The dog days of sailing...

NZ Emirates hydrofoils as it approaches the buoy!

Ever since 1851, when the narrow bow entry of the schooner America raised eyebrows among British competitors, extreme design innovations have always been an inherent part of America's Cup competitions.  But never before have innovations been more radical than in this, the 34th edition!

Team Oracle with a fog-shrouded Golden Gate

Following the 2010 America's Cup with USA's Oracle the winner, it was decided that future competitions would be sailed in catamarans to make the sport more attractive to television audiences.  This led to the new and revolutionary and also controversial design of the America's Cup 72 Class, with the addition of daggerboard foils.  The AC72s we saw practicing and racing this last week were not only blasting along at phenomenal speeds, but literally flying above the water's surface!

USA and NZ cross paths on a practice run

Two major incidences showed the potential danger these large catamarans face on the SF Bay.  Last October Oracle's AC 72 pitchpoled and capsized while being swept out under the Golden Gate Bridge during a strong ebb-tide.  Fortunately there were no injuries to the crew.  Recently, in May, Sweden's Artemis Racing team AC72 pitchpoled and broke apart resulting in the death of one crew member.

Classic Bird Boat on the Bay

All facts and controversy aside, our day trips were fuelled by a love for the art and fun of sailing and photo ops for yours truly.  Howard, a sailor at heart, raced the classic Bird Boat, Mavis, during the early 1960s.  When we first got together in 1989, Howard lived aboard his 35' sloop in Half Moon Bay, after years of sailing in Florida and the Bahamas.  We try to include sailing venues along with RV travels whenever possible, via friends or bareboat charters.  We find ourselves drifting off to trips in the recent past, sailing in the crystal clear, turquoise waters of the Caribbean, in Belize and Honduras, and aboard the Star Flyer for 21 days, sailing from Barbados through the Panama Canal to Costa Rica.  Then years past in Mexico's Sea of Cortes, the eastern Caribbean's Virgin Islands and even as far away as New Caledonia in the French South Pacific.



San Francisco's Crissy Field dog park offers an excuse to nap the grandlab, Annie, for a great day of sailing action,  swimming and chasing a ball.  The camera is hopelessly covered with the remains of a shaking wet dog and fervent hole digging sand.  We manage a deli-provided picnic sandwich amidst the action, both on shore and water.


We take advantage of the couple of weeks left in our Bay Area stay before departing the end of July for the Pacific Northwest, and onward, God willing.  Our days are filled with family time, day trips to easily accessible coastal hikes and inland vineyards, visits with local friends, and endless RV projects.  Oh, and the round of doctor visits...so far, so good!

Getting back to normal...

Our life is beginning to assume some degree of normalcy after two weeks of whirlwind events.  Hey we even did loads and loads of laundry today!  And after a couple of days of drippy rain and fog, the sun is once again shining here in Petaluma.  Read....a couple of days of drippy rain after we had cleaned and polished the RV! 

We even had a wedding anniversary, our 19th plus 6 prior years, the day after Mary's memorial service in Half Moon Bay.  We were driving back in the rain, dodging and weaving through the miles of construction and detours in San Francisco...yes, we were in the motorhome, and decided neither of us felt much like celebrating once we got parked at the Elk's. 


But serendipity intervened with a knock at our door and there stood traveling friends we hadn't seen for years, en route to their lot at the Timber Valley SKP Park in Sutherlin, OR.  They had been out wine tasting and brought over a delicious red blend from Quivira Vineyards with a side of cheeses and nuts. Let the celebration begin...

Normal for this time of year is making the rounds of the various doctors who try to whip us into shape here at our local Kaiser medical center, thus hopefully ensuring we're able to continue on this journey.  I seem to have more and frequent follow-ups since the endometrial cancer and surgery last November, so may need to find facilities in other parts of the country should our grand fall, winter, spring trip materialize.


A month ago we decided to get serious about losing the weight we'd put on during our trips to Roatan and San Carlos.  Our daughter Stephanie, who's now on a trip to Romania and Europe (check out her blog) told us about My Fitness Pal, a handy app to track food and exercise, plus set a calorie limit depending of how much weight you want to lose.  Also important for us is knowing how many carbs we consume, as well as calories.  So, for me, my calorie limit is 1200 and I have set my own carb limit at under 50.  Fiber carbs are free and of course, you back off any exercise or cardio you do each day.


Three miles of walking at 3 mph generates 220 minus calories (for my 5'2" frame).  I try to add on another 1.5 miles during the day, if I can, depending on what we plan to eat.  So we now plan ahead, weigh our portions, and record our food and exercise intake.  Keep in mind, we have had two weeks of celebrations where we did not meet our daily goals, but we quickly got back on track soon after.  Net results, a 3 lb. loss in 30 days.  I'll take that!

What a difference a day makes!

We flew out of Roatan on the tail of a storm that blew in the day before.  We had spent two fun days in the town of West End, enjoying the sights, sounds, and local restaurants; all within easy walking.  As luck would have it, I somehow waited until our last day to get burned, bitten, and a bad case of "you don't want to know"!  I was a bit apprehensive about spending a full day either on an airplane, going through the long processes of customs and immigration, security, and running between terminals in Houston.

A storm approaches

Our last island sunset...

We arrived in Tucson at 11 PM, very tired obviously, only to find out our luggage had decided to stay in Houston.  With a few necessary items in our carry-on, we called for a pick-up to our hotel.  Arranging transport to the motorhome at this late hour would have been a real inconvenience, so we had checked out Priceline.com for a cheap place to stay near the airport.  

If you're not familiar with this site, they have a "feeling lucky" feature where you don't know the name of the hotel you're booking,  just the amenities and approx. location.  Well choosing this feature bought us a beautiful suite at the Hyatt Airport for a very reasonable price.  It was the highlight of this very long day!

Soooo....We're back in our lovely little casa mobile, fit as a fiddle after a month of being all closed up and unplugged, batteries surviving on the sun, fridge purring along keeping the few staples all nice and cold, no bugs or weird smells....Home!  We are parked out in the Tucson Mt. area, west of the city, and after retrieving bags delivered by United later in the afternoon, a day or two of resting up and doing lots of laundry, we're off to Tucson Mt. Park...  Hope you enjoy our hike, we are!

Island Lore...A good story!

Before leaving Tucson we started checking out books on the Island of Roatan and, though the pickins' were slim, came up with one notable author.  David K. Evans, Professor Emeritus, Wake Forest University, and Founder of the Overseas Research Center  has written two books, Red at Dawn and The Judas Bird.  We found used paper-backed copies of Red at Dawn on Amazon.com and ordered one immediately, but The Judas Bird was only sold in hardcover.

We figured that within our month's stay we would each have time to read Red at Dawn.  Quickly we became enthralled by the drama and intensity of the turbulent 1700s, a time when the Caribbean Island of Roatan was the rendezvous for the lusty, hard-living pirates of the western Caribbean.  The portrayal of the lives of the elusive maroons and castaways, desperately attempting to survive and protect their women and freedom from vicious attacks by these pirates who periodically invaded their small island.

In fact we were both so impressed with the author's presentation, especially the obvious research that went into so much historical fact, that we sent him an email saying how much we had enjoyed it.  We also mentioned wanting to now read The Judas Bird and would order it as soon as we returned to AZ.  We had actually noticed from his bio that he and his wife divided their time between Roatan and Wake Forest, so were hoping he might just be on the island.

Prof. David Evans

Prof. Evans answered our email almost immediately: 

"My wife and I first visited Roatan back when I was a graduate student looking for a place to do my doctoral research, and stumbled upon the island long ago in 1961...there was no electricity on the island then, and not even a single motor vehicle for several years afterwards. Roads began popping up about the early 70's, and began to connect the villages. If you would like I would be happy to send you a free copy of a short history( as soon as I have had it Copyrighted. I have been researching and writing it (off and on..mostly "off") for several years now. My first novel, which I will be glad to send you free if you will send the postage and promise never to buy anything of mine from Amazon again...they are the REAL pirates...have literally ordered well over 50 copies of my first Roatan novel.."THE JUDAS BIRD:A MODERN TREASURE TALE" some years ago, and have sold them on the website, but have never paid me for the books or given me a single cent in Royalties, nor will they even bother to respond to my e-mails regarding same...yep, they are quite the modern day literary pirates! ...."
 (I happen to love Amazon but then I'm just a very frequent buyer!)

A long thread of communications ensued and we discovered Prof. Evans and Howard had a few things in common, namely CAL Berkeley and sailboats:

"Hi Guys...
Wish I had known you two would be in French Key...would have had you drop by Mr. Errol Jackson and his wife Mary's place...I once had a 31 foot topsail cutter built at French Key by the old master himself ...Mr. Wilson Arch...he never touched a mechanical tool in his life...after all...no electricity on the island back in 1961, but his sons carry on the boat building trade. I sailed our little cutter( "Renate") back to Portsmouth, Virginia, where I traded her in for a new VW Beetle and drove her out to finish up Graduate work at Berkeley. Guess a little of that got into my second Novel...Red At Dawn...recently retitled and republished as The Dark Pirate. Just rented out our island home today ( La Casa Promesa) up on our property Ruby Lee Ridge to a Canadian lady and her Husband, and Mr. Errol, our old friend and Caretaker for our properties lives at French Key...you had to have driven right by his house...his name is Mr. Errol Jackson.
Keep on enjoying that island...wish we were there!"

You can imagine our excitement when recently yet another lengthy email arrived in our in-box.  The professor obviously loves to write:

"Lynda, good evening:
If you are still on island and want a signed copy of The Judas Bird, just drive out to the West End...turn right at the entrance, and stop at the first bar on the beach on the ocean-side called Sundowners.  Ask for Mrs Daine Etches (pronounced "Day-nee")...the island pronunciation of "Dainty". She lives directly across the sandy road from the bar behind the wooden fence. The whole compound belongs to her family, and she lives there with her mom, Miss Catherine, her Canadian husband, and her son "Arron" (owner of "Sundowners"), and his wife, and daughter.  Daine was Sharella ...one of the main characters in my first novel...The Judas Bird , as was her mom. Miss Catherine, now quite elderly and bed-ridden, but still breeding Island "Yellow-Napped" Parrots, and usually has a cat or two sleeping curled up on her bed. I am sending you there with this E-Mail because Daine is the only person on the island (I think) who still has signed copies of my first novel for sale. Show Daine this e-mail and ask her to please give you an autographed copy of The Judas Bird, and to please put it on my tab...they all speak excellent West Indian English, well, with maybe just a tad bit of an old English or Yorkshire twang to it...and can tell you anything at all you want to know about the island.

I have known Miss Catherine since we first went to Roatan back in 1961, and have known Daine since Arron, her son... (who is 10 days younger than our daughter Amber) ...was born back in November 1974. They are from families that hail from Diamond Rock way in the Eastern part of the Island out toward Land's End, and have been on the island for many, many generations. Truly great people to know and very hospitable.  Let me know if you find them..."

We were up and out the very next morning!  West End is a short distance from our apartment and we knew the "Sundowner" well.  I easily found Miss Daine's house across the street and called at the front door.  Luckily she was home and what an absolutely lovely person she is.  Her island roots go back to 1850! And, yes, she had a book or us!

Native islander, Miss Daine Etches

Howard models our new acquisition

With profuse thanks, we jokingly told the professor there should be a disclaimer attached to The Judas Bird, caution, do not read in bed.  It must weight 5 lbs., all 973 pages of it.  And Howard can hardly put it down....Ha.  This is a more modern day island story, taking place in 1995.  Things here have certainly changed.  The tourist industry is booming, the reef is dying, and there is a lot of price gouging.  The sales tax is 12% with a 4% tourist tax for hotels and car rentals...Ouch, we paid a fortune for the car, but then we didn't do paid tours, so we rationalize the expense, and the freedom we enjoyed.  

And merchants don't like to take American Express; we found out the hard way. They always tell you your card was denied.  The first time we fell for it and paid in cash, but when we got the same response at the car rental agency, we said no way, and no, we don't have another credit card.  The whole approval process had taken place in rapid Spanish, way beyond my level of comprehension.  After a lot of back and forth, literally driving back to the apartment to retrieve the laptop, sending messages, making phone calls, our card was of course approved.  American Express responded to my email saying they had run through all their records and saw no denial of any charge.   So beware and don't take no for an answer!

Tomorrow, the 28th, we move out of the apartment and into a studio at the Sea Breeze Inn in West End for two nights.  It will be nice to be in town within easy walking to everything and have some beach time on Roatan's Half Moon Bay.

Half Moon Bay beach in West End

  

Island fever...

Thinking back to our cruise on the tall ship, Star Flyer, in November 2011, by the third week I was beginning to feel somewhat cloistered and anxious, tired of all the eating and activities.  Now seems to be no exception.  Maybe, once again, the Rule of Threes is taking control.  My gut brain seems to be wired directly to the pain in my neck; quite uncomfortable at times.  When I make up my mind to work through it, all seems better.  But still...

We actually checked into changing our flight time to Tuesday, the 26th, the day we return the car, but that whole process would cost over $500.  I need to focus on meditation and what I know to be true:  If I change the way I look at things, the things I look at change...Wayne Dyer.  

So...what better way for an attitude adjustment than to go out and explore the few remaining areas we've yet to see on the island .  Back to the East End we go, this time to Oak Ridge, on the Leeward (calm and less windy) side of the island, and known as the "Venice" of Roatan because of its boat-oriented transportation.

Oak Ridge, the "Venice" of Roatan..

Then on to Punta Gorda, also on the East End, but on the opposite or Windward side.  Punta Gorda is the oldest settlement in Roatan, founded in 1797 when Garifuna deportees from the Caribbean Island of San Vicente were stranded here by the British.  The Garifuna community continue their slow, happy lifestyle, cayucos pulled onto the beach, residents moving at a slow, deliberate pace.  Such a peaceful, simple setting...

Laundry day by the sea, in Punta Gorda..

Not a particularly good photo, but one of my favorites!  I have entitled it the "Lone Mangrove Tree"!

Taking advantage of our car, expensive though it is, we traversed the island via a questionable dirt road, from south to north, up and over the mountain at an elevation gain of a steep 1000 feet from sea level.  We had set out to visit the Blue Harbor Plantation where the very best greens are grown hydroponically.  We had first purchased them at our favorite, also expensive, Super Market, Eldon's.  We have to be reminded that nearly everything has to be shipped in!

Hydroponically grown greens, taken through a screen at Harbor Blue Plantation

Looking at our somewhat sketchy map, Howard says... it looks like this road continues on to the main highway.  And yes it did; steep, dirt, rutted...Perhaps an hour later without the benefit of our trusty jeep and 4-wheel drive, we safely arrived in French Harbor...hungry!

What are we thinking?...This is no Jeep!

View from the top!

But first, we drove through the second largest city on the island, and got completely lost in all the narrow one-way streets...

Yet another turn-around in French Harbor...

Finally, after turning off on another questionable road, we found a great lunch spot at French's 44 Key!  Ahhh...happy campers with an attitude adjustment, indeed!

Ride to French Key

French's 44 Restaurant

Ahhh.....

Freedom, friends and a few fun facts!

Here on Roatan Island, we have exhausted all within our walking abilities.  Tired of hiring taxis, and wanting to be un-tethered from the West End, we started talking car rentals.  Marco, our new friend and co-owner of the beautiful private estate with the exotic name of Xbalanque, where we walk past most days to the beach, made a few calls, then drove us into town to pick up our Toyota Rav 4.  Though we got a reasonable weekly rental rate, it was not cheap by any means.  The number one vocation on this island, without a doubt, is being a taxi driver! 

Xbalanque

The beach

Our Rav 4

A few years ago, on Vancouver Island, we visited a bookstore in Victoria, and purchased Backroads of Vancouver Island, then explored every one; all the way from Port Renfrew out of Victoria to Port Hardy and west to Cape Scott Provincial Park....in the jeep of course.  

And that is our plan now that we have our own wheels...Freedom is here!  Our first adventure was to drive all the way to the island's most eastern tip, crisscrossing the mountains from south to north.  Facts:  The island is approx. 37 miles long and 5 miles across at its widest, with a high point of approx. 1000 above sea level.

From one of the higher viewpoints

  
Getting to the Eastern End took us off the main highway on a dirt road for about 12 miles. Colorful handmade signs along the way promised food and cold beer.  That is how we found Camp Bay Beach Dive Resort & Restaurant, and met the amazing Dr. Jami Epstein.

With Dr. Jami;  therapist, dive instructor and resort owner

At Camp Bay Beach Resort for lunch

La Sirena, on Camp Beach

What more perfect way to celebrate our new-found freedom than to go for a sunset cruise; once again offered by our new friend, Marco, and usually reserved only for guests of his resort.  No cost for the cruise, just join them for dinner later. And what a fabulous dinner we had; grilled grouper with a fresh mango salsa, potatoes au gratin, stir-fried veggies, and flan with grated coconut for dessert.  

Marco on the right

  

The cruise begins

A large ball on the horizon

Beautiful setting

Patsy, Marco's partner, furnished Xbalanque from trips to Bali and Indonesia

And while we're introducing new friends and new adventures, along with a few Roatan Island facts, here are Carleen and Marlin, our gracious hosts here at the Villa Delfin.  Carleen, a young woman of many talents; cartoon animator, local vocalist/entertainer,  and hands-on owner/operator, does it all.  Every weekend she has a gig at either West Bay or West End and has a powerful Janis Joplin-like style. We have so enjoyed them on many occasions.

Having lunch at Infinity Bay where she also entertains!

A few more facts:  Gas is $5/gallon by the time you do the liter and currency conversion.  Five gigs of highspeed internet costs $30, cheaper than Verizon, electricity is not always dependable and very expensive, cruise ships dock daily, and last but not least, the beaches and reef snorkeling are amazing!

Scary big!

Snorkeling at West Bay on the reef

Island life after 10 days!

If you zoom out on this map you'll see we're about half way between West Bay, an upscale resort area with beautiful beaches and snorkeling, and the funky little village of  West End, with all the colorful gift shops, fun beach bars and restaurants, and a darn nice beach. 

Tamarind Drive is about 2/3 mile from W. Bay Rd. to beach, and very steep.  We had done our research on location and with the owners, so were sort of prepared, but challenged!  These two locations are within our walking ability, with exceptions as will be noted.

View Larger Map

Hey, we are good walkers and like exercise and we are getting it.  We showed you our walk to West Bay, over the bridge and along the beach.  Now we'll take you to West End.  

Sea weed muck and rocks coming up ahead cause us to join those folks on the pier to flag a water taxi, $2 apiece for the short ride to town, and well worth it!

The view from our fast little skiff is marvelous though we're perched at an angle, as you can see.  And, oh so much cooler, breezing along like this!  We're dropped off at the west end of the village and off we go...

Now this gives tipsy at the beach bar a whole new meaning, if you get my drift...

Hamacas, anyone?  Colorful and handmade hammocks, much like in Mexico, though every Latino country has its own pattern and weave.  These may be Guatemalan..

Gift shops are plentiful with island ware, though mostly geared for the younger generation.  I've yet to find an appropriate cute dressy cover-up, but I shall persist!

Hurrah, the road through the village is now paved!  This is a huge improvement over the potholed dirt one of a few years ago, where walking through town often came with a free mud bath!

There are a variety of restaurants offering just about any kind of food; Mexican, Thai, pizza, and local cuisine which often features lobster, grouper or whatever the fresh catch of the day might be.  This will most often be accompanied by plantain chips, black beans and rice, or maybe French fries, and salad.  Howard has had a couple of excellent hamburgers!

West End comes with its own beautiful beach, Half Moon Bay, as it's called.  And you might even get treated to fresh coco water direct from the source.

We inevitably end up at the mini-super for snacks or drinks or something needed for dinner, and must take a taxi back to the apartment.  This ranges from $8-10 depending on our negotiating skills and language barrier...though most drivers speak English, but not all understand the directions to the villa...at the top of the hill by the Lighthouse and Rum Cake Factory, turn right on Tamarind Drive!

And speaking of the Roatan Rum Cake Factory, this was a very steep climb though only about a third of a mile from our place, so we had to give it a try.  By the time we got there we were not only out of breath, but hot and hungry.  We had to sample all...Crazy Coconut, Banana, Spice.  We bought the coconut with a bottle of water and sat out back enjoying the view!

The orange building you see in the center is the villa...a long way down.  This is what lies within our walking ability, albeit a little challenging.  We've decided next week to check out some car rentals, at least for a day or two.  By the time we hire a driver for $50-$75 for an island tour, we could rent a car and travel at our own pace.