Kay Chung
Posted in Carolinas, Central America, Greetings
(January 15, 2017) Meeting old friends and neighbors! For staying in the Caribbean for last two years, we decided to enjoy winter weather this time. We also have things to take care of on land. Leaving the boat in North Carolina, John purchased a used vehicle. We drove it to Fort Lauderdale with our two cats.
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Kay Chung
Posted in Caribbean Islands, Central America, Florida, Sailings
An adrenaline pumping sailing trip!
April 26 to May 3, 2016: I found that weather forecasts are about 50% accurate. Maybe it will rain, maybe it will not. Maybe it will be windy from the East, or maybe from somewhere else. Our sailing from Rio Dulce,
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Kay Chung
Posted in Caribbean Islands, Central America, Sailings
April 26, 2016: While waiting for a high tide to get out the Rio Dulce Entrance, a local boat stopped by and asked us if we needed his service to pass the shallow spot. We told him that we will follow our previous GPS track that we saved two months ago when we passed the shallow spot.
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Kay Chung
Posted in Central America, Medical Service Experiences, Sailings
“All sorts of bodily diseases are produced by half-used minds.” — George Bernard Shaw, Irish Playwright (1856-1950)
Clothes are real cheap in Rio Dulce. Most of the stores sell second hand clothes that appeared to be brought from the USA. John has been enjoying buying work T-Shirts when there is a bargain.
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Kay Chung
Posted in Boat Projects, Caribbean Islands, Central America, Sailings
While staying in some anchorages at night, we sometimes wished to have a bit more protection on our deck hatches. We have four small hatches and one big hatch on the boat. These hatches are big enough so we can get out of the boat if needed during an emergency;
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Kay Chung
Posted in Boat Projects, Central America, Sailings
I have read that ‘Guatemala’ means ‘Land of Trees’ in the indigenous language. The country is still very green with lots of forests but most people use wood for cooking meals. Based on the daily wage, there are not enough jobs for the people here, and to compound the problem,
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Kay Chung
Posted in Caribbean Islands, Central America, Sailings
Calypso Marina in Rio Dulce, if one loves tranquility, it is the marina to stay. (http://www.calypsomarina.com/)
There are many marinas in Rio Dulce River. Selecting a marina is matter of a personal choice. Marina cost in Rio Dulce is about the same, US$250/month including the water but electricity is an additional charge.
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Kay Chung
Posted in Central America, Internet Abroad
*** My Experiences with Claro SIM Card in Guatemala (February to April 2016) ***
In Guatemala, I bought a Claro SIM card because a Claro store is conveniently located by the Municipal Pier in Livingstone. I paid about 15 Quetzals (US$2) for a SIM card. It came with 150 MB data.
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Kay Chung
Posted in Boat Projects, Central America, Sailings
Sailing to Rio Dulce was an impromptu decision for us. This is the place where the original Jonny Weissmuller Tarzan movies were filmed. While we were passing through the Rio Dulce river gorge, John was more impressed by it than I was. He never stopped saying that “Wow, it’s awesome!” As the river is over 15 miles long to the main town,
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Kay Chung
Posted in Caribbean Islands, Central America, Sailings
It is known there is a shallow spot at the Rio Dulce entrance between the river and the sea. The shallow spot is about 5.5 feet (1.68 meters) at low tide. Most of the sailors wait for high tide to enter this spot so as not to get stuck on the muddy bottom.
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Kay Chung
Posted in Caribbean Islands, Central America, Sailings
Growing up as a kid, I liked geography and I dreamed of visiting many countries. I believe the journey of my sailing life, in a sense, is not a coincidence but is related to my childhood dream; ‘Traveling’ is in my blood. Why do I dream about it? Truly, I would have a hard time answering,
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Kay Chung
Posted in Caribbean Islands, Central America, Sailings
This sailing trip taught us lots of lessons. We had all kinds of weather during a total length of 600 nautical miles from February 15 to February 20, 2016. It took 113 hours averaging 5.3 miles/hour. It taught me again that sailing is “The sport of fluid dynamics and geometry.
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Kay Chung
Posted in Caribbean Islands, Central America, Sailings
An untouched paradise, ‘donde la magia envulve el alma y el Corazon’ (in English: where magic surrounds the heart and soul!)
We have been in the Providencia anchorage almost three weeks. People here are very outgoing, and most speak English to boot, so that I didn’t feel any distance from the locals at all.
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Kay Chung
Posted in Caribbean Islands, Central America, Sailings, San Blas, South America
Zika Virus, Chikungunya, Dengue Fever, Yellow Fever, Malaria… AHHHH, Life in the tropics. When it comes to bug bites, prevention is the best policy for me. Otherwise, once I get a bug bite, I end up scratching my skin leaving ugly scars. Based on my experiences, a mosquito bite makes me itch for about two days and a no-see-ums (Sandflies) about five days.
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Kay Chung
Posted in Caribbean Islands, Central America, Sailings, South America
February 1, 2016: In order to see the island, we decided to rent a scooter for each of us (50,000 Colombian Pesos = US$16 Per Day/Per Scooter). I was a little worried because I haven’t driven a scooter before. It is the main transportation vehicle in Providencia. The road is good and empty so I was ready to learn a new skill,
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Kay Chung
Posted in Caribbean Islands, Central America, Medical Service Experiences, Sailings, South America
I consider that I am active and healthy. I also do regular exercise and try to eat smart even in remote islands. However, since I started sailing in June 2014, I have been seeing doctors in each country we stop at. The two main problems I have are: (1) a tooth crown that won’t stay on,
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Kay Chung
Posted in Caribbean Islands, Central America, Sailings, South America
El Nino, for us, means more possibility of Cyclones in the Pacific. Because of it, we were unsure of our next destination. Finally, we made a big decision postponing going to the South Pacific for two years. That means we are not crossing the Panama Canal in February, 2016. It is disappointing;
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Kay Chung
Posted in Caribbean Islands, Central America, Sailings, San Blas
Panama uses US dollars. I brought lots of small denomination bills before visiting San Blas as we had read to do so in another cruisers blog. It was helpful to buy coconuts, vegetables, and lobsters from the Guna Indians because they usually don’t have change. I still have a plenty of small bills left.
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Kay Chung
Posted in Caribbean Islands, Central America, Kiteboarding, Sailings, San Blas
My phone alarm, the sound of a rooster crowing goes off at 8:25am daily! It is about time to listen to the Panama Connection Net (Frequency 8107 USB).
At 8:30am every day, the cruisers in San Blas announce the weather and discuss various matters. The topics vary. One day,
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Kay Chung
Posted in Caribbean Islands, Central America, Sailings, San Blas
The water in Holandes Cays is the prettiest in San Blas. We liked the BBQ Island anchorage area. It is John’s favorite anchorage in whole San Blas so far. The anchorage is sandy and not so deep with good holding. BBQ Island is very well-maintained with green grass and palm trees.
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