Noahs Ark

I have an almost hypothetical situation for you. If you were stranded on a boat "made for 70" that seemed like it brimming with only 25 people in the middle of the ocean and had only had a liter of water in your posession who would you choose as your boat mates?

In the name of time, money saved, and adventure Elliot and I chose to take the water route to continue on our journey instead of the more traditional chicken bus. The boat leaves once a week from Dangriga and arrives at Puerto Cortes. The day before embarked we went to find the boat and buy our tickets. I had in mind a slow going ocean barge that would take the better part of the day to go the few hundred miles that it would take to get to our destination. Instead we found a sleek speed boat with three outboard 200 hp engines and a gothic style Noah´s Ark painted on the side. We were stoked. Not only was this going to save us from the exit fees that you have to pay at every other border crossing but this one, but it was also going to shave off a day and a half of sitting on bumpy buses. It turned out to be a lot fuller experience than that. The first half hour was spent passing through the cayes , small islands made of coral, which looked like something out of a fairy tale. There were loads of them and they ranged in size from 20 yards across to what looked like at least a quarter mile. The one thing that everyone single one of them had in common regardless of size was some sort of fancy cabana looking structure on them. The captain of our boat told me that they are a major part of the tourist industry in Belize.

Durign those first thirty minutes Elliot and I got front row seats -standing seats. The only person in front of us was the lookout. His job was to point which direction the boat needed to go in order to avoid any debris that the boat came across and there was a lot. Most of it was just empty coke bottles but here and there the boat would make quite sharp changes in its direction to avoid the few tree trunks that were in our path. After those few first sharp changes in direction is when things began to get a little interesting on the inside of the boat. Almost all of the conversations stopped, a few people had taken off their shirts to put over their faces, one gentleman even started handing out plastic bags to those that looked most in need, a few of the half dozen 4-5 year olds were crying and elliot and i had both sat down after working on our tans in the only section of the boat that was uncovered trying to concentrate hard enough so as to not join the ranks of the other seasick people on the boat.

The next bit of fun came at the hour and a half marker. The boat suddenly started letting out a fairly highpitched beeping and then the engines stopped. Everyone immediately looked back at the captain and he had already turned around to give a look at the engines. He was crouched over with one hand on his knee and the other scracthing his head. Any doubt about him playing duel roles of captain and mechanic were immediately put to bed after seeing the perplexed look on his face. As for us passengers, well i think we were all a bit worried. One man got up and started doing hail marries, a few others took out their cell phones and searched unsuccessfully for service, the kids gave a cry again, and i told elliot about my idea to make a sail from the cloth material that was being used as the awning. Elliot was a small yacht captain for a while and he immediately responded “it wont work, there is nothing to be used as a mast and we have no rigging”. then i prayed!

We were only dead in the water for 10 to 15 minutes before the engines got going again, but it seemed like an eternity. We eventually got to Puerto Cortes with out any mishaps other than being separated from our passports for a short time and being slightly extorted by the local taxi drivers.

Off to Tegucigalpa.