SailingKnitter

NEW dock Placencia, Belize

The weather forecast called for relatively calm seas and light winds in the Gulf of Honduras area so we made the decision to head to the island of Roatan in Honduras. Our last day in Belize was spent half doing the paperwork cha-cha (riding taxi boats and vans) to officially check out of the country at 3 different offices and half on spending the last few B-dollars in our wallets to provision. There's not much to buy in Belize compared to the bounty of American goods we were expecting to see in Roatan, but shelf-stable staples are always a good purchase as well as fresh fruit and veggies (expensive!).

Luckily, a fisherman had just come in with a big Amberjack so we bought 8 3/4 pounds of whole side fillets to stash in the freezer. Last stop was Brenda's Caribbean Cooking beach stand where we picked up some Jerk Chicken with coconut rice and beans for lunch. To finish off our Belizean dollars we asked her to stuff the to-go bag with a couple of tamales and some of her homemade coconut "macaroons". These sweet treats are cooked up over a wood-fired stove using just freshly grated coconuts, raw sugar and a touch of spice (usually allspice or cinnamon). So they are really more of a candy. Allspice is grown locally and is used in a lot of the cooking - wonderful stuff!

For folks who haven't been to Placencia in a few months, take a look at the photo above of Jonesy at one of the fingers on the new concrete dock in the bay! They have outfitted it with a lowered walkway (about 2 feet below the dock) for dinghies and other small boats. We are so grateful for this! I asked a man who was working on the dock if we were allowed to tie up here and he said "of course, mama". After traveling in many places which are much less welcoming (such as Isla Mujeres town and much of Roatan), we are that much more appreciative of the efforts made in Placencia.

The overnight passage to Roatan was not "calm" at all! The seas were lumpy and bumpy and came at us from all directions. Even so, we both managed to get some sleep at times and arrived safely in French Harbor, Roatan. Thanks to an innovative fix that Jonesy made over the summer(installed latches on the refrigerator and freezer) the doors stayed closed and no food escaped to romp in the galley. We saw plenty of little dolphins along the way. No, I didn't put out the fishing rod as my freezer was full of fish already!

So, I knit. In the last couple of weeks, I've finished up two small pairs of socks. The first pair is knit with Knit Picks Stroll in a dark green and light green with 3 stripes of brown on the leg. Just simple socks. The next pair is the same sizing and green yarns, but with a blue Regia solid yarn for most of the sock. Nothing special - except that they will keep little kids feet warm in Kazakhstan. I'm still behind in my personal challenge to knit 52 pairs of socks in 12 months (that's a pair a week), but am knitting as fast as I can want.

So...we're on Roatan Island, Honduras now. It's been fun reconnecting up with fellow cruising friends from the Rio Dulce, Guatemala and other folks we know here on Roatan. We've grocery shopped 'till we dropped at Eldon's Supermarket for American foods and beverages that we haven't seen since we were last here in May of 2012.

The weather today is squally with intermittent (warm) rain and winds so we need to stay on the boat at anchor to be sure it stays that way. Our scheduled go-see-do trip with friends had to be postponed to perhaps tomorrow. Better safe than sorry - the boat is our only home. That's OK, we've been enjoying fresh fish cooked many ways and the leftovers used like tuna fish in salads. I've had several lovely days of knitting up in the cockpit with the breeze through my hair. Knitting what? Socks of course, but these are special socks for a submission to a future publication - I hope! Life is good.