There was a potluck held at the pavilion tonight, celebrating Cinco de Mayo. Scott and I went with guacamole, tres leches cake and mustaches in tow. And, no Cinco de Mayo celebration would be complete, without a festive hat (one I’ve been carrying around for 8 months, waiting to use)!! Ole~!
“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”
On our first evening here, I struck up a conversation at the pavilion with Andy, who is currently traveling the bay islands on his friend’s sailboat. He grew up in India, and we began to talk extensively about Indian cuisine (which Scott and I have come to love). Andy explained that food prepared by families in India is much different than what is found in stores and restaurants outside of the country. At the end of the night, Andy offered to come onboard and cook us a meal. As usual, I jumped at the chance for someone else to prepare our dinner!
Yesterday was our lucky night. Andy planned to prepare beef korma, lentils and some vegetables for us. At the local store, we shopped for spices, produce, rice and meat. What spices we couldn’t find, Andy brought with him, along with some lentils that he had pre soaked.
Compared to the sailboat he’s living on, our galley offered much more room, but the counters were soon full of peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes and many spices. Andy and I danced quite well together, as we both chopped ingredients and started things heating on the stove top.
The pile of sliced peppers and onions, along with the strong smell of spices in hot oil sent poor Howard running from the room. The poor guy spent the better part of 30 minutes with his eyes closed as they watered. I relocated him to our bed, away from the “fumes,” and he eventually settled back to sleep with his feet up in the air.
Since our meal preparation would be lengthy, we grilled some fish and a lobster tail that Scott had caught earlier in the day. It was a nice starter to nibble on as Andy continued to prepare dinner.
We chatted about our respective travels (mostly Andy’s, as he has many more under his belt than us), music, and life on a boat. Soon, all three burners on the stove were working on dinner. Under Andy’s watchful eye, the lentils simmered, the beginnings of our vegetables began to soften and the korma came together.
The onions and spices cooking with the beef reduced into a wonderfully smelling sauce.
Andy finished up by cooking some rice, and then our wait as over. It was time eat, and the delicious smells that had filled the boat for hours were now served up onto our plates. We happily dug in.
We made quick work of Andy’s amazing cooking, stuffing ourselves with the spicy goodness. I hope to be able to replicate some of what he made on my own. It was great fun spending the evening with Andy, and our dinner was amazing. Cheers to our new friend, and personal chef!
“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”
On Friday morning, we left West End and came to the area known as French Harbor. The wind forecast wasn’t the best (meaning we’d have head seas, no one’s favorite), but waiting for something better would have meant five or six more days at West End.
French harbor offers, among other things, a large grocery store, an Ace Hardware, a marine store and very few tourists. So, we made a quick but fairly bumpy trip (Howard was not pleased) “around the corner,” and along the southern coast of the island.
The rough ride was worth it, as we had decided to take a break from the sweltering temperatures and get a slip in French Harbor! Once we were out of the open ocean, I was able to take some pictures.
We made our way to Fantasy Island Resort & Marina. Timing was just right, as we were able to follow one of their dive boats through the reef, saving us the hassle of eye-balling our way.
Steve, the dock master, was there to catch our lines. He and his wife left Hawaii, bound for Annapolis, Md! When the dock master position presented itself, they accepted, and are now permanent marina residents. Steve helped us side-tie to the pier, which offers us terrific views from the boat.
The sound of breaking waves on the nearby reef is so loud, that you’d think we were anchored near a waterfall!
After plugging in and cooling off, we headed to the pavilion at dusk, where cruisers gather each evening. As we arrived, we were surprised to meet some of the marina locals…monkeys!! There had just been a bit of drama and screeching, that was quickly soothed by Steve’s offering of peanuts.
There are three monkeys who live on Fantasy Island, two males and a female (the names currently escape me). We are told that the female does not like women, so I kept my distance as she ate her peanuts. Steve warned us to keep things like shoes and such inside our boat, because the monkeys will take them. Scott is fairly sure that they have already made off with one of the gloves he uses when bringing in our paravanes.
The beer and wine bar in the pavilion is self serve, with latches on the refrigerators to keep the monkeys out, of course. A book is provided, to tally drinks next to your boat name. Payment is on island time, made that evening, or the next, or at the end of the week or at the end of your stay. We enjoyed music and singing from another cruiser, and chatted with a few of our new neighbors.
In addition to the monkeys, there are roosters and iguanas roaming on the island. Howard spotted this huge guy climbing the tree right outside our boat.
There are also many agoutis. These animals look like a guinea pig and a rat mated. They aren’t afraid of humans or noise, and wander the grounds (including the piers) freely as they look for food. Ick!
Howard is in “Wild Kingdom” heaven! The crying to get out began as soon as we tied up and he caught sight and smell of the grass. He was mesmerized by the agoutis.
We took him out to get some fresh air, and he immediately ran to the grass. After wandering around for a bit, he got right to chewing on the palm fronds.
As you can imagine, he did not want to leave the grass. Once inside, he showed his frustration by yelling at me and then biting my feet and ankles. Howard gets quite “sassy” when he doesn’t get his way. However, it’s not all bad for him. He gets daily walks, and enjoys watching the grass and trees for passing animals.
We spent all of Saturday washing the dirt and salt off of the boat. Scott spent hours pre-rinsing, and then we washed..and washed…and washed some more. Sea Life is a big girl, and the bath was much needed. We even washed the sides below the rub rail, turned the boat, and did the same on the other side. It was like a spa day for the old girl, and we could feel her breath a sigh of relief.
Yesterday, I started to reclaim the interior, that had been neglected once the heat and humidity kicked in. After a thorough vacuuming, cleaning of heads and general straightening, we enjoyed some time with Diane and Jeff, who are from the UK. They are just down the dock, and we invited them over to pick their brains for further information on Colombia, Panama and the Eastern Caribbean.
Today, Scott went into town with Jeff and Diane to visit Ace Hardware and some other stores. Since they left at high noon, I chose to stay behind and catch up on the blog, emailing and boat chores. Their dinghy has a small leak, so instead of pumping it back up, Scott fired up the Aluminum Princess and they all headed to the dock that’s used to access town.
We plan to stay here for a bit, and use the marina as a home base while we explore the area. Here are more photos of our trip to French Harbor, and our first days at Fantasy Island.
“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”
We left the boat early, to beat the heat of the day in town. I wanted to get some more produce, since the things we’d bought previously were so good. I also wanted to take advantage of the fact that Michelle, at Rudy’s, made pancakes. Since the smoothie we’d had the day before was so great, her pancakes had to be delicious!
Michelle was just arriving to open for the day as we tied to the pier. She chatted happily with us, while opening, making coffee for some local regulars and preparing our pancakes. They were, as expected, terrific! I know pancakes aren’t difficult, or necessarily special, but it was a nice treat to enjoy them by the water’s edge with such a friendly person. And, I didn’t have to put any additional heat into our boat to make them!
If you find yourself in West End, go to Rudy’s and see Michelle! Her personality, pancakes and skills with a blender will ensure more than one visit to the inviting smoothie (and more) shack.
On our way to the produce stand, I did a quick bit of shopping. The store we went into was crammed full of things, but Scott managed to spot painted bird feathers that had been framed. We thought them unusual and different, and chose one painted with a parrot and and iguana.
I then went into Rusty Fish, a shop selling items made from stone, bottles, metal and such. All things are made from local artists, using recycled or found materials. I chose two fish made from a stone that is locally known as Island Jade or Honduras jade.
It’s actually a type of Serpentine, and is a softer stone, making it an excellent material for artwork and jewelry. Island Jade is found on the hill tops of both Roatan and mainland Honduras, and comes in many colors. Some pieces we saw had four or five colors in just one stone.
The Rusty Fish had both carvings and jewelry made from the stone, displaying the work of eleven local stone artists. They also had many other neat things made from all sorts of materials, but we have limited space onboard and showed restraint. With full bellies, and a backpack full of produce and trinkets, we headed back to Sea Life for a break from the evil, mid-day heat.
Our afternoon plan was to dinghy over to some nearby beach bars. Scott didn’t want to go, as the heat and humidity were winning out over his want for a cold drink in the sand. I reminded him that we’d been talking of going to these places since first anchoring here, and if we planned to head for French Harbor the next day, this was our last chance.
We made our way to shore, and tied up near our first stop, Tita’s Pink Seahorse.
Yes, this place is open for business! We wandered past the pile of palm fronds waiting to be burned, and around the tarps. Inside, it was a typical tiki/beach-bar-type place, crammed with various “mementos” hanging from the ceiling and on the walls. We immediately liked it.
From behind the bar, Niki greeted us with a big smile….and delicious drinks! I tried a “Monkey La La,” (a frozen drink, much like a mudslide with banana added) and Scott had a killer rum punch. She also makes a great mojito! We now liked the place even more.
Niki had grown up in Guanaja, where we started our bay island cruising. We chatted with her about how much we enjoyed the island, and looked forward to going back. The bar was full of locals and tourists who were also taking a break from the mid-day sweltering heat. We all agreed that Tita’s was a perfect place to hide.
Just outside on the beach, some local school children were having a phys-ed class. Scott and I were surprised that the class wasn’t held closer to dawn or dusk. The kids were doing lunges in the sand, running sprints and practicing volleyball skills. They appeared less than happy about it, and we could feel their pain from behind our big glasses of cold drinks (sorry kids).
Feeling like we should give the other nearby beach bar equal time, we thanked Niki and her Aunt Tita (who is the owner) and made our way just down the beach to Ronnie’s Barefoot Beach Bar. Unfortunately, Ronnie’s didn’t seem to be as popular with either locals or tourists, as it was completely empty. We weren’t even sure that they were open, until a woman came from under a nearby palapa to wait on us.
While we were deciding whether to return to our boat, or to Tita’s, after our drinks, a local man came up to the bar from the beach and ordered a beer. He’d just come back from fishing, and invited us to see his catch. Back on the pier, we watched as he started to scale and clean the fish.
Kevin and a friend had fished in 800 feet of water, using just hand lines, no rods. They take turns pulling the lines in, as it’s quite a job at those depths. He asked if we’d like to buy one of the fish. Scaled, cleaned and ready to cook…absolutely!
As Kevin worked on a fish for us, some local dogs played on the pier and in the sand nearby, hoping to get a treat from Kevin. Tired from wrestling with the other dogs, one took a break…on Scott’s foot.
Kevin bagged our fish, and we thanked him and headed back to Sea Life, glad that we’d pushed ourselves to come out in the afternoon heat. It’s now on to French Harbor for us, but first here are some more photos from our day of pancakes, beach bars and fish (and a few more of our surroundings in West End).
“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”