FRONTERAS, GUATEMALA DOWN RIVER AND TO A SECOND MAYAN VILLAGE 11/9 - 11/23/2018

The last half of this blog covers our third trip with Pass It On, which was our second to a Mayan village. Pass It On really does amazing work, and I can't imagine it being done more efficiently. The solar power, reading glasses, tooth brushes, water filters and medical supplies make an immediate impact on these very poor and isolated communities. Plus, Pass It On also helps support the "Old Folks Home", as well as Casa Guatemala, the local orphanage. If you'd like to learn more about Pass It On go to https://passitonguatemala.org. And then if you're so inclined, you can make a donation there online. No matter what the amount, your dollars really will make a difference. Another option is to send new or gently used reading glasses and/or new toothbrushes to us in Minnesota and we'll take them to Guatemala. And if you have connections to any of the organizations that donate glasses or tooth brushes, that would be great. In either case, send them so they arrive no later than September 25th, to: 

Mark Mitchell 

c/o Dan Johnson

115 16th Avenue North

Hopkins, MN 55343. 

Thanks for at least considering helping out.

Just to shake things up a bit, this is one of my favorite photos from France. When we checked out the lavender fields near Valensole, the colors were a little past prime. However, they were in the process of harvesting, which was very cool to see and smell. More on France later.

This photo was taken at the Marina during a birthday party. I think it's pretty representative of cruiser demographics. I'd guess that around 85% of the boats are crewed by couples, perhaps 10% by solo men, and maybe 2% by solo women. The average cruiser is probably in his/her late 50's, though I am surprised by how many 30 somethings there are. And most cruisers in this area are American, followed by Canadian/French Canadian, British and French. We've also met cruisers from Norway, Germany, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Russia, Italy, Brazil, Spain, Bermuda, Antigua, and Argentina.  

There are kids throughout Central America whose parents send them out to generate income versus going to school. A few of the cruisers at our marina are now helping this girl, as well as her sisters, go to school and receive lunches.

The construction techniques, along with the lack of equipment, are always interesting. I suppose the latter is largely driven by the low labor costs. We watched this crazy project for months. It never seemed to improve! 

Without any road system adjacent to the river, boats are used for everything, including as moving vans.

Though you don't see a lot of police, there's a pretty visible military presence on the streets, as well as private armed security guards in front of banks, gas stations, etc. In an effort to dissuade gangs from coming from the mainland, Roatan probably shows the most force. As far as the soldiers go, they usually look about 12 years old. 

There's a nice lady who cooks and sells food out of this "boat thru" restaurant. She prepares only one dish, including sides, each day. She announces what it is during the morning cruisers' net. If interested, you just dinghy over, hand her a container of some type, she fills it up, you pay her and off you go. You can't really tell from the photo, but the boat is dirty and moldy, so we haven't ordered anything yet. However, since this photo was taken, she has a different boat. Hopefully it will still be relatively mold free by the time we get back, so we can give it a try. Her "special brownies" are a daily item on the menu as well. 

There is a cruisers swap meet twice a month which alternates between two different restaurants. The locals really take advantage of  some of the good deals.

This is one of several jungle restaurants near the river. It's pretty cool to dinghy up a narrow vine covered creek in the dark. This restaurant is owned by a guy from Switzerland and managed by a German. Nothing like schnitzel and spaetzle in the jungle.

Our friends from Norway left mid-October, and in the process had to go to Livingston to clear customs. We decided to boat with them and do a little shake down cruise at the same time. Our first stop was "Mini-Mike's Juke Joint" in Texas Bay, which is in a little bay just off the Rio Dulce and about 10 miles from Livingston. It's owned/operated by, you guessed it, a Texan named Mike. He's lived in Guatemala for years, has a Guatemalan wife and young boy named Mike, hence "Mini-Mike's". No matter what anyone says, his chicken fried steak sucks.

It's not uncommon to have locals in their dugouts come by the boat selling everything from fresh fish to woven baskets to carved cooking utensils. 

About 500 people live in the Texas Bay area. All of the homes are right on the water, though this is one of the nicest.

 

The Norwegian couple, several other guys and a man we dropped off at the school, all went to Livingston with us. That's Texas Mike at the wheel.

Next to the school, where almost all of the students come by boat, is a dentist office. Note the tooth on the side, as well as the gas powered generator and compressor used to run the dental equipment.

The Livingston docks were full of fish being dried in the sun. I don't know what kind, I just hope they're not in anything I eat.

The dinghy that came with the boat has been a pain since day one. It's had both air and water  leaks as well as some engine issues. However, it's never been quite bad enough to justify replacing. So in Guatemala we had the entire thing taken apart, leaks repaired and glued back together. Plus, we had the motor worked on and dinghy chaps made. The chaps protect the tubes from the sun. Plus, they look at lot better. Unfortunately, I think it has developed a new leak, the chaps have a couple rips in them now and the engine ended up needing some more work. 

One drawback to having a catamaran is that because of their width there aren't many places to have them hauled out. This fall we will most likely have Starship pulled out here. We'll have some fiberglass work done to the hull and then paint it, as well as replace the saildrive seals.

Here we're getting ready to go to our second village with Pass It On.

On the way there we had to share the road with these water buffalo. The cowboys had us turn off the truck engine so the buffalo wouldn't get spooked.

 

The village is located in a very pretty area.

This village didn't have any electricity, so through Pass It On we installed a couple solar panels, a controller, four lights and three switches in their newish community center. It gets dark around 6:30 year round, so when the sun goes down, this is where kids will come to do their home work, women their sewing, etc. All of the solar panels and batteries are donated by cruisers.

Besides the solar panel system, we brought medical kits and reading glasses. The reading glasses were again very popular. 

 

Once our work was completed, lunch was prepared for us in the "kitchen".

The stove.

We were served on the front porch of the only store for miles.

The store seemed to have mostly candy and junk food.

The free range animals down here don't look so good.

 

We ride, standing up, in the back of a pick-up. Immediately after taking this photo, we hit a bump and my phone fell into the river. It probably took us 10 minutes to find it and another couple hours before we could get it into a bag of rice. We left it in there for a day, took it out and it fired right up. It worked just fine, until I fell out of the dinghy a couple months later. That was in salt water, so the phone was cooked.

I think next week's blog will be the second to last one about Guatemala. It will cover our trip with DJ and Jennie to the Spanish Colonial city of Antigua, as well as our horse back ride to an active volcano.