Hobbies with Wind Whisperer and Sapphire.
Local fishing fleet
Later in the week we sail 16 miles west to Cayo Vivorillo. It is another beautiful anchorage.
Steve on the swim step pounding conch for dinner. Conch is delicious but must be prepared by pounding it with a mallet. It is great fried or chopped into cerviche.
We play boche ball on the beach in the evening and then it is happy hour.
Sunrise Cayo Vivorillos
And then it is time to move on again. This time we are heading 130 miles west towards Guanaja. We leave at 11 am and have another fantastic sail. Again we have to slow our boat down so we arrive at our new destination during daylight.
Next morning, "Hello Guanaja".
The island of Guanaja is one giant mountain range. There is very little flat land. People build houses here on rocks, stilts, land fill or anywhere their imagination takes them. The main town of Bonacca is located on a rock and and has a density rating that would make Manhatten seem like a suburb. The locals want to live on this rock . They love it here.
A new friend we meet ashore.
And as usual, our first order of business ashore is to find the local eatery. Here we are enjoying lunch at Nona's Restaurant.
The streets are narrow here. No cars, no bikes, no skateboards, no scooters.
Small boats OK
Electricity is expensive here....
Anchored at Bonacca.
We are planning to stay in the Bay Islands until they ask us to leave in 4 months. Then we will go somewhere else. Stay tuned for more on the Bay Islands.
Anne and Steve
S/V Fine Line
