Las Sirenas - day one

OK - time to catch up on some history.

On Friday 3rd March we joined the catamaran Las Sirenas We waited around in the hottest cafe in Livingston until we were picked up in a lancha and taken across the bay to the boat.

After being robbed of our shoes for the duration of the trip, we sat in harbour for a while as we waited for the last two of our number to arrive. Eventually we set off without them and so our happy party consisted of:

• Raul - El Capitan


• Carlos - Deckhand


• El Cocinar - The (almost) nameless cook


• Trudi - UK


• Paul - UK


• Keri - Canada


• Andreas - Germany


• Ilse - Germany


• Peter - Australia


• Robyn - Australia


• Mala - Greenland


• John - USA

(Much) later we were joined by:

• Remco - NL


• Mascha - NL

A good group of characters.

The first night was made in the swelteringly hot, windless, mosquito infested banks of the Rio Dulce. We didn't understand why we couldn't moor out in the windy, mosquito-less bit of the river. Much later, we were told why - Pirates.

After a nice meal, we sat down to play UNO. I was terrible.

Change of pace

After escaping from the yacht at Puerto Cortes, we came to Honduras' second city, San Pedro Sula.

This evening, we are flying to Panama City.

Just a quickie

Just a quick update before we drop off the net again.

After an interesting trip on Las Serenas we have stopped in Livingston.

Tonight we board another boat to sail to Honduras.

T´s friends babies are doing well - as are their mothers. Congratulations.

In Rio

Just before getting to Rio, the bus emptied of naives and a sorry bunch of about ten westerners were left. The girl who had sat almost next to us for the last six hours asked us about Rio Dulce. We told her that we hadn't booked anything - as we were expecting to have arrived four hours earlier. We mentioned that we were going sailing - and so was she - on the same trip!

The three of us teamed up and found a nice place to stay on the river - called Tortugal. We have a cabin (with a few too much nature inside it for my liking). Kerry (who is Canadian) is staying in a very open-air loft/dorm thing. She is braver than I.

Thursday was spent getting money, eating, sleeping, reading books and - for me, swimming and diving.

Today we join the boat. There won't be any updates for a week. During that week, two of T's friends are having babies (on the same day - in the same hospital - how wierd is that!). We wish them luck and love.

And then to Rio

We woke up early (5:00 am) and showered, dressed and packed for the trip to Rio Dulce. We had been offered two leaving times. 6:00am would get us to Rio at 14:30; 9:30 am would get us there at 18:00 (getting dark). We wanted to arrive in the light, so we paid an extra 10% and got up an awful lot earlier to make sure we did (you can guess where this is going already, can't you?)

The hotel staff were magnificent and, as we were to leave before breakfast started, they gave us a couple of packed lunches instead of the breakfast. As it turned out, we could have had brekkie, as the bus to pick us up was late and didn't get to us until 6:30.

Rather than go straight to Guatemala City, the bus took a detour via Antigua to drop off a Norwegian schoolteaher. Outside Guate. the traffic was terrible and we felt a wave of relief as we pulled into the bus station.

The rather sheepish bus driver gave us our ticket for the noon bus. The one that would arrive at six pm. We were not happy. At least we had reserved seats on a first-class, air-conditioned, luxury bus for the six hour trip.

The bus didn't have a name, but it could easily have been called 'Titanic'. The seats were broken, the A/C, oops, no A/C. And it was packed. Guatemalan people are smaller than Europeans. We will draw a veil over the trip, driving, heat, dust etc. Suffice it to say that First Class has a long way to go in Guatemala.

Back to Pana

So, we booked a private launch to take us back to Pana (the thought of trying to put our stuff into the public ones and then trying to keep them dry was too much to bear). Our launch was due at 12:30 and was to be called 'Fatima'. After waiting for about 20 mins, spurning the near empty lanchas going our way for 1/5 of the price we were due to pay, an empty lancha approached. How we chuckled at its name 'Titanic.' "Which poor fools would get on that death trap?" We wondered.

Us, apparently. by the dint of our new found Spanish, we realised that Fatima was not coming and they'd sent the Titanic as a replacement (personally, I think that there is no Fatima - but they've worked out that no-one in their right mind would book a boat called Titanic).

As it happened, the lack of icebergs on the lake assisted us in not sinking and getting quite comfortably to Pana.

T cocked up a bit, so we only managed to stay in the second most expensive hotel in Pana, which had a pool with a water slide. I had fun on the water slide. Here is the obligatory sunset photo from the balcony of the hotel. We needed an early night for our 6:00 am bus to Rio Dulce.

Last evening in San Marcos

After my swimming and diving (and jumping in), we retired to the local bar 'Moon Fish'. We chatted with some people and Trudi had the biggest bottle of beer in the world.

A mi me gusta Nadar y Saltar

Nadar	Saltar

Our room

Was very high up - built into a cliff face.