The Waiting Game
Press Release from the Government of the the Republic of Honduras regarding the orders during State of Emergency
'Hazards to Navigation’, Courtesy of the Panama Posse Fleet Update 2020-04-05
Day twenty-three of the lockdown on Roatan, Honduras and we are still very fortunate to report that there are no cases of the virus on The Bay Islands. The mainland of Honduras (only 35 miles away) is not as fortunate with many cases of the virus and sadly, many deaths. The State of Emergency (SOE) is still in place on the mainland, so it exists here in Roatan as well. The ‘stay at home & curfew’ orders are in place with allowable days of transit being Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays from 9:00AM to 3:00PM. Only one person from each household is meant to go out to the grocery store, pharmacy, bank or petrol station. This again is broken-down into groupings according to last digits on your I.D. card or passport. So, this past Friday, we went to the supermercado. We were going to walk the two miles but Captain Willy, here at the marina, saw us leaving and was amazingly kind enough to give us a lift there and back. Arriving early, we find the rules are being enforced, as the market officials check your I.D./passport numbers and recommend only one person from each family enter. The National Guard has disinfectant, which they spray on the soles of your shoes and the employees distribute hand sanitizer as you move toward the door. The crowd at the market was well behaved. No one was hoarding and the shelves are stocked, however produce was relatively limited. It appears that the SOE orders are being followed with the exception of social distancing, which really goes out the window on the weekends, as families gather by the water to drink, eat and play. When I see this, I run the gamut of reactions from…”wish I could be them”…”wow, are they crazy?”…but mostly….”I really don’t blame them”. The orders are supposed to end on Sunday, April 12th, but I am not confident that the island will reopen within. It is difficult to separate the law of the mainland from the law of the islands, so we just wait. Wait for our day to go to the store, wait for the virus to peak in Florida and the marinas to reopen, wait for a weather window to make the jump back. Yes, unfortunately, it is looking like we will have to retreat to Florida as the latest news from the Panama Canal is that it will not reopen to boats under 65 feet until the end of May. May is too late for us, putting us too close to the start of hurricane season to transit both the canal and the west coast. Other ideas have surfaced only to be jettisoned due to closures of foreign borders, the dangers of the virus or most of the time, the invalidation of our insurance policy. We are frustrated but we know we are the lucky ones…healthy and safe. So we detail and wax the boat, we ride the exercise bike, we snorkel, read and practice Spanish…and wait…is cocktail hour yet?
Larry is melting away in the 86 degree Fahrenheit temperatures as he is determined to wax the entire boat…top to bottom & all 59 feet
With guests off the island, the iguanas are feeling a bit more comfortable. Too bad this young one doesn’t feel inclined to pick up the brush or mit and help wash the boat
An older, smarter iguana keeps his distance
Friday used to be laundry day but with that now being our sanctioned provisioning day, it was just too much excitement to spend all at once…
…so now Monday is the new laundry day. Who knew she made such a great laundry line?
More excitement, as we joined the first SFYC ‘Friday Zoom Cocktail Party!
A little tender ride on Sunday to French Harbor. We didn’t stop but had to take a picture of Romeo’s where we had dinner the second night we were in town with Chris Adams. Oh such fond memories of dining out…and…with good friends….
Always good to see the reliable Costa arrive each morning…especially when she is bringing in a semi of Cerveza SalvaVida
As much as scratching incessantly at my bug bites gave me something to do, I opted for Stephanie’s (manager at Barefoot Cay) prescription…wear bug repellent religiously and if they still bite and itch cook each bite with your hair dryer set on HOT. Direct the hot blast of air right onto the bite and leave it there as long as you can bare it. The itch magically vanishes…truly! A great web post about the notorious biting bugs of Roatan can be found at roatan.westbaytours.com/what-to-do-about-the-sandflies/
This little guy paid us a visit at the stern of the boat. Like a little UFO he would appear and disappear like a ninja cuttlefish.