This was sort of a mixed-up day. We wanted to do all the things we needed to do to leave tomorrow morning. Cashed another $100 travelers' check, so we'll have money to buy diesel. We don't want to be stuck with a bunch of leftover lempiras, but we want to be sure we have enough for the things we need, so it's a little tricky.
Went into Coxen's Hole in the morning, but the Port Captain was out. Went over to migracion, but he couldn't do anything until we got our zarpe from the Port Captain.
I'm nearly out of Dramamine, so we went to a pharmacy, but they didn't have any. Next door was a tiny hole-in-the-wall drugstore. To my surprise, they had Dramamine and also had Robitussin, so I got both.
Walked around trying to find a nautical chart of the island, but all we could find were maps. Bought a few souvenirs. Went back to the Port Captain's office. He was still out, so we waited on a park bench in the shade. A young man who spoke perfect English came up to us and took over. We didn't ask for his services; he thrust them upon us. Apparently, he earns a living performing services for yachties. We found out later his name's Ralph, he's 22, and he has a wife and child to support. When he was a child, he lived for several years with a Canadian family and learned English.
Ralph found the Port Captain and interpreted for us. (The Port Captain only speaks Spanish.) We had to pay four lempiras for our zarpe, which the Port Captain typed up. Then Ralph took us to Migracion, as if we didn't know it was right next door. The office was closed. Ralph found out it would re-open at two.
We had asked Ralph if he knew where we could get a nautical chart of Roatan. He took us to a gift shop we had already been to. We told him we'd been there, but he took us in anyway and showed us the same maps we'd looked at before. Then he took us to a store with the weird name of Yaba Ding Ding. Lo and behold, they had a chart of Roatan! So we bought it.
Roy made the mistake of offering Ralph a two lempira tip (about 33 cents). Ralph was insulted. He told us that's what you'd give a child; he was a man with a family to support. We apologized, and Roy gave him twenty lempiras.
We thought we only had an hour or so until Migracion opened, so we decided to eat some lunch. Ralph took us to a fairly decent restaurant at a hotel. He kept hanging around, and we wondered how we were going to get rid of him. Finally he came right out and said he was usually paid thirty lempiras, so Ralph gave him another ten, and Ralph finally left. $5 seems like quite a bit to pay for services we didn't ask for and didn't really need, but at least he found a chart for us.
We ordered fish and orange juice. The juice arrived immediately, but the fish took forever. We began to think he'd had to catch the fish before cooking it. The rain started coming down in torrents, including through the roof, but fortunately not where we were sitting. We had the restaurant all to ourselves. Time kept ticking away. Finally, two guys brought in huge platters of fish, French fries, lettuce, and slices of tomato. There was also some white bread wrapped in paper napkins, which we didn't eat (neither the bread nor the napkins). The best I can say for the food is that it was edible. The bill came to 98 lempiras.
By then, it was two o'clock and the rain had let up, so we returned to Migracion, but the office was still closed. We went to the Port Captain to see if he knew when Migracion would open. He told us two o'clock. We said it was already after two, but the Port Captain said it was 1:13 and showed us his watch. Then Roy realized his watch was still on Panama time! If we'd known that earlier, we could have returned to the boat and eaten a decent lunch.
Roy was anxious to get the diesel we needed, so we took a cab back to the marina. We had talked with Laurie in the morning and found out exactly where the fuel dock is. They don't have a regular pump there. They get diesel in drums and somehow convey it to boats' tanks or jerry cans. Since we needed 55 gallons, Roy figured he'd buy a drum and have the diesel put in our jerry cans. Roy paddled over to the fuel dock to see if he could do that. They were out of diesel but said they could order a drum and have it at seven in the morning, so we'll take the boat over there at seven, get the diesel, and then take off for Belize.
We returned to Coxen's Hole. By now the Migracion office was open. This time, he charged us only ten lempiras each to stamp our visas.
Took the bus back to French Harbor and got off at the super market. Bought milk, bread, eggs, and orange juice. Roy bought mangoes and--ugh--bananas. I told him he'd have to eat them.
Went to the yacht club and settled our bill there. Returned to Jofian, and Roy tried to eat one of his "bananas". Heh heh. They weren't bananas at all; they were plantains, or whatever you call the things. They're supposed to be cooked. We gave the rest of them to a little kid who came by the boat selling peanuts.
Fortunately, Roy's mangoes were delicious.
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