Al#2 and spent the night on the aft deck fearing the boat might roll. We were both wet and tired. The winds and seas are way down after they had crashed over the port rail all night.
Dec 9 9am CST Rio Dulce.
This was last Tue [Dec 1st] morning in Belize. It was a long night as the waves
rocked the boat on the reef all night. Al#2 and I spent the night aboard
to protect the boat against salvage ...looting by the locals. The Great
Escape had run on the reef late Monday...after taking us off..the
Belize government "detained" us for 2 days. Included a 50+ mph ride in
an open boat.....a real back killer...
Thieves of Belize.As you can guess things have been hectic around here for the last few days. The Great Escape and it's crew and guests have been the center of interest here on the river since we escaped from the Thieves of Belize. Many of the legal issues have not been sorted out yet...so a full accounting will have to wait. Joyce has had contact with the American Embassy as to the disapearnce of personal property while we were held by the Belize authorities....we will see. We are safe and sound...my back is slowly recovering from our 50 mph ride in an open boat with no seats or railings for support. Al heart condition which was triggered by the same boat ride has has improved. Al ,Pam, the 7 cats and Radar the dog have a new home they rented just out of town. Those of you that know me, or have followed the blog know my dislike of the eastern Caribbean black English islands. They received their independence from England in the 1970's. Since then, they have made sure that whitey knows they are now in charge. Corruption in their governments is rampant...damn...so is it back home in the US right now....well Belize is a ex British possession..yes black...and like the eastern islands just as corrupt.... its all about the money...get the money get the money get the money. It was all about how they could extort more money from the rich white American who happened to run up on one of their reefs and lose his million+ dollar boat If Al had not been an attorney that knew the law better than the clowns and crooks that were holding us...well we might still be there. So to all that read this...find another place to spend what dollars you have left after Obama takes his share, find other places to spend your vacation than Belize. ....We will not make the high tide tomorrow....so stuck here till the 29th..more as things get sorted out
At least that is the plan for today! Yes, Paul made arrangements for us to be tipped over the bar 5ish in the afternoon today, Tuesday December 30th on high tide. First thing this morning we will take the Lady H over to town...anchor off and go in for some fresh fruits and veggies. Then Paul wants to fuel up at RAM and down the river we will go! We will make a "passage" of it...continue as far as the weather will let us...to either Utila or Roatan, Honduras. Ah, what's a little sleep anyway! And, yet...we've waited so long that I have kind of grown accustomed to things here...up the Rio Dulce! So I guess I will mention some of the things that I will miss most....
I will miss the absolute gorgeous countryside...
I will miss these very wonderful horses...
I will miss talking with REAL cats (and Radar, the dog)...
now people will think I'm crazy talking to Sootie Two... 
I will miss watching the day to day happenings on the river...
I will miss the quietness of living on the river... 
Maybe even miss all of the birds...
I will miss a very good friend that I have met here...
I will miss these kids...Guatemalan version of a lemonade stand?
Remember when WE were kids?
Oh, I won't miss the rain....not that it matters...
because no matter where we go...there will be rainy days....
I will miss the five Q shirts and dresses...the trips to Puerto Barrios (thank you Pam)... 
and trips to Morales (thank you Pam and Al#2).... 
I will miss the markets...
So Hasta Luego...sweet river...God willing, and we hope the creek does rise (Paul's boat is a 7 foot draft)...it will make it easier to cross the bar when we return...
Paul really likes that the temperature is cooler...it is inexpensive...and really a quaint little town...
he also did pick up some BEAUTIFUL things for the boat...
Wanted to share my early morning Christmas Day walk around Antigua.
Workers were out early cleaning the streets from all of the debris left from the LOUD midnight fireworks and celebrations. 
This would be the first time for Al to be the Captain of his own vessel although they have lived on board for 8 months or so. 
It was great fun to be on their boat and headed down the river. 
There seemed to be cayuco conventions all the way down the river...
Of course I took lots of pictures
And, did I mention...lots of pictures.... 
There were seven of us on board. Al and Pam, Paul and I, Al (we call him Al#2 – a good friend of Al and Pam’s), and two deckhands, Carlos and Ronaldo.
How many birds in this picture???
There were also five cats, 
this is of mouse on the recliner....two kittens 
one three weeks old, Hanna and one three days old, Maggie, and Radar, the dog.
Over the Livingston bar we went and by late afternoon we had anchored at Thomas Caye in the Northeast Sapodilla’s. On the third anchor drop…the anchor was down and everyone was happy with the placement (winds were going to shift during the night).
Al suited up with scuba,
Pam suited up for snorkeling and into the water they went. Paul, Al#2, Carlos, Ronaldo, and I stayed aboard.
I was getting a sore throat and knew that if I went to bed with a wet head I would not be able to scuba the next day and that is what I really wanted to be able to do!
Once they were back and dry, Pam, Al, Al#2 and I played Mexican Train Dominos…Paul watched on and tried to give assistance with strategy a time or two…then the two Al’s had enough...
Carlos and Ronaldo fishing...
and Pam and I continued to play until late. The next morning when we awoke we found that the boat had swung as predicted and all was well. After breakfast Paul, Al and I suited up and loaded their dingy up for scuba diving. Pam drove us over to a caye, we dropped out one at a time, and down we went.
Paul took off one way looking for lobsters and... 
Al went the other looking at reef. While I could still see both of them…
I got Paul’s attention and motioned for him to follow me. 
I turned to the reef to follow Al and when I turned around again Paul was gone.
Al and I looked around for awhile then Al motioned “where was Paul”…I shrugged…so we went in search of him. 
We finally found him and all three of us then wandered around for awhile. When we got up I DID give Paul the dickens for taking off…it was totally unacceptable diving behavior! The diving was not excellent (like the Belize guide book had stated) so we lifted anchor and went to Seal Caye. There we picked up a mooring ball rather than anchor because of the coral…but the mooring ball was horribly maintained! We decided to scuba dive there off of the wall and then head to another anchorage for the night. This time Pam came too and we were able to large stride in right off of the back of The Great Escape. We all moved to the bow of the boat…waited for Pam to get additional weights and then we all agreed and went down...
Pillar coral....
It was 15 feet at the bow........
and off of the stern was a small wall…maybe to 80 or 90 feet…I didn’t go down all the way…I stayed around 50 feet close to Paul. 
I had my camera 
and took pictures…of Pam
the diving was okay…
not superb…
not as good as Roatan...
This was a first…
but of course......... 
as always when I am under the water...
I did have lots of fun!