Oceanic Ventures, Inc.
The Strange Chronicles
October 2000
October 31, 2000 Up the Rio&ldots;150 47”N 088o 48”W Rebecca is 3 1/2 and a delight to be with. She started showing an interest in words so we put her on a home schooling reading program. After 100 lessons, she's reading at a 1st or 2nd grade level when she wants to. When she's not in the mood, she manages to get confused by the most simple words. When I start to get too frustrated, Karen, a former elementary school teacher, reminds me Rebecca's only three.
Yesterday, she finished her 100th lesson so we had a big graduation party!!!! We had cake, party hats, horns, balloons with horns (for more noise) and presents. We went over to Finca Tatin (a bed and breakfast, intensive Spanish school in the Guatemala jungle) and invited five year old Oria, 2 year old Martin (Marteen), their parents--Claudia and Carlos, Kim and Luis off S/Y Crystal, and Patricia and Fabio an Italian couple off S/Y Beguine to join us for a party. It was really very nice and a great success. We finished the book Monday morning. Karen tried to make a big deal out of it, but Becca was very nonchalant. She said Becca would be excited when it got to be party time. Karen and Rebecca made a carrot cake together in an attempt to get her in the party mood. No big deal. We discussed what we would do and what presents she might get. No big deal.
It turned out very nice. Oria had made Rebecca a sign that said Rebecca Good (she doesn't speak much English) and they hung it in the doorway. They also gave her a plant in a coconut shell. Kim and Luis went all out -- as Kim is wont to do. She got 4 "vases" (glass jars) full of flowers from a local girl who is 11 and makes really beautiful arrangements out of tropical flowers that she gathers from the jungle. Rebecca is a flower nut, so this was a big hit. Kim also gave each child a bean bag that she made herself. They were the big hit of the party. The kids had a ball--especially Martin. Kim also brought hot tea for the adults which everyone really enjoyed. (We had fruit drinks for the kids.) Patricia and Fabio gave Rebecca a cute necklace with different colored teddy bears. We had told people they didn't need to bring presents because we had some, but Becca really enjoyed them.
Karen made a cake that said "Becca can read!!" in blue because we couldn't get the green food coloring to work. It had 3 pink candles on it because Becca wanted it to have candles. We all said "congratulations," and then she blew out the candles. We gave her the game Candy Land that's been hidden onboard since before last Xmas. We also gave her a sticker book that has reusable stickers, a princess coloring book, her own note pad that has flowers on the pages, and some Level 1 reading books. We gave Oria and Martin the game Chutes and Ladders as a thank you for letting us use their house--and so they wouldn't be left out. (Besides Becca has it on a computer game and we've been carrying this board game around since before last Xmas also.) They were excited, but the bean bags were the biggest hit.
Rebecca is a typical cruising kid - big vocabulary, steers the dinghy, climbs around the boat like a monkey and loves to ride on the boom. We're a little concerned about her lack of lady like graces. We caught a nice sized Spanish Mackerel a few weeks ago. After we landed it, Rebecca was full of tips like, "smack it on the head with a hammer!" and "it's quit moving, let's cut it up!". She doesn't shy away from the most messy part of food prep. It's interesting to watch her develop.
October 24, 2000 We're planning on making the trip to Livingston Wednesday around noon. I've managed to get some great pictures in the last few days. There's an Intensive Spanish Language / Bed & Breakfast near where we're anchored. The couple who run it are ex-cruisers from Argentina. They seem to collect cruisers who pass by and we've become regulars at their place. One of the major attractions for us is their five year old daughter that Rebecca plays with. They're learning a few words of each others language as they play.
October 16, 2000 We're moving back down river to a more isolated spot. We've stocked up and have had enough of the crowded anchorages and townsfolk. Crystal and Enchante' will anchor near a Spanish School / Bed & Breakfast. Rebecca has a five year old girl friend she plays with in the afternoon. They are slowly learning each other's language. We enjoy the remoteness.
October 12,2000 I managed to catch the debates this evening over VOA. During the first half they agreed with each other so much I thought they might announce they were going to vote for each other. Finally they got "gently" into "I want to solve all your problems" vs "take care of things on the local level." I understand Leiberman is coming down to Texas to make sure everyone knows Bush's weak points in the state. I suppose the Gore camp is taking a page out of the Bush / Dukacas (sp?) campaign. Surely George will counter with a massive attack on the character, campaign finance issues. Let the mud slinging begin!
October 11, 2000 We're still anchored near the town of Fronteras. It's fairly far up the river, past Lake Golfete' but not as far as Lake Isabel. Everyone says you shouldn't even think of going into Isabel because of all the crime. Supposedly this area is much safer than Isabel, but Luis and Kim noticed a bloated, dead body (yep, human) floating under the bridge yesterday morning. Kind of puts a damper on our enthusiasm for the place. We'll do a couple more days of shopping, fill up with diesel and head back down the river to the relatively safety of Livingston. All in all I'd rather be anchored out on the Cays - but then it's hurricane season. The Pacific beckons!
We were planning to head back to Belize after the season ends. However, Belize is going to be a mess for a long, long time. Friends tried to call Belize City yesterday. All you can get out of the area is a recording saying the phones are out of service. The marina in Moho Cay is telling people they still have 7' over the sand bar at their entrance. This gets a laugh from folks since they haven't had 7' in anyone's memory. We went in on a 2 foot high tide and had to plow through the muck. I really don't think we could get into the marina if we wanted to now
October 9, 2000 Today, over Karen's homemade cherry pie, we found out the couple we’ve been hanging out with, Luis & Kim Soltero on S/V Crystal, know Chuck and Pat. [Chuck Cooper and Pat Harrington are on the staff at Oceanic Ventures.] Parts of the story are Luis got his first speargun from Chuck and he was Kim's instructor. They went on a few dive trips together and have even had the pleasure of sharing a room with Chuck. We skirted around several subjects including whether or not anyone but Chuck got any sleep. They are the ones who taught us all about grilling fish.
Also, Luis has become an excellent freediver. I was already pretty good at hunting but Luis is in another league and I've been learning from him. He is up to 3:30 minutes breath hold once he's been in the water for an hour or so and has his breathing rate down.