Recently by Amy Read

Robert is really in to superheroes these days.  He was Batman for Halloween, he has a Spiderman hat and mittens and Spiderman bike, he has Batman pajamas... you get the idea.  This is heaven for Mark, as it gives him a great excuse to watch all of the Superman, Batman and Spiderman DVDs: father-son bonding time.

The other day, Robert asked me how do you call Superman.  "What do you mean, how do you call him?" "You know, how do you call him to tell him you need help?" Now I'm catching on.  The Commissioner uses a bat-shaped search light to call Batman, so how is Superman contacted?  "Ohhhh," I say, playing along, "you don't need to call Superman.  He just knows."

Rio Dulce, Guatemala is a cruisers' paradise and legendary as a Hurricane Hole.  Hundreds of Cruisers and their vessels from all around the Caribbean spend hurricane season up in the Rio to safely hide during storm season.  Many cruisers come for the hurricane season and love it so much they never leave.

After a wonderful month on the island of Roatan - Honduras, we decided it was time to move on.  It was getting close to September, the height of hurricane season , and my homesickness gets worse in September because I love fall in Kansas City.  So, we shoved off from our idyllic Fantasy Island and headed West, which is our path to heading North.

Our final destination was Livingston - Guatemala, entrance to the Rio Dulce, but it would take us a couple of days and a couple of stops to get there.  Our first night we stopped in Utila - Honduras, another divers' paradise, but we did not go ashore here.  Our next stop was Puerto Escondido.  Funny name, because it is not a port at all, but it is hidden (escondido means hidden in Spanish).

I realize it has been over a month, in fact almost two months, since we have updated our blog.  That's too long!  We have been busy having fun, mixed with the occasional bout of home sickness.

We are currently in Rio Dulce, Guatemala, hiding from hurricanes.  We watched the news with awe and horror as Hurricane Ike ripped through Houston- our final destination.  We pray for all of our friends and family there, some land-based, some boat-based.

In Zihuatenejo, on the Pacific coast of Mexico, we met a family from the Pacific Northwest of the US.   They were unsure of where they would be going next- whether to cross to the South Pacific, or to head to Panama and go through the canal, or turn around and head back home. 

The mom, Susan, was tired of sand and sun and palm trees.  She was looking for some culture, some history.  She thought there must be more to life than sitting under a  palapa drinking a cerveza.  She was home-schooling her two daughters, aged eight and ten, on the boat, and she was really enjoying their American History  curriculum, so she thought maybe she'd like to head to the East Coast of the US and visit all the historical sites.

After celebrating Mothers Day with the  red Macaws flying around town in Puerto Jimenez, we finally ended our two-week stint in Golfito, Costa Rica on May 13 and headed for Panama.

People who are in a hurry can make it from Golfito to the Panama Canal in about a day and a half.  We were not in a  hurry and planned to spend ten days in the islands of western Panama. 

Rainy season has officially started in Costa Rica.  We are currently in Golfito, at the southern tip of Costa Rica.  This is one of the rainiest places in Costa Rica.  The Oso Peninsula, which is right across the gulf from us, gets 220 inches of rain per year- that's almost 20 feet of rain!!

We have enjoyed our time in Costa Rica; I cannot believe we have been here six weeks.  We arrived in Bahia Santa Elena, the northernmost bay in Costa Rica, where we spent two days hiding from the wind (see: Old Man and the Sea).  We spent a few days in Playa del Coco, where we checked in to the country, and then went on to Bahia Portrero, where the Marina Flamingo used to be.

A Few Journal Entries:

March 8, Saturday, Mark's 40th Birthday, Barillas Marina, El Salvador to Gulf of Fonseca, El Salvador

Crazy day. Ponga shows up at 6:00 am to escort us 9 miles down river out to open ocean.  Due to sleep deprivation, Mark could not find key to start boat.  30 minutes later, find key hanging on the hook it was suppose to be on.  I still had terrible back pain.  Mark ran over mooring ball.  Departed 6:30 am.  Mid afternoon winds picking up.  Late afternoon, jib sail caught on radar dome.  Early evening radar antenna torn off mast.  Later, gale force winds. Winds would not stop for 40 days, and two countries later !!!

As we sailed passed the Guatemalan coast and decided not to stop, our main regret was that we were missing the volcanoes.  We had been talking about volcanoes for quite some time with Robert, and he had been asking to see a volcano that is "on."  He had seen dormant volcanoes from afar, and there was a volcano we could see from Barillas Marina in El Salvador which was releasing steam, but these would not do.  He wanted to see some lava.