The Bay Islands of Honduras

The View from the Peak

There are several islands off the Northern coast of Honduras, the major ones being Roatan, Guanaja, and Utila. Earthling landed in Guanaja after 360 miles, 75 hrs passage from Providencia. When we rounded the North Eastern tip of Honduras, the winds changed against us blowing from west and made the passage much longer. I was fortunate to have my friends, Marcin & Darius as crew, especially since the autopilot would not cooperate at all the time and somebody had to be behind whelm! 

Marcin behind the wheel

“Guanaja” is another less visited island by outsiders. Which makes it more pure and quiet. This place is 45 squre miles (55 Sqkm) in size but most of the people live in the main town of Bonnaca, which is less than one square mile cay. It’s interesting that there is so much land around but people prefer to live close to each other! The houses on Bonacca are mostly build on stilts. Some refer to it as the Venice of the Caribbean, I wouldn't go that far! There are absolutely no cars or scooter on Bonacca. 

Checking in to Honduras for sailors is very cheap ($3 pp.), which gives Honduras a big plus to stop at! When you go a shore to check in, you will probably be greeted by Red (Rojo)! He is a local friendly guy that is working like an agent. Helps the boaters to check in, find things and he is a source of information. In these smaller islands, many are trying to be a guide and make a buck, and be aware if you get a quote for one thing, it might change by the time it’s done! That’s common in many less developed places. 

There is one airport in Guanaja where Darius flew out of to Ceiba and further to San Pedro Sula. Flying in and out of these less visited islands can be a pain sometimes. It took Darius over two days to get back to Chicago. However, in the sister island “Roatan” there are daily nonstop flights to and from Houston!  

The mountain across Bonacca (800ft Altitude) is a good steep hike, and when you get up there, the view over the cays and the different shade of blue is breath taking and spectacular. One could sit here for hours and watch over the ocean!

The best hikes are up to waterfalls and in Guanaja, there are a few of them, but it’s on the north side of the island. The fastest easiest way to get there is to hire a lancha (motor boat) through the canal by the airport. If you are adventures like these Earthlings, then you anchor off “Savannah Bight” and walk 2 hrs on the only road on the island by “Mangrove Bight” and on the beach through the jungle to the secluded waterfall.  

The main dock on Bonacca

Houses on stilts

Walking through the narrow streets of Bonacca

Central Strip in Bonacca

More Houses on Stilts

Rojo is walking into his house

Rojo's Nephew Playing with Fish

Going to the Airport

Graham's Cay

Dunbar Rock (Posada)

The Best Shower

Following Guanaja, Marcin and I sailed down-wind to the tourist capital of the bay Islands, Roatan. This long narrow landscape (100mile²) has many coves that are beautiful and perfect for anchoring. Some of them are secluded but Earthling anchored in the largest one where all the cruisers are, close to Fantasy Island in the French Harbour. Roatan has a different vibe; there are mostly Americans that come here for vacation and for diving. The long reef barrier around Roatan makes it to a diver's heaven. Roatan also offers several beautiful long sandy beaches, which of many are occupied or owned by resorts and hotels. 

While Marcin was departing from the airport, I got an opportunity to rent a scooter from a local person. For the following two days over 200 miles was driven up and down the hills through towns and around Roatan!

West Bay, Roatan

West Bay, Roatan

The East View on Roatan, Santa Elena, Isla Morat, and Isla Barbareta 

Camp Bay, Roatan

Parrot Tree Beach Resort and Marina

A View of the Village of Sandy Bay

Roatan Divers in West End, owned and operated by Swede Karl

Boats from Coco View Resort

Sleeping Iguana at the Sanctuary

Love from the Bay Islands

San Andres

The Reef Barrier on the East

Earthling finally departed the Panamanian waters last week. A 220 nautical miles sail took us from Portobello to San Andres on one tack in 45 hours. The weather could not been any better, calm seas, and moderate winds were the perfect conditions especially for the inexperienced Panamanian crew, Marie Louise. I had to make sure to have a Panamanian citizen aboard to get permission to exit the waters of Colon area, smile!  

San Andres is located close to Nicaragua and Costa Rica but it’s part of Colombia. This is a vacation island and mostly visited by Latin Americans, primarily Colombians, Chileans, and Argentinians. It’s flat, sunny, windy, beautiful white sandy beaches, and lots of tourist. There is lots of activity around the main anchorage in front of the town. Jet skis and tourist boats are zooming close by without any consideration, No wake laws are absent here!

In the Background, Johnny Cay

Speed Boats

The first impression of the island was the active people. Many were running along the beach with their nice running equipment. People were biking around on racing bikes and so forth. We were surprised of how athletic people in San Andres were! The following day we went ashore and realized that there was a triathlon!     

The Board Walk along the Beach

When you check in to Colombia you must hire an agent that does all the paper work. In San Andres, the cost of hiring an agent is $80, in addition to the tourist card $25pp required by anyone visiting San Andres and Providencia. (Agent: Rene speaks a little English and can be reached on VHF16 or +57-315.680.7980, serrana_agencia@hotmail.com)  

San Andres is only 8 miles North to South and 2 miles East to West. It’s easy to bike around and explore it. Common transportation is golf carts and motorbikes. Marie and I rented a golf cart and drove around the island. On the leeward side (West) of the island, the water is calm and clear with coral lines and a perfect place for snorkeling. The beaches are mostly on the windward side.

South End

The residents of the island are mostly Caribbean with a Colombian twist. The natives speak Creole, English, and Spanish. On the radio, mixed Caribbean and Latin music is played! It feels good to be back in the Caribbean spirit!

Marie flew back to Panama yesterday and tonight Darius is flying in from Chicago. In a couple of days we are going to sail to Providencia, which should be much more tranquil. 

Love from San Andres   

Read other updates of Colombia

Cruising Colombia
Roadtrip in Colombia

Islands of Colombia
A Fishfull Passage

Aruba Arriba

Another overnight, 200 mile passage brought Earthling to Aruba from Los Roques. She sailed with a full Genoa the whole distance. Unfortunately we didn’t get to stop at the other Dutch, ABC Islands, Bonaire and Curacao, since Katherine had to catch a flight back to the U.S from Aruba.

Grand Plaza

As we were approaching the South Eastern side of the island, in sight were industry and oil refinery. Close to the airport, there was a big smoke and it was the waste land fill. That’s not how you would imagine Paradise! Nevertheless, Aruba has a well known name, it’s like a brand! This Island is wealthy in it’s natural resources. First gold and then black gold, oil, was discovered in Aruba in mid 18 and early 1900s. It has been the major income of the island up till 30 years ago, when tourism took over and it’s the main industry today. Arubans are smart and very good at promoting their island. It’s one of the most recognized vacation destinations in the Caribbean. There are tourist from all parts of the world, mostly South and North Americans and Europeans. Earthling is anchored right by the airport in Oranjestad, small and large airplanes are landing frequently from everywhere. And then there are cruise ships, in and out daily. The cruising community is not big here, and protected comfortable anchorages are very few! The only place to check in with immigration and custom is at Barcadera port and it’s free. But if you decide to stay here more than five days, you have to hire an agent to declare your vessel, which can all be done at Renaissance Marina’s office for total of $70.

Pinchos Restaurant & Bar on the pier

Iguanas are Common in Aruba

The people of Aruba are rich in their culture. People from Netherlands have always amazed me of how open minded and accepting they are of other languages and cultures. Aruba belongs essentially to Netherlands, but Arubans can be white, black, Asian, and Hispanic and the mixture of all. Everybody speak Dutch, Papiamento, Spanish, and English. Papiamento is the local language of the ABC Islands. On FM101.7, I hear mostly Papiamento or Dutch but with a twist of Spanish and English. It’s amazing! I shouldn’t feel bad Mix and Matching Farsi/Swedish/English with some people, like my high school friend Nick. Who is flying in from Boston today for a few days.

Aruba is a relative flat small Island. Usually flat Islands have beautiful beaches. And along the long sandy beaches on the Northwestern side are all the hotels and plenty of good restaurants and bars.  

Since we arrived Aruba, the wind picked up and it has been blowing constantly 20-30kt. The predictions for the next seven days are the same, so Earthling will stay put here till the wind and waves come down before sailing to Colombia.

Love from Aruba

Martinique

Church in Anse d'arlet

Since arriving in Martinique, we have anchored in 5 different bays. The port of clearance was St. Pierre, which is a small town on the northern part of Martinique. The tourist office has computers for checking in and it was free! We love free! The anchorage in St. Pierre is deep and you have to go a few hundred yards from shore to anchor in 15-20 ft of water. There were northerly swells the night we were there which made it a bit uncomfortable!
The second anchorage was in Fort De France. It’s a relatively small place to anchor and it’s busy with ferry traffic. One night when we came back to take the dinghy back to the boat, we saw the crew of a Danish boat stranded without their dinghy. It was stolen from the dock, so we rowed them to their boat and showed empathy. Fortunately, I don’t really have to worry about Earthling 8.8, since most of the time there is no outboard on it and if somebody took it, they wouldn’t get far! Based on experience, there is more crime in big cities than small towns! I made a rule after our experience in Ponce, that anytime we anchor in an urban area, we have to lock up everything!  
Our friend on “Margaret” recommended a visit to Anse d’Arlet. There is a Grande and Petite Anse d’Arlet and we anchored in the small one since the Grande was too busy! However, there was a reason that one was busier than the other! Petite Anse d’Arlet is not as protected and can become very rolly. We could not wait to wake up in the morning and sail to the next place! There is a trail from petite to grande over the hill, but you might get lost and end up on the cliffs and rocks on the other side, which almost happen to us! Easier route is to take the major road and walk 20 minutes on the flat surface. 
The easter weekend, we were anchored in Ste. Anne, which is a small touristy town, with many small restaurants, bars, and a beautiful long beach. Ste. Anne was packed during that weekend with families camping, barbecuing, and partying on the beach. This anchorage was calm and comfortable. 
Our last stop was in Marin and it is crazy how many boat are anchored here! Marin is definitely the yachting center of Martinique and the windwards! There are boat yards and chandeliers, but the prices are based on the European standards! I was looking for a small o-ring for the sink and it cost €2.50, forget about it! Furthermore, Marin is a hurricane hole and no matter how windy it is, you don’t move much. We checked out here a few minutes ago without being charged. The French Islands are great to check in and out of! You put all your info in a computer and nobody asks to look at any paperwork, passports or boat documents! With the exception of St. Barts, the French islands have the cheapest custom and immigration fees! It’s expensive to stay in St. Barts, the charge is based on the size of the boat per day, it cost us €8.5 per day!   

The highlight of the visit in Martinique was the Easter weekend and Des Accras (Crab festival) traditional ceremony. The street stands serving fried crabs and other fried sea food have valuable deals; I bought 6 pieces of fried crabs in dough for 2 Euros outside the church in Fort de France and in Ste. Anne. Unfortunately Nico can not have any fried food because of his stomach issues (hernia)! On the other side, Nico is a great cook and since he joined Earthling, it’s been easier for me to give up the cooking responsibilities to him. I have to admit that the food served aboard is more healthy now! Some of the beautiful architectures in Martinique are the Catholic churches. During the Easter weekend, the bells were heard more often than ever, it is after all a peak season for the churches! 
“Zero to Cruising” posted a great update about the Easter crab festivities in Martinique, check it out here!

I finally found time to finish installing the AIS unit purchased a few months ago. AIS stands for Automatic Identification System and it works like a digital radar! It’s required by law for all large commercial vessels. It simply identifies and communicates with other vessels by name, speed, heading, GPS location, destination, classification, call sign, etc. There are receivers and transceivers. The unit installed on Earthling is a West Marine AIS 1000 transceiver and it’s connected to the Garmin Chart plotter. It has only one button, which is the silent mode, where you can receive and not transmit! In some waters in the world it’s necessarily to utilize that button to avoid piracy!
A common collision scenario is between commercial and pleasure craft at night or in bad weather conditions. AIS definitely minimizes that risk!
It’s important that large vessels see a small sailboat like Earthling, and if I’m single handing and asleep, it will beep till I wake up! The alarm can be set based on time or distance. Pleasure craft are not required by law to have this unit but I would recommend it to cruising boats that make long and overnight passages. In addition, it is fun to use it in busy ports or anchorages. This little project was accomplished with the help of Mike Sweeny! 

The Island of St. Lucia is awaiting our arrival tomorrow. 

Love from Martinique

View the photo album of Martinique here!

Welcoming Antigua

Jolly Harbour

When you sail to a new country, your first step ashore should be towards Customs and Immigration, where you have to check-in. This is very important, especially in the current and former British Islands. You have to fly a Quarantine-flag (yellow flag) on the starboard side of your vessel every time you enter a country. Which lets people know your vessel has not cleared customs. In some countries like Antigua and Barbuda, it is recommended that you even fly the courtesy flag under the Q-flag. A courtesy flag is the country’s flag and you fly it out of respect to the country your are visiting. Antigua is known to be strict about their check-in laws, so make sure you have all documentation needed when you come here. Our experience with Immigration, Customs, and Port Authority here in Antigua could have been worse but it turned out quite pleasant. They all treated us warmly and we even got to stay on their dock overnight.
We entered Jolly Harbour anchorage at night, after a 16 hour passage from Nevis, but it is an open and clear cove which made it easy to come into. Otherwise, I dislike very much coming into new anchorages after dark. Jolly Harbour is well protected and it’s a port of entry. Many regattas are organized here and there is a strip of shops, many restaurants, bars, a supermarket, a boatyard, and a Budget Marine. We only purchased  some cheese and bread at the supermarket since prices were on the higher end for us. When entering Jolly Harbour it has a familiar feel to Florida, with all the houses right by the water along with docks for their boats.

Kelly, Amber, and Isabella

We have already gotten to know some friendly, generous locals in this area. The other day, we met Amber at her bar/restaurant “Miracles” right outside Jolly Harbor on the main road. After a cold refreshing Wadaldi (locally brewed beer), we were ready to go back to Earthling to make dinner, but Amber insisted that we stayed and invited us for another cold one. After discussing our passion for cooking, she offered to make one of her special dishes for us and we had to accept the offer. It makes me somewhat emotional to meet all these beautiful people around us.

It’s official, we are finally out of any alcoholic beverages, no rum or beer. We are debating if we should quit drinking, since that comes high on the expenditure sheet at the end of each month! Or maybe we make drinking a special occasion like we do with red meat!?
Love from Antigua