The Rio was wonderful and we enjoyed every minute of being there. Joan worked with Maria in the village about a week helping to organize the clinic. It was a wonderful experience for her and she made many friends there. Pedro, a village boy of around 10 or 12 carved a small cayuca for Joan. I know I've droned on about how wonderful the Mayans are, but they really are. No screaming, bawling kids, no yelling, but certainly lots of love and caring.

A little addendum to the malaria thing. The information that we received on the Net regarding the cure was almost right. No, I didn't have any more episodes, but Maria checked her medical books and told us that we didn't receive the proper medication. So, when we visited the farmacia, the druggist gave us the real deal. It was, day one - 4 cloroquina plus one premaquin (spelling?), day two - 3 cloroquina, one premaquin, day three - 3 cloroquina, on premaquin, and then one premaquin for the next 11 days. Well, the first time through, the cure was almost as bad as the disease. The second time, with increased dosage of poisons, it was even less fun. We have stocked up on both the preventive and cure and hope not to repeat this foolishness. Cruisers, take heed, prevention costs only pennies a day.

During our stay on the Rio, there were no unhappy incidents of thefts. Peace and tranquility prevailed and we were grateful for it. During the last few days, we stocked up on fresh fruits, vegetables and eggs for the next leg of our journey.

We left Mario's Marina at about 6:00 AM yesterday and headed down river. It took 3 hours to get to Livingston at the mouth. Another hour and a half to put the dinghy in the water, go to town, check out, return, raise the dinghy, haul the anchor and we were underway again. This was the third time we have checked out from the Rio and while we know the routine well, it is hard to say goodbye to that place.

The weather was perfect. Ten knots, puffy scattered clouds, 85 degrees and a flat sea. After leaving the Port, we crossed the Bay of Honduras and found a pleasant anchorage in the lee of Cabo Tres Puntas (cape three points), Guatemala. To avoid any bugs, we anchored about 1/2 miles offshore. The seas remained calm all day and all night. It was as if we were anchored in the river. There are a number of Indian's cane houses on the shore, but only a few oil lamps showed last night. This morning, we awoke to hear a troop of howler monkeys in the jungle canopy nearby. There is a heavy dew and a gently breeze. Magic moments.

Today, we will leave Guatemala and cruise the north coast of Honduras. The three day forecast is excellent. Our next stop is to be Bahia Escondido on the coast where we will remain until Monday morning. Then, a 25 or 30 mile crossing to the island of Utila where we will check into Honduras. We have cruiser friends somewhere in the Bay Islands and look forward to seeing them again.