Ed note - This is the ninth installment of a multi-part series by AndyLund on his first year of cruising on board Resolution , the Nordhavn 46 he took delivery of in February 2004.
Belize
By noon, at the high tide, we were underway and across the bar, making our way 20 miles north to Punta Gorda, Belize, where we arrived by 230 PM. Clearance there took about an hour, after I went in by dinghy. Customs, immigrations and agriculture were all in a little building right at the town’s concrete dock. Belize is a former British colony, so they speak a lilting Caribbean English. I had to restrain myself from trying to speak Spanish. Punta Gorda has no harbor, just an open roadstead, so we then went north another ten miles wending our way through the reefs and islets, and anchored in the lee of Bedford Cay. Bedford is a low, mangrove covered island with a tiny beach, and not very attractive.
The next day, Wednesday February 16th, we headed farther north to the town of Placentia, anchoring in the early afternoon just off the west side of town, in the lee of a long, sheltering cay. Plenty of sailboats around us, but we were the lone powerboat. We went ashore by dinghy, tying to the Shell gas dock after refilling the dinghy’s tank. I hiked all over, finding both banks closed for the afternoon, so we’re using our limited stock of US dollars. We had dinner in a thatched hut on the beach – great seafood, including fried conch (pronounced “conk”), which tastes a bit like abalone. The rum drinks were great.
Thursday morning we headed east about 12 miles to Laughing Bird Cay. This little sandy islet had great snorkeling around it, and was thick with palms. It has become a National Park, thus a $20 charge, which was OK since there was a good mooring buoy. We spent about three hours there. We spotted the next island over that we had contemplated mooring at overnight, but decided it was way too exposed, so back to Placentia we headed. I like the very sheltered anchorage, and the guys have enjoyed their runs ashore.
That night the generator wouldn’t start, after having run fine in the morning. So we changed plans, and ran straight up the 60 miles to Belize City on Friday, February 18th, arriving at the Radisson St George marina at about 5 30 PM. I had phoned Gerald Harper, the dockmaster, and had emailed the Northern Lights people in Seattle about the generator, so the next morning at 8 AM two technicians from Bowen & Bowen, the local dealers, showed up to work out the problem. They found a bad breaker, again, and wired around it pending receipt of a new one from Seattle. They also replaced the relays with the four new ones I’d picked up in Panama.
The marina is really just a fixed dock on pilings, without much protection from the northeast trades except an island almost two miles away. So it was a pretty rough and rolly place. We did get some protection for a while from a large (150 foot) dive excursion boat tied on the outside of the dock. It was also very shallow, so we stirred up mud coming in.
The guys flew over to Ambergis Cay on Saturday and spent the night while I dealt with the generator. The next afternoon we all trekked out to the airport and caught a plane to Guatemala City, and a van on to Antigua, another 30 miles. Lee Rolfe, Stu’s wife, had suggested this excursion, as she was coming down to join Stu there, and stay with her brother Jeff Wright, his wife Corinne and their three young kids, Hal, Evan and Mauren, in a rented house. Stu and Lee had rented the same house last spring for two months.
Antigua, Guatemala
Antigua was the Spanish colonial capital of Central America for over 200 years, until it suffered severe damage in a 1773 earthquake. At that point, the civil authorities forced the residents to move to what became Guatemala City, and Antigua withered amidst the ruins. Only 150 years later did it begin to revive, so the sixteen square block center is still well preserved, with beautiful colonial architecture. It’s sort of like visiting a museum with people living in it. The streets are all cobblestone, some of the ruins are incorporated into newer buildings, and others are partially restored. The town is built around a grand central plaze, with trees and a nice fountain. The cathedral is on the east side (typical Spanish town planning), the old central government building is on the south side, and the city hall is on the north side. A 13,000 foot volcano, “Volcan Agua”, stands tall southeast of the town, which is at 5000 feet altitude. The climate was most pleasant, warm during the day and quite crisp and cool at night. Sweaters were useful.
I took a great walking tour of Antigua, led by Elizabeth Bell, an American who has lived in Antigua for over 35 years, and is a recognized expert on the town. She had superb access, taking us into a workshop where old paintings were being restored, and behind the fences in the old Cathedral to see some archeological digs. Her commentary on Guatemalan politics, economics and social issues was fascinating. Guatemala is only recently recovering from a very long period of unrest and civil insurrection, but appears to have a bright future.
The house the Wrights had rented was typical of the Spanish colonial style, with a central courtyard and fountain, surrounded by verandas on three sides, with the rooms leading off the verandas. Tile floors, stone and plaster walls, high ceilings, fireplaces in all three bedrooms and in the living room, a second story with the master bedroom and a nice roof top porch, all made for a most comfortable setting. All the
buildings are built right up to the street, with severe walls and wooden doors hiding the beauty inside. This courtyard architecture dates back to Roman days, and was carried forward by the Spanish. We had cocktails there two evenings, meeting interesting people Stu and Lee had met during their stay in Antigua a year ago.
One lady in her 40s, Ivonne Anzueto, had lived in Antigua all her life, less a few years in college in Santa Monica, California, then 10 more years working for a bank in Los Angeles. She runs a small inn and an upscale jewelry store. Her trenchant comments on central American politics were fascinating. She felt Oscar Berger, who has been President of Guatemala for about a year, needed to do more to work with the neighboring countries to combat criminal gangs and drug trafficking, but that he was at least honest and on the right track. Apparently the previous president had looted the treasury, and didn’t even have enough money to pay the civil servants his last six months in office, so Berger had a lot of digging out to do. She also thought George Bush was fine, and agreed that the Iraq war had been necessary. Ivonne, Mike and I had dinner Wednesday night, with more great conversation.
Tuesday Mike, Ian and Mark climbed up the cinder slopes of Volcan Pacaya, getting so close to the erupting crater that Mike retrieved a still hot piece of pumice the volcano had just spat out. He also took some great video footage. The next morning Stu, Ian and Mark flew back to Seattle, and Thursday morning February 24th, at the crack of dawn (430 AM), Mike and I headed back to Guatemala City airport and Belize.
For those of you thinking of taking the side trip to Antigua, we stayed at a small hotel called “La Casa de Los Suenos”, about four blocks east of the main plaza. It had a lovely courtyard, a small pleasant dining room and a welcoming library, plus a pool out back. Phone (502) 7832-0802. Two other, more upscale and larger hotels which looked attractive were the Antigua Hotel, in the SW corner of town, and Casa Santo Domingo, in the NE corner of town, set into the ruins of the old Convent of Santo Domingo. These are “five star” and likely expensive. For travel arrangements inside Guatemala (like a trip to Tikal or airport transfers) we used Via Venture in Antigua. Phone (502) 7832-0478. You could easily spend a week in Antigua. Its staff is American, British, Dutch and Guatemalan.
Belize City and Cay Caulker, Belize
We were met by a local driver, Llewellyn Martinez, who had taken us to the airport the previous Sunday. We took an excursion five miles southwest of town, to Cucumber Bay Marina. Its major advantage is its very sheltered basin with good docks, although the location is remote and a bit dusty. It would have been a good place to leave the boat for the side trip to Guatemala. Phone is (501) 222-4153, and slips with power are scarce, so booking ahead is important.
Martinez also took us to a bakery and to the fruit and vegetable market, so we could restock the boat. We drove through the center of town, which is pretty shabby and run down. Friday morning the Bowen & Bowen mechanics were back down with all the generator parts, so in went the new breaker, my relay stock was replenished, and they did a full service on the genset. It now runs fine. I wasn’t comfortable with the Radisson St George dock, but the boat suffered no damage and the people were very attentive and pleasant.
That afternoon we headed north the 15 miles to Cay Caulker. Now the water became really shallow, and at one point I joined the second group of those boaters “…who either are going to go aground or who have already run aground…” I strayed from a ten foot deep channel (remember we draw five and a half feet) and dragged the keel through the sand for a few hundred yards. The boat slowed down a bit, and the rudder control became sluggish, but otherwise I didn’t notice it was even happening. Mike found us a course back to deeper water, and all was well.
We anchored west of the town on Cay Caulker, a four-mile long but narrow palm and mangrove covered island just inside the barrier reef. Taking the dingy ashore, we found a very laid back place, with sand streets, and golf carts for mobility. After a great barbecued tenderloin steak dinner with fresh corn and good wine (still from our Costco San Diego stocks), we talked well into the night over Gallo beer, the Guatemalan specialty. Late the next morning, I swam and checked underneath the boat. We’ve worn some paint off the keel, but overall, it’s in great shape. We liked the protected and pleasant anchorage, so we stayed three nights.
San Pedro Town, Ambergris Cay, Belize
On Monday February 28th we motored north against a stiff NW wind – a cold front with rain had passed through the previous night – about ten miles up to Ambergris Cay. We were anchoring in nine feet of water off San Pedro Town, in front of the Sun Breeze Hotel, where I had stayed three years earlier with a group of friends from Bellingham. The Sun Breeze, literally across the street from the Maya Air terminal – Cessna Caravan turbo props to Belize City – is very comfortable, and has a great restaurant called the Blue Water Grill. Sun Breeze (phone (501) 226-2005 or 226-2060) would be a good place for a night ashore, or for guests arriving and departing.
San Pedro Town is laid back, with low scale buildings and sandy narrow streets. Most people get around on golf carts. It is a big diving center. The supermarket about 250 yards south of the Sun Breeze Hotel, is good but very expensive. Everything comes from Belize City by barge, boat or airplane, and the tourist markup is added on top of those costs.
We had dinner Tuesday night at the Blue Water Grill, where I renewed my acquaintance with Kelly McDermott. She is a young lady who grew up on Ambergis, graduated from Georgetown (my alma mater) then moved back to open this restaurant. When we first met three years ago she was feeling the pain of just starting in business, so it was great to see how well she and her partner/chef Chris Aycock were now doing. Sushi nights, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, are especially good, and very popular, so you have to book ahead. The food is excellent , and the setting, right above the beach, is great. Resolution at anchor was part of the view.
Wednesday March 2nd I located the Immigrations and Customs offices, on the second floor of a white building on the SE corner of Front and Pelican Streets, four blocks north of the Sun Breeze Hotel. The clearance formalities took about a half an hour, and cost less than $30 US, a major improvement over the $100 average in Mexico and the $200 costs in Costa Rica. We’ve been watching the weather, and will take off Thursday morning for the 160-mile overnight run up the coast to Puerto Aventuras, Mexico, on the Yucatan Peninsula just opposite Cozumel Island. 555 miles to go to Key West. I think I’m ready for the USA again!
Be warned that the charting in Belize away from the Belize City area is pretty sketchy. Our DMA (US Navy) charts weren’t much use north of Belize City, and we tried vainly to buy updated charts in the city. I don’t think they exist. We did use a cruising guide “ Belize and Mexico’s Caribbean Coasts”, by Freya Rauscher. It was last updated in 1996 and reprinted in 2004. The logistics details are out of date, but it has excellent sketch charts showing recommended courses and many soundings not found on the official charts. I doubt we’d have made it from Belize City to Ambergris Cay without seriously grounding if we hadn’t had the book. I purchased it from Landfall Navigation in Connecticut. Blue Water Books in Fort Lauderdale will also have it. Our 5 ½- foot draft is marginal for this area. Anything over six feet – forget it! Use lots of scope anchoring in windy bays and behind the San Pedro Town (Ambergis Cay) barrier reef. We sat anchored off San Pedro under cloudy skies in steady 20 knot NE winds and one to two foot chop for four days – not pleasant.
Yucatan, Mexico is next, then the USA.
Placentia, Belize
Antigua - Cathedral & Volcano
Anitgua - Central Plaza
Mike looks out over the Rio Dulce in Guatemala