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We opted to stay a couple of days here,
as it is a delightfully funky place – kind of an “end of the
road” collection of stilt houses painted all kinds of
Caribbean colors from turquoise to pink to violent coral
purple.
It’s a cruiser haven, and when we
pulled in the other day, there must have been about 50 boats
huddled between Placencia proper and the cay across. Many
American, a few Canadian, and a couple of Germans, from
Hamburg, no less.
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When we went ashore, we followed a ½
mile long sidewalk that wanders in between the stilt houses
and found an eclectic collection of businesses – dive shops,
guest houses, an acupuncturist, a sports bar, and even a
salon and “spa.” I couldn’t decide whether my favorite is
the combination coffee house/internet café/laundromat
started up by a guy from Vancouver or the bar/restaurant
called “Purple Space Monkeys” painted wild colors. On the
walk, the strangest site was the cemetery, where some of the
departed had proper crypts above the ground, and others
appeared to have been laid to rest in plain old sand, and
recently at that.
Grocery shopping was good at Wallen’s
market, where there is a semi out back with cases of beer
(they know their clientele!). You take in your empty
bottles, the “writer dude” gives you a receipt, and the
cashier gives you a ticket to take back to the semi for
replacements. Very efficient. Stocked up on crackers,
coffee, and cookies as well. Ole went back for a nap,
leaving Jan with the dinghy (she’s now dinghy-certified) to
go get a haircut and check e-mail at the Canadian’s
laundry.
Last night we hosted cocktails for some
new friends, and oddly, most of them were from the west
coast – from Las Vegas, from Montana, and from Oregon. It
was our first official “cruisers” cocktail party, and we
were surprised to find each couple bringing an hors
d’oeuvres to share. There was so much, it was almost a
shame to leave for dinner ashore! The company was
exceptional, the conversation was fun, and dinner ashore was
great.
We left Placencia this morning at about
10:30 to head for New Haven. It’s hard to face it, but
tomorrow we’re hoping to clear out of Belize at Punta Gorda
, clear in to Guatemala at Livingston, and anchor somewhere
in the mouth of the river to head up on Friday to Hacienda
Tijax, which we hope will be our home for the next several
months. |
