6/22/01 - San Pedro, Belize  - the laid back town had grown considerably since our visit in 1992. The road next to the airstrip was even paved with paving stones. Fortunately the main roads in town were still sand. A few miles south at Cay Caulker we saw more blasted shores from Hurricane Keith in 2000, but a great deal of rebuilding had been accomplished.

7/4/01 - Lisa threw her first multi-boat party on the evening of the 4th of July after putting up a string of signal flags to dress the boat for the holiday. We had eight dinghies along side for a couple of hours. 

The next day, we sailed to Long Cay. Then out to the reef southeast of Cay Chapel for a couple of days. We met fishermen working this stretch of reef, Tony and his youngest son Danny, who visited and traded with us for some fish.

7/8/01 - We motored through Porto Stuck and south into Ships Bogue into Belize harbor. At the northwest end of the harbor is Belize City. This town has a reputation as being a good place to get mugged, but all the people we met here were friendly and helpful. We only made day trips and did not stay anchored nearby.

At the Robinson Cays we met fishermen Rene and David, from Honduras. Rene, a large gentleman, very softspoken, told us several amusing stories of his encounters with the local sharks in the murky water of the deep channels between these islands. He has had to think and move fast on a few occasions.

A few days later, we returned to Belize City. Ulli's daughter Sylvia and grandson Alex arrived from Texas for a visit on "Filia". After picking them up, we headed south, making our way to English Cay at the main ship channel entrance to Belize Harbor where the local pilot station is located, then southward along the inner channel of the harbor for 40 miles over the next several days.

7/19/01 - We departed the three Queen Cays, about a tenth of a mile apart, the middle cay largest. We returned to the Queen Cays at the end of 2001, on the way to Honduras and saw much damage here to the reefs and islands from Hurricane Iris that passed through just a couple of months after our visit.

7/25/01 - Placencia, a very laid back town. Cade and Ulli rode the bus to the town of Dangriga (B$ 10 each way) to renewed our tourist visas and "Ship Report" (a customs document) for another 30 days.

The fresh produce trucks visited Placencia on Tuesdays and Fridays, happy hour at the Lagoon Saloon was Saturday from 4:00 PM till 6:00 PM with B$ 1.00 rum drinks, and Tuesday night was pizza night at the Pickled Parrot Bar. Sunday afternoons Harry, of "Harry's Resort", hosted a BYOB rum tasting and general discussion beneath the "Tree of Knowledge" which happened to be growing in his front yard. This discussion beneath the Tree of Knowledge had apparently spawned a weekly book swap which occured nearby on a blue plastic tarp, the "Tarp of Knowledge".

[We visited Placencia and the Sapodillo Cays at the end of 2001, on the way tothe Bay Islands of Honduras. The town had been leveled by hurricane Iris two months prior, and was in the throes of reconstruction.]

7/28/01 -Headed for the Sapodillo Cays and found a place to which we hope to return again and again: Nicholas Cay. The Sapodillo Cays are at the southern end of Belize's barrier reef. The mountains of Central America are visible in the distance on clear days to the west across the southern Belize basin.

Cade finally caught a fish on 7/31 with his Hawaiian sling pole spear!

8/2/01 - Rain in thunderstorms almost every evening.  Athough we had plenty of fish and coconut at Nicholas Cay and the laundry was clean, the fresh produce was running low, so we soon returned Placencia for supplies. Just as quickly as the vegetable truck came and went, we returned to the Sapodillo Cays until we finally saw signs of heavier weather brewing to the east and headed southwest for the entrance of the Rio Dulce.